TORONTO, ON – The Dallas Mavericks (0-1) were looking good coming into the regular season with an undefeated preseason record 4-0. The Mavs surprised everyone and took their first loss of the season on opening night in Atlanta against the Hawks (1-0). It was an ugly 113-87 loss for the Mavs.
Luka Doncic led the way for the Mavericks with a double-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. He struggled shooting on the night, shooting 6-of-17.
Doncic wasn’t the only one that recorded high numbers; Jalen Brunson had 17 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 points, and Kristaps Porzingis had 11 points.
The 26 point loss for the Mavs was based on shooting. As a whole, the team struggled shooting the ball, finishing the night shooting 33 percent from the floor and 30 percent from beyond the arc. They only made 31 of the 93 shots they took inside the three-point line.
They had 26 points in the paint, way fewer than in the postseason. It looked like Dallas went back to their old ways of letting Doncic dribble all over the floor while the rest of the offense waited for him to make a play. The Mavs only had 16 assists, fewer than in preseason and this type of play did not end in success for Dallas.
The Raptors are coming off a nice 115-83 win over the Boston Celtics. They were led by Scottie Barnes who had a double-double with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists.
Dallas will try to redeem themselves against the Raptors tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. in Toronto before having a two-game home stand against Houston and San Antonio next week.
