The defeat at Utah on November 14 had left its mark on the Mavericks. It was, at the time, a fourth defeat in a row and above all, in defense, Luka Doncic and his teammates had made huge errors, notably on John Collins' decisive shot.
Two weeks later, the Texans were back in town, without Luka Doncic but with a much more positive dynamic behind them. And it showed.
“We knew we had revenge to take on them. The last match here, we should have won it. We used this motivation to win”, confirmed Quentin Grimes.
Kyrie Irving decisive
It was Kyrie Irving who made the difference in the last quarter, while the Jazz were still a danger for Dallas. Seven points from the playmaker, in a 17-8, and the Mavericks leave Salt Lake City with a seventh victory in eight matches.
“There are clearly some points in common with the first match against them: we played hard, we started well, their crowd and the dynamic allowed them to come back into the match,” lists the former Cleveland point guard. “We then had to respond. They came back, scored winning baskets and the two matches were decided by a coin toss. »
Quentin Grimes reminds him, his teammate is not “Sir 4th quarter by chance. We trust him”. A compliment confirmed by Will Hardy who specifies that “Sometimes Luka Doncic takes up all the space and we forget what makes Dallas a very good team. I'm as afraid of Kyrie Irving as I am of Luka.”.
