The Dallas Mavericks (12-18) were on the second night of a back-to-back, looking for a win against the Denver Nuggets (21-8) on Tuesday at American Airlines Center. After letting one slip away against the New
Orleans Pelicans on Monday, Dallas locked in to get the 131-130 win against one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Let’s get to the grades!
Jaden Hardy: B+
10 PTS / 2 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 28 MIN
For a guy with such a fluctuating role, Hardy did well in his first start of the season against Denver. Despite going 0-for-3 from deep, he was 5-for-9 overall. Hardy gets a small bump automatically for taking a charge as well.
Ryan Nembhard: B+
11 PTS / 3 REB / 7 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 33 MIN
Nembhard had a much better game than he did in Monday’s loss to the Pels, but that’s not saying much considering how poorly he played against New Orleans. He took good care of the ball (one turnover) against the Nuggets and was quietly effective, shooting 5-for-11. Nembhard’s airball with eight seconds remaining almost cost the Mavs the game on one end, but in his defense, he got a hot potato pass and was forced to put one up quickly in the Mavs’ final possession; plus, a single play doesn’t negate a bounce-back effort. He was a plus-24, more than doubling the next closest Maverick in that department.
Naji Marshall: B+
15 PTS / 4 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 32 MIN
Marshall continues to be consistent and steady night in and night out. He continued his hot shooting, going 6-for-11 from the field, including a huge 3-ball with a minute and a half remaining in the game.
Cooper Flagg: A+
33 PTS / 9 REB / 9 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 40 MIN
Flagg was a juggernaut all night and made some big clutch plays, including a 3-pointer and beautiful flip shot off some fancy footwork during the final five minutes, before finding Naji Marshall on a cross-court pass for a crucial 3-pointer. He hit 14-for-21 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from deep. He had an awesome game in all respects.
Anthony Davis: A
31 PTS / 9 REB / 4 AST / 3 STL / 0 BLK – 36 MIN
Davis has now put together very nice games on back-to-back nights. It makes one wonder why this level of engagement isn’t a nightly occurrence, but that’s a discussion for another day. On Tuesday, Davis was hitting shots, following misses and crashing the boards. He basically did it all, with few flaws to speak of. He and Flagg were a terrifying duo and put on an absolute show for the nationally televised game.
Caleb Martin: B+
9 PTS / 4 REB / 3 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN
It’s nice to have a reason to include Martin in a Grades post, for once. His two turnovers were one too many, but that’s about all to complain about. Martin had a nice game, chipping in on just about every statistical category, and hit 4-for-6 from the floor. He also had some nice intangibles on the defensive end, including a never-give-up full-court sprint to alter a Nuggets 3-point attempt.
Final Thoughts
This was a game with some big swings in scoring. Dallas came out smoking hot in the first quarter, then both teams tightened things up in the second. The Mavericks got run out of the building, the city, the county and the state in the third quarter, yielding 47 points to the Nuggets as they displayed every possible way to not cover the 3-point shot. All that set up a tie game going into the fourth. Fortunately, the Mavs got themselves an early Christmas present win in a fourth-quarter grinder. Ironically, Nuggets wing Peyton Watson missed a wide open three-point attempt at the buzzer, after the Nuggets hit 20 of their first 40 attempts from deep.
There was a bit of good fortune in this one, but getting a win against a team that has been as good on the road as the Nuggets (11 straight wins) is something to feel good about.
I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.
