Mavs Donuts: Doncic Erupts vs. Jazz, Jokic MVP Performances

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

After Monday's contest, there was no love lost between the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. Tuesday's batch of Mavs Donuts has a tiny pinch of beef mixed in. Luka Doncic erupted vs. Rudy Gobert and Royce O'Neal, and Nikola Jokic detonated the New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors with two MVP-level performances. 

Get your fresh dozen!

Donut 1: Mavs Beat the Jazz

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Doncic and Bogdonavich fight for ball

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Whiteside takes ball from Doncic

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Dorian-Finney-Smith put-back slam

To achieve home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks will have to pass up one of the four teams currently sitting ahead of them in the Western Conference standings. There are some wild scenarios that could see the Mavs ending up as the second or third seed, but their home-court hopes are mostly tied to the Utah Jazz.

On Monday night at American Airlines Center, the Mavs (40-25) took a big step in that direction by taking down Utah, 111-103, to cut the Jazz's season series lead to 2-1. Dallas has now won five games in a row and 11 of its last 13. The last time the Mavs were at least 15 games over .500 was in the 2014-2015 season when they finished with a 50-32 record.

Donut 2: Doncic and Gobert Exchange Words

NBA players love to go at Rudy Gobert — look no further than Draymond Green's constant picking at the Utah center anytime he has a chance to comment on him. 

Monday night was Doncic's turn to torment Gobert. After the first-half buzzer, Gobert gave the Mavs superstar the ball, and for some reason, Doncic took exception to it. 

Luka Doncic gets his 13th technical foul of the season as he gets heated after Gobert gives him the ball after the halftime buzzer pic.twitter.com/zeht3fYVW6

— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) March 8, 2022

Held back by teammate Spencer Dinwiddie, Doncic invited Gobert over with demands of "come here,” and the confrontation cost Doncic his 13th technical foul of the season. 

Donut 3: Dinwiddie Smoothly Filled Brunson's Spot

Dinwiddie postgame 

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Dinwiddie embraces Doncic

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Doncic and Dinwiddie celebrate 

With Jalen Brunson sidelined, it was important for the Mavericks to receive a strong outing from Spencer Dinwiddie. He delivered with 23 points and shot 5-9 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Dinwiddie is averaging 18.3 points and 4.8 assists overall with the Mavericks. But in the last six games, he's averaged 22.3 points and 5.3 assists. 

Donut 4: Dallas Denied Donovan Mitchell 

Donovan Mitchell averaged 33 points in the two wins over the Mavs earlier this season. The Jazz star was limited to 17 points on 5-19 shooting (26.3 percent), including 2-9 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range.

Mitchell spun the web, and Dallas wrapped him in it. 

Donut 5: Doncic's Signature Shoe Coming

For some odd reason, Jordan Brand decided to give Zion Williamson his own shoe before Doncic, even though Williamson was drafted a year later.

That is about to change, though, as Jordan Brand formally announced on Monday that the Jordan Luka 1s will drop on various dates throughout 2022, with the first batch becoming available on June 30.

Donut 6: Jason Kidd Reveals Playoff Prep Plan

Kidd and Doncic

Kidd postgame

getty

Kidd and Brunson

Following the victory over Utah, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd alluded to his playoff prep. 

“What is it, 18, 17 games left?” said Kidd, evaluating the load on his 40-25 team. “It’s getting the rotations down. And we’d like to get more guys involved here, (like backups) Sterling (Brown) and Trey (Burke). ...We’ve been running the minutes for those eight to nine guys that we have been playing. So we want to get everybody involved and get some of the minutes down for Luka and Reggie (Bullock). We’re playing Reggie over 40 minutes a night.

Donut 7: On This Day

On March 8, 2002, Tracy McGrady, of the Orlando Magic, scored 50 points in a 99-96 victory over the Washington Wizards. The second-highest scorer on the Magic that day was former Mavs guard Darrell Armstrong with 10 points. 

Donut 8: Jalen Brunson Injury Update

Jalen Brunson is currently recovering from a foot contusion but Mavericks coach Jason Kidd made clear before Monday's game there are "no concerns" with it being a long-term issue. In fact, there is a chance he plays Wednesday against the New York Knicks. 

Donut 9: Theo Pinson is the "Best Hype Man"

“I’ll say this – Theo [Pinson] is the best hype man, culture guy, whatever you want to call it, in the NBA,” said Spencer Dinwiddie after the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings in dramatic fashion on Saturday.

Theo Pinson might not get playing time for the Mavs unless it’s in an emergency situation, but he’s still providing Dallas with more value than the front office probably ever thought he would when signing him to a two-way contract on Jan. 10.

Donut 10: Does Doncic Need More MVP Credit?

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Doncic addresses the crowd

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Doncic layup

Doncic finishing over Gobert

After being shut down by Jazz big man Rudy Gobert in the last matchup, Luka Doncic had a chip on his shoulder all night, finishing with 35 points, 16 rebounds (season-high), and seven assists on 12-of-23 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Doncic received a plethora of 'MVP' chants from the home crowd as he stepped to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

The race for MVP has pretty much revolved around Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but if Doncic keeps up his current level of play for the final month of the season, he could force his way into the mix.

Donut 11: Nikola "MVP" Jokic

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Jokic celebrates 

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Jokic posting up Hernangomez

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Jokic steals ball from Hernangomez

"We gave it to him last year,” Richard Jefferson retorted, when ESPN's Zach Lowe brought up Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic as a possible MVP candidate. 

Well, the NBA might have to give it to him again for the second consecutive season. After his tyrant-like performance vs. the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday evening, Jokic followed that outing by producing a second triple-double in as many nights. 

Nikola Jokic has 78 points, 24 assists, and 27 rebounds in 24 hours.

Back-to-back triple doubles for the MVP as well.

Followed last night’s incredible performance with another banger.

— Duvalier Johnson (@DuvalierJohnson) March 8, 2022

Donut 12: What's Next for Mavs?

Dallas faces the New York Knicks on Wednesday at the AAC. The last outing didn't play in the Mavs' favor as they lost 105-85. For the first time in three years, the Mavs and Knicks will play each other with no Kristaps Porzingis narratives attached.