Toronto Raptors vs. Dallas Mavericks

Game 45 | American Airlines Center | 19 January 2022

The first game of a back-to-back home stand in the American Airlines Center. Speaking of back-to-back (popular song by icon, Drake), the Raptors are looking to get revenge against the Maverick team. The first time this team met was over the bridge, that’s right - Canada, eh! The Mavericks played the Raptors back in October in the second game of the 2021-2022 NBA Season, walking away with a win (103-95).

Unfortunate for the Raptors, the Mavericks have been on a hot streak as of late and it seems that nobody can cool them off. The Mavericks have won nine of their last ten games and some of those teams defeated were the: Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies. The Mavericks are writing a beautiful story.

You might can credit this recent success to the teams mid-season COVID19 crisis. At one point in December, the Mavericks had nine of their best and backup starters out (all at one time). The Mavericks learned to improvise, focus on who was available and still win some games. We are learning what a fully functioning Mavericks team can do and so far, it seems to be… unstoppable.

Luka Doncic proves exactly why he is an NBA All-Star. In Monday night’s game against the Thunder, Doncic recorded his 41st triple-double. Tonight against the Raptors, Doncic put up a season high of 41 points; almost beating his career high (46PTS).

Recently, defense has been the Mavericks strength. In the last 10 games, the Mavericks have successfully held their opponents to under 100 points — that’s pretty hard to do in the NBA.

Tonight’s performance adds another W to the column, (102-98).

The Mavericks will host the No. 1 seed in the West, Phoenix Suns tomorrow night for the final game of this back-to-back home stand.

#MFFL