HOUSTON – After missing this past Monday’s game against San Antonio with left hamstring soreness, Brandon Williams actually didn’tBWILL know what to expect when he played in this past Wednesday’s game against the Spurs.
But the Dallas Mavericks’ guard fared very well as he wound up leading the Mavs in scoring with 19 points, and also collected six assists and a game-high tying two steals.
“I felt pretty good,” Williams said. “I don’t know how it looked on the outside, but I definitely felt good, especially that first three minutes when I got it going.”
Williams ended up converting half of his 12 field goal attempts, including making two of his five attempts from three-point land in 28 minutes. It all came as, in the back of his mind, Williams was concerned how his hamstring would fare in the game against the Spurs.
“I’ve never really had a hamstring injury ever in my career,” he said. “I’m learning now that that’s really my speed and my acceleration – all that stuff just comes from my hamstring.
“(The Mavs’ medical staff) really just want to be really cautious with it. I’m taking it a day at a time and a treatment at a time.”
BwillTaking things a day at a time has been the theme for Williams this season. After all, he never played more than four games in any month this season until last month when the injuries just started oddly showing up and putting a glitch in the Mavs’ season.
But before he started seeing extensive time on the court, Williams – he’s a two-day player – had the luxury of watching guards Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic and Klay Thompson in practice. And he said being on the front row watching that trio of talent “helped me a lot. I was going against those guys starting with training camp every single day.
“I learned so many things from (Irving) – small, big. I wasn’t playing a lot, so I can really see a lot over there on the sidelines — small details, how they approach the game. I can keep going, but they’re half of famers. So, it would be not wise for me not to take anything. I’m just trying to be a sponge every day.”
And while he was soaking up all the action prior to receiving some court time of his own, Williams was learning that he needed to have many tools in the toolbox in order to be successful in the NBA. He also has learned that sometimes the basketball gods are not always in a good mood, as was the case against the Spurs two days ago when the Mavs had eight players on the injury list while suiting up just nine players and losing a game where they shot a healthy 55.6 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
“We’re small, so just closing out and having other’s backs when they drive is really key,” Williams said. “Then, when shots go up, all five of us have to come back (on defense).
“It was just one of those nights (Wednesday). So, we just have to come out the next game and watch the film and come back and see what we did wrong and execute it against Houston.”
Here are some other nuggets surrounding Friday’s game between the Mavs and Rockets.
*Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets is the finale of a three-game road trip across Texas for the Mavs, who won in San Antonio on Monday (133-129) beforeMavs losing in San Antonio on Wednesday (126-116). The Mavs return home after Friday’s game and will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at noon.
*It’s been a puzzling season for the Rockets, who were an impressive 32-14 on Jan. 28, but have since craved out a 9-11 record. Still, the Rockets enter Friday’s game riding a four-game winning streak. Jalen Green had 29 points, seven rebounds and three steals in Wednesday’s 111-104 win over Phoenix. Houston is 3-0 on this six-game home stand which continues with Saturday’s game against Chicago and Monday’s contest against Philadelphia.
*Mavs centers Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture) and Daniel Gafford (right MCL sprain) will not play in Friday’s game. Forwards AnthExumony Davis (strained left adductor) and Olivier-Maxence (right wrist surgery), and guards Kyrie Irving (torn left knee ACL surgery) and Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) will also miss Friday’s game. Guards Dante Exum (hamstring) and Brandon Williams (hamstring), forward PJ Washington (right ankle sprain), and center Kai Jones (quadriceps) are all questionable for Friday’s game. Prosper underwent successful surgery earlier this week to repair an injury to his right wrist. The Mavs said Prosper will be listed as “out’ for the remainder of the season, and updates on his status will be provided when appropriate.
*For the Rockets, Alperen Sengun is averaging 21.4 ppg and shooting 56.3 percent from the field in the 10 games he’s played in since the All-Star break. In the 11 games he played in prior to the All-Star break, Sengun averaged 16.5 ppg and shot 48.9 percent from the floor.
*With 15 games remaining in the regular season, the Mavs (33-34) are clinging to the 10th spot in the Western Conference standings. But they are only one game behind the ninth-place Sacramento Kings (33-32) and two-and-a-half games ahead of the 11th-place Phoenix Suns (30-36). The No. 10 seed will receive the final spot in the NBA’s play-in tournament out West.
*Overall for the Rockets, Jalen Green averages 21.1 ppg, Alperen Sengun is averaging 19.2 ppg and 10.3 rpg, Fred VanVleet averages 14.3 ppg and 5.7 apg, Dillion Brooks is scoring at a 13.9 ppg clip, Jabari Smith Jr. is averaging 11.8 ppg and 6.6 rpg, and Tari Eason averages 11.8 ppg and 6.3 rpg. The Rockets are 21-8 this season when Brooks scores 15 or more points, and 12-1 when Smith scores 15 or more points.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (33-34) at HOUSTON ROCKETS (41-25)
When: 7 p.m., Friday
Where: Toyota Center, Houston
TV: KFAA-29, MavsTV Stream
Radio: KEGL 97.1 FM The Eagle, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
X: @DwainPrice