Dallas Mavericks

Deep enough in their pockets to ink NBA history’s second-highest-scoring backcourt to its payroll, the Dallas Mavericks were unlikely to ever be concerned with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving’s cohesive ability to spark an unforgettable postseason run through a lit-up scoreboard. Yet, in the event that doubts lingered, the Hall of Fame-bound pairing dedicated April 7, 2024 to eliminating both potential skepticism and their in-state rival Houston Rockets from postseason contention simultaneously. Flexing a trademark muscle that would ultimately define their closely-arriving 2024 NBA Playoffs run, Dallas showed resiliency, staging a 22-point revival, tied for the seventh-largest comeback in franchise history. Struggling to generate stops, Dallas, as evidenced by the 148-point masterpiece, trusted both decorated superstars and its spirited supporting cast — see Dante Exum’s overtime-forcing 3-pointer or P.J. Washington’s heroic, eight-point overtime — to coordinate an offensive-minded victory. Dallas wore both their white jerseys and, figuratively speaking, exhaustion from the frenetic, back-and-forth affair. One day before the much-discussed Solar Eclipse, Irving and Dončić were, in a word, otherworldly, orbiting the Rockets’ nightmares with a 48-point and 37-point demonstrations respectively. The end result: win No. 48 and one step closer to clinching the Wild West’s No. 5 seed.