The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 114–113. The Mavericks have overcome a lot of adversity, including the absence of Luka Doncic. Spencer Dinwiddie and Dearon Fox put on an absolute show, scoring 80 points in total. The Kings were in the lead for most of the game, but the Mavericks did just enough to end the dramatic win.
Here are the statistics you need to know.
36: Points scored by Spencer Dinwiddie
Dinwiddie was extremely effective, shooting 11 of 22 from the field and 12 of 13 from the free throw line. He also made 7 assists. Dinwiddie has been amazingly good ever since he was acquired by the Mavericks, but he was clearly the focus of the Kings defense and he was still producing.
He approaches the ring so dynamically. The Mavericks didn’t have a player who could get to the rim the way he did in the Luke era. He’s huge for a point guard whose name isn’t Luka, but he’s also explosive, unlike Luka. He combines that size and athleticism with a prowess that puts tremendous pressure on the defense and results in copious free throw attempts.
17: Points scored by Dorian Finney-Smith
Finney-Smith had a great game, he was very active and scored 5 of 11 triples. He made the game a winner with 3.3 seconds left and went on to tell the Kings how much of a mistake it was to leave him open.
Finney-Smith is the heart and soul of this team. His competitiveness was a big part of the Mavericks coming back from another massive deficit. But fighting is not enough. Finney-Smith combined skill with that grit and made it into the final three as he really developed as a player.
12: Josh Green points and rebounds
Green recorded his first career double-double. He made two corner threes and put in a lot of effort to keep the Mavericks in the game when things went wrong. There will always be some regret that the Mavericks didn’t take other available players, but Green continues to show glimpses of a useful player.
13: The number of games the Mavericks won after falling double digits.
The Mavericks lead the league in wins after falling double digits. At the moment, almost a third of their victories come from subsequent victories. There was a lot of talk about the Mavericks hiring Jason Kidd solely for the vibes and to keep the players happy. He was a good manager in every sense, but the players clearly enjoy playing for him and they are not leaving.
Here is our latest release Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you don’t see the box below, click here to go directly to the podcast. Or go to your favorite podcast app and search for Mavs Moneyball Podcast.