3 Takeaways From Mavericks' Demolition of Pelicans

The Pelicans didn't field a very competitive team, but it was nice to see the Mavericks take care of business the way they should

Nov 19, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) brings the ball up court against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks handled business on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, who were without six key rotation players, including four regular starters. Even when a team is missing that many players, it's good to see the Mavs put the game away and not allow the Pels to hang around as we've seen Dallas do in the past.

It was a balanced scoring attack for the Mavericks, as they had seven players in double-figures for the second straight game while leading wire-to-wire for the first time all season and giving them their largest winning margin of the season.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's win.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Dominate Short-Handed Pelicans, 132-91

1. The Pelicans Are Not a Good Basketball Team Currently

The Pelicans were without Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins, and Jose Alvarado in this game. Those are six key rotational players, so it's no surprise they didn't look competitive for most of this game. They started Javonte Green at point guard, who's been a small forward for his entire career, and Brandon Boston Jr. at shooting guard, who is on a two-way contract. They just won't be very good until they get healthy.

2. Good to See You, Klay!

Klay Thompson showed up in this game with 19 points on 5/9 shooting from three. That was a welcome sight after he had made just two of his last 11 attempts from deep. No one is expecting him to be a 50% shooter from behind the arc, but getting back above 40% would be huge for this team.

3. Luka Doncic Returns and Has His Most Efficient Game

Luka Doncic missed Sunday's game against the Thunder with a knee injury and returned in this game to have his most efficient game of the season: 26 points, five assists, five rebounds, and three steals, shooting 10/16 (62.5%) from the floor and 3/8 (37.5%) from three. He'd had just two games shooting 50% or better from the floor all season, so it was nice to see him pick and choose his shots carefully and make them at a high rate. They'll need more of that against the Nuggets on Friday.

READ MORE: Opinions Vary On Dallas Mavericks in Latest NBA Power Rankings

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024-25 Season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

• PJ Washington Leads Luka-Less Mavericks Over Thunder, 121-119

• Warriors' Tribute Video For Mavericks' Klay Thompson

• Mavs' Luka Doncic Owns Up to Crucial Late Blunder Against Jazz

• Dallas Mavericks Reveal New City Edition Jerseys