On a night where rookie starting center Dereck Lively II had to leave the game in the third quarter with a back contusion, the Dallas Mavericks needed as much solid play from their reserve bigs as they could muster against the Los Angeles Lakers ... and they got exactly what they needed from ninth-year veteran Richaun Holmes.
Despite blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Mavs showed perseverance in the clutch, as Kyrie Irving hit a big go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds, and Luka Doncic stole a pass from LeBron James on the following defensive possession to push Dallas to 10-5 overall and 7-1 in clutch games.
Although Doncic got credit for the steal on James, Holmes had just as much to do with it, as he used his length to affect the pass to Anthony Davis. After Doncic got a hand on the ball, Holmes secured it, which led to Irving tacking on two more free throws to give the Mavs a 104-101 lead before James missed a game-tying 3-point attempt from the corner as time expired.
Holmes finished the night with just four points on 1-2 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench, but he also had 10 rebounds and one block while being a +3 in his time on the floor. Given how bad the Mavs' bench defense has been so far this season, it was time for Kidd to make a change, and he gave Holmes the opportunity to be the first big off the bench instead of Dwight Powell on Wednesday night.
"We talked about that in the locker room, I thought [Holmes] played great for us on both ends, both offensively and defensively," Kidd said of the veteran big man making an impact. "Again, we were going with him instead of [Powell] tonight, and I thought he responded in a positive way. He helped, he really helped us win this game tonight."
Not only did Homes help in the rebounding department – the Mavs only lost the rebounding battle to the Lakers, 51-48 – but he also did a great job sealing off his man in order for Doncic to get some easy buckets. Doncic was impressed with Holmes' performance, and he says he'll be picking up the dinner tab for Holmes in the near future.
"Amazing," Doncic said when asked about Holmes' bench production. "I owe him a dinner."
It's only one game, but Holmes has proven that he can have an impact for the Mavs going forward, whether that's in limited bench opportunities or as a fill-in starter if Lively has to miss time due to his back contusion. We'll see if he can keep up his momentum on Saturday when the Mavs take on the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time this season.
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