DALLAS — The Mavericks restored their victorious ways Saturday night, beating the New Orleans Pelicans, 127-117, to ease the sting of their seven-wins-streak-snapping blowout loss to the Boston Celtics two nights earlier.
The triumph also renewed debate: Just how legit is Dallas’ recent surge?
No debate about Luka Doncic’s dominance as he shook off a hobbled game Thursday night to tally 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 39 minutes for his ninth triple-double this season.
Nor about Christian Wood’s latest 28-point burst as the new starting center and rookie Jaden Hardy’s push for a regular rotation role.
But the Pelicans played without their top three players Saturday — Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain), Brandon Ingram (right toe contusion) and CJ McCollum (rest) — and on the second night of a back-to-back.
Though the victory helped the fourth-place Mavericks (23-17) close their gap to one game behind the third-place Pelicans (24-16) in the Western Conference standings, the result in American Airlines Center did little to answer questions about Dallas’ true rank among the NBA’s playoff contenders.
At least the Mavericks fended off the Pelicans — who whittled Dallas’ advantage from 23 points to 6 in the last 33 seconds — to avoid more urgent criticism.
The teams’ first matchup this season (Oct. 25 in New Orleans) marked the first of what became six Mavericks losses to teams playing without their best player. Then, the Pelicans beat Dallas by 2 points despite missing Williamson, Ingram and lead defensive specialist Herb Jones.
Coach Jason Kidd made sure to remind players of that lapse in preparation for Saturday’s rematch: “Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson here going forward,” Kidd told them, “that when players are out, that gives other guys an opportunity to show their coach that they can play.”
They took note.
Despite the Mavericks listing him on the pregame injury report with left ankle soreness, Doncic played into the last two minutes of the game, completing the 55th triple-double of his regular-season career by rebounding Jose Alvarado’s missed 3-pointer with 2:09 remaining.
JaVale McGee, meanwhile, entered a center rotation that endured frequent foul trouble to log what might’ve been his best overall performance this season: six points, six rebounds and three blocks in 14 minutes.
Rookie Hardy thrilled fans most, tying a career-high 15 points (7 of 9 shooting) in 21 minutes. He flashed touch around the rim, aggressiveness off the dribble and burst in transition, countering Doncic’s methodical style.
The production across the roster left all satisfied with a seventh win in the last eight games.
But just how much will translate to another top-of-the-conference, full-strength opponent?
During their seven-game winning streak Dec. 21-Jan. 2, the Mavericks’ seven opponents combined for a 78-115 record.
The stretch included three games against the NBA-worst 10-win Houston Rockets, the tank-apparent San Antonio Spurs and just one team (New York Knicks) currently in playoff position.
Still, the Mavericks entered clutch time — what the NBA defines as games within five points in the final five minutes — in five of those seven wins and relied significantly on Doncic’s historic, career-best scoring stretch to escape a few major upsets.
Before Saturday, their last four games against a full-strength team occupying a top-four spot in their respective conference standings looked like this:
Loss to Milwaukee (by 1 point). Loss to Cleveland (15). Loss to Cleveland (1). Loss to Boston (29).
No wonder few in the Mavericks’ orbit were disappointed that Williamson’s latest injury robbed viewers Saturday of what would’ve been the first Luka-Zion matchup since February 2020 — and just the third in 13 meetings between their teams.
The Mavericks’ upcoming five-game road trip still might not provide clarity about their rank among West contenders. But by the time they return to American Airlines Center next — Jan. 18 vs. Atlanta— the Mavericks hope they’ll also be closer to full strength.
On Saturday, Josh Green (right elbow sprain) missed his 15th consecutive game and Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor strain) his ninth, but both will travel with the team to Oklahoma City, Los Angeles and Portland over the next week-plus.
Maxi Kleber (right hamstring tear) remains a long-term prospect after Dec. 20 surgery, but Kidd said Kleber took some shots during the Mavericks’ optional practice Friday and walked around the court, his first sighting at a team workout since the injury.
TNT broadcasters during the Mavericks’ Thursday night loss to the Celtics alluded to the possibility of Kleber returning after the All-Star break, but Kidd wasn’t ready to look ahead.
“I don’t want to jump the gun and say that’s true,” Kidd said. “Don’t know the timetable of when he’s going to be back.”
