After missing one game due to left hamstring tightness, Luka Doncic returned to the Dallas Mavericks (39-29) lineup on Sunday afternoon to play the Denver Nuggets (47-21). Kyrie Irving’s game-winning floater, which was set up by an inbounds play the team regularly practices, helped the Mavs win 107–105.
It was satisfying. Irving remarked of the play that set up his game-winning jumper, “It felt good to execute. It is a play we work on during shootaround pretty often.” “I was fortunate enough to hit a left-hand floater in the end because I had faith in my teammates.” After the game, I had a look at it, and I was quite wasted. shots that I practice, being ambidextrous, and having faith in my abilities.
Nikola Jokic was defending P.J. Washington when Irving received a corner pin-in screen during the Nuggets’ first action switch on the opposite side of the court. Nikola Jokic was in a position to switch onto Irving as he approached the ball, giving Irving freedom to attack in the direction of the elbow. Irving was able to take a dribble before elevating into a left-hand hook over Jokic’s extended arm.
Regarding his game-winning shot, Irving remarked, “most of it is instinctual and comes from preparation for hours that no one sees.” “I watched Jokic go left and take away my pull-up. I knew he was going to show there because I had hit one or two with him tonight, but I had no idea he would commit such a serious crime. I realized I had my left hand when I felt him shoving me inside the 3-point line. He was forcing me to do so. I should go there as it is open. That, I believe, is what transpired and what I observed. It is simply instinctive.
On a night when they were required, both of the Mavs’ superstars gave outstanding outings, and the other three starters only managed single-digit points. Irving contributed 23 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, while Doncic finished with 37 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. The remaining players in the starting lineup all scored in single digits.
Playing with Doncic, Irving remarked, “feels good to be able to play that amount of consistent games and get a feel for one another.” It truly demonstrates the things we have been practicing as well. You guys are not able to see every practice, as Luka and I are competing against our backup lineup. We have a terrific rapport, and it is much easier when we have guys making shots with us.
Off the bench, Dereck Lively II contributed 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, which helped to generate a huge lead in paint scoring and rebounding. Dallas concluded with 21 offensive rebounds, a 17-point advantage in second-chance scoring, and a 62–38 advantage in points in the paint. Derrick Jones Jr. grabbed six offensive rebounds, but Washington had 11 total. Six players contributed multiple offensive rebounds for Dallas.
“I believe there was a carryover from Oklahoma City since the Nuggets are also small. I believed that P.J. and D-Jones (Derrick Jones Jr.) and Gaff (Daniel Gafford) would be able to offer us second and third chances. In my opinion, Gaff and D-Live gave you a chance by keeping the balls alive and creating second or third chances against a very skilled squad like Denver.
One of the few occasions where the Mavs triumphed against being handily surpassed in outside shooting by creating a difference in the paint, as the Nuggets hit 12-28 (42.9%) from beyond the arc against Dallas’ 9-35 (25.7%) effort.
It is a huge victory, in my opinion. Doncic remarked, “You know, going against the Nuggets, they were champions last year.” It is difficult to play against them because they have a fantastic team with the MVP. Thus, it is quite beneficial to us.
The Nuggets’ starting lineup all scored in double figures, but their bench performance was lacking. Leading Denver with 23 points and seven assists was Jamal Murray. Not far behind, Michael Porter Jr. scored twenty points in the end. Despite having an unusually quiet shooting night, Jokic managed to chip in 16 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Aaron Gordon contributed eight rebounds and eleven points.
Doncic scored the Mavs’ opening five points to give the team an early 10-3 lead. With Irving’s steal to free the ball from Jokic, the team was playing quickly. This gave Jones the opportunity to finish in transition, forcing Denver to call a timeout.
The Nuggets frequently started games compactly by using elbows, but they also occasionally ran a wide pindown, which allowed Porter to break free and make a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Denver took advantage of further size mismatches with its wings, which led to a Gordon slam off a post-up while the Nuggets were attacking Irving, making the score 14–12.
The center of the Mavs’ assault, Doncic attracted blitzes as the first quarter wore on. In the 4-on-3, Dallas was able to use Exum to their advantage and set up Lively for an alley-oop dunk. Lively was positioned to be the dunker. The ability to neutralize Denver’s aggressive defensive strategy was crucial to the game’s progression.
Dallas trailed 61-58 at the half despite shooting 4-17 from outside the arc in the first half. Through two quarters, Doncic had already scored 23 points on 3/7 from beyond the arc, with the rest of the squad scoring 1-10. The primary reasons are that the Nuggets lost the non-Jokic minutes by seven points but outscored the Mavs by ten points when Jokic was on the court.
The Mavs quickly tightened up on defense, limiting the Nuggets to 44 points in the second half. During the latter two quarters, Denver shot 6-16 (37.5 percent) from the field but was limited to an overall shooting percentage of 17-40 (42.5 percent). Murray and Pope combined for 24 points, holding Jokic to just eight points. Dallas, which built on a pre-existing foundation while adding Washington and Gafford in midseason deals, is still optimistic in how the squad matches up defensively.
Irving remarked, “I think we match up with everyone pretty well, especially on the defensive end.” In addition to having a solid defense that we have used for the majority of the season, we can switch one through five players. It seemed to me that we were only continuously honing our communication skills and our faith in our ability to stop teams with nebulous skill sets.”
Doncic and Irving were the main drivers of the Mavs’ 9-0 run that gave them a 72-70 lead over the Nuggets. After making a floater, he found Irving for a catch-and-shoot three, and then drew two in a ball screen, setting Jones up for a slam on the weak side of a 4-on-3. After that, Irving sent the ball to Gafford for a layup, which prompted Denver to take a timeout.
Doncic was able to take a break on the bench as the Mavs ended the third quarter ahead thanks to an outstanding scoring burst from Irving. Irving’s seven straight points, sandwiched between a mid-range jumper and a pull-up jumper from the outside, helped Dallas take an 84-79 lead.
With a 4-0 start to the fourth quarter, the Mavs increased their advantage to a game-high nine points. Denver made a fast timeout call. Irving and Doncic both made off-the-dribble 3-pointers to give Dallas a nine-point lead after the Nuggets began to mount a comeback. By this point, the two players had combined for 52 points.
After Jones completed the rim and Lively blocked a shot in the paint, the Mavs’ momentum kept growing. Doncic’s finish as a transition trailer, going to the hoop, brought the string of plays to a close. Before Murray made a fast trigger 3-pointer on a handoff to cut the Dallas lead to 10 points, Dallas was ahead by 13 points.
Having the center roam around the half-court, protecting Gordon while a wing player covered Jokic, was one of the Mavs’ defensive tactics in the fourth quarter. Throughout the evening, Dallas experimented with several defensive strategies, including how high they played the big in different plays. The intention was to prevent Jokic from seeing the same opponents and coverages for an extended amount of time.
“I thought being able to put a four on Joker and let our five roam and protect the rim was big tonight with Gafford and D-Live (Dereck Lively II),” Kidd stated. “Those two performed an excellent job of carrying out the game plan and emerging victorious from it. Giving Gordon or these other guys on the perimeter a free run can make it difficult for you to rebound. However, we did a fantastic job of recovering the ball, in my opinion. P.J. and D-Jones (Derrick Jones Jr.) were able to return and provide assistance.”
With 26.8 seconds left in regulation, the Nuggets turned it up at the proper moment, going on a 14-2 run in crunch time to take a 105-102 lead. Murray scored eight of those points, so his shooting was crucial. The Mavs prevailed in the end of the game despite the conditions.
Jokic admitted that the Mavs had good players, but the Nuggets’ biggest problem was that they could not finish after taking the lead.
They can turn on us with a few of their guys. We did not really reply to them properly, in my opinion,” Jokic remarked. “We did not execute several of our late-night open looks or possessions. In the fourth quarter, we managed to regain the lead, but we were unable to complete.”
With 26.8 seconds remaining in regulation, Dallas got the ball. Doncic tied the score with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer that was made possible by an inbounds play. Irving gave Doncic credit for shooting this shot as part of his clutch play, which helped him go on to win the game.
“I would not have gotten that shot off without Luka tying the ball game,” Irving stated. “He was amazing tonight, reaching the free throw line and making several clutch plays. I thus give him a lot of credit for getting us there and letting me score the winning goal at the end.”
After tying it up, the Mavs received a much-needed defensive stop. Murray grabbed a defensive rebound after missing a short-range pull-up jumper. With 2.8 seconds left and a tied score, this led to a last possession. If the score was knotted going into the final possession, Dallas had options.
Using another inbound play, Irving drove left before putting up a left-handed floater, resulting in a game-winning shot. Jokic, who switched onto Irving during the play, was aware of what the Mavs were trying to accomplish but gave Irving credit for making a tough shot.
“Yeah, it was the same action that they have run before in the game, with the continuation of Kyrie [Irving] coming from the corner,” Jokic stated. “Kyrie made a really difficult shot, truly. He was the one who could have made the shot. I was surprised, but also kind of not. He can make that shot for sure.”
Malone isn’t ready to overreact to a game-winning shot he conveyed as improbable. He’s willing to live with the results in this situation.
“Yeah, I mean, if a guy beat us making an off-handed hook shot from the elbow, yes, I do,” Malone said.
Looking ahead, the Mavs will play the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night in a one-game road trip.