SUNDAY, MARCH 6 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D7
Entering Saturday’s games.
SCORING GFGFTPTS. AVG.
Embiid, PHI ....................... 50470 474 1481 29.6
Antetokounmpo, MIL ........ 53531 438 1560 29.4
James, L.A.L. ..................... 45490 195 1297 28.8
DeRozan, CHI .................... 60619 406 1684 28.1
Young, ATL ........................ 58544 366 1625 28.0
Doncic, DAL ....................... 48470 263 1335 27.8
Morant, MEM .................... 50517 275 1389 27.8
Tatum, BOS ....................... 61551 318 1589 26.0
Mitchell, UTA .................... 50463 195 1294 25.9
Curry, GS ........................... 58486 256 1493 25.7
Booker, PHO ...................... 54504 236 1385 25.6
Jokic, DEN ......................... 56544 251 1425 25.4
LaVine, CHI ....................... 52456 217 1278 24.6
Towns, MIN ....................... 57498 277 1392 24.4
Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC. 48 396 275 1143 23.8
Brown, BOS ....................... 50425 186 1162 23.2
Ingram, NO ........................ 49409 215 1102 22.5
Fox, SAC ............................ 53440 236 1171 22.1
Siakam, TOR ..................... 50413 197 1074 21.5
Edwards, MIN ................... 56428 1751196 21.4
VanVleet, TOR .................. 52374 1561112 21.4
Garland, CLE ...................... 49388 106 1012 20.7
Herro, MIA ........................ 51386 145 1049 20.6
Murray, SA ........................ 55460 126 1117 20.3
FIELD GOALS FG FGA PCT.
Williams, BOS ............................... 230 317 .726
Gobert, UTA .................................. 273 383 .713
Allen, CLE ...................................... 366 541 .677
Zubac, L.A.C. ................................. 230 352 .653
Harrell, WAS ................................. 247 383 .645
McGee, PHO .................................. 230 359 .641
Ayton, PHO ................................... 302 474 .637
Poeltl, SA ...................................... 318 512 .621
Capela, ATL ................................... 262 442 .593
Sabonis, IND ................................. 331 571 .580
Jokic, DEN ..................................... 544 959 .567
Aldridge, BKN ................................ 245 445 .551
Antetokounmpo, MIL .................... 531 978 .543
Adebayo, MIA ............................... 286 531 .539
Davis, L.A.L. .................................. 341 635 .537
Valanciunas, NO ............................ 389 725 .537
Collins, ATL ................................... 329 614 .536
Bridges, PHO ................................. 338 632 .535
Nurkic, POR ................................... 321 600 .535
Towns, MIN ................................... 498 952 .523
Durant, BKN .................................. 389 750 .519
James, L.A.L. ................................. 490 945 .519
Carter, ORL .................................... 296 573 .517
Gordon, DEN .................................. 327 632 .517
DeRozan, CHI ................................ 619 1210 .512
THREE-POINTERS 3FG 3FGA PCT.
Tucker, MIA ..................................... 75166 .452
Johnson, PHO ................................ 159 355 .448
Kennard, L.A.C. ............................. 147 328 .448
Williams, BOS ................................. 92206 .447
McDermott, SA ............................. 104 241 .432
Muscala, OKC .................................. 70163 .429
Ball, CHI ......................................... 110 260 .423
Maxey, PHI ...................................... 85202 .421
Barnes, SAC .................................. 118 283 .417
Forbes, SA ....................................... 63151 .417
Johnson, SA .................................. 111 266 .417
Holiday, MIL .................................... 99238 .416
O'Neale, UTA ................................... 89214 .416
Gordon, HOU ................................. 115 277 .415
Portis, MIL .................................... 113 272 .415
Haliburton, SAC ............................ 104 252 .413
Mills, BKN ..................................... 193 468 .412
Bane, MEM .................................... 171 417 .410
Batum, L.A.C. .................................. 82200 .410
Towns, MIN ................................... 119 292 .408
Connaughton, MIL ......................... 125 307 .407
Powell, POR ..................................... 93229 .406
Wiggins, GS .................................. 129 318 .406
Niang, PHI ..................................... 116 287 .404
Strus, MIA ..................................... 134 332 .404
Conley, UTA ................................... 131 325 .403
White, CHI ..................................... 104 258 .403
Curry, PHI ...................................... 100 250 .400
Simons, POR ................................. 170 425 .400
Grimes, NY ...................................... 66166 .398
FREE THROWS FT FTA PCT.
Poole, GS ....................................... 165 178 .927
Quickley, NY .................................... 97105 .924
Curry, GS ....................................... 256 279 .918
Bane, MEM .................................... 104 115 .904
Gallinari, ATL ................................ 121 134 .903
Durant, BKN .................................. 237 264 .898
Garland, CLE .................................. 106 118 .898
Young, ATL .................................... 366 408 .897
Middleton, MIL .............................. 212 240 .883
Simons, POR ................................... 96109 .881
George, L.A.C. ............................... 103 117 .880
Butler, MIA ................................... 309 352 .878
Lillard, POR ................................... 159 181 .878
VanVleet, TOR .............................. 156 178 .876
Maxey, PHI .................................... 168 193 .870
Bogdanovic, UTA ........................... 185 213 .869
Harden, BKN .................................. 304 350 .869
White, SA ...................................... 139 160 .869
Ross, ORL ........................................ 98113 .867
DeRozan, CHI ................................ 406 469 .866
LaVine, CHI .................................... 217 251 .865
Porzingis, DAL ............................... 147 170 .865
Booker, PHO .................................. 236 273 .864
Herro, MIA .................................... 145 168 .863
Jones, NO ...................................... 101 117 .863
Ball, CHA ....................................... 169 196 .862
Harris, PHI ..................................... 150 175 .857
Anthony, ORL ................................ 172 201 .856
Mitchell, UTA ................................ 195 228 .855
REBOUNDS GOFF. DEF. TOT. AVG.
Gobert, UTA ...................... 48174 536 710 14.79
Jokic, DEN ......................... 56156 618 774 13.82
Sabonis, IND ..................... 47155 412 567 12.06
Capela, ATL ....................... 55207 456 663 12.05
Antetokounmpo, MIL ....... 53105 509 614 11.58
Vucevic, CHI ...................... 57113 545 658 11.54
Valanciunas, NO ............... 57176 481 657 11.53
Embiid, PHI ....................... 5094460 554 11.08
Nurkic, POR ....................... 56167 452 619 11.05
Allen, CLE .......................... 55192 408 600 10.91
Carter, ORL ....................... 54119 443 562 10.41
Wood, HOU ....................... 59104 491 595 10.08
Randle, NY ........................ 61110 503 613 10.05
Adams, MEM .................... 60277 315 592 9.87
Williams, BOS ................... 52206 305 511 9.83
Towns, MIN ....................... 57152 392 544 9.54
Doncic, DAL ....................... 4844396 440 9.17
Poeltl, SA .......................... 52202 275 477 9.17
Portis, MIL ........................ 55138 363 501 9.11
Vanderbilt, MIN ................ 59180 342 522 8.85
Drummond, PHI ................ 49136 297 433 8.84
Kuzma, WAS ..................... 5964454 518 8.78
Robinson, NY .................... 57219 279 498 8.74
Stewart, DET .................... 56184 296 480 8.57
Siakam, TOR ..................... 50101 323 424 8.48
Murray, SA ........................ 5571389 460 8.36
ASSISTS GAST. AVG.
Paul, PHO ........................................ 58619 10.7
Murray, SA ...................................... 55515 9.4
Young, ATL ...................................... 58541 9.3
Doncic, DAL ..................................... 48422 8.8
Garland, CLE .................................... 49397 8.1
Jokic, DEN ....................................... 56445 7.9
Lowry, MIA ...................................... 48378 7.9
Ball, CHA ......................................... 57419 7.4
Haliburton, SAC .............................. 51379 7.4
Westbrook, L.A.L. ........................... 61443 7.3
Russell, MIN .................................... 50344 6.9
VanVleet, TOR ................................ 52361 6.9
Holiday, MIL .................................... 51340 6.7
Morant, MEM .................................. 50332 6.6
Curry, GS ......................................... 58379 6.5
Giddey, OKC .................................... 54345 6.4
James, L.A.L. ................................... 45281 6.2
Antetokounmpo, MIL ...................... 53318 6.0
Anthony, ORL .................................. 50289 5.8
Dinwiddie, WAS .............................. 44256 5.8
Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC ............... 48268 5.6
White, SA ........................................ 49274 5.6
Ingram, NO ...................................... 49268 5.5
Smart, BOS ..................................... 55304 5.5
STEALS GSTL. AVG.
Murray, SA ...................................... 55111 2.02
Paul, PHO ........................................ 58108 1.86
Trent, TOR ....................................... 54100 1.85
Thybulle, PHI ................................... 47831 .77
Smart, BOS ..................................... 55961 .75
Haliburton, SAC .............................. 51861 .69
Mitchell, UTA .................................. 50821 .64
Melton, MEM .................................. 55891 .62
VanVleet, TOR ................................ 52831 .6
Ball, CHA ......................................... 57881 .54
Covington, POR ............................... 48741 .54
James, L.A.L. ................................... 45691 .53
Jones, NO ........................................ 60921 .53
Edwards, MIN ................................. 56841 .5
Okeke, ORL ...................................... 53791 .49
Holiday, MIL .................................... 51731 .43
Crowder, PHO .................................. 53751 .42
Vanderbilt, MIN .............................. 59831 .41
Payton, GS ...................................... 60841 .4
Jokic, DEN ....................................... 56771 .38
Curry, GS ......................................... 58781 .34
Martin, CHA .................................... 53701 .32
Conley, UTA ..................................... 56731 .3
Bledsoe, L.A.C. ................................ 54691 .28
O'Neale, UTA ................................... 58731 .26
Siakam, TOR ................................... 50631 .26
Cunningham, DET ........................... 50611 .22
BLOCKS GBLK. AVG.
Gobert, UTA .................................... 48107 2.23
Jackson, MEM ................................. 63138 2.19
Williams, BOS ................................. 52114 2.19
Bamba, ORL .................................... 53941 .77
Poeltl, SA ........................................ 52921 .77
Mobley, CLE .................................... 55911 .65
Robinson, NY ................................... 57931 .63
Gafford, WAS .................................. 53811 .53
Whiteside, UTA ............................... 50731 .46
Embiid, PHI ..................................... 50721 .44
Antetokounmpo, MIL ...................... 53741 .4
Horford, BOS ................................... 55771 .4
Capela, ATL ..................................... 55751 .36
Allen, CLE ........................................ 55731 .33
Covington, POR ............................... 48631 .31
Hartenstein, L.A.C. ......................... 51591 .16
Stewart, DET .................................. 56651 .16
Vucevic, CHI .................................... 57641 .12
Towns, MIN ..................................... 57631 .11
Bazley, OKC ..................................... 58641 .1
Kleber, DAL ..................................... 45491 .09
Thybulle, PHI ................................... 47511 .09
Collins, ATL ..................................... 51551 .08
McGee, PHO .................................... 57611 .07
NBA LEADERSprofessional Basketball
BY BEN GOLLIVERlos angeles — As he navigated a
maze of basketball legends on all-
star Sunday in Cleveland, Michael
Jordan beelined for Luka Doncic,
engulfing the Dallas Mavericks
guard with a S anta Claus-like bear
hug.
“M.J. knows my name,” a grinning
Doncic said afterward. “That was
just an unbelievable moment. I have
no words.”
That w arm embrace highlighted a
sensational month for Doncic, who
celebrated his 23rd bi rthday last
week with two wins over the Golden
State Warriors and another against
the Los Angeles Lakers. The Slove-
nian star claimed Western Confer-
ence player of the month honors by
averaging 34.7 points, 10.3 rebounds
and 8.8 assists per game. Along the
way, he notched a career-high
51 points against the Los Angeles
Clippers, outdueled Stephen Curry
and LeBron James and jumped so
high for a p utback dunk over Dwight
Howard that the typically ground-
bound playmaker left his coach and
te ammates baffled.
“Was that Luka?” Mavericks Coach
Jason Kidd quipped. “You sure that
wasn’t Maxi [Kleber]? It wasn’t Davis
[Bertans]? It had to be Dwight
[Powell]. You had to take a second
look to make sure it was Luka. I guess
as he’s gotten older, he’s jumping
higher.”
Doncic captivates with gutsy shot-
making and terrific vision far more
often than with aerial feats, yet his
exchange with the highflying Chica-
go Bulls legend provided helpful
context for his current predicament.
Doncic endorses Jordan’s sneakers,
but Jordan has been in his shoes.
Like Jordan, Doncic has spent his
early 20s posting stunning stat lines
and collecting individual honors
such as rookie of the year and
all-NBA nods. Like Jordan, Doncic
has raised his game on the postsea-
son stage, fearlessly battling more
experienced and accomplished oppo-
nents. But like Jordan’s Bulls, Don-
cic’s Mavericks didn’t reach the sec-
ond round in his first three seasons.
Jordan ’s first series victory came
in Year 4, and Doncic could very well
be headed for a long-awaited post-
season breakthrough of his own. The
Mavericks (38-25) have rocketed up
to fifth in the West’s standings,
posting the NBA’s second-best record
(21-7) and second-best defensive rat-
ing (106.3) since Jan. 1 enteringSaturday. Doncic, who carried extra
weight coming into the season and
missed time in December with an
ankle injury, now looks fit and
healthy, and he has benefited from
Kidd’s offseason arrival and a trade
deadline deal that sent Kristaps
Porzingis to the Washington Wizards
for Spencer Dinwiddie and Bertans.
Kidd has fully empowered Doncic,
whose career-high 37.3 usage rate
leads the NBA. More importantly, the
48-year-old coach has established a
healthier team dynamic than existed
during the latter stages of Rick
Carlisle’s tenure, which saw several
public displays of frustration by
Doncic during last year’s playo ffs.
Carlisle’s authoritarianism has been
replaced by a g entler touch.
“He’s making us talk a lot more
and letting us figure it out,” Maver-
icks forward Dorian Finney-Smith
said of Kidd. “He’s asking questions
and letting guys speak up. We’ve
been holding each other accountable
this year. Our team is jelling right
now.”
Porzingis’s departure has further
clarified the Mavericks’ identity on
both ends. Dallas now favors a com-
pletely spread attack on offense that
relies on ball movement to find open
shooters, no longer needing to feed
Porzingis for post-ups or to work
around his limited passing ability.
The Mavericks’ improved defense is
built on speed rather than size, and
they cover ground more easily with
small-ball options such as Kleber and
Powell rather than the 7-foot-3 Por-
zingis, whose mobility has been lim-
ited by injuries.
Meanwhile, Dinwiddie has made a
seamless transition from Washing-
ton, where he struggled to find a fit
alongside Bradley Beal and within a
locker room plagued by competing
interests. In Dallas, Dinwiddie func-
tions as a t hird ballhandler behind
Doncic and Jalen Brunson, who is
averaging a career-high 16 points and
5.3 assists en route to being one of
this summer’s most coveted free
agents.
“The spacing is different from
Washington,” said Dinwiddie, who is
averaging 14.5 points in six games
since the trade. “Night and day.
There’s a l ot of spot-up capabilities
on this team. We’re taught to stay
spaced, and that makes pretty big
gaps for somebody like me who likes
to get into the paint.”
The Mavericks will be fascinating
to watch in the playoffs because their
most likely opponents — t he Mem-phis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz and Denver
Nugget s — all feature traditional
centers, setting up a clear stylistic
contrast. To offset an undersized
front line, Dallas will experiment
with three-guard lineups and turn to
Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock for
outside shooting when Doncic faces
double teams and traps.
Few players are better than Doncic
at orchestrating when faced with
extra defensive attention. He ha s a
deep bag of tricks to keep opponents
guessing — s tep-back threes, trusty
floaters, sidestep midrange jumpers
and bulldozing drives — and his
patience has improved. Doncic won
late-game chess matches against the
Warriors and Lakers by forcing and
then exploiting isolations against
Curry and James.
“Attacking the best players is al-
ways good,” he said after he scored
41 points in a win over Golden State
on Thursday. “They’ve got to have
energy on both ends.”
Dallas struggled in close games to
start the season, going just 6-11
through Dec. 31 in games that were
within five points i n the last five
minutes. Since then, the Mavericks
are 11-5 in such games. Kidd was
pleased with the Mavericks’ mental
toughness after they closed out the
Lakers and then survived a fourth-
quarter officiating controversy
against the Warriors.
“In the past, we’ve maybe melted
mentally,” Kidd said. “Early on, you
would have seen that [Lakers] game
get away from us. We didn’t blink. We
didn’t take a step back. We ju st kept
playing the game and found a way to
get control of it. Luka is really good
dictating down the stretch, getting
shots or finding the open guys.”
Waiting is always the hardest part
for young stars, and Doncic has had
to watch as Deandre Ayton and Trae
Young, his 2018 draft classmates,
tasted early playoff success. It’s
worth noting that the Clippers, who
eliminated the Mavericks in each of
the past two postseasons, were load-
ed with long and physical perimeter
defenders ideally suited to making
Doncic’s life difficult. No matter
which team Dallas draws this year in
the first round, Doncic won’t need to
deal with Kawhi Leonard or Paul
George, let alone both.
To watch a wide-eyed Doncic fro-
zen with admiration for Jordan at
All-Star Weekend, then, was to be
reminded of his youth. Four years is a
long time, but it’s also only the
beginning.ANALYSISFor Doncic and Mavericks,
is this finally the year?
TONY GUTIERREZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Like Michael Jordan, Luka Doncic didn’t reach the second round of the NBA playoffs in his first three seasons.ASSOCIATED PRESSLeBron James scored a season-
high 56 points, and the Los Ange-
les Lakers beat the Golden State
Warriors, 124-116, on Saturday
night to snap a four-game losing
streak.
James had his third-most
points in a regular season game,
finishing with at least 50 for the
13th time. He had a career-best 61
for Miami against Charlotte in
2014.
R ussell Westbrook added 20
points for the Lakers, and Carme-
lo Anthony had 14.
Stephen Curry had 30 for Gold-
en State, and Jordan Poole added- The Warriors have lost four
straight to drop to third overall in
the NBA.
l HEAT 99, 76ERS 82: Tyler
Herro and Jimmy Butler each
scored 21 points, and host Miami
pulled away in the fourth quarter
to beat P hiladelphia.
Miami went 3-1 on the week
against four East contenders,
beating Chicago, Brooklyn and
now Philadelphia. The only loss
was at Milwaukee, a game where
the Heat led by 14 midway
through the fourth quarter be-
fore collapsing.
Joel Embiid finished with 22
points and 15 rebounds for Phila-
delphia, which held out James
Harden on the second night of a
back-to-back as he recovers from
a le ft hamstring injury.
l MAVERICKS 114, KINGS
113: Dorian Finney-Smith hit a
three-pointer from the right cor-
ner with 3.3 seconds left, and
host D allas, playing without all-
star guard Luka Doncic, over-
came a 19-point deficit for the
second time this week to beat
Sacramento.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored a
season-high 36 points in his first
start for Dallas since being ac-
quired from Washington on
Feb. 10.
Dallas trailed by 19 at Golden
State last Sunday before rallying
for a 107-101 victor y. The Maver-
icks have won five straight.
De’Aaron Fox matched a career
high with 44 points for the Kings.
Doncic was listed on the injury
report as having a left toe sprain.
Coach Jason Kidd wouldn’t
elaborate on the injury.
l HORNETS 123, SPURS 117:
Terry Rozier scored 31 points as
host Charlotte b eat San Antonio,
leaving Spurs Coach Gregg Pop-
ovich a victory short of t ying the
NBA record.
San Antonio has lost four
straight since beating Washing-
ton on Feb. 25 to move Popovich
within one of Don Nelson’s record
of 1,335 regular season victories.
LaMelo Ball added 24 points
for Charlotte.
Keldon Johnson led San Anto-
nio with 33 points but was limit-
ed to five in the second half.
Dejounte Murray had 25 points
and 10 rebounds, and Devin Vas-
sell added 14 points.
Popovich will go for the record
again when the Spurs host the
Lakers on Monday night.
l GRIZZLIES 124, MAGIC
96: Ja Morant had 25 points and
seven assists, Desmond Bane
scored 24 points on 10-for-15
shooting, and host Memphis
routed Orlando.
Tyus Jones added 14 points for
Memphis. The Grizzlies have won
three of four.
Cole Anthony led the Magic
with 19 points. Moritz Wagner
had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
l TIMBERWOLVES 135,
TRAIL BLAZERS 121: I n Minne-
apolis, K arl-Anthony Towns had
36 points and 15 rebounds, and
Minnesota beat Portland for its
fourth straight win.
Anfernee Simons had 38
points, including a career-high-
tying nine three-pointers, for
Portland.
NBA ROUNDUPJames’s
56 points
carry L.A.
to victory
LAKERS 124,
WARRIORS 116WIZARDS’ NEXT THREEvs. Indiana PacersToday6NBCSWat Los Angeles ClippersWednesday10:30 NBCSWat Los Angeles LakersFriday10:30 NBCSW,
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