ATLANTA – The Mavericks injury situation went from bad to worse, and it only took 10 seconds.
The Mavericks continued to be prudent with their stars, resting 7-3 Kristaps Porzingis as part of his injury-recovery program, and holding out Luka Doncic with right ankle soreness that owner Mark Cuban said is going to be something that the team has to deal with on an ongoing basis.
Then, on the first play of Saturday’s game against Atlanta, second-year guard Jalen Brunson drove to the basket, was met with a hard shove by Hawks’ center Dewayne Dedmon and hit the ground hard after making the layup.