Dallas – Atlanta: the perfect heist

The Hawks are sharper in this start of the meeting, with a Cam Reddish who does not hesitate to take the shots as soon as they are opened. The winger is building up and defending very well on Luka Doncic, who cannot find the target. Only Maxi Kleber lights up from afar, and Dallas is moved by an Atlanta team that has juice (18-14).

John Collins showed his muscles against Kristaps Porzingis, who was 14 centimeters taller than him, and Atlanta took the game by the right end. After having breathed a few moments on the bench, Doncic finds the floor and is illustrated on three actions in a row to give a boost to the Texans who play on alternating current. His duel against Trae Young is interesting, and the All-Star point guard gives some nice passes to Danilo Gallinari, who scores easily.

Tim Hardaway Jr. talks to his teammates a lot, and seems frustrated that his people can’t let go of the horses (yet). Jalen Brunson is valuable at mid-distance, and after the first twelve minutes of play, the Mavericks are in the lead after a difficult start (33-32).

Capela-Collins dominates in painting

The visitors’ “second unit” tries to show off, but Lloyd Pierce decides to change things, and to put Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter back on the floor quickly. Dallas slowly puts his systems in place, and Luka Doncic now plays Cam Reddish like a child. But the return of Collins on the floor allows his training to regain color, and here is Atlanta in advance on the scoreboard (42-39).

Capela closes the paint at local interiors, and the Dallas collective is once again floundering in semolina after an interesting few minutes. Young organizes the game perfectly, despite the faults suffered, especially from Josh Richardson who does not spare him and does not let go of a sole. The Oklahoma alumnus adjusts the sights from afar, and plants a 3-point plus foul after… claiming a foul from the referee. The leader of the Hawks is untenable, and he puts misery to all the defense of the Mavs, who really do not know what to do to stop the sniper of Georgia (19 points already). At the break, the Hawks dug an interesting advantage (62-52).

Doncic and Young don’t let go

The visitors impose their rhythm on the men of Rick Carlisle. The Mavs collective is stopped, and only Luka Doncic pulls out of the game to try to reverse the trend. Willie Cauley-Stein gives his all to close access to the circle, and at the same time he takes advantage of the light passes of the Slovenian star. Despite this, the locals are still behind (81-68). John Collins is exemplary as “Ice” lieutenant Trae Young, and the Atlanta winger is making life tough for the big Mavericks.

Doncic gets annoyed with himself after several questionable choices in attack, and a few lapses in defense, and he sees his team struggling to control the opposing assaults. The Hawks bench is up and raging, and Lloyd Pierce’s troops execute their game plan wonderfully, much to the chagrin of the opposing bench who seems amorphous, unresponsive. Despite good streaks from Willie Cauley-Stein, the Mavericks are in the hard, and still lagging behind on the scoreboard (90-81).

Tim Hardaway Jr. then puts on the warm-up, and plants 7 points in a row to disrupt the beautiful dynamic of Atlanta. But Young responds from afar, then with a love of passing down for Huerter who only has to conclude two meters from the circle. Atlanta folds, and at the start of money time, the two teams are tied (101-101), which makes Lloyd Pierce mad with rage. Doncic begins to adjust from afar, and Brunson does it too, being sharp on penetration and not hesitating to take the ticket shoots when the defense tries to shut the door on the Slovenian star.

A very confused last possession

Tony Snell turns on from afar in his turn, but Luka “Magic” Doncic takes his responsibilities in the last moments of the meeting. But with all the balls on his side, John Collins and Tony Snell shut the long-range door to him and Jalen Brunson misses an open 3-point shot with 4 seconds left.

The last possession is for the Hawks. The system is for Trae Young, but he ends up on the ground after contact with Cauley-Stein. In a rush, the Hawks get tangled up, and Gallinari shoots halfway while Collins is open near the circle … missed! The Mavericks won by the smallest of margins (118-117), while the Hawks moaned with the referees, believing that there was a fault on Young on the throw-in …

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