The teams that passed on picking Luka Doncic during the 2018 NBA Draft have varying levels of regret for the decision, but they aren’t the only clubs wishing that June night had gone differently. The four Southwest Division clubs outside Dallas now have to try to slow down the All-Star guard four times per season. Doncic and the Mavericks were red-hot Wednesday virtually all game, creating an early cushion and rolling to a second double-digit win over the Pelicans this season. The squads will face each other again on Friday in Texas.
“That’s the beauty of being in the NBA,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said postgame when asked about Friday’s rapid rematch. “It’s a quick turnaround – we get to go to Dallas and play these guys again. We don’t like what happened tonight on our home floor, and we’ve got to do something about it.”
Dallas finished at 68.7 percent from the field, setting a record for best opponent shooting game against New Orleans in the latter’s franchise history.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Kristaps Porzingis swished a three-pointer, then took a scoop pass by Doncic for a dunk along the baseline, giving Dallas an 80-53 lead with six-plus minutes remaining in the third quarter.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Brandon Ingram did everything in his power offensively to try to keep New Orleans within shouting distance of its division rival, tallying at least eight points in each of the first three quarters. His 29-point outing featured efficient shooting at 11/17 from the field and 3/5 accuracy on three-pointers.
BY THE NUMBERS
21/24: Dallas two-point shooting in the first half, which is 88 percent. The Mavericks shot 70 percent overall prior to intermission, just the second team in the NBA to produce a 70 percent-plus half this season, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
1-2: New Orleans record vs. the Southwest Division, with only a win over Memphis and two losses to Dallas so far. The Pelicans have not played Houston or San Antonio yet, but have games in both of those Texas teams’ arenas the next two Sundays.
REVISITING FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
PERIMETER SHOOTING
New Orleans created a good amount of open threes in the first quarter-plus, starting 6/15 from deep, but cooled down as the game progressed, going 13/37.
PAINT PERFORMANCE
At one stage of the first half, Dallas led points in the paint by a 24-4 margin. Mavericks bigs Porzingis and Boban Marjanovic played instrumental roles in the visitors grabbing a big lead.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
With Josh Hart sidelined by injury, Herbert Jones took on significant defensive responsibility, matched up against Doncic. Jones and fellow glue guy Dorian Finney-Smith of Dallas both had quiet offensive nights.
#WESTERNCONFERENCEWEDNESDAY
Over the past three weeks, New Orleans has picked up a few impressive conference victories, but in a Twitter poll, voters overwhelming picked last Friday’s thrilling triumph at Utah as the best for the Pelicans so far in 2021-22. Devonte’ Graham’s game-winner contributed to that outcome garnering 57 percent of votes, with the runner-up being Monday’s 19-point road win at the Clippers (36 percent). Two other West win options from home games that took place earlier in the month, Nov. 13 vs. Memphis and Nov. 18 against the Clippers, earned less than five percent of ballots apiece. As @Codfish42 put it, “The win on the road in Utah was the only one of these games that was close until the end. It’s easy to win when the other team gives up the entire fourth quarter. I was very impressed to see the Pels overcome adversity in Utah - even in the last 10 seconds of the game - and win.”