The Dallas Mavericks won against the Atlanta Hawks a narrow 118: 117 victory and thus celebrated their third success in a row. The Mavs turn the game with a rain of three in the final section, Luka Doncic has the upper hand against Trae Young in the end.
Dallas Mavericks (12-14) – Atlanta Hawks (11-13) 118:117
The Slovenian put on his seventh triple double of the season and had 28 points (9/18 FG, 2/7 threes), 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Most importantly, it was crucial for the Mavs that Jalen Brunson and Tim Hardaway Jr. caught fire in the fourth quarter.
The latter scored 13 of his 16 points in the final round and started the Mavs catching up after they went into the fourth quarter with -9. Brunson put up 21 points (plus 5 assists), 11 of them in the fourth section. In this phase, the home side met 7 of their 9 threes after only weak 7/26 (26.9 percent) went through the trap.
In the end Dallas had a good three-way quota of 40 percent (14/35), and Maxi Kleber also contributed two triples (6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist). Kristpas Porzingis also got 15 points (6/14 FG) and 4 rebounds, Willie Cauley Stein delivered a good production from the bank (14 and 6).
On the other side, John Collins was the best scorer with 33 points (13/18 FG), Young came in a duel with his draft day trade partner from 2018 Doncic on 25 points (8/22 FG), 15 assists and 7 rebounds – however, after the final buzzer, complained vehemently about a foul-call wrongly not given in his eyes in the last play. However, the refs confirmed after the game that they had made the right call.
Kevin Huerter (23) also made a good game, while Danilo Gallinari was the only other Hawks player to score double-digit points (11), but only scored 2/12 from the field and 1/7 from downtown. His possible game winner also only ended up on the ring.
Trae Young brings Hawks lead against Mavs
The Mavs, who started with their usual starting five with Doncic, Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Kleber and Porzingis, started with partly aggressive traps against Young in half of the Hawks. Thus Dallas wanted to force the ball out of the hands of the point guard, but Atlanta punished the resulting open throws for the teammates from Downtown.
The guests sank 5 triples in the first quarter, including a logo three from Young, but Kleber held up with two of his own early threes. After an entertaining first run with several changes in leadership, Dallas went into the second section with 33:32. On both sides, the throwing rates initially went down before Trae started a small fireworks display in the final minutes of the first half (19 points in half one) and allowed the Hawks to lead a 62:52 half-time lead.
After the break, the Mavs sent more double teams against Young again, but they didn’t really get him under control. Instead, the 22-year-old replied with good passes and including an assist through the legs of Porzingis. The Hawks ‘strong defense also caused problems for Dallas, with Hawks’ double-digit lead lasting for most of the third quarter before Brunson beat the buzzer to 81:90.
Hot Mavs turn the game in the fourth quarter
During the quarter break, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle primarily criticized his team’s choice of litter, apparently he found the right words. Hardaway Jr. ran hot after a hitherto inconspicuous appearance and with a personal 7-0 run shortened to -2. A zone defense of the Mavs now brought the guests a bit out of the rhythm.
In the middle of the final section, THJ from downtown equalized, Doncic and Brunson let rain more triples to the 107: 101 lead. But the Hawks found an answer. A three from Tony Snell equalized again before Brunson put the home side back in front with some good attacks against Young. But it remained exciting until the final seconds.
Young responded to a threesome from Finney-Smith with a very deep triple. With less than 5 seconds to go, Brunson failed from downtown, giving Atlanta a last chance one point behind. Young went down during inbounds play and wanted a foulbut the game went on and the ball went to Gallinari. His long fadeaway two only landed at the ring – victory for the Mavs!
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