Mavs Donuts: Epic Comeback Win vs. Warriors, Luka Turns 23

DallasBasketball.com lists 12 of the biggest NBA storylines in addition to relevant Dallas Mavericks news and analysis.

February 28 marks Luka Doncic's birthday, with No.77 turning 23. On the eve of Doncic's "Michael Jordan" year, the Dallas Mavericks presented their superstar with quite a gift. Following a close loss to the Utah Jazz last Friday, the Mavs pulled a San Francisco-sized rabbit out of their hat against the Golden State Warriors. 

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the New Orleans Pelicans embarrassingly Sunday evening. Monday's batch offers a variety of flavors. 

Mavs Donuts taste better following a Dallas win. Get a victory's dozen, courtesy of DallasBasketball.com.

Donut 1:  Comeback of the Season 

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off a clutch loss to the Utah Jazz — a game that had some bad breaks for Luka Doncic down the stretch in his one-on-one matchups with Rudy Gobert— the Dallas Mavericks hoped to bounce back against a Golden State Warriors team that was missing Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. They were able to do just that with an incredible come-from-behind victory, 107-101.

"This is a character, environment, culture win in the sense that no one quit,” said coach Jason Kidd.

Speaking of hitting big shots, Spencer Dinwiddie provided a huge lift for Dallas off the bench, especially in the fourth quarter, as he finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and five assists in 31 minutes. Dinwiddie shot 10-of-14 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep. Although he has only played in four games for Dallas, Dinwiddie is already showing how valuable he could be for the Mavs heading into the postseason.

Donut 2: Would Mavs Draft Bronny to Draft LeBron?

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A lot of attention was placed on LeBron James after his comments about his future during NBA All-Star Weekend. Between stating the "door's not closed" on a potential return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and wanting to finish his career playing with his son Bronny, there's a lot to unpack.

Mark Cuban isn't interested in drafting Bronny James even if it means pairing him with LeBron. 

In an interview with Sportsgrid, Cuban stated he would "probably not" burn a second-round pick, and that the situation depends on how good of a prospect Bronny becomes.

Donut 3: Could Mavs Take Advantage of Lakers' Misfortunes?

The trade for Anthony Davis after James’ first season in L.A. was supposed to set the franchise up for success for years to come. The Lakers were fortunate enough to capture a championship when the NBA had to move its 2019-2020 season to the Orlando Bubble, but aside from that, the James-Davis tenure has been somewhat underwhelming due to injuries and other bad roster moves.

Whether or not James ‘made his own bed’ or not — which is us mainly referring to the Russell Westbrook trade James pushed for that has turned out horribly — the 37-year-old legend is running out of time to add more championship hardware to his résumé. To do so, it’s looking like James will have to leave the Lakers, either in 2023 free agency or maybe even this summer via trade.

DallasBasketball.com's Editor-In-Chief Dalton Trigg proposed a trade where the Mavs acquire James. 

Donut 4: Rudy Gobert Stifles Luka Doncic; Bad Officiating or Bad Strategy?

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

In the Dallas Mavericks' 114-109 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday, the underwhelming results on offense in the second half proved to be too much to overcome.

Over the final two quarters of the game, the Mavericks were held to just 42 points while shooting 17-of-43 (39.5 percent) from the floor and 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from beyond the arc. To make matters worse, Dallas got to the free-throw line just once in all of the second half.

Dallasbasketball.com's game-tape guru Grant Afseth dissected whether Luka Doncic's struggles stemmed from bad officiating or lousy strategy. 

Donut 5: James Harden Makes Philadelphia 76ers Debut

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

On Afseth's latest "NBA Notebook", he detailed James Harden's debut with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

In his Sixers debut, Harden was instrumental in the team's 133-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves with 27 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists in 35 minutes of action. The defense often loaded up on him in pick-and-roll situations to get the ball out of his hands—opening up favorable opportunities for his teammates.

Donut 6: DeMar DeRozan Continues to Make History

In the Chicago Bulls' 112-108 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night, DeMar DeRozan furthered his streak of consecutive performances with at least 35 points while once again elevating his team in clutch time. He finished with 37 points, six rebounds, and three assists overall.

DeRozan is now the seventh player in NBA history to put together eight consecutive games with at least 35 points, joining the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Wilt Chamberlain, and Elgin Baylor. Also, DeRozan is just two games shy of Jordan's franchise record of 10 consecutive games with at least 35 points. 

Donut 7: On This Day

February 28, 1999, began the journey of Luka Doncic. Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Doncic grew to be a superstar. 

Donut 8: Did Porzingis Trade Inspire MVP-Level Play from Luka Doncic?

Luka Doncic has averaged an incredible 37.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the six games he's played since the Mavericks finalized the trade to send Porzinigs to the Wizards. Despite the uptick, Doncic insists there's no correlation occurring.

The trade itself may not be giving Doncic a boost in the motivation department, but regardless, he's seen a heavier share of initiation burden on offense. His usage rate has since increased by six percent and is at 41.2 percent, which leads the NBA during this span.

Donut 9: Karl-Anthony Towns' Claim as "Best Big Man Shooter" Disrespects Dirk Nowitzki

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

While Karl-Anthony Towns' shooting stroke is impressive, his career accolades don't match the braggadocios energy that the Minnesota Timberwolves brought not only All-Star weekend, but also the 2021-2022 season overall. It's also just downright disrespectful to Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.

Without downplaying Towns' career, hanging onto one feat seems not only like settling for the lowest hanging fruit, but also ignoring a massive void in his resume. Where are the playoff appearances to go along with his efficient shooting?

I went on to detail why Towns' boasting looks silly. 

Donut 10: Mavs Step Back Podcast

On this episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, Dalton Trigg and Matt Galatzan recap the All-Star break, including what needs to be done with the dunk contest going forward, Luka Doncic's performance among his peers, and Doncic's wholesome embrace with the great Michael Jordan.

Donut 11: Los Angeles Lakers Demolished by the New Orleans Pelicans

No Zion Williamson, no problem, at least that was the case Sunday night for the New Orleans Pelicans vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers' shameful performance ignited boos from the Crypto.com crowd. 

The Lakers had more turnovers (23) than assists (15) as the loss dropped them to 27-33. Despite the disappointing season, the Lakers are still in play-in tournament position.

Donut 12: What's Next For Mavs? 

Tuesday night sees the Mavs face the sub-.500 Lakers in Los Angeles. Coming off Doncic's birthday and an embarrassing Lakers loss, which will influence the game more?