At 4-2 with three straight wins, Dallas is on pace for 55-27, the same mark John MacLeod's 1986-87 team posted to win the franchise's first Midwest Division title. The pieces that carried that era, a scoring pair, a reliable center and a bench weapon, all showed up against Houston.
The 55-27 Benchmark
Thirty-nine years ago tonight, Dallas beat Utah 103-77 on the way to 55-27 and the first division banner in team history. This group sits sixth at 4-2, and its pace lands on that same number. Six games is a thin sample with 76 left, and the climb starts from a 26-56 finish. The next five games, Kings, Spurs, Jazz, Nets and Pacers, will show whether this pace holds.
A Scoring Pair Again
The 1981 draft gave Dallas Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman, who scored 24.6 and 19.2 a night for most of a decade. Irving and Flagg are the first pair since then to make that comparison worth raising. Against Houston they went a combined 25-38 from the field for 68 points. Irving shot 12-19 and supplied 16 of the 40 Dallas points after the third quarter. Flagg went 0-4 from deep and still scored 33, getting it at the rim and at the line, 7-10.
Big Men and the Bench
James Donaldson became the first Mavericks center named an All-Star in 1988, the same year Roy Tarpley won Sixth Man. Gafford played that steady middle role Thursday: 18 points on 6-7 shooting, two blocks and a team-best plus-10. Risacher played the Tarpley part, scoring 12 off the bench on 3-6 from three, with three steals. The bench totaled 25 points against 91 from the starters, so Dallas still needs more depth. Lively and Aldama are listed out and targeting Nov. 2.
What was the Mavericks' record when they won their first division title?
They went 55-27 in 1986-87 under John MacLeod and won the Midwest Division. Dallas's 4-2 start this season projects to the same record.
Who led the Mavericks in the 116-111 win over the Rockets?
Kyrie Irving scored 35 and Cooper Flagg added 33 in the Emirates NBA Cup win. Daniel Gafford had the team's best plus-minus at plus-10.
