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The Dallas Mavericks recovered from a tough 104-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday to batter the Atlanta Hawks 109-95 two nights later. Luka Doncic bucked a scoreless first quarter against the Hawks to lead the Mavericks to a much-needed victory. “Luka Legend,” though, fell two assists shy of a triple-double.
Dallas’ win hiked its record to 46-30 to stay in front of the sixth-placed Phoenix Suns (45-31) and the seventh-ranked New Orleans Pelicans (45-31). With roughly 10 more days of action left, the Mavs need to keep grinding to stay on the same rung or even overtake the fourth-placed LA Clippers (48-28) in their conference’s win-loss ladder.
The Dallas Mavericks still have a tough road ahead
The Dallas Mavericks’ remaining six games are equally divided on the road and at home in Texas. They host the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and the Detroit Pistons. Waiting to ambush Doncic and his teammates outside their home floor are the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat and the OKC Thunder.
Based on how tightly packed the teams in the wild and wooly West are lumped together, the Mavericks have to win as many games as possible. At the very least, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Mavs will have to aim for a 4-2 mark for a favorable end to their regular season. That will likely allow them to stay outside the risky and complicated play-in tournament.
The Mavericks have put it all together since early March
Since Mar. 7, the Dallas Mavericks have compiled an impressive 12-2 card, with those losses coming against the OKC Thunder and Golden State Warriors. Dallas had excellent chances of staying unbeaten but couldn’t pull past these opponents.
During this stretch, the Mavericks' offensive and defensive ratings have vaulted into the top-two. Granted they arguably have had a soft schedule, but they still had to get the job done to steadily climb the West. Along the way, they’ve also had superb wins against the Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, the Sacramento Kings (twice) and the Dubs.
Jason Kidd is confident that the Dallas Mavericks have peaked at just the right time. If they can continue playing on the same level, they will likely end in the top-four in the Western Conference.
The playoffs, though, will be the stage that determines just how Kidd's group have pulled all together. Should they host a first-round series, they will be in for a slugfest against any opponent.
