Stats Rundown: 3 stats from Dallas’ 104-91 win against Memphis

Defense was the order of the day once again as the Dallas Mavericks stifled the Memphis Grizzlies for a 104 - 91 win in Dallas on Sunday night. Luka Doncic lead the Mavs with 37 points and Ja Morant had 35 points for the Grizzlies.

64 points through 4 quarters

This Mavericks team is physical and loves to play defense. How refreshing. Getting steals. Blocking shots. Taking charges. After the first half, where the Grizziles shot 28%, Memphis had only scored 64 points in their last four quarters against this Mavericks defense, dating back to the second half in Memphis on Jan. 14. The Mavericks were active from the tip in this one, forcing tough shots and challenging everything in the paint. Dallas smothered Memphis into two sub-20 point quarters and held them 21 points below their season average.

The Mavs defended well inside and out, finishing the game with 12 blocks and holding Memphis to 16.7% from three. All of the defensive numbers were fantastic, especially…

5… Kristaps Porzingis’ blocks in the first half

Kristaps Porzingis was dominant on defense early with five of the Mavs’ seven first half blocks. This game marked the ninth time in his career where he’s blocked five shots in one half. Add eight first half rebounds to his line and you get the picture of just how integral he was to the defensive effort that held Memphis to 34 first half points.

37/11/9/3: Luka Doncic’s stat-line

Those of us who watch Luka Doncic every game know just how much he likes a challenge. Enter Ja Morant. Ja is an incredible player who has had an excellent first half of the season. He’s been so good and his athletic style of play is so entertaining that the national media decided a couple of weeks ago that he has pushed ahead of Doncic as a player. Unfortunately for Ja, he immediately had to play Luka twice in nine days. Luka has now had a couple of “not so fast” games in a row. He really controlled this game from the tip with spectacular scoring and his floor game that is rivaled by very few in the history of the league.

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