The Dallas Mavericks ended the Memphis Grizzlies‘ 11-game winning streak. Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double and was the guarantee for success, and the Slovenian also won the playmaker duel against Morant.
Memphis Grizzlies (30-15) – Dallas Mavericks (23-19) 85:112 (BOXSCORE)
Luka Magic in Memphis! The Dallas Mavericks played a superb second half and picked up an impressive win against the team of the hour. Doncic was once again the dominating Mavs man, the Slovenian hitting his 40th career triple-double (27 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists), the highest number of Mavs players since 1980 (! ).
Compared to the loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, the Mavs superstar was able to rely on his role players again. In addition to Doncic, six other players scored in the double-digit range.
Tim Hardaway Jr. finished the game with 16 points, while Jalen Brunson and Marquese Chriss each had 15 points. With the hosts, Ja Morant clearly lost the point guard duel against Luka, in the end the Grizzlies star had 19 points (8/15 FG), 8 assists and 5 rebounds.
Kristaps Porzingis missed the seventh game in a row (Corona protocol), the Big Man has only played 26 of 42 games this season, Doncic was only able to play one more game. Jason Kidd missed the fifth game in a row on the touchline, and the hosts were also without their head coach Taylor Jenkins.
The hosts got off to a good start and had an early lead of 25:16 before the Mavericks called a timeout with around three minutes left. The momentum was now on the side of the Mavs, who were able to reduce the gap to 4 by the end of the first quarter (29:25). At the time, the Mavs had a shot percentage of 61 percent, but also had 6 turnovers.
In the second quarter, the efficiency of the guests decreased somewhat (34 percent FG), but a number of offensive rebounds (5) resulted in a few second chances. In addition, ball losses could be reduced, while Memphis recorded 5 turnovers in the section. The Mavericks went into the break at -5 (55:50).
Mavs with outstanding second half
After the break, the Grizzlies delivered what was arguably the worst quarter of their winning streak. This is surprising given that Morant is one of the league’s best third-period scorers (8.9 points per game). The hosts’ offensive faltered and only managed 18 points.
Doncic gave the Mavs the first lead of the game with a finger roll in the middle of the third quarter (63:62). After a rather mixed first half, the Slovenian turned up the heat in the second half and took control of the game.
The playmaker gave the Grizzlies 18 of his 27 points (8/10 FG) after the break, showing off his entire offensive repertoire, from floaters and layups to stepback jumpers from the midrange. Doncic provided the last assist for his triple-double per lässigem Behind-the-Back-Pass.
In the last section, the Mavericks steadily expanded their lead, improved their defense and held Memphis at a shot rate of 23 percent. In the last few minutes it got very quiet in the FedEx forum.
Dallas has now won seven of their last eight games. On Sunday night there will be a German duel between the Mavs around Maxi Kleber and the Orlando Magic, where the Wagner brothers are currently causing a sensation.
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