Playing without starter P.J. Washington and center Dereck Lively II, the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night faced Chicago with the prospect of their first two-game losing streak of the young season and their five-game home stand turning even more sour.
Unlike two nights earlier against Indiana, though, center Daniel Gafford flexed his inside presence and the Mavericks imposed their will early and often, coasting to a 119-99 victory in American Airlines Center.
Kyrie Irving made his first six shot attempts and scored 15 of his 17 points during the game’s opening 6:39. Luka Doncic registered 27 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds and Dallas limited Chicago to 39% first-half shooting.
“Now it’s just about building consistency,” said Irving, who, selflessly, took only four shots after the opening six minutes. “We know the difference in kind of the emotional pull that you feel when you lose and then you come back and you respond and you get a good win. It’s just night and day. I think it has a lot to do with our effort, our attention to detail and just having fun with each other out there on the floor.”
And Gafford? After playing only 15 ineffective minutes Monday and getting played off the court by Indiana’s five-out offense, he responded Wednesday with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“Just a sense of urgency,” Gafford said. “Better communication. Quicker, too.”
Even without Washington (right knee sprain) and Lively (right shoulder sprain), the Mavericks averted issues that have plagued them early in the season, especially committing excessive fouls and being slow in transition defense.
“We’ve got a really nice basketball team,” coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s just that right now we’ve got to find our rhythm.”
On Wednesday, Dallas flipped the script by forcing 23 Chicago turnovers. That allowed the Mavericks to get into transition and dominate in points-off-turnovers, 28-13. The ball movement was crisp. Dallas finished with 33 assists on 45 field goals.
“A lot of guys touched the ball early and I thought the balance was good ,for them not to be able to run on us,” Kidd said. “I thought the movement of the ball early really set the tone.”
Now Dallas (5-3) can finish this home stand with a 3-2 record by beating Phoenix on Friday (ESPN). The Mavericks no doubt had more lofty plans for this stretch, but Wednesday’s performance was a welcome bounce-back, especially with a looming trip to Denver, Golden State and Utah.
Before Wednesday’s game, Kidd expressed concern that the matchup was similar to Monday, when Dallas fell to shorthanded Indiana because the Mavericks were flummoxed by the high-octane Pacers’ five-out offense, as Myles Turner poured in 30 points.
It certainly helped Dallas that Bulls leading scorer Zach LaVine sat out with a sore groin, but Chicago entered the night as the NBA’s No. 1 team in pace – against a Dallas squad that ranked 28th in transition.
“If you think Indiana is fast, they’re even faster,” Kidd said.
In the Indiana loss, Dallas fell behind 15-2 and Gafford was a minus-15 in just 4:45 of first-quarter playing time. On Wednesday he was a plus-10 in 7:29 first-period minutes, with three points and three rebounds while also defending Nikola Vucevic, a similar player to Turner in perimeter shooting ability.
In a 65-second first-quarter sequence, Doncic, Irving and Klay Thompson sank 3-pointers as part of a 13-0 Mavericks run that blew open the game.
“With Doncic and Kyrie out there, it really makes it very, very difficult because not only can those guys really score at an elite level, they’re also very willing passers,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “And with a guy like Klay, he’s probably going to get a lot of those open looks from those guys.
“And, listen: Klay’s played on a lot of really, really great teams. He knows what it takes to win and he’s a consummate pro.”
Thompson scored 13 points only 10 shot attempts Wednesday, but his shooting prowess wasn’t needed on this night.
Kidd offered no timetable for the returns of Washington and Lively. On this night Dallas’ bench players contributed 36 points -- but 35 of them came after halftime, including 27 in fourth-quarter mop-up time after the Mavericks took a 30-point lead.
“With the injuries that we have right now, it gives other guys an opportunity to play, to see what we have,” Kidd said. “And that will just make the team stronger on this marathon.”
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