The Dallas Mavericks gave Cooper Flagg a look at point guard to start the team’s third preseason game on Monday, but Dallas’ 114-101 win at the Delta Center, which came without the services of starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, was really an opportunity for anyone and everyone to handle the ball.
Flagg shot just 3-of-13 from the field in his 21 minutes on the floor, but he continues to affect the game in a variety of different ways. Anthony Davis led all scorers with 25 points and blocked two
shots in the win, while Naji Marshall added 17 for Dallas. Brice Sensabaugh continued his hot preseason to lead Utah with 16 points in the loss.
Here are five key stats that stood out in the latest Mavericks’ dry run. The team’s final preseason game will be played on Wednesday at the Los Angeles Lakers.
5: Mavericks’ first-quarter turnovers
After a thoroughly lackluster performance in the team’s second preseason game on Saturday against the lowly Charlotte Hornets, Dallas picked up right where they left off, turning the ball over five times in the first quarter at Utah. Careless mistakes from Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy and Naji Marshall helped the Jazz stay within three after one, down just 30-27. The giveaways nearly negated the advantages created by Davis’ hot scoring start (10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first quarter) and Ryan Nembhard’s playmaking (four first-quarter assists with six transition points created).
P.J. Washington coughed it up for his second turnover of the game on the Mavericks’ second possession of the second quarter after being moved into the starting lineup in D’Angelo Russell’s absence. Washington turned the ball over three times in the first half.
The Mavs’ defense forced seven Jazz turnovers in the second quarter to turn the tables, though.
4-of-20: Mavericks’ first-half 3-point shooting
One way the Mavs’ roster construction holds the team back is that having so many “defensive-minded bigs” severely limits Dallas at the 3-point line. Don’t worry, though (he said, as his eyes rolled out the side of his head) — 3-point shooting is only one of the most important facets of the modern NBA game.
Dallas threw up brick after brick from 3-point range against the Jazz, making just four of their 20 first-half attempts from deep. Washington, Davis Klay Thompson and Cooper Flagg, who made up the scoring bulk of the starting lineup, combined to hit just 2-of-12 on their attempts in the first half. Watching Thompson pump fake and shoot a 3-pointer from a standstill without taking a reset dribble is driving the Mavs Moneyball Slack channel into fits, and it’s only the third preseason game.
The Mavs traded their minus-9 differential at the 3-point line in the first half for a 21-10 scoring advantage over the Jazz at the free throw line. It will be interesting to see how this trade-off works itself out on a night-in, night-out basis.
9: Naji Marshall points in one span of 2:32
Naji Marshall scored nine of his 14 first-half points in a span of 2:32 late in the second quarter. All nine of those came during a 12-0 run that saw the Mavs take the lead back from the Jazz midway through the second and build it to a 51-42 advantage after he hit all three free throws after getting fouled in the corner with 4:11 left before halftime. He hit a rare 3-pointer for the Mavs during the run, got to the line and finished on a tough 3-point play to ignite the run.
Anthony Davis led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting at the break as the Mavericks took a 61-53 lead into the locker room. That 12-0 run also coincided with Davis moving to the five instead of the four. Coincidence?
1-of-10: Mavs’ 3-point shooting start to the third quarter
Yea. it wasn’t pretty. Flagg missed another pair from the outside to start the third, and Max Christie missed all three of his attempts from deep to start the third quarter. This isn’t to say that Flagg had a bad game overall — he just wasn’t hitting from the perimeter against the Jazz. Flagg finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 21 minutes against Utah.
But still, the Mavs maintained their lead over the struggling Jazz offense after they took control with that 12-0 second quarter run that extended into a 22-11 scoring advantage to close out the first half.
After starting the third quarter 1-of-10 from deep with the regulars still in the game, the rest of the team came alive to connect on four of their last nine of the third quarter, including one by Hardy at the buzzer, to extend the Mavericks’ lead to 87-72 heading into the fourth. Hardy scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point land in the third.
25/6/2/2/2: Anthony Davis’ game-leading stat line
At the end of his night, Davis had piled up 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc in 25 minutes. You’d have to call that a good night for the big man as he works his way back into game shape.
There were still moments where he jogged back on defense and flew past shooters on closeouts, but Monday’s performance was at least a medium-sized step in the right direction for Davis. He also grabbed six rebounds, blocked two shots and took two steals in the win.
12: Assists from Ryan Nembhard
Nembhard played with the regulars, and he played with the spares as the game wound down. He made plays all night long against Utah, no matter who was on the floor with him. If you’re open, Ryan Nembhard will find you.
His lob early on to Christie was a thing of beauty as Christie slipped behind the Jazz defense for a transition alley-oop slam. In the fourth quarter, Nembhard went to the hot hand of Miles Kelly on the perimeter time and time again, feeding his fellow undrafted rookie for assists on all four of Kelly’s 3-point makes down the stretch. Kelly finished with 14 points (all in the fourth quarter) on 4-of-10 3-point shooting in the win.
Russell’s absence from the game on Monday gave Nembhard the platform he needed to make his case for playing time with the big club after signing a two-way deal following June’s NBA Draft. Nembhard finished with just six points on 2-of-6 shooting but put his stamp on the offensive end by finding open teammates all night long after leading the NCAA in assists a year ago.
