The Dallas Mavericks hosted the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night as they looked to make up for their horrific loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Dereck Lively II returned to action, but P.J. Washington missed the game with an illness, joining Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper out.
With those players unavailable, Dallas started Spencer Dinwiddie, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Anthony Davis, and Dereck Lively II, while Atlanta rolled with Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu.
READ MORE: Anthony Davis returns to Mavericks-Hawks following apparent eye injury
This game had a FRANTIC energy early. The teams combined to make the first five shots taken, with Dallas getting on the board with threes from Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson, but Atlanta was racing down the floor and getting baskets at the rim. The first six minutes of the game saw 26 shot attempts and four turnovers, but Davis seemed to look more comfortable with seven early points.
Atlanta built up a six-point lead after an exchange of the lead, as Caris LeVert and Vit Krejci knocked in back-to-back threes, but Max Christe answered with five straight points to bring the lead back down to one. But the Hawks would still have a 34-32 lead heading into the second quarter.
Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II
Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) reacts during the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The Hawks grew the lead into an eight-point advantage, as Trae Young and Onyeka Okongwu knocked in consecutive triples. Threes by Max Christie and Jaden Hardy helped bring the lead down to two, but they wouldn't get closer than that for a while.
Trae Young hit a wild and-one soon after to push the lead up to seven, but Klay Thompson and Spencer Dinwiddie sandwiched a free-throw by Onyeka Okongwu to bring it back down to two. But a few traded baskets later, and a Georges Niang three gave the Hawks a 72-67 lead going into halftime. Both teams were well above 40% from three in a frantic game, giving the teams some high scores.
READ MORE: Steph Curry admits he was chasing Mavericks' Klay Thompson during explosive performance
Atlanta quickly got its biggest lead of the game in the opening minute as Mouhamed Gueye had back-to-back dunks. But then Anthony Davis scored eight straight points for the Mavericks and had a block as the lead worked back down to one possession.
But again, Dallas couldn't get over the hump. They got the lead down to two a few times but couldn't tie or take the lead. That was until Jaden Hardy hit a step-back three on the left wing to take a one-point lead, then Max Christie got out in transition for the and-one finish and it was a four-point lead on the heels of an 8-0 run. That lead eventually got up to five, and the Mavs would take a 101-96 lead into the fourth quarter after Jaden Hardy hit another stepback on the left wing.
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis '
Apr 2, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) dunks during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Klay Thompson started the fourth quarter with a three to push the Mavs' lead to eight, then Dereck Lively II had a nice high-low lob pass to Anthony Davis to push the lead to 10. Davis had an even more impressive one-handed lob finish on the next sequence, this one coming from Klay Thompson. But Atlanta worked themselves back into the game, and an Onyeka Okongwu reverse layup cut the lead to three just a few minutes later. A Dyson Daniels three after a Dallas bucket cut the lead to two. Okongwu then split a pair of free-throws to make it a one-point game.
Naji Marshall hit one of his signature floaters to push the lead back up to three, then the offenses stagnated for nearly two minutes. That was until Klay Thompson shot-fake-shot from the corner with a toe on the line that gave the Mavs a five-point lead. Atlanta got the lead down to two on a three-point play by Okongwu, then took the lead on a corner three from Dyson Daniels. Okongwu then hit a hook shot and they had a three-point lead with 1:46 to play.
Spencer Dinwiddie wasn't doing anything to help the Mavs, missing three straight shots, but Klay Thompson received a hand-off from Anthony Davis and knocked in a three to tie the game at 118. On the next sequence, Trae Young was blocked by Davis but the ball landed out of bounds, still giving the Hawks a chance for a bucket. They turned it over, and the Mavs gave it to Anthony Davis in the post, where the Hawks used their foul to give with about eight seconds to go.
Dallas went back to AD, who beat Okongwu around the corner and hit the tough runner for the lead with 3.4 seconds remaining. Atlanta would go to Trae Young, who tried to hit a tough game-winner over AD, but the shot came up short, and the Mavericks won 120-118.
ANTHONY DAVIS WINS IT FOR DALLAS IN THE FINAL SECONDS 🚨🚨
HITS THE FLOATER OVER TOUGH COVERAGE TO SECURE IT!! pic.twitter.com/vCvDYXg2oV
— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2025
Anthony Davis had his best game as a Maverick, finishing with 34 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Five other Mavs finished with double figures: Klay Thompson (17 points, 5/9 3PT), Spencer Dinwiddie (14 points, 10 assists), Jaden Hardy (13 points), Max Christie (11 points), and Daniel Gafford (11 points).
Atlanta was led by Trae Young with 25 points and 12 assists, followed by Onyeka Okongwu (20 points, 14 rebounds), Dyson Daniels (17 points), Caris LeVert (14 points), Mouhamed Gueye (11 points), and Vit Krejci (11 points).
Dallas will travel to Los Angeles for back-to-back games against the Clippers on Friday and Saturday.
READ MORE: Miami Heat champion details locker room meltdown during 2011 NBA Finals vs. Mavericks
Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024-25 Season
Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter