Undefeated at home since the start of the season, the Mavericks almost bit the dust last night against the modest Hornets. Yet back-to-back after their victory in Indianapolis, LaMelo Ball’s teammates got off to the best start with fast play, and a bunch of different defenses to bother Luka Doncic. And it works ! Even if the Mavericks are skillful from afar, the Hornets take the lead after 12 minutes (31-26) with a very good Théo Maledon.
Thanks to PJ Washington, the gap reached +10, and the Mavericks still failed to defend the racket. At each close, Charlotte punishes them near the circle. At the break, the Hornets were well ahead (62-50), and the awakening of Luka Doncic changed nothing. Returning from the locker room, Doncic gets annoyed at the whistles, and that’s never a good sign… The Hornets take advantage of this to keep control of the match with a very good Ball in control, and Mark Williams to punish on the alley -oop (76-66).
Jason Kidd is looking for solutions, and he opts for “small ball” with Jaden Hardy replacing Grant Williams, and the only Dwight Powell under the circle. This does not prevent the interior domination of the Hornets, but it allows them to bring speed and exterior shooting. It’s Hardy who takes the opportunity to bring his team to -1 (84-83) at the end of the 3rd quarter.
A confusing end to the match
Doncic can come back into play, and the Hardy-Green duo receives support from Tim Hardaway Jr to finally take the lead (95-94). Doncic does it again, and Dallas escapes (102-96). There are six minutes left to play, and we think Dallas has done the hard part. That’s without counting on the vision and talent of LaMelo Ball. Skillful from afar, but also valuable with his passes and his baseline arabesques, the All-Star leader brought his team to -3 two minutes from the end (115-112), then imitated by Gordon Hayward who transformed a lost ball (119-116).
There are 32 seconds left, and Charlotte’s defense causes a 24-second violation. Tie-up point for Charlotte with eight seconds left. Steve Clifford reduces the size of his five, with the return of Maledon. Except that young Brandon Miller fails to make the throw-in! The ball returns to Dallas, and it is Kyrie Irving, on free throws, who validates the complicated victory for the Mavericks (124-118).
TO REMEMBER
– Doncic silent in the 1st quarter. It’s very rare, but the Slovenian finished the first quarter without a single point. More worrying, he had joined the bench holding his thigh. Finally, the machine got going in the 2nd quarter, even if his 3-point skills were lacking (1 out of 9 from afar).
– Triple-double for LaMelo Ball. For a time, the youngest player to have achieved a triple-double, Ball signed his first career triple-double at 30 points or more. This is already his 10th career, and he is by far the number 1 in the history of his franchise. He scored 23 points in the last quarter, a career record.
– The impact of Jaden Hardy. The young back justified his role as an energizer with a big pass in the second half to revive his team. His aggression and enthusiasm were good in a very “small ball” five.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
