Stats Rundown: 7 numbers to know from the Dallas Mavericks’ workmanlike 109-95

After a slow start on Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks (46-30) used a strong effort in the second and third quarters to earn a 109-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks (36-41) at American Airlines Center.

Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving combined for 51 points in the grind-it-out win, and Dončić finished two assists shy of yet another triple-double (25 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists). Coming off that five-game road swing with an extra trip to the West Coast stuck in there due to the rescheduled game against the Golden State Warriors, he wasn’t firing on all cylinders. But his skill with the ball in his hands is rivaled only by his stubbornness, and with a little help from his friends, he was able to make enough plays to help keep the Hawks at arm’s length.

Bogdan Bogdanovic led Atlanta with 17 points and seven rebounds, but the Mavs’ defense bothered him into shooting just 6-of-15 shooting from the field. The pesky defense of Dante Exum and P.J. Washington limited Dejounte Murray (16 points on 6-of-17 shooting) all night long — you could tell that was a point of emphasis for Dallas.

Here are seven stats that tell the tale of the latest Mavericks’ win — the team’s 12th in their last 14 games on this crucial stretch run.

0-of-5, 3 turnovers: Luka Dončić’s slow first-quarter start

We’re old enough to remember Dončić’s 25-of-33 shooting night in Atlanta in January that ended in the fourth-highest individual scoring output in NBA history. But on Thursday in Dallas, the first quarter started with five minutes of frustration before Dončić had to exit with two early fouls.

Dončić went 0-for-5 and turned the ball over three times before getting a little early bench time. The rest of the team didn’t fare much better over the rest of the first. The Mavs shot just 8-of-24 from the field and 4-of-13 from 3-point range as a team.

Luckily enough, the Hawks weren’t much better, playing without star guard Trae Young for the 20th game in a row (finger surgery). The score at the end of one was Hawks 31, Mavericks 25. Nothing was ruined yet, but the Mavs were teetering on the edge of mediocrity.

Dončić got his first bucket on a step-back 3-pointer with 10 minutes left in the second quarter as Mavs fans everywhere crossed fingers and toes in hopes that the floodgates would open.

Spoiler alert: the floodgates did, in fact, open in the second quarter, which should come as a surprise to no one. Dončić scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists in the second, restoring order to the universe and helping the Mavs grab a 65-57 lead at the half. The Mavs finished the first half on a 10-0 run to vault out in front.

13: P.J. Washington’s first-half scoring

As the second quarter slogged on, the Mavs started to wake up, but P.J. Washington was Dallas’ steadying force in the first half. He followed up his 20-point performance at Golden State with 13 more in the first half on Thursday. Washington…