Led By Christian Wood, Shorthanded Mavs Make History vs. Spurs: 3 Big Takeaways
At this point in the season, with the Western Conference standings shifting each and every night, any win is considered a big win, no matter how ugly it might be.
With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both missing a third consecutive game after getting banged up in New Orleans a week ago, the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks made franchise history in a scrappy 137-128 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
Christian Wood led the way with 28 points, 13 rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes off the bench – the most playing time he's received from coach Jason Kidd since January. Wood was one of five players to score at least 20 points on the night, which was the first time in franchise history that had ever occurred.
"If they can't guard a certain thing, you keep going back to it," Mavs third-year man Josh Green said of Wood's big night. "If it's working, it's working — for anything. No matter when in the game it is — first quarter or overtime."
Here are the three biggest takeaways from what could've potentially been a season-saving win for the Mavs.
Mavs Storm Back in Fourth, Survive Botched Final Seconds
After falling behind 114-105 with 4:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Mavs stormed back with a 16-5 run to take a 121-119 lead over the Spurs.
With 1.8 seconds left, Mavs veteran Maxi Kleber fouled Spurs' forward Keldon Johnson, sending him to the line with a chance to tie the game. Johnson missed both free-throws, and the second attempt resulted with a lane violation, meaning Dallas had possession with no time running off the clock.
On the ensuing inbound play, Kidd, for whatever reason, had Kleber throwing the ball in, and he sailed the ball out of bounds, giving the Spurs another crack at tying the game. The Spurs took advantage of not only Kleber's untimely turnover, but his defensive breakdown after the turnover, as Johnson got an uncontested dunk to force overtime.
It was not the greatest two seconds of game time for Kleber, who is still trying to work his way back into form after an extended absence due to an early-season hamstring tear. However, the Mavs were able to pull away from the Spurs in overtime, so Kleber should be able to have a short memory with this one and look forward to his next opportunity to bounce back against Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Franchise History Made in Potential Season-Saving Win
Look, we get it. It was an overtime win over a 18-51 Spurs team hoping to get Victor Wembanyama in this year's NBA Draft. That said, anytime a team does something that has never been done before in franchise history, it's worthy of praise ... especially at this point in the season when the standings are tight and the team's best players are out.
The Mavs had five players score 20+ points on Wednesday night, a first for the franchise. Wood led the way with his 28 points off the bench, rookie Jaden Hardy and veteran big man Dwight Powell scored 22 points apiece, Green pitched in 21 points, and Reggie Bullock finished with 20. It was only the fourth time this has happened in the NBA overall since 2004.
Here were some other interesting nuggets worth mentioning from that history-making group:
- Powell finished 8-8 from the field, which was the fifth time he's reached that mark in his career.
- The Mavs improved to 5-0 this season when Wood scores at least 28 points.
- Bullock had a career-high 13 rebounds from the small forward position, including some big ones down the stretch in overtime.
- Hardy has eclipsed 20+ points in each of his first three games as a starter, which is the first time that has ever been accomplished by a Mavs rookie. Hardy is averaging 24 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 37.9 percent from deep as a starter.
- Green is averaging 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists over his last three games while shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from deep. Needless to say, Green's mini-slump is over. Green has had six 20-point games this year after not having one in his first two season.
Mavs Get Some Help in West Standings
With huge matchups against the Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors looming, the Mavs not only helped themselves by avoiding disaster against the Spurs on Wednesday, but they also got some much-needed help in the West standings.
The Mavs were able to fend off bottom-dwelling team from Texas, but the Lakers were not, as they fell to the 17-52 Houston Rockets by a 114-110 final score. The Lakers came into Wednesday night with the same record as the Mavs, but now they're a game behind Dallas with Friday's big matchup at Crypto.com Arena coming up next.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were a game ahead of the Mavs before losing a 104-102 contest to the Boston Celtics. The Mavs and T-Wolves now have the same record at 35-35 with 12 games remaining, but Minnesota remains ahead of Dallas in the standings due to owning the season-series tiebreaker.
Despite 50 points from Steph Curry, the Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 134-126, dropping Golden State to 36-34 and just a game ahead of the Mavs. Dallas and Golden State meet at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, March 22 in what will be yet another pivotal game for each team's playoff seeding.
As of right now, the Mavs occupy the No. 8 seed in the West. They are just one game behind the Warriors for the No. 6 seed and two games behind the Clippers for the No. 5 seed. However, Dallas is also just 1.5 games from being out of the Play-In Tournament altogether, so the pressure will remain high for the remainder of the regular season.
Hopefully, for the Mavs' sake, Doncic and Irving can return to action sooner than later, because the most important stretch of the season is arguably happening in these next three games.
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