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The Dallas Mavericks got a massive victory on Saturday night as they caught up with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference playoff picture. It certainly wasn’t easy for the Mavs, as they banked on the heroics of Luka Doncic, who found an open Dorian Finney-Smith for a go-ahead, game-winning three to lift them over the Washington Wizards for the 1-point victory.
Watch the clutch play from the Mavericks below:
FINNEY-SMITH FOR 3.20 DIMES FOR LUKA.@dallasmavs win a thriller! ? pic.twitter.com/E8LNTvYtT8
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2021
That was a great find from Luka and the right basketball play. Of course, Finney-Smith, who had been hot with his shot the entire night, also deserves a ton of credit for staying ready and knocking down the cold-blooded triple in crunch time.
The game-winning assist marked Doncic’s 20th of the night, a career-best for the Slovenian Sensation. He finished the game with a monster triple-double, scoring 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, Finney-Smith also came up huge for the Mavs in a game where Kristaps Porzingis sat out due to a sore knee. The 3-and-D wing went for 22 points and knocked down six 3-pointers.
It was a big time win for the Mavericks as they tied the Lakers in the West standings with similar 36-27 marks. With Dallas holding the tie-breaker over the defending champs, they officially surpassed them for 5th in the conference.
A loss could have definitely had major implications in their position in the standings. Had they failed to close out the Wizards at home, the Mavericks could have found themselves tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for the no. 7 seed. This isn’t an ideal situation for any team looking to book a spot in the post season, as the 7th and 8th seeds will need to go through the play-in tournament to fight for a playoff berth.
Mavericks Nation can thank Luka Doncic and Dorian Finney-Smith for saving the day. Now, it’s time for Dallas to finish the regular season strong.
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