DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks earned a 132-91 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night. Luka Doncic led the way while Kyrie Irving continued to shoot the ball at an efficient level. The NBA Cup features a point differential element, though, so Mavs head coach Jason Kidd was asked if the team had any thought about attempting to score at the end of the game despite holding a 41-point lead.
“No, that’s disrespectful. That’s not what this game is all about or what the tournament is all about,” Kidd responded. “It’s playing the game the right way. They got a lot of injuries over there, we’re not trying to embarrass anybody. We’re not looking to score again… We scored 132 points, that’s enough points. If we lose that game we got to look at our defense. But we’re not trying to embarrass anybody.”
Mavericks cruise to victory against Pelicans
The Mavs played well on Tuesday night. They have now won three consecutive games after previously dropping four contests in a row. Dallas seems to be getting back on track.
Luka Doncic has endured inconsistency from a scoring efficiency standpoint this season, but he is still recording impressive all-around numbers. The Mavs believe in Doncic. Luka had plenty of help on Tuesday, as seven Mavericks scored in-double digit points. Doncic addressed the impact of having the team firing on all cylinders.
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“It’s great. Everybody is on the same page,” Doncic said. “They (Pelicans) have a lot of injuries but we still have to come out with energy.”
The Mavericks have not played up to their preseason expectations so far. Dallas was expected to compete for the top spot in the Western Conference, yet they hold an 8-7 record as of this story’s writing. The Mavs are clearly trending in a promising direction, something that is evidenced by their current winning streak.
Dallas would love to win the NBA Cup as well, but Jason Kidd’s team has no intention of running up the score.
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