of Dallas Mavericks broke the memphis grizzlies 137-96 in the Mavericks’ home opener. Fans watching and in attendance may have felt some dread after Dallas gave up a 20-point lead in their first game against Phoenix, but this never mattered. In the quarter, Dallas scored on 12 consecutive possessions, with Luka Doncic scoring 21 of Dallas’ 39 points in the frame. Doncic finished the game with 32 points while leading the game throughout the fourth quarter. Christian Wood also scored his 25 points and scored many highlight his dunks to Dallas. Ja Morant led a tired Grizzlies team with 20 points. This was Memphis’ third game in four nights and the second in a row.
After the season opener slipped through their fingers, Dallas left without question on Saturday night and never faltered after trolling Gus’ Memphis team. It never happened. The offense hummed all night – Dallas shot more than 43% as a team and more than 50% from the floor – but the defense that coach Jason Kidd and his team wore during the regular season last year was also on display. They were: holding the Dallas Grizzlies to just 36 points in the first half and under 100 on the night.
christian wood does good
Every point counted in a two-game loss to Phoenix. That’s what made it even more painful for Christian Wood to miss an “easy” one, after his 3/10 debut from the line that Wood himself called “inexcusable” after the game. The tension seems to have dissipated. He hit all five of his throws he took in the first quarter and from the Stripes he finished a solid 12-of-14 night.
Ideally, Wood would continue to shoot from the free-throw line like he did tonight, but whether he makes it or not, he’s never started the season with two games with double-digit free throws. It’s a positive sign. And it’s still coming off the bench. Only time will tell how long Wood will remain a bench player.
dual ring double double
Luka Doncic and Christian Wood started working in a short time. Doncic scored his 32 points with his 10 assists and just to his first triple-double of the season he had three rebounds. To hit double-digit rebounds, he would have to go to Wood who got 12 boards, 4 of which were his ends offensively.
Already, this duo seems to be in sync. The two connected with some lobs in this game. One of them featured his handling of a fancy ball by Luca before Rob Thewood ended with a sizeable one-handed jam.
It’s still early, but Wood looks like the kind of big shot Dallas desperately wanted to team up with Doncic. Not only is he widening the floor with his shots, but he is also tackling the grass and scoring trips to the line, allowing Doncic to maneuver from the dribble in the lane.
NBA debut
The game was basically over after the first quarter, and the rest of the game was kind of Jaden Hardy’s clock. What kind of lead would Dallas need in the fourth for the rookie to run?
Well, that proved good enough as Reed pushed 40. Hardy came in and played his final six minutes of the game. Hardy came into the league labeled as a no-holds-barred shooter, and tonight we saw the rookie hit his three shots in his six minutes. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to drop even one of his, so he’s waiting for his first NBA points. Still, he looked like the confident shooter the team expected him to be.
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