The Dallas Mavericks came to The Windy City with a three-game winning streak against the Chicago Bulls, including an early November victory. Quite a lot has changed since then, but fortunately the outcome of the game remained the same, as the Mavs won 120-119. The ending was not without drama, as the Bulls reeled off an 11-2 run before Spencer Dinwiddie put an end to it with a nice drive and finish. After a quick score to cut the Mavericks lead to 3, Chicago got a stop and had a chance to tie with 10.4 seconds remaining but Dallas played the foul card to great effect, as the Bulls split a pair of free throws instead of even attempting a three. From there, Klay Thompson iced it at the free throw line, moving the Mavs up to the 9th Seed in the Western Conference with the win! Let’s get to the grades!
Spencer Dinwiddie: A
14 Points / 8 Rebounds / 11 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block (36 Minutes)
Dinwiddie was posturing for a good grade despite not looking to score early on, instead dishing and get his teammates involved. Then the fourth quarter rolled around and he stepped up big, dropping in 11 points, including a bucket with 36.1 remaining in the game to push the lead to five while the Bulls were in the midst of a big run. He badly flubbed another shot a few seconds later, but a near triple-double effort with a big fourth quarter was badly needed to get another road win, pushing the Mavericks record to 3-1 in the four game roady.
Klay Thompson: A-
20 Points / 1 Rebound / 1 Assist / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks (30 Minutes)
Thompson’s has shown a tendency to take a rhythm dribble after receiving a pass. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that, however he seems to do it when he’s open in the first place. He got up a healthy number of shots in the first half alone (11) but his efficiency was sub-par. Then he got hot and ended up going 6-for-13 overall and 5-for-10 from three. As nice as that was, his two biggest buckets were two free throws that iced the game.
P.J. Washington: B+
19 Points / 7 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 0 Steals / 2 Blocks (32 Minutes)
Washington got off to a hot start, scoring Dallas’ first bucket and proving to be the offensive go-to early on. At one point in the first quarter, Washington was 3-for-4 from the floor, while the rest of the team was a combined 2-for-7. He struggled from three (1-for-5) but the rest of his game, especially his defensive effort, was key to getting the win.
Anthony Davis: B-
18 Points / 7 Rebounds / 5 Assists / 1 Steal / 2 Blocks (30 Minutes)
Davis continues to round into form after a lengthy absence. While he barely eclipsed 30% shooting from the floor on a whopping 23 shots, he was still solid if not efficient. He also registered his 1,800th block (second most of all active players) as a nice highlight on an otherwise shaky night.
Kai Jones: A-
15 Points / 7 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 4 Steals / 2 Blocks (31 Minutes)
This guy is hard not to like. What started as a “who is Kai Jones” for a lot of people has turned into something of a Cinderella story. Jones was picked up after getting released by the Clippers and provides the Mavs much-needed size. He played big minutes and hit a highly effective 7-for-8 from the floor with four of his rebounds on the offensive end. His four steals also led the team by far. It’s sometimes difficult to imagine this season going worse in many ways, but if Jones wasn’t here, the Mavs probably don’t win four of their last five.
Naji Marshall: B+
14 Points / 7 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal / 1 Block (27 Minutes)
Naji wasn’t in career high mode like he has been of late, but had himself a solid game in relatively low minutes. While he didn’t necessarily light up the box score, he made a big impact on the game despite playing just shy of 27 minutes.
Brandon Williams: B
12 Points / 1 Rebound / 3 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks (16 Minutes)
Tonight we bid adieu to Williams, at least for the remainder of this season – maybe. As a player on a two-way contract, Williams could only be active for 50 games at the NBA level, a limit he met Saturday. However, the Mavs could soon convert his contract such that he would be able to play the last two games of the season. In the meantime, Williams made the most of somewhat limited minutes, especially at the free throw line where he was a perfect 6-for-6