DENVER, COLORADO — The difference between how the Mavericks began their game against Houston and tonight was intensity. On Monday the Mavericks began the game running and gunning, going for it regardless of the circumstance. Tonight the Mavericks lacked that same intensity for the first half of the game and who knows, it could be attributed to the road trip, but like Rick Carlisle has said it’s the hand that’s been dealt and the Mavs will not complain about it.
Rick Carlisle switched things up in the starting lineup against the Rockets to provide a spark. Initially the change worked and helped the Mavericks grab their first in division W. Tonight the Mavericks used the same starting five as they did on Monday with Tim Hardaway Jr coming off the bench for the second time this year.
To start the 1st the Mavericks only knocked down 17% of their shots and scored only 2 minutes in the first 3 minutes of play which came off a Willie Cauley-Stein lay in while the Nuggets knocked down 57% of their shots from the field and grabbed an early 8-2 lead. Dallas’s second basket came by way of a Luka Doncic fadeaway with just under 7 minutes remaining in the first quarter which sparked a 12-3 Mavericks run tying up the game. The Mavericks held the lead for the first time in the game with less than 2 minutes left in the first.
That lead was short lived as the Nuggets were able to put together a run of their own towards the end of their first quarter with Jamal Murray leading the way closing out the first quarter leading the Mavs 28-22. Murray finished the first quarter scoring 15 points and hitting 4 out of 6 of his shots and three of those shots coming from behind the arc, and Luka Doncic led the Mavericks in scoring with 7 points.
What has been a constant for the Mavericks this season is how inconsistent they begin games. In each game that the Mavericks have trailed or tied at the end of the first quarter they’ve lost, and each time they’ve led at the end of the first they’ve won. Simple math right? If the Mavericks grab the lead early the better their chances are of winning the game, but it’s just not that easy.
Entering the 2nd quarter, the only saving grace for the Mavericks was the Nuggets inability to shoot which kept the game within reach for Dallas who also had a bad night from the field. The Mavericks converted 29% of their shots and the Nuggets converted 33% of their shots, but the Nuggets already established a lead heading into the 2nd quarter, meaning the Mavericks needed to badly outperform the Nuggets from the field if they wanted to stay in this game, but Dallas was plagued by turnovers.
At one point in the game the Mavericks committed more turnovers than the shots they made, so that illustrates how difficult it was for the Mavericks to make something happen on the offensive end of the floor. The Nuggets were just disruptive. Denver scored 14 points off of turnovers in the first half which resulted in a Mavericks deficit heading into the half down 52-43, and again the Mavericks have not won a game this season when trailing at half time.
In the 3rd quarter the Mavericks began to turn up the intensity on the defensive end disrupting passing lanes and converting on high percentage shots. The Mavericks made 5 three’s in the third quarter which helped them secure a 17-7 run with less than two minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter decreasing the Nuggets lead to 4 points after holding their largest lead of the night (12) in the 3rd quarter. Dallas was able to bring the lead within 2 points to close out the 3rd after Tim Hardaway Jr knocked down two of his free throws after scoring 6 of his 11 points in the 3rd quarter. Luka Doncic also contributed to the Mavericks run with 7 points, 4 assists, and stole the pill three times, which helped take a chip out of the Nuggets lead ending the 3rd quarter down 78-76.
Dallas made it close, their defense stepped up and the players off the bench didn’t allow the Nuggets to get out ahead. James Johnson had a fresh fade to match his fresh game. Johnson came off the bench and hit 3 of the 4 shots the Mavericks attempted. After narrowing the lead to 2 points, the Mavericks kept the game within a 2 point threshold and eventually tied the game after Jalen Brunson knocked down a three pointer 86-86.
Dallas eventually recaptured the lead that at one point of the game seemed out of reach after Willie Cauley-Stein blocked a Jokic attempt and Luka flipped it into an assist to Josh Richardson for the dunk to take a 98-97 lead. Shortly after the first block, Dorian Finney-Smith blocked another shot which the Mavericks again converted into points after Maxi Kleber hit a three to increase the lead to 101-97. Nikola Jokic wasn’t done with his impressive night from three, the talented big man hit two consecutive three point shots to tie the game 104-104. Doncic made a floating shot to increase hit point total to 29 points which gave the Mavericks a 106-104 lead and Jamal Murray returned the favor to tie the game up 106-106 again with just over a minute of play left in the game. With 58 seconds left in the game Nikola Jocic was fouled and hit one of his two free throw shots at the line to give the Nuggets a 1 point 107-106 lead.
The hot hand for the Mavericks in the 4th was Maxi Kleber making 3 three pointers and he came on clutch with his 3rd knocking it down to give the Mavericks a 2 point 109-107 lead. With only 2.4 seconds left on the clock and one possession for the Nuggets Coach Mike Malone drew up a play for his all-star bigman Nikola Jocic perfectly as Jocic hit the shot game tying shot sending the game to overtime which was the first overtime period for the Mavericks this season.
Dallas outshot Denver 62% to 56% in field goal percentage. The Mavericks overcame a bad start and out shot their opponent while doing so.
Overtime was the Luka Doncic show, as Luka hit 5 points within the 1st minute and a half of overtime helping the Mavs gain the lead 114-112. Josh Richardson also dropped 5 points in overtime and one of those shots was a big three pointer to give Dallas a 5 point 119-114 lead which was their largest lead of the night.
Dallas extended their 5 point lead after 1 free throw was made by Willie Cauley-Stein making it 120-114 with 1 minute to spare. The Nuggets continued to feed Nikola Jocic and he hit another three pointer to shrink the Mavericks lead to 3, which was followed by a step back jumper from Luka to extend the lead back to 5. Doncic hit two more free throws after being fouled icing the game and winning in overtime 124-117 after trailing most of the game.
This was the first time this season this Mavericks squad played from behind and came back to win a game against a talented Denver team that won the last two of their games. This is also the first time this season Luka Doncic has scored 30+ consecutive points in two games. All are great milestones, but what impressed the most tonight was their ability to turn up their intensity when they needed it the most. The Mavericks are back at .500 as they move onto hosting the Magic in Dallas on Saturday for their 3rd home game of the year.
