Mavericks Superstar Duo Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving Combine For 70 In Blazers Win; Lively Hurt

Mavericks Superstar Duo Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving Combine For 70 In Blazers Win; Lively Hurt

Hey what’s up Mass fans Kevin gray Maverick pre and postgame host on 971 the freak on the Dallas Mavericks radio network welcome to another episode of inside the Mavs the official Mavericks podcast of 971 the freak really appreciate you joining me on iHeart radio Apple podcast Spotify wherever you

Get your podcast for free or if you’re watching this on my YouTube channel at Kevin gra Sports be sure to subscribe to my channel while you’re watching you can also write a review for the podcast give the podcast a five star rating and let folks know to check out the official

Mavericks podcast of 971 the freak you can also find me on Twitter Facebook and Instagram kevinr Sports be sure to give me a follow there for everything that my content brings you whether it be on my YouTube channel or on social media Mavericks dominate the Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday

Night getting the 126 night 97 win at home over the Portland Trailblazers as the Mavericks begin their season long seven game home stand with a win to move to 20 and 15 on the season now nine and seven at the AAC Luca dodes and Kyrie Irving were the

Two guys that were on a special night for the two of them as they combined for 70 points in the game combining to score 52 in the first half alone outscoring the Portland Trailblazers 52- 47 where the Mavericks led by 31 at halftime it was really over after the second quarter

As the Mavericks dropped 43 points in that decisive second quarter in fact at one point hitting six consecutive shots and overall 10 of 11 shots as Luca Donas and Kyrie Irving put things away early on in this game against the Portland Trailblazers and more importantly they

Were able to set a tone offensively in that game especially in the second quarter where they got out to a 145 run and really never look back from there the Mavericks had already led by 10 at the end of 135 to 25 but they were able

To turn it up as far as the defense was concerned throughout the course of the game in a game where the Mavericks defense was able to force 22 turnovers scoring 27 points offs said 22 turnovers outscoring the Portland Trail Blazers 28 to4 in Fast Break points and what was a

Foul Fest in the first quarter particularly where there were 34 fouls called the Maverick shot 17 free throws converting 13 of those and it was a really a ref show in the first quarter things started to settle down from there but the offense for the Mavericks turned

Up in that second quarter as I mentioned dropping 43 points the 78 points that they had at halftime was a season high as they go on to win wire to wire for the third time the season now 13 and3 versus Sub 500 teams but I’m sure the

Mavericks are ready to send Portland out of Dallas as quickly as they can not only did they have the game with them on Wednesday night they also take on the Portland Trailblazers on Friday night as well as they complete their season series with them Mavericks are now three

And0 so far against Portland who has been absolutely Dreadful no DeAndre Aon in this game for Portland as they were not able to have the services of their big man speaking of big man getting injured I mentioned the fact that the Mavericks are sick of playing the

Blazers so far this year here’s why in the second half the Mavericks lost not only Derek Lively the second to another sprain left ankle but they also in the fourth quarter lost Grant Williams with a sprained right ankle Now Grant now Jason kids said that both Grant Williams

And drik ly II have both mild ankle sprains which is initially good news if you’re a Mavericks fan but think about this when you’re a math fan and having watched the maths play the Portland Trailblazers so far this year in the first game Kyrie Irving gets a fluke

Heel contusion after Dwight pal falls on him in the first game in the second game in Portland just eight days after the first time they played each other der Lively sprains his left ankle and has to miss four games now in the third game against Portland Derek live II sprains

His left ankle again after scoot Henderson falls on him and then in the fourth quarter Grant Williams has his right ankle rolled up on by another Blazers player so I’m sure if you’re looking at this team facing the Blazers you’re tired of watching the Blazers play the Maverick because it seems like

Every time these two teams get together somebody from the Mavericks is getting injured again Jason kid saying after the game though that the ankle sprains are mild for both Derek Lively II and Grant Williams we’ll see what their availability looks like going into Friday’s game against Portland this is

Already without the services of Dante exom who’s dealing with a heel contusion of his own and we know that Luca dones continues to manage his own quad injury going forward for the rest of the season as well so while yes the win was good the most one of the more complete wins

Of the season on both offense and defense for this team against a bad Portland Trailblazers team and again handling business against Bad teams is something that the mavers have been really good at this year there is concern now going forward about the depth of this team which we have seen so

Far be tested throughout the course of the season with the amount of injuries that they’ve dealt with Kyrie Irving having already missed 12 games Derek C II missing those four games with the affir mention sprain left ankle now Dante exom missing out on another game as far as the Wednesday game was

Concerned against Portland he will most likely not be available on Friday as well Max CA continues to remain out with his right small toe dislocation so the concern being how do the Mavericks find a way especially in their front court if Derrick Liv is not going to be playing potentially on

Friday ran Holmes happened to miss the game as well due to personal reasons so for a team that’s 20 and 15 right now still outside of the top six as the Pelicans won their game on Wednesday night as well how did they find a way to weather the storm yet again even with

The quote unquote mild ankle sprains of both Derek Lively II and Grant Williams and that’s a question that will be answered here over the next several days days but for the game against Portland you saw a lot of good offense the offensive music that was made together the beautiful offensive music that was

Made together by Luca dones and Kyrie Irving was simply spectacular Mavis taking advantage of a Portland Trail Trailblazers defense that really fell asleep at the wheel quite a bit several backo cuts at the Mavs were able to take advantage of some really nice passing for this team as far as sharing the

Basketball was concerned you could tell that the energy was there from the get-go as the Mavericks opened the game on a 90 run and really set the tone on both ends of the floor within the first couple of minutes they had already forced three turnovers on the Portland Trailblazers something the Blazers have

Been really good at so far this year a team that liks to get a lot of steals nearly nine steals per game gets a lot of deflections 519 deflections coming into the game against the Mavericks the Mavericks were able to turn the tables a little bit on them and force the action

And pressure on them on the offensive end and really put the defense of the Blazers on their heels so you saw a lot of really good ball movement a lot of player movement and more importantly terrific shot making from Luca donic and Kyrie Irving Luca dones hitting a catch

And shoot three off of a Derk Lively screen in the left corner you saw Kyrie Irving being able to pull up and transition knocking down threes this is something that we knew coming into the season was not going to be a problem for the m which was scoring the basketball

When Luca dodes and Kyrie Irving are healthy and on the floor together and you saw that again tonight A team that has been a top 10 Pace Team all season long and you saw them get back to that with their ability to get up and down in transition Josh Green was in the

Starting lineup on Wednesday night for the Mavericks of course with Dante exm being out and you saw what he was able to do he was three of five from the field was a plus 22 in the game had a couple of steals as well everyone’s numbers were extremely positive in this

Game based off of the blowout that they had over the Portland Trailblazers which is funny because the Mavericks only had four guys in double figures Tim Hardway and Jaden Hardy with the other two Tim hardyway knocking down five out of 10 shots he had 14 points Jaden Hardy

Scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter but it was donit and Irving who did the heavy lifting but again this win comes at a cost based off of what happened tonight and if you’re the Mavericks you’re hoping that you can continue to build on what they’ve done

So far this year Jadon Hardy when I talked to him prior to the game on Wednesday said look this team has been through a lot but at the same time there’s chemistry that we’re still building on we’ve learned a lot about each other throughout the course of the

Season so far with a lot of moving parts and new guys on this team and while yes that is true the expectation still remain that this team based on its roster and more importantly the two guys at the top this team needs to be a top

Six team in the west with Luca dones and Kyrie Irving spearheading the offense for this team and you saw on Wednesday why people like myself feel like this team can’t finish as a top six team in the west because they’re going to boat race people offensively when they’re

Knocking down shots like they were on Wednesday where they shot an even 50% from the field shooting over 43% from three going 13 of 30 from downtown that is the formula for this team knocking down shots at a high rate sharing the basketballs they had 25 assists on the

42 field goals that they made but most most importantly Luca donic and Kyrie Irving being the ones that lead and share the scoring load and that was one of the reasons why the game on Monday was so disappointing against the Utah Jazz because Luca has been carrying and

Shouldering all of the minutes when it comes to the heavy workload on the offensive end while also playing some decent defense on the other end and you were hoping with the return of Kyrie Irving which you saw on Wednesday he being able to share the load with Luca

Donic and he was able to do so with 29 Points in the game you go back to that second quarter alone based on what they did Luca dones and Kyrie Irving Luca with 17 Kyrie with 14 they were a combined plus 28 going a combined 12 of

16 from the field for the 31 points that they scored devastatingly efficient for the two of them and when they’re working off of one another being able to take turns in terms of running the offense and being able to get up and down and transition to put pressure on teams that

Is when the Mavericks are at their best and The Supporting Cast for this team playing off of those two being able to work and move and share the basketball that is when this team is really really good one of my favorite plays from the game is you see Kyrie Irving off of a

Backo cut you’ve see Derek Lively be able to make the pass from around the free throw line and he hits it with a picture perfect accurate pass as Kyrie Irving’s able to get the bucket in terms of the hoop and the harm so look Maverick starting a important a very

Important seven game home stand with two games against the Portland Trailblazers and when you start to look at their schedule going forward here they’ve got to find a way to start stacking WIS to be able to not only climb themselves back into the top six picture but most importantly give confidence that they

Can start to beat some other teams that are pretty good as I mentioned they’re three 13 and three against teams so far this season with a sub 500 record most good teams beat bad teams and that’s all that you can can expect really good teams to do so far the Mavericks have

Done that and if they continue to beat up on the bad teams they’re going to have a pretty good record but when you start looking at their schedule going forward they beat Portland on Wednesday now they play Portland again on Friday then they welcome in the Minnesota Timberwolves the Memphis Grizzlies the

New York Knicks and then the Pelicans for two games on the 13th and the 15th both of those games especially at the end of their home stand are going to be significant for the standings in the Western Conference these games will not be easy you’ve got one of the best

Defensive teams in the league in the Minnesota Timberwolves John Morant is now back for the Memphis Grizzlies I’m really looking forward to seeing Jaylen Brunson and the New York Knicks on January the 11th come to the American Airlines Center where you know the atmosphere is going to be electric

Inside the building and Jaylen Brunson will be looking to put on a show in front of his former team and with OG an anubi on that team as well that matchup between him and Luca dones with OG an anubi being their best defensive player how he matches up with Luca will be

Really fun to watch and then of course it’s always electric when Zion Williamson is on the floor when he’s healthy and you have back-to-back games against the Pelicans on the 13th and the 15th then you go on the road to take on the Lakers who are struggling right now

Who have lost eight of their last 10 and then you take on the Golden State Warriors before you f Boston and Phoenix on the 22nd and 24th so we’re going to learn a lot about this team over the next few weeks and how the depth will respond based on the injuries

That they’ve suffered the schedule that they have especially playing some really good teams with Minnesota New York the Pelicans gold the Los Angeles Lakers I should say the Boston Celtics the Phoenix Suns who have been surging and playing a little bit better as of late themselves will this team respond based

On the capabilities that they have at the top with Luca and Kyrie only time will tell based on what we’ve seen so far this is why you’ve got to find a way to ensure you don’t have a let down on Friday against Portland the Mavericks will not practice on Thursday so they

Have a chance to rest their legs before they get back on the floor against Portland on Friday but then you welcome in Minnesota who are going to try and grind you out defensively and be able to put pressure on you with guys like Anthony Edwards and others and then John

Morant comes to town and that’s a divisional game where you know there’s going to be a lot of fun between those two teams so again all of this to say is it is extremely important to get off to the start that you did on Wednesday defeating the Portland Trailblazers and

Then needing to do it again on Friday against Portland and if you’re Jason kid you’re hoping and you’re praying that Derek Lively especially finds his way to get back on the floor relatively soon and not have to miss extended time during this hom stand you saw what

Lively brought in this game prior to leaving the game my man had four blocks and was providing Rim deterrence and shot protection at the rim and the amount of dependence on the 19-year-old is huge for this team defensively while he’s going to run into a rookie wall and Jason kid talked about

That prior to the game he’s going to run into that rookie wall he’s going to have to learn how to play through it because this team is going to need him as much as I don’t like to have to depend on a 19y old rookie to be the anchor on your

Defensive end this is where they are right now and if rwn Holmes is going to remain out for the next few games doing dealing with what he has been dealing with whatever that may be the Mavericks Frontline depth right now is very very thin especially with no Maxi CBA back

And there’s no timetable for for his return based on what we know right now so markei Morris hello you’re going to be seeing a lot of small lineups for this team over the next couple of games based off of their personnel right now if Derek Lively is not going to be

Available here in the next few games and you’re going to be facing teams like Minnesota like Memphis bigger teams that do have size in the middle when you obviously look at Minnesota with Carl Anthony towns and Rudy gobear and Nas read in the trio of big men that they

Have they are really good ones obviously Memphis while yes they don’t have Stephen Adams they do have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and jiren Jackson and oh that’s right John Morant who loves to attack the rim as well so you’ve got teams that have can do

Different things against you in terms of attacking the rim and then making things difficult for you on both ends of the floor and why I wanted this team during the off season even with the drafting of Derek Lively II to find themselves acquiring a veteran backup center

Because right now they’re in a position where they desperately need one and it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of help coming anytime soon so this team will have to rely on his perimeter defense this team will have to ensure that they’re getting in passing lanes and overc communicating on the defensive end

Because they’re going to be a little bit smaller and thinner without D exom with his perimeter defense and his ability to knock down shots on the other end of the floor Grant Williams will see what happens with him even though he’s really fallen out of the rotation and not

Getting significant minutes for this team and now Derek Lively the second with another sprain left ankle things are looking very very interesting for this team but all is well at least for the moment when you have Luca dones and Kyrie Irving leading your scoring charge and if they’re going to win games at

Least in the interim they’re going to have to outscore teams every single night knocking down a barrage of three-pointers Tim Hardway Jr who passed Michael Finley on the alltime Mavericks three-point list on Wednesday night Luca dones and Kyrie Irving doing the same they’re going to have to knock down a

Bunch of shots to stay in games because for the Mavericks right now the best defense is a good offense and they have one of the best offenses in all the association but I like what I saw on Wednesday the again the sharing of the basketball the player movement a lot of

Backo cuts a lot of good reading from each of the teammates that they have to be able to move the basketball the way that they did and that’s an encouraging and positive sign that the Mavericks are willing to have that kind of player movement because they’re going to have

To try and keep teams off balance especially if teams are going to continue to try and Blitz and double team Luca donic to try and get the ball out of his hands and if the Mavericks can play the kind of Advantage Basketball that sees the Josh greens of

The world the Tim Hardaway Juniors of the world the Derek Jones Juniors of the world contined knock down shots off of the help that they will see based on what teams are going to do to Luca dones and Kyrie Irving then this team can be

Able to stem the tide a little bit and that’s another reason why it was so fun to watch Kyrie Irving do what he did against the Portland Trailblazers be able to take some of that scoring load off of Luca take some of that pressure off of Luca donic

Because all the attention that donic attracts you got to pick your poison at times when it comes to donic and Kyrie Irving on the floor together because both of them on the floor together are a nightmare with their shot creation not just for themselves but for their teammates and when guys like Derrick

Lively are also available as well the extra threat of the pick and roll and being able to see a guy like Lively roll to the rim and finish now creates different pressure points pressure points I should say for defenses to have to make decisions on what they do because here’s what the Mavericks

Offense is really good at putting you in a bind to make different make you make different decisions on what you have to do to try and defend them that’s why Don is so devastating when it comes to being a three-level scorer the same way with Kyrie Irving they make you make

Decisions on how you’re going to defend them and if you’re going to put extra bodies on them guess what that leaves Derrik Jones Jr that leaves Tim Hardway Jr that leaves guys like Dante exen when he’s healthy and others open to knock down shots and that’s what the Mavericks

Have got to do knock down open shots and they did so on Wednesday so a good start for the Mavericks again a seven game home stand where they’ve got to stack as many wins as possible but more importantly be able to settle in a little bit after the difficult schedule

That they’ve seen so far this year with the amount of Home Road Road home back to backs and the way that they started off their season remember their first eight games of the season they alternated home and road games just a really goofy schedule if you ask me

Based on the way that they played their first thir their first 30 or so games so far this year but now through 35 games they’re 20 and 15 and that’s another interesting part about all of this the Mavericks had 20 and 15 and now played 35 games guess what boys and girls we

Are now near the halfway point of the season in the NBA while yes the quote unquote halfway point of the Season isn’t until the week of Allstar break which is around February 14th and 15th the Mavericks are about to be halfway through their season here during this

Home stand so we’ll get a true evaluation of where this team is once this home stand is complete and what we feel like this team is going forward but right now based on what we know when this team is at their healthiest Luca dones and Kyrie Irving can’t be stopped

Offensively when this team is knocking down shots from downtown they can’t be stopped offensively when they are turning defense in the offense especially in the fast break and paying with the kind of pace that puts pressure on defenses this is a very tough team to

Beat this is also a team that’s got 13 of their 20 wins against teams with a record below 500 so they’ve played a little bit of a schedule that’s allowed them to Pat it based on some of the teams that they played that won’t be the case during the

Second half of the year and as I laid out a little bit earlier the schedule tells you that they’ve got to find a way to beat some of these good teams because otherwise if they don’t they will find themselves potentially in that playin situation and that is not where you want

To be by the time you get to the playoffs so again good start to the hom standand for the Mavericks good win complete win third wire to wire win for this team this season leading from the outset not taking the foot off the gas throughout the course of the game which

Is something that I enjoyed watching throughout the course of this basketball game is you put the pedal to the metal you didn’t let up you didn’t let a bad team get any kind of momentum in this game and you ensured that you were not going to allow them to get back into the

Game at any point and that’s exactly what they did can they use that same resolve that same mentality on Friday to be able to put the Blazers in the dirt the way that he did especially in that second quarter where they just lit him up for the 43 points that they did and

Made sure that there was no coming back in the game on Wednesday all of that remains to be seen as the rest of the week goes on as I mentioned Mavericks will not practice on Thursday they’ll have the day off to get some rest and hopefully for Derek Lively II and for

Grant Williams that treatment will be good enough to hopefully get them back on the floor sooner than later Luca dones needs as much treatment as he can get dealing with his quad injury same for Dante exam and his heel contusion but again good win you move on

And you get ready to play the Portland Trailblazers on Friday as you look for your 21st win of the season and you look to get your 10th home win of the Year where we know the Mavericks have been terrific on the road we’ve got to start putting some of that together now at

Home in front of those Rowdy mfls and they did so on Wednesday with the win 126 to 97 a complete Beatdown of the Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday night you can find me on Twitter at kemra sports be sure to download And subscribe to the inside the mass podcast wherever you get

Your podcast for free you can also watch this video on my YouTube channel at Kevin Grace Sports be sure to subscribe to the channel as well with the podcast give the podcast a five star rating and write a review for it while you’re there and you can download it on iHeart radio

Apple podcast and wherever you get your podcast for free daily content on this Mass team I will provide to you as I’m able to do so you can also check out my own personal podcast the gray area podcast wherever you get your podcast for free you can also ensure that you

Are following Grant AB who’s covering this team following this team all over the country throughout the course of the Season by following him on Twitter at Grant ath and you can look look locate and watch his YouTube channel at Grant ath as well again appreciate you joining

Me on this episode of inside the Mavs the official Mavericks podcast of 971 the freak your home of Dallas Mavericks basketball my name is Kevin gray Mavericks pre and postgame host on 971 the freak appreciate you joining me on inside the maps I’ll talk to you later peace

#dallasmavericks #lukadoncic #kyrieirving #derecklively #blazers

On this episode of ‘Inside The Mavs’ Mavs Pre/Post Game Host Kevin Gray of 97.1 The Freak breaks down the Mavericks blow out win of the Blazers on Wednesday 126-97. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combine for 70 points and 52 in the first half to outscore the entire Blazers team. Mavs began their season-long 7-game home stand with their 20th win of the season. The win wasn’t without cost as the Mavericks lost Dereck Lively II and Grant Williams to sprained ankles in the 3rd and 4th quarters. KG breaks down what’s next for the Mavericks as they continue to deal with injuries to key players while trying to stack wins going forward and much more!

Be sure to download and subscribe to @KevinGraySports here on YouTube and follow him on all social media platforms including Twitter @KevinGraySports

Download and subscribe to ‘Inside The Mavs’ the official Mavericks podcast of 97.1 The Freak wherever you get podcasts free, write a review and give the podcast a five-star rating. Subscribe to the podcast by clicking here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-mavs/id1687581495