3 studs, 2 duds in Mavericks’ thrilling home win against Bulls

The Dallas Mavericks have started off the regular season with a record of 4-0, as they beat the Chicago Bulls by a score of 114-105 last night.

After the win, the Mavs and Boston Celtics remain the only undefeated teams in the NBA.

In the game, there were over 22 lead changes between the two teams. The Mavs shot 41.7 percent from the 3-point line and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line as a team.

3 studs, 2 duds in Mavericks’ thrilling home win against Bulls

In a quiet night from Luka Doncic, multiple Mavericks made sure to step up in the win.

Here are your 3 studs and 2 duds from the home win.

Honorable Mention: Jaden Hardy

After having 2 DNP’S and only playing a total of 10 minutes throughout three games, Jaden Hardy played phenomenally in the Mavs home win.

In 14 minutes, Jaden Hardy had nine points, one rebound, and one assist, including a clutch dagger from behind the arc late in the fourth quarter.

Hardy, an electric scorer, was able to showcase his offensive talents while he helped the Mavs get the win. Not only was he hitting clutch shots, but he was facilitating the ball very well.

After a night like this for Hardy, expect him to stick in the Mavs rotation as they will go on the road to take on the Denver Nuggets on Friday evening.

Honorable Mention: Tim Hardaway Jr.

In the first four games of the season, Tim Hardaway Jr. has had 17 plus points on a very efficient level.

After his performance last night in the win, Hardaway Jr. has made a clear case to be one of the top candidates for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.

In his 27 minutes on the court, Hardaway Jr. dropped 24 points, three rebounds, and two assists while shooting 7-13 from the 3-point line.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, Hardaway Jr. hit a 3-point and-one shot off of a pass from Dereck Lively II.

Hardaway Jr. is now averaging over 20 points per game while shooting 43.2 percent from three.

5. Stud - Derrick Jones Jr.

The story for the Mavs in the last two games has been how great starting small forward, Derrick Jones Jr. has been.

Jones Jr. had a season-high of 31 minutes on the floor tonight while putting up 17 points and five rebounds, including shooting 7-13 from the field.

Jones Jr. showcased his talents of being able to play on both sides of the floor. Early in the third quarter, Jones Jr. had a massive put-back dunk over Zach Lavine that had the AAC crowd going crazy.

This is the second consecutive game for Jones Jr. having hit the log in double-digits for points. After the first two games of the season, Mavs fans were questioning Jason Kidd and his reasoning of starting Jones Jr., but after his performance in the win he has proved it was indeed the right decision.

An underrated part of the Mavs win tonight was the defense from Jones Jr. on Zach Lavine. In the second half of the game, he made a continuous nightmare for Lavine after his hot start.

Expect Jones Jr. to stay in the starting lineup moving ahead for the Dallas Mavericks.