On Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks got back on the winning side of things, beating the Utah Jazz in Dallas, 112-100. It was a competitve game that saw Dallas pull away with a fantastic third quarter and never let up after. Here’s what coach Dusty May, Cooper Flagg, and Morez Johnson Jr. had to say post-game:
Dusty May
Opening statement
I felt like in the first half, when we weren’t making shots and things weren’t going necessarily well, the effort plays, the second shots, those allowed us just to hang around, and we didn’t
have to dig ourselves out of a hole in the second half, because Utah was playing well in the first half. They were making shots, they found some holes in our defense, they had us bogged down, and it’s what they do. They limit passes, they limit assists, and they get you into this one-on-one battle, and they’re quick and fast and they’re good individual defenders. So we didn’t adjust to the game very well early, but because of the effort plays we were able to hang around, and in the second half set our intensity level, our on-ball pressure, and we were able to wear them down, especially with our bench. I thought our bench was awesome tonight, and each night it would be a little bit different, but the group that played the majority of the minutes really had a major impact.
On PJ Washington’s game:
We need P.J. to be a three-point shooter for us. I mean, he’s got a beautiful shot. He’s one of those guys that we’ve played him at the five against San Antonio; we played him at the four, we played him at the three when we want to go big.
He may have told on himself tonight. He really sat down and guarded a couple quick, fast point guards and stayed in front of the ball and got some deflections, so he was really, really good. I love him shooting with that amount of confidence, because we need it. But overall, just a really good game by P.J., especially in the first half. Like I said, we won the hustle plays in the first half, but without his shots, we have a deficit.
On Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving’s play in the second half:
I’m not sure what changed. I noticed that it just looked like they’re just playing with great competitive spirit. I thought in the second half, for whatever reason, we just kind of — we kind of [locked in], and we just look like we’re out there on the playground having fun playing basketball. Their physicality, their intensity, whatever it was, they flipped the switch at half and came out with a different look.
On Morez Johnson’s strong game:
Obviously I’m biased, I’ve known Morez for a long time. But you don’t practice and you don’t train, you’re not in any type of rhythm, and then because of that he wasn’t in the type of shape that he’s typically in. He’s got his weight down, he looks like he’s in game shape now, and the first glimpse was in San Antonio when Naji threw the lob. He thought he was playing with Wemby, but it was Rez, and Rez went up and got it, even though he didn’t finish it. That was the first glimpse where the staff said, okay, his athleticism is almost back. But yeah, his energy, his effort — I mean, he’s a winning player. And for a guy that you don’t call any plays for, if he can get you 17 and — we have 17 and 13, or 13 and 17, without calling any plays for him — you know, we need those type of glue guys.
On Johnson’s adjustment to the NBA so far:
He’s an everyday guy, so he’s handled it well, but he’s been frustrated, you know. And even when he was frustrated with his play, he was making impactful winning plays when it mattered most. I think just now he’s just relieved to be getting back in the flow of playing, and he has to continue to take care of his body. But he looks great. I mean, this is the guy that I think we’ll see regularly. He was out-hustling everyone on the court for multiple possessions.
Cooper Flagg
On Johnson’s big game:
I thought Rez was amazing… I think this is his effort, crashing every single time. How many offensive rebounds was it? Okay, only 10 offensive rebounds. Does that happen without incredible effort? H was playing both sides of the ball at a really high level, so, um, you know, I think when he’s in that mode, it’s gonna make us a lot better.
On PJ Washington’s shooting:
When P.J., you know, gets his feet set, shoots with confidence, he’s a great shooter. So he’s been hot, and we need him to keep taking those looks, keep knocking them down, and it’s great for us.
On the third quarter run:
I gotta give a lot of credit to my teammates… I’ve been struggling a little bit from the field, and I think a lot of the shots tha I’m very comfortable taking and making haven’t been going in. So a lot of credit to my teammates, just keeping me in good spirits and keeping my head up high, and just making sure I know that they believe in me has been a big thing. And just trusting that, trusting the effort, um, you know, just doing the little things to get myself going, and, um, you know, finding some energy, and it just makes some plays.
Morez Johnson Jr.
On playing with Santi Aldama:
This is like the first time we actually played together on the floor. I think when we build that chemistry, it’ll be really [good] out there as a frontcourt, you know, with him spacing the floor like that and me picking and popping sometimes, just making the defense have to decide if they want to go in a drop or switch everything.
On catching the lob:
It felt good, you know. Um, dealing with the shin injury, I wasn’t able to be as athletic as I can be, but I’m glad the shin issue’s going away and I’m back to being bouncy a little bit.
