Bradley Beal scored 26 points; Kyle Kuzma scored 10 of his 22 goals in the fourth period, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored four decisive points down the stretch to win at the American Airlines Arena 120-114.
The capitalists ended a five-game losing streak in the Mavericks’ pavilion and placed third in the East, even with the Miami Heat (13-7).
“We were just being aggressive. We were just moving the ball, moving bodies, taking advantage of certain types of pairings, “said Bradley Beal.
Luka Doncic stood out with 33 points and 10 rebounds, but could not avoid another defeat for his team. The Mavs have lost three of the last four games with two in a row against Phoenix and one against the Clippers.
For its part, the group led by Wes Unseld Jr. disputed the back to back after beating OKC Thunder by two points, and with their starting point guard Spencer Dinwiddie absent on layoff due to a serious knee injury he suffered last year.
The Wizards coach highlighted the defensive improvement of his team after passing through the locker room with Dallas going from 58.3% in the first half to just 37% in the second.
“We made some adjustments to have certain types of responses on some of the possessions. I think our energy and our purpose on the court were much better in the second half, “admitted Wes Unseld Jr.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) approached the Mavs 114-112 with a triple with 49 seconds remaining. From that moment on, both teams exchanged baskets, and it was Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma who finished the game with four consecutive free throws.
Jason Kidd defended his strategy of not fouling until the Wizards used up their 13 seconds of possession. “We were trying to get a robbery. Many of the times they think that you are going to commit a foul, and they only limit themselves to holding the ball. But you can get a jump between two or a robbery, or somehow you deflect a pass “, explained the technician.
(Cover photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
