The Dallas Mavericks scratched and clawed their way to a 116-114 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at American Airlines Center to pick up their sixth win in eight games. Dallas now sits at 11-17, having won six of its last eight games.
Let’s get to the grades!
Anthony Davis: C+
15 PTS / 14 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 3 BLK – 37 MIN
Davis’ grade would be higher if this were only focusing on his second half where he finished multiple clutch-time baskets to help lead Dallas to this win, but starting 0-8 from the field lowers his grade from what would be probably
a B to a C+. Davis still has what it takes to be a top-20 to top-25 player in the league but we need to see it for all 48 minutes.
Cooper Flagg: A
23 PTS / 10 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 3 BLK – 40 MIN
This kid is truly something else. Flagg continues to impress every time he steps on the court with excellent plays on both sides of the ball and tonight was no different. He struggled with the Pistons’ physicality at times but never let it take him out of the game mentally and found ways to get the Mavericks baskets and stops down the stretch in a close win over a quality opponent.
Daniel Gaff0rd: C
9 PTS / 6 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 3 BLK – 16 MIN
The counting stats aren’t awful, but Gafford’s five turnovers were a big reason he didn’t see much playing time down the stretch in this game. He made some good defensive plays and gave Dallas an offensive boost in the first half, but Dallas will need better ball security and rebounding from its big men as the season progresses.
Naji Marshall: B+
16 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 33 MIN
Marshall continues to do whatever needs to be done for this Mavericks team. His defensive intensity helps set the tone for this team and his improved playmaking since coming to Dallas last season has given Dallas a new wrinkle offensively. Marshall was tied with Flagg for the team-best +16 in his 33 minutes tonight
Ryan Nembhard: B-
6 PTS / 2 REB / 7 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 22 MIN
Nembhard is quickly emerging as one of this season’s finest rookies and his name wasn’t called during the draft. He’s been an absolute steal for this Dallas team and is continuing to grow his game with every game he plays in. His ball security (just two turnovers against a physical, lengthy Detroit defense) gives Dallas a cool, calm, and collected presence at the point guard position. He didn’t get much playing time down the stretch, but I expect that to change as the season goes on.
Klay Thompson: D
5 PTS / 1 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 19 MIN
It continues to be an up-and-down season for Thompson and Thursday was another down night for him as he finished 2-8 from the field and missed an essentially wide-open floater to win the game at the end of regulation. Dallas ended up pulling out the win, so that memory may fade quickly, but his shotmaking hasn’t been there this season and he was a team-worst minus-13 in his 19 minutes tonight.
PJ Washington: B+
13 PTS / 7 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 4 BLK – 37 MIN
Washington has been arguably the most consistent player for Dallas all season, showing up night in and night out giving consistent production and effort, no matter the opponent. He made six baskets tonight, some of them at key moments to lift the team out of droughts, and his defensive effort was big for Dallas tonight. His defense on Cade especially helped slow him down enough to give Dallas the cushion it needed to eke out a win.
Brandon Williams: B-
14 PTS / 5 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 2 BLK – 31 MIN
Williams is having a great season for Dallas and has solidified his role on this team after being a two-way player last season. He continued his solid play Thursday with 14 points against a tough Detroit defense but struggled to find his shot, shooting 3-of-8 from the floor and 0-of-4 from three. He stayed composed against an aggressive team, but knocking down one or two of those threes would’ve helped stop some of those late-game Detroit runs.
Final Thoughts
All in all, this was a gutsy win from a gutsy team. Dallas overcame a double-digit deficit in paint points (70-60), rebounding (62-51), and shot attempts (122-89) (!) to win the game. The win showed that this team can battle through anything to pull out a win if they stick together, but it also showed the team still has things to improve on.
Detroit was the more physical team all night and got multiple second chances that they just should not have gotten. Dallas took their eyes off the ball while going up for rebounds and failed to box out countless times, leading to Detroit dominating the second chance points battle, 30-15.
A win is a win and the Mavericks will take it as it starts to find its rhythm. Dallas has now won six of their last eight games including wins over the Pistons, Heat, Nuggets and Rockets. With this recent hot streak, they’ve taken sole possession of the 10th seed in the Western Conference after starting the season 5-15.
