The Dallas Mavericks need all the wins they can get as they try to sneak into the play-in tournament in the Western Conference, and they need to lean on their stars to do so. On Wednesday night, Anthony Davis came up clutch with a tough game-winning shot to beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-118 in Dallas.
With just over seven seconds to go in the game, Davis caught the ball at the top of the key coming out of a timeout. He drove to his left and lofted a soft floater just over the outstretched arm of Onyeka Okongwu to give his team the lead.
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Davis' heroics didn't stop with the tough bucket. The Hawks still had three seconds to respond out of a timeout, but Trae Young couldn't shake free of Davis on a switch and his setback 3-pointer at the buzzer fell just short.
After the epic finish, Mavericks fans took to social media to celebrate the game-winner by their new star player.
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Davis didn't wait until the end of the game to make a massive impact. He dominated the game from start to finish, making his presence felt on both ends. He finished the night with 34 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.
In fact, Davis' dominance has never been seen before in a Mavericks uniform. With this outing, he became the first player in Dallas history with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and a pair of 3-pointers in a single game, according to StatMuse.
This is a huge win for the Mavericks in a very crowded play-in race in the Western Conference. Dallas is now 38-39 with just five games to go and currently sits in the No. 9 spot in the conference, which would earn it a home game in the first play-in game.
The Mavericks are now 1.5 games above the Sacramento Kings for the ninth spot and 2.5 games above the Phoenix Suns for a play-in spot in general, so Davis's shot is a massive one in terms of playoff implications.