It didn’t take long on Monday for Anthony Davis to make his presence felt in the Dallas Mavericks’ (35-37) 120-101 win Monday against the Brooklyn Nets (23-49) at the Barclay’s Center. He returned to action for the Mavericks and scored inside on the Mavs’ first two possessions in a victory that brings Dallas one step closer to a possible play-in berth in the NBA Playoffs. He made a baseline cut against a negligent Nets defense for a dunk on the game's first possession before working Nets’ big man Nic Claxton over on a drive the next time down to put the Mavericks up 4-0.
But, you may ask, what does it all mean? Have the Mavericks’ prospects made a full turn-around in just one night? Assuredly, no, they have not. But with the Phoenix Suns’ tough schedule in their last 11 games and a much smoother ride ahead for Dallas, that play-in berth now looks like the most likely result. With Davis at the ready, those who are prone to fits of homerism are well within their justification to proclaim, “We are so back.”
Even for those Mavs fans who still can’t muster any joy in watching the Luka-less Mavs battle on the brink of irrelevance, at least Davis’ return made for mildly compelling television. There will be no lack of sports items to talk about at the water cooler on Tuesday morning, at the very least.
Whatever your disposition toward The Team Who Sold The World, your Dallas Mavericks are once again a salient talking point. Seven Mavs scored in double figures in Monday night’s win, paced by Naji Marshall, who had 22 on 8-of-12 shooting.
Hot start
The pieces available to the Mavericks seemed to fall into place relatively quickly in Brooklyn, as Dallas got off to a 9-of-14 start from the floor. They played with great spacing, asserted their will in getting to the basket and ran with just the right amount of pace. Cormac Karl “Max” Christie’s second bucket of the game, a little floater in the middle of the lane, gave Dallas a 19-8 lead midway through the first. He hit his first 3-pointer of the game a minute earlier.
They just seemed to carry a sense of freedom down the floor each time down. Of course, that freedom was probably equal parts of the bounce in their step from getting a top-75 player back after Davis missed the last 18 games following his debut with the Mavs in a Feb. 8 win over the Houston Rockets, plus the fact that they were playing a bottom-dwelling Eastern Conference foe with little to play for.
Dallas led by as many as 17 points in the first quarter and took a 32-17 lead after one. Davis, Kai Jones and Marshall scored six points apiece in the first quarter as the Mavs shot 13-of-21 (61.9%) from the field. Christie and Brandon Williams each added five apiece. The ball was moving quickly on offense and the Mavericks scored 10 points off four Brooklyn turnovers in the first.
ADdition
Anthony Davis was playing on what the Mavericks broadcast team said was a 28-minute restriction in his first game back after suffering a left adductor strain — of the non-contact variety — in the third quarter against the Rockets back in February.
He may not have announced his presence with the same burst of authority against the Nets as he did against the Rockets, but his effectiveness right from the opening tip was a great sign for Dallas’ play-in hopes. He didn’t appear to have to run any harder than a brisk job early on, though — just something to keep an eye on in his first few games back in the lineup. The broadcast crew also hypothesized that Davis may not be available for Tuesday’s game at the New York Knicks, as a precautionary measure.
For those eyeing Davis’ workload first and foremost, after his nearly eight-minute first quarter, he played about six minutes in the second quarter, keeping him right on pace to hit that 28-minute mark. Coming back against the Nets was the perfect scenario for his return — he could get his feet underneath him during a game in which the team didn’t need a big night from the very big man.
He didn’t score in the second and finished the first half with six points, five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. The Mavericks went into halftime with a 62-48 lead. Davis opened the third quarter with a casual mid-range jumper on Dallas’ first possession of the second half and followed it up with another long two-pointer late in the third.
Davis played about 12 minutes in the second half and finished game with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and six boards. His cadence of movement was a bit on the slow side, but it was just his first game back, so it’s hard to know what to make of that.
“We got goals in mind,” Davis said in a televised postgame interview. “I want to make sure that I have a rhythm going into the play-in and see where we go from there”
Keeping up with Kai Jones
There may be something to this whole “playing with two very large men on the floor” thing. It’s too bad that Kai Jones, one of Dallas’ starring twin towers in Monday’s win over the Nets, has just four games of eligibility left with the Mavericks at this point. He started with Dallas on a prorated two-way contract, signing just hours before the team’s 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 3.
Jones found himself on the receiving end of several drives-and-dishes from his teammates and was active on defense. The Nets, who lead the league this year in man-games lost due to injury (surpassing even the Mavericks in that distinction), aren’t the sternest test on the interior, though.
Still, Jones’ contribution to the cause have been admirable in his short time with the Mavs. He scored 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and pulled down nine boards against Brooklyn.
The bottom line
The Mavericks saw their lead grow to as large as 22 points late in the third quarter. It was their first lead of 20-plus points in any game since Dallas’ 103-96 win over the Charlotte Hornets on February 27. The outcome against the Nets was never really in question once the Mavs grabbed a hold of their first double-digit lead five minutes into the game.
Davis’ presence on the floor does several things for the Mavericks. The first is very basic. It provides the team, in the short term, a 10th available player, as warm-blooded healthy bodies have become a concern of late. Next, it provides a legitimate scoring option when as he rounds into form, so Dallas doesn’t have to depend as largely on guys who would normally reside on the end of the bench. Having Davis back also appeared to lift his teammates’ spirits — it may have put more of a bounce in their step than he had in his own feet in his first game back.
Take from Monday night’s win what you will. The win over the Nets forced the Phoenix Suns into a position where they had to win their late Monday matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks to inch back in front of Dallas in the race for 10th place in the West.
The season is not over. The Mavs’ play while Davis was on the shelf indicated their fervent “never-say-die” belief in that tenant. With the big man back on the floor, can Dallas connect on the longest of long shot hopes? Probably not, but stand by, for now.