Dallas Mavericks, who played very well recently, had to admit defeat at home to the unerring New Orleans Pelicans with 106:132 (BOXSCORE). Anthony Davis and Julius Randle dominated the match, while no Dallas player found his rhythm on the other side.
The Mavs are still waiting for the return of their Power Forward Dirk Nowitzki. Her other European in the roster, top rookie Luka Doncic, surprisingly didn’t get going against New Orleans. At the beginning the match was still balanced, but the Mavs made too many mistakes in both offense and defense. The Pels got plenty of open throws from outside and had it too easy to score in the transition.
There, especially superstar Anthony Davis could convince again, who played from the beginning very aggressive and fully motivated. The Big Man already had 15 points on his account after the first leg and proved his qualities on both sides of the court.
The Pels then started the second quarter with a 17:5 run, which put them in the lead with 49:36, well deserved at this point. On the other hand, the Mavs too often lost the ball, causing 11 turnovers at half-time, or let the ball be removed nine times in the course of the game. Due to the strong transition openness of the Pels, they had a field casting quota of almost 61 percent during the break.
Dallas didn’t manage to start a run, but kept up in the next minutes, until they finally collapsed completely in the final quarter. No Mavs player could take the helm, instead they found no way to defend the opponent’s threesome. The Pels transformed 17 of their 29 attempts from downtown and put on 36 assists to each other. 18 Turnovers from Dallas helped them immensely.
Davis finished the match with 27 points (10/20 FG), 9 assists and 5 blocks. His frontcourt colleague Julius Randle also scored 27 points (11/16 FG) and also grabbed 18 boards. Check Diallo also scored a double double with 10 points (5/6 FG) and 10 rebounds.
The Mavs scored six players in double figures, but Harrison Barnes was the most successful thrower with just 16 points (5/13 FG). Doncic came up with 8 points (2/8 FG) and 6 assists, while the German Maxi Kleber experienced a mixed night with 2/12 litters from the field and 5 points.