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The Mavericks lost to the Bulls again, this time by a score of 117-101. Luka Doncic obliterated the Bulls’ defense, but in the end it didn’t matter because he didn’t get enough help from the rest of the Mavericks’ roster. Doncic finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists. Lauri Markkanen led Bulls with 29 points. The Mavericks as whole shot poorly, and the defense was lacking, to say the least. Here are three important stats from the game:
6: Doncic’s 3-pointers.
Doncic finished the game 6-of-11 from deep. Unfortunately, all six came in the first half, and Doncic seemed to shy away from 3-pointers in the second half, only attempting two in the third and fourth quarters. It’s his season-high in makes behind the arc, and account for 25 percent of his total 3-pointers for the whole season.
2-of-20: What the rest of the Mavericks shot from 3.
To say the rest of the Mavericks struggled from deep would be an understatement. Wes Iwundu and James Johnson each made a 3-pointer and that was it outside of Luka. Especially off was Kristaps Porzingis, who went 0-for-7 from behind the arc.
The team’s 25.8% 3-point shooting number is their worst since the first game of the season against the Suns, when they shot 24.3% from three.
76.2%: What the Bulls shot at the rim.
Chicago went 16-of-21 at the rim against Dallas. Porzingis ended up with two blocks, but otherwise the Bulls had their way at the hoop. Garrett Temple and Markkanen had an especially easy time at the basket, combining to go 9-of-11 inside.
The Mavericks are missing Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell, but Powell has been a non-factor on interior defense, so it’s not clear how much better Dallas would have played with him on the court. It’s something they’ll have to fix going forward.