It took 14 games for the substance to match the style. The Luka Doncic Show had been pretty entertaining right from the start in Phoenix a month ago. But the Mavericks themselves had to be regarded as a work in progress with a defense that was setting league records, especially in allowing opponents to fire away from long range.
Just in time -- three days before the arrival of the perennial NBA champs from Golden State to be precise -- it all came together in a crazy 118-68 destruction of the Utah Jazz, a team that already had defeated Dallas twice in this young season.