The Mavericks hold off the Raptors, 111-110

After the Dallas Mavericks escaped a furious comeback from the Toronto Raptors Friday night, 111-110, Josh Bowe and I got on to discuss the important victory.

The Mavericks played a strong game for three quarters, building a lead, losing it, the rebuilding it again to double digits heading into the fourth quarter. Once the refereeing got a bit silly the Raptors worked themselves back in a position to steal one from the Mavericks, but some late free throws and fortunate bounces on the offensive glass meant Toronto didn’t have enough time for any heroics.

Despite the turnovers, the poor rebounding, and the loss of the lead once again, Josh and I felt like this was a remarkably strong win. A change to the starting lineup seemed to really help the energy and we praise the coaching staff for actually making the tough call, despite off season promises to JaVale McGee. Once again, key components of the roster in Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, and Maxi Kleber barely contributed on offense, but were bolstered by bench efforts from Josh Green and Christian Wood.

Luka Doncic took everything the Raptors could throw at him and it simply did not matter. He’s going to play at a MVP pace right up until he runs away with the award. The Dallas Mavericks have lost three games by a combined 10 points, so if you’re still feeling bullish about this team, there’s plenty of reason to feel that way. We nitpick some things, but by and large, this might be the best victory of the five wins this far this season.

All this and more is covered in a happy episode of Mavs Moneyball After Dark.

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