Mavericks Return From Winter Storm With Decisive Win Over The Grizzlies 102-92
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — It's been a rough week or so in Texas, and as the state thaws sports play resumes in the state. In Dallas, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 of his 29 points to help the Mavericks build a big first-half lead in what would be a 102-92 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
Hardaway repeatedly made it to the hoop without much help from Luka Doncic, who didn't really 'show up' until later in the game.
The Mavs were playing for the first time in eight days after two postponements because of a wintry weather blast in Texas. Kristaps Porzingis didn't play after showing up on the injury report the day of the game with back stiffness.
"I guess those eight days really helped," Hardaway said after going 7 of 11 from 3-point range. "We didn't know when we were going to play leading up to this point. Everybody just made sure they stayed locked in, made sure they took care of their bodies."
Doncic scored 14 of his 21 points after halftime in his first game since the soon-to-be 22-year-old became the first Dallas player to be voted an All-Star starter in consecutive seasons. The Slovenian star's franchise record of 14 consecutive games with at least 25 points ended.
Two nights after falling behind by 31 at halftime in a 31-point loss to Phoenix, the Grizzlies were down 23 in the second quarter after scoring a season low for any quarter and trailing 26-13 after the first.
Ja Morant had 22 points and nine assists. Tyus Jones scored eight of his 10 points in the first quarter, when he was 4 of 5 from the field while his teammates went 2 of 20.
The NBA's leading team in field goal percentage coming in shot 24% in the first quarter and 39% for the game. Memphis was just 6 of 31 from 3-point range (19%) in its fifth game since the previous time Dallas played Feb. 14. Now the Grizzlies get two days off.
"I'm not going to use fatigue as an excuse," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. "Obviously we played a lot of games in a short amount of time and we found some ways to win ballgames even when our offense was struggling. These game reps are huge, but also these practice reps are going to be huge for us."
Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and Josh Richardson added 17 for the Mavericks, who improved to 6-2 since a six-game losing streak that put them close to the bottom of the Western Conference.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
