News Mavericks Team Notes

[Dallas Mavericks]

Player Grades: Recapping the Mavericks’ 129-119 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers

The Dallas Mavericks (5-15) and the Los Angeles Lakers (14-4) treated fans to an unexpected barn burner on Friday at Crypto.com Arena, but Dallas didn’t have the firepower to keep up the pace down the stretch as the Lakers finally pulled away for the 129-119 win. Luka Dončić torched the Mavericks for 35 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, and Austin Reaves did him one better to finish with a game-high 38 points and eight boards.

Eight Mavericks scored in double figures as Dallas did everything they could to hang with one of the best teams in the Western Conference, but the Lakers outscored the Mavs 18-9 in the last 7:40 of the game to hand Dallas its fourth straight loss. The good news is that the Mavs played about as good a game as they have all season. The bad news is that the Mavs played about as good a game as they have all season, and still lost.

Let’s get to the individual marks.

Max Christie: C+​

13 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST — 27 MIN​

Cooper Flagg found Max Christie open in the right corner after a baseline drive-and-kick for a 3-pointer to tie the game at 5-5 early on. He gave his defender a convincing pump fake and side-stepped for another 3-ball, this time from the left corner, two minutes later. Christie’s mid-range jumper near the elbow gave Dallas a 50-49 lead as part of a 12-2 run late in the second quarter.

He hit his third 3-pointer of the first half from the left corner with 30 seconds left before the break to give Dallas its largest lead of the half, up 62-58, to match P.J. Washington as the team’s leading scorer to that point, with 11 points. The Mavs took a 62-60 lead into the break. He would score just two more points in the second half.

Cooper Flagg: A-​

13 PTS / 7 REB / 11 AST / 3 STL – 36 MIN​

Flagg got discarded by Deandre Ayton on his way to the rack early in the first quarter as the Lakers had little trouble getting to the rim to start the game. He went to the bench for a rest without attempting a shot, which is continued game plan malpractice on Mavs’ head coach Jason Kidd more than anything wrong with Flagg’s game. He eventually knocked down his first jumper of the game to pull the Mavs to within 23-21 late in the first.

He rose up and hit his first 3-ball of the game from way downtown near the top of the key with 2:13 left in the first half to give the Mavs a 57-55 lead. He shot the ball just five times in the first half, but made the most of his opportunities. Flagg charged into Dončić midway through the third after an offensive board, which immediately led to yet another bucket from Dončić on the other end to extend the LA lead to 84-77.

After getting just two shots in the third quarter, Flagg sealed James off on a baseline cut and scored inside to bring the Mavs to within 101-98 early in the fourth. While he wasn’t getting consistent shooting opportunities, he found open teammates all night and made the plays the game presented him with.

Anthony Davis: B+​

12 PTS / 5 REB / 5 AST / 3 BLK – 28 MIN​

Anthony Davis was a near non-factor in the first quarter of his first game back after missing the team’s last 14 with a calf injury, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds in his first six minutes on the floor as the Mavericks trailed 28-22 after one. He made a nice drive through the teeth of the LA defense with 7:30 left in the second quarter for a slam to bring Dallas back to within one, down 39-38, and force a Lakers timeout.

He moved pretty well for his first game back and didn’t re-injure anything, so we’ll take that. He got lost on double teams and switches against Luka Dončić a couple times and bricked his first 3-point attempt of the game early in the third quarter, but nothing too egregiously negative for the most part.

Davis scored in the lane over James with 7:50 left to put the Mavs up 110-109. He blocked James’ shot on the other end in perhaps his biggest sequence of the night.

Ryan Nembhard: A​

17 PTS / 2 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL – 23 MIN​

Ryan Nembhard nailed the first shot attempt of his first start of the season, a pull-up jumper from just outside the free-throw line, to give the Mavericks an early 7-6 lead less than three minutes into the game. Then he found Davis trailing for a clever alley-oop assist with 6:45 left in the opener. He picked up his second foul on the other end, though, curtailing his nice start.

Nembhard scored the first five points out of halftime, including a 3-pointer over the defense of one LeBron James on the Mavs’ first possession of the third quarter. He hit a beautiful high-arcing running with 7:10 left in the third to bring the Mavs back to within 76-75 after a flurry from Dončić had put the Lakers back in front. He nailed another 3-pointer early in the fourth as the shot clock wound down to keep the Mavs within four, down just 105-101 at the time, then nailed his third of the game two minutes later to make it a 109-108 game and force the Lakers into a timeout.

D’Angelo Russell: INC​

0 PTS / 0 AST / 0 BLK – 0 MIN​

D’Angelo Russell was relegated to the Jason Kidd Phantom Zone for the entire first half, after playing just 10 minutes in Monday’s 106-102 loss to the Miami Heat. Then he played exactly zero minutes in the second half. Is Russell becoming this season’s version of Christian Wood?

P.J. Washington: A-​

22 PTS / 9 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 1 BLK – 35 MIN​

Washington scored on a wide open dunk off a broken play to give the Mavericks their first bucket of the game, but turned the ball over on a bad interior pass intended for Davis with 7:30 left in the first. He got rid of Austin Reaves along the perimeter midway through the second quarter and pulled up for his first 3-pointer of the game to bring the Mavs back to within two points, down just 43-41. He scored on a fast break with a nice scooping finish two minutes later to pull Dallas back in front, 48-47, and cap a 10-0 run.

James took Washington to school as part of a 14-4 Laker run that forced Dallas into a timeout early in the third quarter, down 76-73 with 7:42 left in the frame. Washington tipped home his own miss with just over three minutes to play as the Mavs tried to make one last push for the lead, but it ultimately came up short.

Daniel Gafford: C​

5 PTS / 4 REB /1 STL – 17 MIN​

Daniel Gafford put Flagg in a bad spot late in the shot clock with two minutes left in the first quarter, and Flagg promptly dribbled it off his leg in the corner for the Mavs’ fifth turnover of the first quarter. Gafford was utterly ineffective all night on defense as part of the constant double teams the Mavericks threw Dončić‘s way.

Klay Thompson: C​

10 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST – 20 MIN​

Klay Thompson missed his first 3-point attempt of the game, a good look in rhythm that would have given the Mavs back the early lead, from near the top of the key late in the first quarter. He knocked one down on a nice driving find from Nembhard early in the second quarter to bring the Mavs to within six, down 31-25. His third 3-ball came late in the third when the Mavs really needed a shot in the arm. He gave his defender a pump fake along the right wing before canning the longball to bring the Mavs back to within three, down just 93-90. Thompson was a non-factor in the fourth quarter.

Naji Marshall: A-​

16 PTS / 7 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL – 25 MIN​

Naj Marshall’s first impactful play of the game came on the offensive glass, as he scored on a 3-point play inside to bring the Mavericks back to within one, down just 45-44. He hit a corner 3-pointer on a find from Flagg with 2:25 left in the third to keep the Mavs connected, down 91-85 at the time. Marshall’s buzzer-beating baseline jumper after his 3-pointer was blocked by Jaxon Hayes seconds earlier made it a 98-94 game headed to the fourth quarter.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/dalla...ericks-129-119-loss-at-the-los-angeles-lakers

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

3 considerations as the Dallas Mavericks stay in LA to face the Clippers

The Dallas Mavericks (5-15) remain in Los Angeles Saturday to take on the Clippers (5-14). Both teams are coming off close losses; Dallas fell to the Lakers on Friday night, 129-119 and the Clippers couldn’t pull one out against the Grizzlies at home despite 39 points from Kawhi Leonard, losing 112-107.

Roughly a quarter of the way through the season, both the Clippers and Mavericks have been wildly disappointing relative to expectations. We know the deal with Dallas: they don’t have playmaking off the dribble and their vaunted big men group can’t stay healthy. They don’t have enough shooting either. The Clippers came into the season with sky-high expectations. They closed last year well and made roster improvements in the offseason. But it turns out having an incredibly old team in aggregate is risky and they’ve looked slow and disinterested. They did, however, beat the Mavericks earlier in the month in a thrilling double overtime game.

Here’s some things to think about before tonight’s late start (9:00 pm).

Who is actually going to play?​

This is really a question about the availability of two of the NBA’s premier guys who don’t suit up enough: Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard. It feels a safe bet to assume Davis won’t play. His return Friday night was his first game in nearly a month following a calf strain and perhaps some conditioning. He looked fine, good actually, and it would be wise of the Mavericks to bring him back slowly. The season’s over whether people want to admit it or not, so him getting hurt and becoming untradable would be a disaster.

Kawhi is a more interesting case. I don’t remember if he plays back-to-backs in normal situations but he’s recently returned from a 3 week absence following an ankle sprain. He was on fire last night against the Grizzlies and if he’s healthy enough to score 39, he should be healthy enough to play. The seasons slipping away for the Clippers and they have no reason to stop playing since they don’t own their own pick (the Thunder do, ugh).

Young legs for Dallas​

The aforementioned old Clippers really ARE old. But the Mavericks have some youth they can roll out to push the pace on this Los Angeles team and perhaps grind out a win on a tired Saturday night. Cooper Flagg and Andrew Nembhard looked good against the Lakers. But Moussa Cisse and Jaden Hardy didn’t see the floor at all. Since I assume Davis will be out, Cisse in particular has a chance to use his endless energy to wear the Clipper bigs out.

Best chance for a Maverick win on this road trip​

Before the NBA announced the Mavericks will be playing Utah and Brooklyn as additional games since they won’t advance in the NBA Cup, this Clippers game was one of the few remaining in 2025 where I thought the Mavericks either might be favored or stood a good chance to win. Considering the Clippers are currently a 7.5 point favorite as of this writing, it seems I’ve underestimated Los Angeles.

But I still believe Dallas can and maybe should win. I really want to see Leonard play and see he and Flagg match up against one another. The Mavericks just need to play hard and limit turnovers and they should be right there at the end of the game even if James Harden or Leonard go off.

How to watch​

Tonight’s game starts at 9:00 pm. The game will be streamed live on MavsTV as well as broadcast side-by-side on WFAA & KFAA-29. Fans can also tune in at 97.1FM KEGL (English) or at 99.1FM KFZO (Español).

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/dalla...las-mavericks-stay-in-la-to-face-the-clippers

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Mavericks vs. Clippers recap: Shorthanded Dallas pulls out 114-110 win at Los Angeles Clippers

The Dallas Mavericks (6-15) found a way on Saturday behind 35 points and eight rebounds from rookie phenom Cooper Flagg and pulled out a gutty 114-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers (5-15) at the Intuit Dome.

This team must be cursed, though, man. Without Anthony Davis on the second night of a back-to-back and without Daniel Gafford, who sat against the Clippers with an ankle injury, P.J. Washington was a late scratch from the Mavericks’ roster after slipping on a wayward basketball during warmups. Washington was getting treatment on his right ankle after the fall, according to the broadcast on KFAA, and Naji Marshall replaced him in the starting lineup.

Kahwi Leonard came into the game averaging 26 points per game over the last three, including a 15-of-24, 39-point performance in Friday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzles. But without any presence to speak of on the interior, it was Ivica Zubac who feasted early on as the Clippers used an early 12-2 run to sprint out to a 15-6 lead.

With the Mavs begging for offense early on, Cooper Flagg answered the bell as he’s not often done, scoring Dallas’ first eight points of the game. Flagg scored 12 points in the game’s first nine minutes in his best first quarter of the season by a mile.

The rest of the team struggled around Flagg, though, shooting a collective 2-for-10 in the game’s first nine minutes. Brandon Williams came in to give Dallas a lift with eight points off the bench toward the end of the first, and the Clippers took a 28-25 lead after one.

A rare 3-point play from Dwight Powell and a 3-pointer from newly enshrined starting point guard Ryan Nambhard swung things in the Mavs’ favor early in the second. Dallas went on a 15-4 run starting late in the first to take the lead before LA responded with a 14-2 run of their own midway through the frame to take the lead back, 42-35, on a pair of free throws from James Harden.

Flagg was the constant for the Mavs in the first half. He was aggressive with the ball in his hands, driving decisively on a night when Dallas needed everything the 18-year-old rookie could give the team. He followed his 12-point first quarter with nine more in the second as the Mavericks hung around, trailing 56-49 at halftime. Flagg shot 10-of-17 in the first half in an effort that the Mavs desperately need to see replicated as the season wears on.

Flagg unfurled​

Perhaps Flagg’s big night was a function of the injury-depleted roster the Mavericks were forced to go to battle with on Saturday. Or, perhaps it was a step toward the realization on his part and on the part of his teammates that Flagg’s time is now. Whatever the case, at the quarter pole of the season, we largely know what this team is and what it isn’t.

The most important thing the Mavericks can accomplish the rest of the way is cementing Flagg’s position as the alpha dog on this roster. He got to the basket at will with a lethal left hand all night against the Clippers, and that needs to be the blueprint going forward.

Flagg detonated for an explosive driving slam over Zubac to bring the Mavericks to within 65-61 with 7:55 left in the third before hitting a turnaround inside through Leonard’s foul the next time down for a 3-point play. He found Moussa Cisse streaking in transition for a hoop inside over two Clippers to give Dallas its first lead of the second half, 69-67, midway through the third.

Oh my COOP

: KFAA 29 pic.twitter.com/MxajU8kk1B

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 30, 2025

“Just staying with it,” Flagg said in his televised postgame interview. “We’ve got a lot of talented guys, so it’s going to be someone different every night. These guys just give me confidence, they tell me to go out there and be myself. I’m just figuring it out.”

Flagg’s 35 points are the most scored by a rookie this season. He became the second-youngest player in NBA history to notch a 30-point game in the win over the Clippers.

A little good, a little bad​

The good news? The Mavericks limited the turnovers against the Clippers on Saturday, coughing the ball up only once in the first half and just eight times in the win after coming into the game 26th in the league in turnovers, at 16.6 per game.

The bad news? The 3-pointer was once again non-existent for Dallas until Klay Thompson got hot in the second half. They hit just 2-of-20 (10%) in the first half and just 11-of-39 (28.2%) for the game. Cormac Karl “Max” Christie, who has been the Mavs’ only bright spot from 3-point range this season, went 0-for-6 from deep, including 0-for-2 from the corner, in the first half on his way to 1-of-8 from 3-point land in the win.

Dallas fared much better from the perimeter in the third quarter, improving to 5-of-8 from 3-point range, including a pair from both Nembhard and Klay Thompson. Better shooting helped the Mavs erase the Clippers’ seven-point halftime advantage and send the game to the fourth quarter knotted up at 83-83.

Kawhi vs. Klay throwback​

Leonard scored nine points in the first four minutes of the second half to give the wily veteran his second 30-point game in as many nights. He was the Clippers’ answer every time the Mavs wrestled the lead back. Leonard’s 3-point play on an 18-foot runner with less than nine minutes to play gave Los Angeles a 92-89 lead.

Flagg turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter as LA sent more and more double-teams his way. His right thumb also seems to be bothering him, which could have been part of his second-half drop-off on Saturday.

Thompson scored all 23 of his points in the second half, including six 3-pointers. His turnaround from four feet behind the 3-point line with 4:30 left in the game tied the game, 96-96. After two more free throws from Harden the next time down, Thompson rinsed and repeated that clutch-time stroke for his fifth 3-ball of the second half to give the Mavericks a 99-98 lead.

Flagg rose up for a perimeter jumper with 2:47 left to put the Mavs back in front 101-100 before John Collins answered with his first 3-pointer of the game to see-saw Los Angeles back in front. Then, with 1:45 left, Thompson just beat the shot clock for his sixth 3-pointer of the second half to give Dallas back the lead. Two free throws from Flagg gave the rookie a new season- and career-high mark of 31 points with 1:20 left, and the Mavericks held on for the gutsy win.

Leonard led LA with 30 points and eight boards in the loss, while Harden added 29 points and 11 assists.

The Dwight Powell game​

The Mavericks don’t win this game without a gargantuan effort from ever-present glue guy Dwight Powell, who finished with nine points, five rebounds and six steals after Mavs head coach Jason Kidd broke glass in case of roster emergency. In what turned into a crazy game down the stretch, Powell was a steady presence all night long.

Sure, he couldn’t do much against the much bigger Zubac in one-on-one situations in the post. But Powell seems to always find a way to leave his fingerprints on one weird win a year, and Saturday night was that night this year.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/dalla...s-angeles-clippers-cooper-flagg-kawhi-leonard