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On Saturday, the Dallas Mavericks played the Brooklyn Nets as they continue their road trip to close out the first half of the season. The Mavericks are currently on the outside looking in as they try to sneak into the playoffs. This will be a true test for the Mavericks as to whether they can compete against the top teams in the NBA.

On Thursday, the Mavericks played the Philadelphia 76ers in their first road game since February 3rd, 2021. The Mavericks were without their costar, Kristaps Porzingis, as he missed his third consecutive game due to “back tightness”. That wouldn’t help the Mavericks case as they struggled by committing a season-high 22 turnovers and shot the ball 41% from the floor. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid showed why they were selected All-Stars as they wrecked the Mavericks by scoring 38 points combined in the 111-97 blowout victory. Luka Doncic did everything he could for the Mavericks but struggled as well, as he scored 19 points in the loss. With the loss, the Mavericks once again dropped below .500 on the season as their record fell to 15-16. Despite the losing effort, Luka Doncic has been on a tear in the month February as he’s averaging 30.5 points per game, shooting 48% from the field, shooting 45% from 3-pointers and has had 3 40-point games thus far.

The Brooklyn Nets are coming into this game by going 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are recently coming off a 129-92 blowout victory against the Orlando Magic on Thursday. They’ve been piling up wins as their superstar, Kevin Durant, recovers from a hamstring injury that has him out until after the All-Star break. The word would come out as they will also be without their star, Kyrie Irving, in this matchup versus the Mavericks, as he continues to recover from a right shoulder injury. Interesting fact as Kyrie Irving hasn’t played against the Mavericks since November 24th, 2018 when he was a member of the Boston Celtics. The Brooklyn Nets currently stand second in the eastern conference with a record of 22-12 on the season. Prior to this season starting for the Nets, they’ve gotten the best news all season as this would be the first season that Kevin Durant would play for them as he fully recovered from his devastating Achilles injury last season. On top of that, they made a pretty big splash in the trade market as they acquired James Harden from the Houston Rockets to pair him up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to create a “Big 3”. They are destined to finish the season with a top seed in the eastern conference and are bound for some playoff success later in the season. Fans across the NBA have projected the Nets as one of the teams from the eastern conference, to go to the NBA Finals this season. They are currently on track to do so if they can just get their stars healthy come playoff time.

Coming into this game, the Mavericks won their only matchup 123-111 against the Brooklyn Nets last season. The Mavericks have gone 27-11 against the Nets since the 2000-2001 season. Overall, the Mavericks lead the all-time series with a record of 45-32.

The Mavericks started this game by having Kristaps Porzingis back on the court as he missed the last three games with “back tightness”. As a result, the Mavericks went with Doncic, Richardson, Finney-Smith, Kleber and Porzingis as their starting five for this game. The Mavericks are 5-3 on the season with this lineup as they currently have had 15 different starting lineups this season thus far. The first points in the game would belong to Kristaps Porzingis as he scored a two pointer for the Mavericks to get this game underway. The Nets wouldn’t get their first points until the 10:47 mark as Jeff Green nailed both free-throws to tie the game at 2-2. The Nets took their first lead of game by having Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot drill a three pointer with 9:55 left in the quarter as the Nets took a 5-4 lead. The Mavericks would find themselves up by one as Kristaps Porzingis nailed a slam dunk with 9:00 minutes left in the quarter to take a 9-8 lead. The Mavericks would build some momentum by going on a 10-2 run that saw their lead increased to 19-10 by having Josh Richardson complete the rare “four point play” by making the three pointer while being fouled and nailing the free-throw with 7:44 left in the quarter. The Nets would take a timeout with 7:19 left in the quarter as the Mavericks were starting to catch fire by taking a 19-10 lead. Prior to this timeout, the Nets were struggling as they only made two of their first five attempts taken in the quarter. The Mavericks on the other hand, were absolutely making “nothing but net” as they made seven of their first nine attempts taken in the quarter thus far. Coming out of the timeout, the Nets turned to Bruce Brown but couldn’t convert as Kristaps Porzingis was there to block the shot to keep the score at 21-10 with 6:52 left in the quarter. After a stretch of a “mini” scoring drought by both teams, James Harden was able to drill a three pointer for the Nets with 5:15 left in the quarter to come within 21-16 of the Mavericks. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout as a result with 5:14 left in the quarter with the Nets trying to cut the Mavericks lead. Prior to this timeout, the Nets were on a 6-0 run. Coming out of the timeout, the Mavericks turned to Kristaps Porzingis but couldn’t convert as he missed a jump shot to keep the score at 21-16 with 4:48 left in the quarter. To snap the Nets 10-0 run, the Mavericks turned to Luka Doncic as he drilled a three pointer with 3:50 left in the quarter to keep the Mavericks lead at 24-20. The game would find its way to be tied at 24-24 by having James Harden complete the “four point play” by drilling the three pointer while being fouled and nailing the free-throw with 3:29 left in the quarter. The Mavericks would respond by going on a 10-0 run that featured Luka Doncic nailing a layup to take a 34-24 lead with 1:15 left in the quarter. In the final minutes of the quarter the Mavericks would keep their lead as they were able to take a 38-26 lead into the second quarter. The Mavericks finished the first quarter on a 14-2 run. The game leading scorer after one quarter of play would belong to Luka Doncic and James Harden as they both scored 15 points for their respective teams. The Mavericks finished the first quarter by shooting the ball extremely well as they shot 60.9% on 14-of-23 shooting from the field. The Nets had difficulty in finding the “net” as they shot a cold 34.8% on 8-of-23 shooting from the field. The Mavericks are 13-0 on the season when leading after the first quarter.

The second quarter would start by having Jalen Brunson nail a two pointer for the Mavericks to get this quarter underway. The Nets would score their first points in the quarter with 11:16 left as Landry Shamet drilled a three pointer to cut the deficit to 40-29 for the Nets. The Nets would go on a quick 9-1 run that featured nailing a couple of three pointers to come within 41-35 of the Mavericks with 10:26 left in the quarter. The Mavericks were able to shake off the rust by having Trey Burke nail a three pointer with 9:17 left in the quarter to keep their lead at 46-35. The Nets were able to cut their deficit to under 10 points as Landry Shamet nailed a three pointer to come within 49-42 of the Mavericks with 8:06 left in the quarter, that forced Rick Carlisle to take a timeout. Prior to this timeout, the Nets were able to catch fire by making six of their first nine attempts taken in the quarter. The Mavericks were starting to slack a little bit as they were only able to make four of their first eight attempts taken in the quarter thus far. Coming out of the timeout, the Mavericks turned to Trey Burke but couldn’t convert as he missed the jump shot to keep the score at 49-42 with 7:50 left in the quarter. The Nets were able to cut the Mavericks lead down to four points as Landry Shamet finished off the “three point play” by drilling a two pointer and nailing the free-throw to come within 49-45 of the Mavericks with 7:29 left in the quarter. Both teams would go on a scoring drought of 1:00 minute, until Tim Hardaway Jr nailed a three pointer to keep their lead at 54-45 with 5:52 left in the quarter, that forced the Nets to take a timeout. Prior to this timeout, the Mavericks were able to find their mojo as they went on a 5-0 run. The Nets went quiet as the last basket they made came at the 7:29 mark by Landry Shamet. Coming out of the timeout, the Nets turned to Nicolas Claxton as he was able to convert on a alley-oop from James Harden to come within 54-47 of the Mavericks with 5:39 left in the quarter. The Nets were able to come within four points by having James Harden drill a three pointer, but the deficit quickly went back to seven as Maxi Kleber was able to answer James Harden’s three pointer with a three pointer of his own to keep the Mavericks lead at 57-50 with 4:52 left in the quarter. The Mavericks were able to extend their lead back to 10 points by having Luka Doncic nail a layup with 3:48 left in the quarter to keep their lead at 62-52. In the final minutes of the quarter, the Mavericks were able to take a 68-64 lead into halftime. The game leading scorer after two quarters of play would belong to James Harden as he scored 25 points on 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc for the Nets. The Mavericks were led by Luka Doncic as he scored 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. The Nets were putting on a three point clinic as they were able to make 10-of-23 three pointers in the first half. The Mavericks didn’t let that phase them as they were able to get good looks of their own by going 25-of-45 shooting from the field in the first half. This game was certainly living up to its hype as both teams were competing hard in the first half.

Coming out of the half, the Nets got on the board first by having Bruce Brown drill a three pointer to get this third quarter underway. The Mavericks wouldn’t score until the 11:30 mark by having Kristaps Porzingis nail a two pointer to keep their lead at 70-66. The Nets were able to make it a two point game by having Bruce Brown nail a slam dunk with 9:37 left in the quarter to come within 74-72 of the Mavericks. The Mavericks were able to quickly extend their lead back to seven points back getting back-to-back buckets from Josh Richardson as this time he nailed a three pointer with 8:27 left in the quarter to take a 79-72 lead. Both teams would go on a “mini” scoring drought of nearly 1:00 minute until Kristaps Porzingis nailed a two pointer for the Mavericks to extend their lead to 81-72 with 7:32 left in the quarter. The Nets would call a timeout with 6:56 left in the quarter as they saw their deficit grow to seven points that resulted in the Mavericks taking a 81-74 lead. Prior to this timeout, the Mavericks caught on fire as they were able to make six of their first nine attempts taken in the quarter. The Nets were hitting nothing but brick as they struggled shooting the ball by only making four of their first nine attempts taken in the quarter thus far. Coming out of the timeout, the Nets turned to James Harden but he couldn’t convert as he would turn the ball over on a bad pass that saw Kristaps Porzingis make 1-of-2 free-throws on the other end to extend the Mavericks lead to 82-74 with 6:20 left in the quarter. The Mavericks were able to once again extend their lead to more than 10 points as Kristaps Porzingis was able to finish off the “three point play” by making a two pointer and nailing the free-throw to extend the lead to 85-74 with 5:16 left in the quarter. The Nets were trying to catch the Mavericks but the ball wasn’t finding the “net” as they had to take a timeout with 3:17 left in the quarter that resulted in the Mavericks taking the largest lead in the game at 15 points which saw the score 91-76. Prior to this timeout, the Mavericks went on a 10-2 run as they were able to find their rhythm. The Nets on the other hand, were on a scoring drought as the last bucket came at the 4:54 mark by James Harden making a floating jump shot. Coming out of the timeout, the Nets turned to Joe Harris as he was able to convert on a three pointer to come within 91-79 of the Mavericks with 3:07 left in the quarter. In the final minutes of the quarter quarter, the Mavericks would take a 94-82 lead into the fourth quarter. The game leading scorer after three quarters of play would belong to James Harden as he scored 29 points on 4-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. The Mavericks were led by Luka Doncic as he scored 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. The Nets went ice cold of their three point shooting as they only made one three on their nine attempts taken.

The fourth quarter would start with a two pointer from DeAndre Jordan with 10:48 left in the game to get the Nets going as they were able to come within 94-84 of the Mavericks. The Mavericks got their first points in the quarter by having Luka Doncic drill a three pointer with 9:57 left to extend their lead to 97-84. The Nets would call a timeout with 9:34 left in the game as they saw their deficit climb back to 15 points as the Mavericks went on a 5-2 run to extend their lead to 99-84 to begin the quarter. The Mavericks were in well control of taking this game to the finish line with a victory as long as they play good defense the rest of the way and prevent the Nets from thinking they have a shot at this game. Coming out of the timeout, the Nets turned to James Harden but he couldn’t convert on a three pointer that saw the score remain at 99-84 with 8:49 left in the game. The Mavericks would continue their dominance as Dorian Finney-Smith would drill a three pointer that gave Mark Cuban’s approval as he was seen celebrating the three pointer to take a 104-84 lead with 8:03 left in the game. The Nets would call a timeout with 7:37 left in the game as the Mavericks were blowing the Nets away as they were able to go on a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 106-84. Coming out of the timeout, the Nets turned to Tyler Cook but couldn’t convert as Willie Cauley-Stein was there to block the shot to keep the score at 106-84 with 7:22 left in the game. The Mavericks were toying with the Nets as they were able to extend their lead to 22 points as a result of Willie Cauley-Stein making a driving layup with 5:46 left in the game that saw the score 108-86. The game was quickly getting out of the Nets’ reach if they allowed the Mavericks to continue to make easy shots. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout with 4:32 left in the game as they saw the Nets cut their lead to 108-92. Prior to this timeout, the Nets were able to go on a quick 6-0 run to try to give them any hope of coming back in the game. Coming out of the timeout, the Mavericks turned to Trey Burke but couldn’t convert as he would turn the ball over on a bad pass with 4:18 left in the game. Luckily the turnover wouldn’t come back to bite the Mavericks as the Nets couldn’t get any points out of it as Iman Shumpert would turn the ball over himself with 4:14 left in the game. With 3:00 minutes left in the game and the Mavericks having a 113-95 lead, they were well on their way to a victory.

This team looked like they wanted to play on prime time television by playing good basketball in the first half by taking a 68-64 lead at halftime. The largest lead in the first half belonged to the Mavericks as they once built a 14 point lead. There was hardly any defense being played as this quickly turned into a shooting clinic as both teams were able to get good looks on offense. The Mavericks were able to breakaway from the Nets as they adjusted their defense in the second half while keeping their offense in rhythm. The Nets did all they could to make it a game but the Mavericks were able to remain in control of the game.

In the end, it was the Dallas Mavericks defeating the Brooklyn Nets 115-98. The Mavericks record would improve to 16-16 on the season as they once again reached the .500 mark. Luka Doncic finished the game with 27 points and 7 assists in the win. The Nets were led by James Harden as he finished with 29 points on a struggling 9-of-21 shooting from the field as they saw their 8 game winning snapped. The duo of Doncic-Porzingis would finish the game by scoring a combined 45 points. The Mavericks finished their February schedule by going 8-4 in the month. This would also be the final game for Luka Doncic as a 21-year-old as he celebrates his 22nd birthday on Sunday.

The Mavericks would begin the month of March by going on the road to face the Orlando Magic on the first day of the month on Monday. The Mavericks would have one more game after that before the first half of the season comes to a close.