After sitting out a game, Wright had the right stuff against Bucks

LAS VEGAS — Sitting out one game made a world of difference for Moses Wright.

After combining for only 19 points and just 10 rebounds in 30 minutes during the Dallas Mavericks’ first two summer league games, Wright sat out Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns so he could clear his head. The strategy obviously worked as Wright powered his way to game highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds in only 25 minutes off the bench during Thursday’s 100-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Cox Pavilion.

A 6-8 power forward, Wright punished the Bucks with his power game as he kept muscling his way to the basket time and time again with successful results.

“I think he was the most impactful player in the game,” Mavs summer league coach George Galanopoulos said. “He had the day off the last game to rest his body a little bit. He had been going hard, and he came back and looked well rested, obviously, and responded.

“When he’s playing like that – just high energy and active motor, and with an edge and a disposition about him and that mentality — he’s one of the better players in the gym wherever he goes.”

Most impressive about the way Wright maneuvered around the court is the manner in which he simply manhandled the Bucks. Overall, after going 5-of-16 from the field in the first two games against the Bulls and Jazz, Wright was 10-of-16 from the floor on Thursday. And seven of those 10 field goals collectively were power dunks as he kept showing how dominant he can be around the basket.

Indeed, Wright had the right stuff against the Bucks.

“I had fresh legs,” Wright said. “I was just free, really, playing free and playing the way that a lot of people see me play.”

From Wright’s perspective, he was his own worst enemy during the Mavs’ first two games. And sitting out the third game was the right medicine he needed at that time.

“It was just good to have a game like that since I was in my head the first two games,” Wright said. “Sitting the third game just really gave me a chance to re-charge and re-set mentality so I can finish out summer league strong.”

While sitting on the bench against the Suns, Wright was able to pick the game apart in a much different and very productive way.

“I was just talking and seeing everything – the third game – just seeing where I could impact the game and just doing those little things that will help me to stay focused and locked in the game instead of being in my head about one play where I should have been the low man,” Wright said. “I was just over-thinking everything.

“Seeing everything from the sidelines just really calmed me down. I was like, ‘OK, you’re here for a reason. Just show them why you’re here.’

That he did.

In the final 6:51 of the third quarter, Wright tallied 12 of the 14 points the Mavs scored, and six of those points came on three dunks. Three more of his points came on a three-pointer.

“I’ve never dunked once, much less seven times in a game,” Galanopoulos said. “I’m impressed by it. Really more than anything, it’s the way in which he got those dunks. There were some execution things offensively that got him those dunks.

“But for the most part it was sheer effort, offensive rebounds, rolling hard to the basket, being around the paint. He deserves all the credit for that, and his teammates being spaced, getting him open, they did a nice job.”

Wright was even often grabbing the defensive boards and scampering up the floor while leading the fast break. On two occasions his ballhandling and passing skills directly led to a basket, including a layup by Derrick Alston Jr. that sliced the Milwaukee lead to 59-52 late in the third quarter.

“I remember one fast break I was leading it, the only thing I heard from the bench was, ‘Get off it, get off it,’ “ Wright said while laughing. “As a big, you hear that sometimes.

“But you feel confident with your handles a couple of times, so keep it. Bringing the ball up is something I can do. I’m very confident in myself bringing the ball up the court.”

And the Mavs feel very confident in Moses Wright. He obviously just needed to sit one game so he could come back and reveal the real power that he has in his game.

“We’re really proud of him,” Galanopoulos said. “He’s a force whenever he wants to be.

“He responded really well today and we’re not even close in that game without his effort.”

HARDING HAD AN IMPACT: He’s listed at 6-1 and 180 pound, but Jerrick Harding has shown that he is one tough customer.

Undrafted out of Weber State in 2020, Harding was playing with Basketball Nymburk of the Czech National Basketball League before joining the Mavs’ summer league squad. In Thursday’s game, Harding scored 16 points, distributed five assists and was a solid 7-of-10 from the floor in 24 minutes off the bench.

“He’s a little bucket, he’s a connector,” Mavs summer league coach George Galanopoulos said. “He talks to the guys, he plays hard defensively, he can score out of the pick-and-roll and he can pass it, too. His passing has improved over the last week that we’ve seen him.

“He’s very receptive to coaching. He’s a good ball player. He’s tough. It’s not easy at that size to do what he does. I think a lot of it’s intangibles. He’s got heart and he’s got fight. He epitomizes what this team is about.”

BRIEFLY: The Mavs will finish summer league play on Saturday at 9 p.m. CT against the Los Angeles Lakers. The game will be played at the Thomas & Mack Center and will be televised on ESPN. . .The Mavs (0-4), San Antonio Spurs (0-4), Golden State Warriors (0-3) and Utah Jazz (0-3) are the only teams that haven’t won a game in the Las Vegas summer league.

Twitter: @DwainPrice