Dallas Mavericks 116-103 Denver Nuggets: 5 Hits and Flops
It was a Western Conference battle between the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets at Little Saturday,Arena on Saturday but only one team showed up.
The Dallas Mavericks routed the Denver Nuggets with a 116-103 win on the road. A total of 6 players scored 20 or more points, with Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic leading their respective teams with 21 and 26 points.
With the win tonight, Dallas Mavericks moved to 8th in the Western Conference with a 19-17 record. While their opponents Denver Nuggets still find themselves stuck at the 5th spot having losing 15 of their 37 matches this season. Here are the 5 major hits and flops from the matchup tonight in Denver.
Hit: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
He didn’t shoot well tonight but it didn’t matter for Luka Doncic as he beautifully orchestrated the Dallas Mavericks offense. The 22-year-old shot just 7-of-16 from the field but still finished with 21 points in 33 minutes. He added 12 assists and five rebounds to give the Mavericks their fifth win in six games.
Doncic’s passing was exquisite on the night as he dropped dime after dime to his teammates including co-star Kristaps Porzingis who was red-hot the whole night and finished with 25 points.
Flop: Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
Jamal Murray had a horrible shooting night, making just 4-of-13 from the field including 1-of-5 from behind the arc. This was his second poor shooting performance in a row after he put up just 1-of-14 against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Murray’s body language wasn't clearly at it's best during tonight's encounter against the Dallas Mavericks. After missing a number of shots initially, it was clear that his confidence was shot, which in turn led to a demoralizing performance from the rest of his squad.
Hit: Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Even when matched up against the 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis, Nikola Jokic was able to get his way around the basket. The Serbian international was even able to draw a couple of fouls from Latvian star, who eventually spent a lot of time on the bench due to foul trouble.
As good as Jokic was (26 points / 11 assists / 8 rebounds), the Denver Nuggets just couldn’t stop the Dallas Mavericks from scoring which eventually led to their downfall.
Flop: Paul Millsap (Denver Nuggets)
Paul Millsap was virtually a non-factor for the Denver Nuggets. He made 2-of-9 shots from the floor and 1-of-5 from three. Finishing with five points and four rebounds, Millsap couldn’t get his shots to fall which coincided with Murray’s poor shooting. He played 23 minutes but Michael Porter Jr. should have taken most of those minutes from him.
Hit: Kristaps Porzingis and Josh Richardson (Dallas Mavericks)
It’s tough to choose between these two so let’s have both.
Kristaps Porzingis was on fire from the start and he led the Dallas Mavericks with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 5-of-7 from outside the arc. He also discouraged opponents with his long arms, blocking three enemy missiles tonight.
If not for foul trouble, Porzingis could have done much more damage.
Taking his shots early and often, Josh Richardson had a terrific game scoring 20 points and making 4-of-5 3-pointers. The threat of this three-ball kept the Denver Nuggets from crowding the middle and allowed the Dallas Mavericks to score in the paint.
Richardson’s scoring was a welcome sight for the Mavs who need a third scorer to step up every game.
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