After playing in their first overtime game of the season, Dallas was rewarded by hitting the road and playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Already without Luka Doncic, Dallas also had to deal with a glut of additional injuries and illnesses that had them playing without Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes, or Dereck Lively. On short rest with a short roster, Dallas gutted out an impressive win thanks to some hot and timely shot-making.
68%: Dallas’ shooting from the floor in the fourth
Dallas has had no luck in clutch games so far this season. They’ve lost a league-high seven games while winning only three.
Well, the Mavericks’ new approach to clutch time seems to be avoiding it entirely. After trading the lead back and forth throughout the game, Dallas stepped on the gas in the fourth, led by Kyrie Irving who scored 16 in the frame; half of the 32 points he scored for the game, including going four-for-five from deep in the fourth.
31: three-point shots attempted by Atlanta
Gafford and Lively were both game-time decisions for Dallas. Lively left early due to an illness while Gafford gutted out 23 minutes for Dallas.
Without their two bigs to patrol the paint, the Mavericks’ defensive mindset seemed to pivot towards running Atlanta off the three-point line instead. They held the Hawks to 31 attempts – five below their typical 36, and more importantly, bothered the Atlanta shooter enough to hold them to just 29% from deep; well below the 36% the Hawks have averaged so far.
Nothing comes for free, though, and Dallas’ focus on the long ball, and missing the defensive anchor, saw them give up 76 points in the paint. Still, for tonight, that amounted to a winning strategy.
22, 22, 23: points from Naji Marshall, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jaden Hardy
Jaden Hardy got the start alongside Irving in the backcourt and showed off some of his firepower. Until Kyrie poured in on in the fourth, he was Dallas’ leading scorer for much of the game. It was also a good sign seeing Dinwiddie shake off his 1-for-12 night against the Heat.
There have been a handful of games this season where Dallas has gotten outsized contributions from bench players, but couldn’t turn them into wins. Together, the Marshall, Hardy, and Dinwiddie trio kept Dallas level and answered every punch Atlanta threw.
