3 Takeaways From Mavericks' Blowout Over Bulls

The Dallas Mavericks came away with a 119-99 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, getting back on track after a disappointing loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday. It was a much-needed bounce-back win before the Phoenix Suns come to town on Friday.

It was the most in-control Luka Doncic has been all season, finishing with 27 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds, and four steals, and only played 32 minutes. The five turnovers were a little concerning, but he was trying to make a highlight play against an undermanned team on most of those.

Dallas has an eight-point lead after the first quarter, a big difference from what their first quarters have been for most of the season, but they mostly struggled in the minutes where Doncic was on the bench, a concerning trend against the Bulls. A strong opening to the first half became the ultimate difference, but there are still some things to clean up before playing the Suns.

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's win.

1. The Offense is at its Best When Luka Doncic is Looking to Pass

Luka Doncic is the game's greatest shot-creator, both for himself and others. He's able to get wherever he wants on the floor by playing at his own speed, and he has a court vision that's second to none. While his assist numbers were solid to start the season, he's made a concerted effort to get players more involved in these last two games, combining for 28 assists in the last two games, and the offense has looked much smoother.

2. The Defense Can Become Elite By Solving One Big Issue

Dallas' defense has mostly been good all season, except for the Indiana game on Monday night. They forced 22 turnovers on Wednesday against Chicago and held them below 40% shooting for most of the game before a few late baskets at the end of the game got it up to 41.9%. The one thing they could do to take their defense to the next level is closing possessions with a rebound. Chicago's 14 offensive rebounds continue a trend of teams getting after it on the offensive glass against the Mavs, and it's keeping them from being an elite defense. Once Dereck Lively II is healthy, this needs to become a priority.

3. Kyrie Irving is Determined to Never Let the Mavs Have a Bad First Quarter Again

Dallas' first-quarter woes have been the biggest talk of the early season, as they were arguably the worst team in the first twelve minutes in the NBA. Kyrie Irving wanted that to stop and scored 15 of Dallas' 32 first-quarter points. He'd only score two points the rest of the game, but that lift in the beginning was enough for Dallas to find their footing and take off.