NEW YORK – Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd couldn’t ask for a better belated birthday present.
Kidd turned 52 on Sunday. Then on Monday, he discovered that one of his top players, Anthony Davis, was going to be able to play in that night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
And what a gift Davis presented Kidd with as he finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, one block and a whole lot of intimidation in 27 minutes as he helped the Mavs run over the Nets, 120-101, at the Barclays Center. It was the second straight win for the Mavs, who are 35-37 and will stay in New York to play the Knicks on Tuesday.
This was the first game for Davis since his debut for the Mavs on Feb. 8 when he collected 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks during a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets. Unfortunately, Davis, acquired in a Feb. 2 trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, suffered a left adductor strain in that contest.
But after sitting out 18 games, Davis brought his super talents and inspiration to the court on Monday, and the Mavs led wire-to-wire.
“AD is an All-Star,” said forward Naji Marshall, who tallied a game-high 22 points. “He makes us feel comfortable, especially on the ball outside the perimeter and knowing that he’s back there to help us out. He makes us a whole different team.”
Davis didn’t waste much time reminding folks who he is and how dominant he’s been during a stellar career that has netted him 10 All-Star appearances. Less than one minute into the game, Davis had already collected a pair of baskets on his first two attempts as the Mavs were off and running and letting the Nets know they were going to be in for a very long night.
By the end, Davis was 6-of-9 from the field and the Mavs were giddy they were able to get one of their key players back for the stretch run of the season.
“Physically, I felt great,” said Davis, who was restricted to playing 28 minutes. “It’s the mental aspect when you’re coming off of something like that (injury) to mentally be ready to go out and play.
“I was mentally ready, but then to get in the game action where you can’t really anticipate what the opposing team is going to do, I overcame that in the first minute or so. From there, it was just about being smart.”
While Davis was busy finding his way around the court, the Mavs were smart enough to shoot 56.3 percent from the field and lead the Nets by 22 points late in the
third quarter of a game they had a firm grip on throughout. The appearance of Davis had a lot to with that.
“We understand he’s one of the best players in the world, but he’s been out for some time,” Kidd said. “The last time we saw him against Houston everyone was excited.”
That excitement was on full display again on Monday when everyone found out Davis was going to be able to play against the Nets.
In addition to the inspiration Davis brought and the scoring output from Marshall, the Mavs got 16 points and 12 assists from Spencer Dinwiddie, and 16 points and five assists from P.J. Washington. Brandon Williams contributed 15 points and five rebounds in only 19 minutes, Kai Jones finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Max Christie added 10 points and five boards.
Nic Claxton (19 points, seven rebounds) and Cameron Johnson (17 points, eight assists) led the way for the Nets. But on this night, it was all about Davis and how he made the Mavs a much more efficient squad.
“We have a great team,” said Marshall, who came off the bench for the first time since March 3 against Sacramento. “Unfortunately, we battled a couple of injuries this season, but we’re getting some guys back and we’re right there at that play-in spot.”
The Mavs and Phoenix Suns – they defeated Milwaukee on Monday, 108-106—are tied for the 10th and final Western Conference play-in spot with identical 35-37 records. Because the Suns won the season series over the Mavs, 3-1, the last play-in spot would go to the Suns if the teams finish the season tied.
“We know what time it is and everybody else knows what time it is if we get healthy and get into the playoffs,” Marshall said. “We’re just trying to stay focused and stay locked in and string along some (wins).”
Davis started Monday at his customary power forward spot, with Washington playing small forward and Jones manning the center position. That taller lineup enabled the Mavs to do something they haven’t done a lot of in recent games – win the rebounding battle, 41-37.
“We’ve been small,” Kidd said. “Tonight, we were big. To be able to limit those guys to one shot, and then being able to take care of the ball and get out and run was big for us to get off to a good start.”
The addition of Davis and playing a bigger lineup was a game-changer, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.
“It helps us defensively in a big way to have two bigs and be able to protect the rim,” Kidd said. “The one thing we got to get used to is for our small guys to not foul as much. When guys are driving, as least we have a big behind us.
“That’ll take some time, but again a lot of positive things on the defensive end. And then I thought the pace of the game (was great) as just the ball movement and the 10 assists in the first quarter and to have nine in the second quarter was really good.”
With Washington tallying 11 points, the Mavs held a 62-48 lead at the game’s midway point and stretched that to as much as 94-72 late in the third quarter after Williams completed a 9-0 run with a driving layup.
Dinwiddie, who played for the Nets from 2016-21 and again in 2023-24, had a stellar game as he ran the offense with precision. And that was coming off Wednesday’s game against Indiana when he collected 17 points and 12 assists, and Friday’s contest against Detroit when he poured in a season-high 31 points and added seven assists.
“I think when you look at the Indiana game and the Detroit game and tonight his ability to play-make, he had 12 assists tonight,” Kidd said. “And just the ball moving and understanding the defense of how they’re playing him, being able to find other guys I thought he just made the game really simple and easy.”
So did Marshall, who kept slicing and dicing his way through the teeth of the Nets’ defense for buckets inside the paint.
“Coming off the bench tonight, he was aggressive, being able to play-make and then also being able to score,” Kidd said. “Being able to bring someone like that off the bench is big, and most likely he’s going to start tomorrow.”
The return of Davis was big as this was the first time in 10 games that the Mavs have dressed more than nine players in a game, mainly due to injuries. Ten players suited up for the game against the Nets and nine of them finished the game with a positive plus/minus.
“You’ve got to commend him for working to get back,” Kidd said of Davis. “This is his job. He feels responsible to get back to work. Tonight’s the start of him working toward hopefully playing the rest of the season.
“You’ve got to remember he gets paid to play. His character of working to get back with (11) games left just shows how much he cares about what he wants to do, and that’s to help this team win.”
And as they remain in New York, the Mavs hope to piggyback what they accomplished against the Nets and apply it to Tuesday’s game against the Knicks.
“They’re a little bit bigger,” Kidd said, referring to the Knicks. “They have some guys out, but they’re talented and they’re well coached and we’ve got to turn the page and we’ve got to play better tomorrow. The physicality is going to be there, so we’ve got to be ready for that.”
X: @DwainPrice
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