The Dallas Mavericks (19-32) played their first post-Trade Deadline game on Thursday night, taking on the San Antonio Spurs (35-16) at home. Looking to stop a five-game losing streak, Dallas instead extended their season-long skid to six with a 135-123 loss.
Let’s get to the grades!
Naji Marshall: A
32 PTS / 6 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 39 MIN
Marshall was back to his old self, converting at a blistering rate (12-for-21) and constantly pushing the pace. Extra credit for the number of no-calls he endured throughout the game, but he really doesn’t need extra credit for an A
grade. He was awesome against the Spurs.
Max Christie: B+
20 PTS / 3 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 38 MIN
Usually a solid defender, Christie was caught sleeping a number of times, resulting in easy scores for the Spurs. Offensively, credit is due for his conscious effort to not camp at the 3-point line as he has in his last few. Case in point, he shot 7-for-14 overall, but only 2-for-8 from deep. He got back to driving and opened up his offensive game against San Antonio He also found his teammates with a handful of nice assists.
Cooper Flagg: A
32 PTS / 6 REB / 4 AST / 2 STL / 3 BLK – 39 MIN
Flagg was thrown off his offensive game at the start, but true to form, he stayed the course and had a fourth-straight30-plus point outing. Turnovers (three) were a problem, but it’s difficult to be too upset given his overall play on both sides of the ball — he was outstanding. He tied his career-high mark with three blocked shots and now holds the third-highest four-game scoring span by a rookie, ever.
Caleb Martin: B
8 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 32 MIN
Martin didn’t fill up the box score and his plus/minus was a team worst at minus-20, but that doesn’t paint the most accurate picture of a decent game. He hit 3-for-4 from the floor, snatched a couple of steals and also did a pretty nice job guarding Victor Wembanyama on a number of occasions.
Daniel Gafford: B+
16 PTS / 10 REB / 2 AST / 3 STL / 4 BLK – 33 MIN
Gafford took a page out of Marshall’s book, coming out strong with a 10-point first quarter in which he also turned away three shots. His numbers slowed after that, but he still had a solid double-double and a crazy high seven stocks while not turning the ball over. Gafford has now recorded three straight double-doubles.
Klay Thompson: D
5 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 20 MIN
Thompson didn’t factor in all that much, taking relatively few shots (especially in the first half) while struggling to convert. He had a few opportunities in the fourth quarter to hit a momentum-shifting 3-pointer, but they just wouldn’t fall for him (1-for-6 from downtown).
Ryan Nembhard: C
5 PTS / 3 REB / 7 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 17 MIN
Nembhard showed flashes of the hot play that got everyone excited at the end of 2025, making nice passes while taking care of the ball (one turnover), but missed seven of his nine shot attempts.
Moussa Cisse: C-
0 PTS / 5 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 12 MIN
Cisse had a tough night defensively, racking up three fouls in just his first five minutes. He was more careful defensively after that, but offensively, he missed an alley-oop dunk and immediately followed it up by getting his shot blocked on the next possession. If nothing else, this will hopefully be a good growth game for him.
Final Thoughts
Dallas continued their longstanding trend of apathetic 3-point defense at the start of the game and coupled it with some shockingly poor turnovers. They remain engaged, competitive and fun to watch, but it does feel like they let this one slip away. A12q-point defeat doesn’t always feel that way, but the early going had some very ugly moments.
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