The Dallas Mavericks made a statement with their 108-85 win over the Orlando Magic, comfortably outclassing the Eastern Conference franchise without their best player, Paolo Banchero. You can only beat the teams in front of you, and the Mavs defeated the Magic with a dominant two-way display showing off the incredible offensive talent in Dallas and their top-tier defense despite offseason concerns.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 32 points (11-22 FG), nine rebounds, and seven assists effortlessly, bouncing back from a recent stretch of poor shooting games. Kyrie Irving excelled in his co-star role, scoring a quick 17 points (5-11 FG) in the contest.
“Mavs doing what good teams are supposed to do after a loss and playing a team that doesn’t have their star,” said StepBack Mavs host Dalton Trigg.
“It feels illegal to have Kyrie on your team when Luka is on fire,” said one fan remarking at the incredible duo play from Doncic and Irving.
Luka popping off in the first quarter just makes everything happen for this team,” said one fan highlighting Doncic’s importance to the franchise.
“Luka closing out like a maniac on defense. His best game by far this season already,” said another fan giving Doncic props for his defense.
Daniel Gafford had a big night with 18 points and eight rebounds, but many fans loved Dereck Lively II’s super impactful play off the bench, putting up 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“Once again Dereck Lively subs in and changes the game”, said a fan giving Dereck Lively the flowers he deserves for his impactful stints off the bench.
“It just makes no sense man, Lively is literally better than Gafford why doesn’t he start,” said one fan who wants Lively to start over Gafford.
Klay Thompson put up a well-rounded nine points, five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, but wasn’t a major threat on offense with the Magic denying him open looks.
“Klay is an effective decoy to give Luka and Kyrie more room to operate, but we really have to work to get him some shots earlier to get him in rhythm,” said one fan pointing out slight offensive concerns he has about Luka, Kyrie, and Klay all thriving while playing together.
The Magic didn’t stand a chance without Paolo Banchero at their disposal. They were led by Franz Wagner’s 13 points (6-15 FG), six rebounds, and six assists, but it wasn’t nearly good enough. Point guard Jalen Suggs tried his best and scored 10 points (4-13 FG), with Mo Wagner scoring the same number as well.
Orlando’s lack of scoring drowned them in this game, as the Mavericks played aggressive defense to ensure the poor shooting team didn’t end up finding an offensive rhythm. It was the kind of performance you expect from teams hoping to return to the NBA Finals.
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