With just over seven seconds remaining in a tie game against the Atlanta Hawks, Anthony Davis caught the ball at the top of the key and drove left. As he released his off-hand floater, Davis crashed to the court, sliding out of bounds as his shot hung in the air with 20,000 fans in American Airlines Center frozen in place.
When the ball fell through the bottom of the net, the crowd exploded. Davis was helped to his feet and, moments later, contested a three-point shot by Atlanta’s Trae Young that would’ve given the Hawks a stunning victory. The shot fell short and Davis was mobbed by his teammates and coaches for his offensive and defensive superhuman efforts to carry Dallas across the finish line.
His final statline of 34 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks flashed across the bottom of the screen as he fielded questions from TV reporter Jeff Skin Wade. Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford continued the postgame celebration as Davis prepared for the interview, cheering into the camera and hyping up their teammate.
Dallas has won five of its last seven to give itself some breathing room in the race for play-in seeding. The Mavericks currently sit at 38-39, two and a half games ahead of the 11th-seeded Phoenix Suns and one and a half games clear of the 10th-seeded Sacramento Kings with five games to go.
As Davis and his teammates exited the court to continue the party in the locker room, I reflected on the last eight weeks for this Mavericks team. For the first time since the Luka Dončić trade, I felt a sense of pride watching this team play basketball.
Two weeks ago, all three of these guys were on the bench with injuries. About two weeks before that, Kyrie Irving went down with a torn ACL. Dallas played multiple games with only eight eligible players — the league-required minimum to play a game — and there were a few games where guys that probably should’ve sat suited up to help the Mavericks reach that minimum number. It would’ve been easy to throw in the towel and tank the rest of the season. Full transparency, I’ve been in support of that idea ever since the trade — lose as many games as you can, get a talented young guy and try to run it back next season. But man, if you don’t like watching these Mavericks fight for every loose ball, hustle after every shot, and hype each other up after each big play, you may not like NBA basketball.
This group of guys had every reason to quit. Fans were angry — not at them, but some players felt slighted by the chants fans would start during games — and the season seemed lost. But they just kept going. They didn’t care about the outside noise. They stuck together and they put together enough wins to stay competitive for a play-in spot, where they’ll likely host a playoff-atmosphere game as the No. 9 seed. And damn it, they’ve suckered me back into loving this team again.
That never-say-die attitude is what I love most about sports. Screw the oddsmakers, ignore the pundits and block out the outside noise: when you step on that court, it’s your five against their five for 48 minutes. Those are the only numbers that matter. Dallas’ standing has dropped since the trade. After all, I don’t think there’s a team in any sport in any league that could survive trading away a generational talent AND their two all-star players suffering injuries, but they’ve prevented the season from turning into a free fall.
It’s inspiring to watch them salvage a season few thought they could. Life, a controversial general manager, and enough injuries to last a team a decade, has thrown obstacles at the Mavericks that could’ve gotten them down, but they laced up their shoes and they just kept fighting. It’s the story of Rocky Balboa. There’s a reason America loves that story. People love to root for an underdog, and Dallas’ scrappy form of basketball resembles that of Balboa. You may think he’s overmatched against the bigger fighter, but he’s going to go in that ring and give ‘em hell. The Mavericks have survived the early rounds of the fight. They’ve taken the haymakers from the heavyweight, and now they’re fighting back.
Unfortunately for Dallas, it appears the season will end much like the first Rocky movie: a heartwarming comeback story that ends in defeat, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the ride while they fight back. We’ve got at least two weeks left, and I’m ready to cheer them on as they take on the world.