Atlanta @ Dallas preview
American Airlines Center
Last Meeting ( Oct 21, 2021 ) Dallas 87, Atlanta 113
The spotlight will shine again on the oft-discussed rivalry between Trae Young and Luka Doncic on Sunday when the Atlanta Hawks travel to play the Dallas Mavericks.
The two young stars will forever be compared after essentially being traded for one another on the night of the 2018 NBA Draft. Doncic was originally taken No. 3 overall by the Hawks, but was immediately traded to Dallas for a pick that turned out to be Young and another No. 1 pick that wound up being Cam Reddish.
Both Doncic and Young have lived up to their billing. Doncic is averaging 26.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 9.1 assists, and Young is averaging 27.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists. Both were named to the NBA All-Star Game, Young as a starter, Doncic as a reserve.
Doncic has the statistical edge when the two have played head-to-head.
In five games against Atlanta, Doncic is averaging 23.6 points -- topping 20 points four times -- 9.6 rebounds and 7.8 assists.
In seven games versus Dallas, Young is averaging 20.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists.
Doncic has three double-doubles and one triple-double against the Hawks.
Young has four double-doubles versus the Mavericks.
Atlanta has won 12 of the last 16 games in the series and captured the season opener 113-87 in Atlanta. But the home team has taken seven of the last eight meetings, and Dallas has won the last three contests on its home court.
Doncic had his 44th career triple-double on Friday when the Mavericks ended a two-game losing streak with a 107-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. He finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists to help Dallas overcome a 16-point second-quarter deficit. It was his eighth triple-double this season, breaking a tie with Fat Lever and leaving him alone in 10th place on the all-time list. Larry Bird is No. 9 with 59.
Dallas has won 14 of its last 19.
"To stay with it and to understand that the game wasn't won or lost in the first couple of minutes coming back just shows a lot of character for that group in there," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said.
The Hawks have won eight of their last 10 but could not overcome Toronto's deft outside touch -- 17-for-27 on 3s -- on Friday and lost 125-114. Young had 22 points and 13 assists, joining John Collins (23) and De'Andre Hunter (23) atop the stat sheet. Fatigue was obvious in the second half for the Hawks, who were playing the second leg of a back-to-back and for the fifth time in eight days.
"We definitely had heavy legs," Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said. "They had heavy legs as well. I thought it affected our shooting."
After going 20-for-41 on 3s in Thursday's win over league-leading Phoenix, the Hawks made only five of their first 24 shots from distance against the Raptors and finished 9-for-29. That ended Atlanta's streak of 12 straight games with at least 10 3-pointers, third-longest in franchise history.
--Field Level Media