CHICAGO – Not only did the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night at the United Center, 120-119. But in the process they also moved into the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference standings thanks to the Orlando Magic’s 121-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.
With the win, the Mavs finished this four-game road trip with an impressive 3-1 record and increased their overall worksheet to 37-38, while the Kings dropped to 36-38. The Mavs will now go home for a two-game hone stand Monday against Brooklyn and Wednesday against Atlanta.
Klay Thompson led a parade of seven Mavs who scored at least 12 points as he finished with 20 points while converting 5-of-10 three-pointers. Also for the Mavs, P.J. Washington contributed 19 points and seven rebounds, Anthony Davis finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks, and Kai Jones added 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
In addition for the Mavs, Spencer Dinwiddie collected 14 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, Naji Marshall finished with 14 points and seven boards, and Brandon Williams added12 points.
The Bulls were led by Matas Buzelis (18 points, nine rebounds, six assists), Coby White (25 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), Nikola Vucevic (25 points, nine boards, five assists) and Zach Collins (13 points, seven rebounds).
The Mavs were up, 114-102, with 2:57 left, then things got a bit uncomfortable. White’s basket with 32 seconds remaining got the Bulls (33-41) within 118-115 of the Mavs.
After a missed shot by Dinwiddie, Davis intentionally fouled Vucevic with 8.6 seconds left because the Mavs didn’t want the Bulls to attempt a three-pointer and potentially tie the game. Vucevic missed the first free throw and made the second one.
Thompson was subsequently intentionally fouled, and he converted both of his charity tosses to make a three-pointer by Vucevic with 0.9 seconds remaining not all that important.
Overall, the Mavs have four of their last five games while gaining two spots in the standings since the road trip started nearly a week ago.
“We’re just focused on one game at a time,” coach Jason Kidd said. “As you know this group is close, they’re fighting for each other, they’re executing the game plan. So, to end the road trip with a W and 3-1 is big this time of the year no matter what the record is.
“Now we get a chance to go home and we have the Nets and Atlanta, so we got to protect home.”
Thompson (12), Washington (11) and Marshall (10) paced all Mavs’ scorers in the first half, which ended with Dallas nursing a slim 58-55 lead after they shot 46 percent from the field. The Mavs trailed by 12 points (48-36) less than five minutes into the second quarter.
Then, Thompson caught fire as he spearheaded a swift 15-0 run by the Mavs by pouring in three consecutive three-pointers to push Dallas ahead, 51-50, following a bucket by Marshall. Thanks to a late basket by Marshall, the Mavs went on to lead at the half, 58-55.
A triple by Thompson, drive by Daivs, and a three-point play and a dunk by Jones extended the Mavs’ cushion to 68-59 with 9:18 remaining in the third quarter. The Mavs went on to lead, 89-87, entering the fourth quarter.
It was the final game this season for Williams, who, as of Saturday, was on the Mavs’ active roster for 50 games, which is the NBA maximum for two-way players. Meanwhile, this was a Bulls’ team that came in as one of the hottest teams in the NBA with eight wins in their previous 10 games, including a pair of victories over the Los Angeles Lakers during a six-day span.
But the Mavs were undaunted and finished this road trip on a positive note.
X: @DwainPrice
