Stats rundown: 3 numbers from the Mavericks win over the Nuggets

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Denver Nuggets 111-101 on Monday night in Dallas. The Mavericks have won two in a row, and head off on a four-game road trip on a winning note. Nikola Jokic led all scorers with 35 points, but it wasn’t enough to secure a Nuggets win.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Mavericks with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and even contributed three assists, a couple of which came on very nice passes. Luka Doncic scored 23 points and dished out 11 assists. He also collected eight rebounds, falling just short of a triple double. Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in 19 points, and Jalen Brunson contributed 17 points off the bench.

Here are three stats from the win:

.722: The Mavericks winning percentage when Porzingis scores 25+ and grabs 10+ rebounds.

Porzingis was active all night, and when he’s active, he scores and the Mavericks win. It’s that simple. Dallas is 13-5 when Porzingis gets at least 25 points and 10 rebounds. It’s what the Mavericks have pictured since they acquired the Latvian big man three years ago. The only bummer is that it’s happened so infrequently. Hopefully Porzingis’ health problems are behind him and a lot more of these performances are in his future.

14: The number of combined minutes from Dwight Powell and Dorian Finney-Smith in the second half.

Powell and Finney-Smith started the game, but by the second half they were mostly glued to the bench. Brunson and Reggie Bullock took their place, and the Mavericks ran away with the game. They outscored the Nuggets by 14 in the fourth quarter and by 19 in the second half. Brunson and Bullock are just more dynamic players than Powell and Finney-Smith. Brunson can score and distribute off the dribble, and Bullock is a better shooter than Finney-Smith. Simply put, Jason Kidd let his best players cook, and Dallas won.

30: The number of assists the Mavericks had against the Nuggets, tied for a season high.

The Mavericks whipped the ball around the court against Denver, tying a season high in assists that they set just one game ago against the San Antonio Spurs. 60 assists in two games is pretty, pretty good. Doncic is an incredible passer, but now Brunson is dishing out assists, too. Even Porzingis got into the act with a couple of pretty passes. If the ball is moving, this Mavericks team is dangerous, and can beat just about any team.

Here’s our latest episode of Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you’re unable to see the embed below, click here to be taken to the podcast directly. Or go to your favorite podcast app and search Mavs Moneyball Podcast.