Anthony Davis, image posted 03/25/25, Dallas Mavericks, Scenes from Brooklyn | Image by Dallas Mavericks @dallasmavs/X
The Dallas Mavericks took down the Brooklyn Nets on Monday as Anthony Davis returned to the court for the first time in over six weeks.
Davis made just his secondappearance for the Mavericks since being traded to the team in February, collecting 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists during his 27 minutes on the court.
The Mavericks have implemented a minutes restriction on Davis as he returns from a left adductor strain, but his minutes should continue to increase over the coming weeks as the team prepares for a potential playoff push.
Davis said shortly after the game that he alwaysplanned to play for the Mavericks this season despite rumors that he could choose to sit out the remainder of the year.
“Seeing guys coming to the locker room after games and leaving it out on the floor and laying on the floor in the locker room just gassed to the point of exhaustion, so there was no doubt I was going to come back and play,” he explained, per Mavs.com.
“That makes you want to come out and play with these guys.”
Dallas improved drastically on both ends of the court during Davis’ minutes on the court, resulting in the forward having the second-highest +/—on the team at +12.
Mavericks forward Naji Marshall, who led the team with a +22 in 27 minutes, said the team could feel the energy and impact that Davis brought during his second appearance with the team.
“Driving to the lane, the bigs don’t want to help as much because you’ve got AD right there to dunk it, so the lane is wide open,” Marshall said, per Mavs.com.
“On defense you don’t have to foul as much when (the opponents) go to the rim, because you know we’ve got AD back there protecting us.”
This impact will be incredibly important for the Mavericks in the final 10 games of the 2024-25 season. The team needs to outperform the Phoenix Suns by one full game to make the NBA Play-In tournament.
Dallas currently has the samerecord as the Phoenix Suns and is tied for the 10th spot in the Western Conference, though Phoenix holds a tiebreaker due to winning three out of four games between the teams this season.
The good news for Dallas is that Phoenix has the toughest remainingschedule of any team in the league. Their remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .621.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks’ remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .504, with only half of these games coming against teams with winning records.
Dallas will look to continue its recent two-game winningstreak tonight against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden at 6:30 p.m.