During the regular season, the Mavericks sent opponents to the free throw line an average of 23 times per game.
That’s not a good number, ranking in the bottom 12 of the league.
Still, what they wouldn’t have given to have Houston hit the line just 23 times in Game 1.
The Rockets shot a whopping 45 free throws, making 32. And it’s not like most of those were intentional fouls to send their weak free-throw shooters to the line. The Mavericks used that strategy sparingly.
James Harden shot 17 of them and Terrence Jones 11.