It’s only one win but Dallas Mavericks believe they have blueprint to make history
The Dallas Mavericks are an interesting bunch.
Blame it on youth.
Blame it on naivety.
Blame it a on a leaky roof.
But let the Mavs tell it, they got the Golden State Warriors right where they want them.
Down 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals and facing the impossible, per NBA annals, the Mavs are heading back to San Francisco for Game 5 Thursday night at the Chase Center confident that they can make history.
As what most are calling just a one-game one off, the Mavs are looking at Tuesday’s 119-109 victory against the Warriors as the blueprint for a May miracle.
Never mind that no team in NBA history had ever rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series. Only three teams have reached Game 7 before losing.
But there is a first time for everything and all journey’s start with the first step, which the Mavs took in Game 4 when they had their best and most complete performance of the series.
The Mavs used a three-point barrage in the third quarter to take a 29-point lead into the fourth and were able to nurse it to victory, despite letting Golden State narrow the deficit to eight.
The Mavs led by 15 points at halftime and the third quarter was delayed due to a leak in the roof at the American Airlines Center.
“We believe it’s just one game at a time,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “We did our part. We found a way to win. The next part is to find a way to win on the road. Again, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. It’s still 3-1. We know going into Golden State it’s a tough place to win, but we’ve won there before. We just have to continue to take care of the ball, make shots.”
Again, it will be tough and they will face a decidedly different Warriors team on Thursday.
Remember, Golden State went up 3-0 against the Denver Nuggets and lost Game 4 126-21 on the road before closing them out in five at home in the first round of the playoffs.
They were up 3-1 against the Memphis Grizzlies and got drilled 134-95 on the road before winning in six at home in the Western Conference semifinals.
Conventional wisdom and history says, it will more of the same on Thursday back at the Chase Center.
The Mavs, however, are counting on countering history.
And key for them is making shots, which they felt they didn’t do consistently in the first three games.
They got good looks but the shots didn’t go down.
Dallas, which lead led by 15 points after halftime, took a 29-point lead into the fourth quarter after hitting eight 3-pointers in the third quarter to blow the game open.
Luka Doncic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists to lead six Mavs in double figures.
Dorian-Finney Smith had 23, Reggic Bullock had 18, Jalen Brunson added 15. Maxi Kleber was 5-6 off the bench for 13 points, while Spencer Dinwiddie added 10 points and a playoff career-best-tying 8 assists off the bench.
The biggest difference was their 3-point shooting. They went 20 of 43 from behind the line. Bullock had six of them.
Dallas is now 7-3 in the playoffs when they make at least 15 3s.
The shots just weren’t falling before. And when they make shots, the Warriors are in trouble with their zone defense.
“Yeah, we’ve felt all along we’re getting great looks,” Kidd said. “Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t in this series so far. It’s a matter about making shots. The biggest compliment we’ve gotten is they got to play zone because they can’t play us one on one, right? This is a championship DNA team. They’re giving you a compliment that they can’t guard you. It’s pretty cool.”
Kleber and Bullock finally found their stroke again after not shooting well through the first three games. Their shooting was part of the Mavs success through the first two rounds.
“That’s who they are. That’s their DNA,” Kidd said. “It’s not about just one game. It’s about the journey. It’s about being able to bounce back. That’s what they’ve done. They’ve helped us as an overall team having that DNA of being able to have a bad game, being able to come back and play at a high level.”
And when the Mavs are shooting well. They spread the ball around, play better defense and rebound the ball.
Dallas handed out 30 assists Tuesday, which is a single-game high for this postseason. The 30 assists were the most in a playoff game since they had 32 assists against the Los Angeles Lakers during the run to the NBA title in 2011.
Kidd understands where the series is. But he says if the Mavs continue getting the looks they have been getting, they can put pressure on Golden State.
As a result the Mavs have renewed hope of doing something that’s never been done before and they refuse to give up heading into Game 5 on Thursday at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
“It’s not about one game, it’s about the journey,” Kidd said. “It’s about being able to bounce back and play at a high level. This group doesn’t let anything phase them. We had to win and that’s what that group did. We got it done.”
Kidd’s said it’s one game at a time now for the Mavs and said he has a special group in that locker room that truly believes they can back and do the impossible.”
That’s certainly Doncic’s attitude.
“I still believe we can win,” Doncic said. “We have to go game by game. We got to believe.”
Said Kleber: “I mean, if you don’t believe in it, you might as well just stay home, right? We come here to win games. We have the power to beat them. We just stay confident, that was one game. Now we’re just focused on the next game, nothing else.”
And making history.
