Mavs Game Observations: Game 16 @ Nuggets
Awesome team win, 4 in a row, and two dominant 2-and-D performers
What a difference a week makes! The Dallas Mavericks have flipped the script, transforming a four-game skid into a four-game surge. Their latest triumph, a thrilling 123-120 victory over the Denver Nuggets, not only added another clutch win to their resume but also completely transformed the team's energy and momentum from just a week ago.
It was also a showcase of the Mavericks' depth—hailed as a strength in the offseason but questioned early in the year—as seven players scored in double digits, each stepping up with critical contributions in clutch moments.
For all of you following the Emirates NBA Cup, this marked the Mavericks' second consecutive Cup game and victory, keeping their hopes of advancing to the Knockout Rounds alive. (More on the NBA Cup rules and format, check here.)
Today’s notes:
Two 2-and-D Swiss Army Knives Shine (🎞️VIDEO)
More size, more options, and collectively winning the rebounding battle against Jokić
Another shootout game decided by a couple of rare stops…
...and Lively delivered a crucial couple (🎞️VIDEO)
Starting strong helps finish stronger
Bonus point: Another rough night for Klay Thompson
1-Two 2-and-D Swiss Army Knives Shine
After years of constructing a roster around Luka Dončić with 3-and-D specialists—players focused on hitting corner threes—the Mavericks now feature a completely different kind of wings in P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall. These two versatile players, two generalists, capable of doing a bit of everything, replacing the specialists of the past with multifaceted impact on both ends of the court.
This Washington-Marshall shot chart from last night is a stark contrast to how seldom the Mavericks’ wings of the past scored inside the arc.
While the Finals experience will keep shooting concerns alive and tucked somewhere in the back of our minds until the playoffs, games like this—where Washington's and Marshall's versatility was on full display—are simply a joy to watch.
With Dončić sidelined, coach Malone’s game plan against Irving was predictable: Denver sent two defenders at him on every screen from the outset, forcing him to give up the ball and rely on his teammates to attack the gaps in 4-on-3 situations. And oh boy, did Marshall and Washington capitalize on the defense's focus on Irving.
Marshall poured in 26 points, while Washington added 22, both delivering huge buckets in the clutch.
If you rewatch the four critical possessions in the video above, you’ll see that in all four plays, both players repeatedly exploited their size advantage against Jamal Murray, as coach Malone tasked his best and longest wing defender, Peyton Watson, with containing Irving.
2-More size, more options, and collectively winning the rebounding battle against Jokić
A key factor in the Mavericks’ earlier loss in Denver was the lack of depth, as injuries left Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell to handle Jokić on their own inside and on the boards. This led to a lopsided rebounding and second-chance points battle, 18-12 in Denver’s favor.
Last night, while Jokić still caused trouble with six offensive boards, the Mavericks flipped the script on the other end. Dallas posted an impressive 36% offensive rebound rate (compared to Denver’s 34%) and outscored the Nuggets 26-19 on second-chance points—a decisive edge in a tightly contested three-point game.
3-Another shootout game decided by a couple of rare stops…
Going into the game, I assumed that without Dončić but with Lively, Washington, and Kleber back in the lineup compared to the first matchup, the Mavericks' recipe for success would be avoiding another high-scoring contest against the Nuggets. That didn’t happen. Jokić delivered another dominant offensive performance, putting up a 33/17/10 triple-double.
However, the Mavericks' constant rotation of big men thrown at him seemed to take a toll on the defensive end, where the Nuggets’ interior defense was virtually nonexistent. Denver’s strategy of hiding Jokić by blitzing Irving’s pick-and-rolls (and Dončić’s in the first game) and assigning their second-tallest defender (Watson) to the ballhandler left little resistance in the paint. It’s no surprise, then, that Dallas tied its season high with 66 points in the paint last night, after scoring 62 in the first matchup.
4-...and Lively delivered a crucial couple
In the end, the game came down to which team could string together a couple of stops, and after battling Jokić and foul trouble for most of the night, Lively stepped up in a big way.
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