The Dallas Mavericks dropped the hammer on the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night, winning 115-104, but it’s likely you already knew that. If not, click here to read in-depth about how the game was won.
Dallas is now three games over .500 and it feels great. Let’s just jump right into the specific numbers of what propelled the Mavericks to victory.
51-30: Dallas wins the rebounding margin in a huge way
In a rarity for the Mavericks this season, Dallas owned the boards, walloping the Spurs by a massive +21 margin. They nearly doubled up San Antonio on the offensive glass, 13-7 and these extra looks proved huge as the Mavericks were able to pull away late from a feisty Spurs team. Porzingis grabbed four of his season high 14 rebounds on the offensive end and those looks allowed the Mavericks to lead directly into our next data point.
21-2: Second chance points propels the Mavericks
The Mavericks are 27th in the league in second chance scoring, so watching Porzingis grab and offensive board one handed under the back board then go back up and score was a delightful play I’d like to see more of. In a game decided by just 11 points, Dallas needed those points.
4223: Number of points Luka Doncic scored in his career, passing Kendrick Perkins
Did I opt to write this post just so we could run this social media graphic again? Perhaps.
with his 22-point performance tonight, luka doncic will now retire with more career points than kendrick perkins.
— Mavs Moneyball (@mavsmoneyball) March 11, 2021
doncic has played 11,633 fewer minutes and 616 fewer games than perkins did during his career. pic.twitter.com/m4DoloOVn0
Should we feed the troll that is Kendrick Perkins? Of course not. But we’re not above being petty so long as it’s funny and considering the insane criticisms Perkins lobs at Doncic, this was too easy. Doncic is very good at basktball. He’s very good at scoring the basketball.