It proceeded to shoot 11-of-18 overall and 6-of-8 from three-point range in the final frame to steal the win. The Mavs aren’t supposed to be so dynamic on offense without their 23-year-old superstar, but the combination of a sharp game plan and some inspired individual performances was enough to keep hope alive in the series.ĭallas entered the fourth quarter trailing by four points. Yet with Doncic in sweats again for Game 2, Dallas routinely generated wide open look after wide open look in crunch-time to take home a 110-104 victory that evened the series at 1-1. While the Mavs did acquire another ball handler at the trade deadline in Spencer Dinwiddie in a bold deal that sent out Kristaps Porzingis, the majority of Dallas’ roster is in place to help amplify Doncic’s masterful shot creation, not replace it. The Mavs are as reliant on Doncic as any team in the league is on their top player, with his NBA-leading 37.4 percent usage rate serving as exhibit 1. Luka Doncic’s calf injury in the final game of the regular season should have eliminated any chance the Dallas Mavericks had of competing with the Utah Jazz in the first round of 2022 NBA Playoffs.
