The Dallas Mavericks stayed alone in fifth place in the Western Conference Thursday and got back into the winning column, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 109-95 at home.
The Dallas Mavericks are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now, previously winning seven games consecutively before dropping a close game to the Warriors 104-100.
But after defeating the Hawks, the Mavericks are a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns, which holds the final guaranteed playoff spot in the West.
Dallas, however, holds the tiebreaker on the Suns.
Luka Doncic finished with 25 points after not scoring in the first quarter, while Kyrie Irving finished with 26 points.
Doncic went 8-25 from the field and was 6-15 from beyond the ark and amassed 12 rebounds, garnering a double-double.
Irving went 10-21 from the field and only made three three-pointers.
The Hawks controlled the first quarter, leading the Mavs 31-25 after one quarter.
But the second quarter decisively belonged to the Mavericks, scoring 40 points to the Hawks 26.
The third quarter and fourth quarter were very close. However, the Mavericks duo of Doncic and Irving proved too much for Atlanta, even coming off a five-game trip, the longest of the season.
“We were little tired, first game back from a long road trip,” coach Jason Kidd said. “But I thought the chemistry and trust was showing again. It wasn’t pretty, but we did what we had to do.”
The Mavericks will host the Golden State Warriors on Friday as they look to close out the remainder of the season in the winning column.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Travis Tyler