As soon as the Dallas Mavericks traded for fifth-year big man Daniel Gafford at this year's trade deadline, everyone knew that he'd be a seamless fit playing alongside star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. However, setting an NBA record in his first 13 games as a member of the Mavs might not have been something people might not have seen coming.
In the second quarter of the Mavs' game against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, Gafford set the NBA record for most consecutive field goals made with 23 in a row (dating back to the 1996-97 season when play-by-play data started being tracked).
"As long as I stay out of my head, the sky's the limit for me," Gafford said after Saturday's win over the Detroit Pistons. "Just keeping my teammates in tune with keeping me from being frustrated and keeping me from getting down on myself and at the end of the day, just coming out and doing my job. Blocking shots, having energy, talking on defense [and] being an anchor."
Coming into Monday's game against Chicago, Gafford was averaging 9.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 73.5 percent from the field in his 12 games played with Dallas. The long, athletic big man is fitting in nicely into his new environment, and that should only continue to get better with time as chemistry with his new teammates grows.
Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for postgame coverage following Mavs-Bulls.
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