Josh Green has been putting up career numbers lately

Josh Green has come off the bench and played so well lately that one of his Dallas Mavericks’ teammates recently tried to reach him by phone.

In the locker room after a game. While Green and the Mavs were in Portland.  And while the teammate in question was back in Dallas in the health and safety protocols.

That teammate was guard Tm Hardaway Jr., who said: “I can recall the game in Portland. I was sitting at home and I was cheering Josh on from the couch — screaming.

“I had to face time (Dorian Finney-Smith) after the game just to get the phone to (Green) so I could tell him how well he played.”

In that 132-117 win over Portland back on Dec. 27, Green was so impactful that he finished that game with nine points, four rebounds, two steals and a career-high 10 assists in 26 minutes. And his game has been on a steady uphill climb ever since, climaxed by the career-high 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals that he produced during Friday’s130-106 victory over the Houston Rockets.

As if that wasn’t enough, Green went 8-of-10 from the field and poured in a career-high 18 points to go with six rebounds in just 22 minutes during Sunday’s 113-99 victory over the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Center. In other words, Green is making a very good case for himself that he should get some more minutes on the floor.

“He’s been one the most consistent workers on the team, so I think that’s where it starts with him,” acting head coach Sean Sweeney said. “He’s been very diligent in the weight room and very diligent on the court as well.

“He takes advantage of the practice gym both pre-practice, post-practice, during practice, and then he’s a regular coming back at night working on his game. So I think that’s why you’re seeing some of the improvements, especially in terms of his ball skills.”

The way Sweeney sees it, Green is a student of the game, and is always involved in give-and-take conversations with the coaching staff in ways to improve his game.

“He does a great job of studying tape,” Sweeney said. “He asks very good questions when he watches tape. He’s obviously going to still keep getting better.”

The No. 18 overall pick by the Mavs in the 2020 NBA Draft, Green only played sparingly last season as he averaged just 26 points in 11.4 minutes in 39 games. But when the Mavs were crippled with injuries and health and safety protocol issues, they turned to Green, and he readily was able to offer some production.

“Josh went ahead and made his opportunity worthwhile,” Hardaway said. “He works his tail off every single day when he gets into the gym. He takes care of his body, he gives all that energy, he’s a great locker room guy, he deserves the opportunity.

“It shows when a lot of those guys were down he’s been stepping up making plays. I think it’s just, like I said, his tenacity, his mindset, his drive to go out there and just give his best, and the results have shown.”

As he’s watching the game develop from the bench, Green already knows how he can make an impact once his number is called.

“Sometimes I don’t need to score, I feel like, to try to impact the team,” Green said. “So my whole goal is just coming out and playing as hard as I can and get the ball moving.”

Sweeney said it isn’t a matter of Green receiving more playing time that’s resulting an increase in production.

“I don’t know if we’ve quite looked at it like that,” Sweeney said. “But I think he’s done a good job with the minutes he’s gotten, and I think Jason talked to him a while back about how he was warranting continued playing time.

“And I think that’s right in line with what we’re seeing and what we continue to see. Obviously, the other night (in Houston) he did a great job.”

On Sunday, Green hammered home an alley-oop dunk from Luka Doncic to put the Mavs up 93-85 early in the fourth quarter. And he threw down a lob pass from Brunson that increased the lead to 104-90 with 5:28 remaining.

“I’ve seen a lot from him,” Brunson said. “He’s done amazing things. I think, like he said, it’s a little more opportunities for him to go out there and play and he’s been able to showcase that.”

And showcase it because of his workmanlike attitude.

“This dude works, man, he works hard,” Brunson said. “He believes in himself, us as teammates, we believe in him and he deserves all of that.

“The confidence that he gets is from his work ethics. For him to have a performance like he did (Friday), I’m not really shocked and us as teammates we’re not really shocked at all. We’re excited for him and he’s going to continue to grow and get better.”

KIDD IS ENGAGED: Acting head coach Sean Sweeney said head coach Jason Kidd is very engaged in preparing his team on game days.

“In terms of the preparation and lack of practice time, I think the biggest thing is to just take advantage of what you do have,” Sweeney said. “So whether that’s a walk-through or film or communicating with players on what the plan is and how we want to execute, this has kind of been the case for the last couple of several weeks here since things have changed on us.”

Kidd has missed the last two games while in the health and safety protocols.

BRIEFLY: Sean Sweeney was very appreciative of that bottled water bath he received from the players following Friday’s win over the Houston Rockets. It was the Mavs’ acting head coach first time in what he calls “the big chair.” “It was really nice, and I appreciate those guys doing that,” Sweeney said. “I think just in general, it speaks to how the players have been playing and what coach Kidd has done that the fact that even without him there they were still able to take the things that he has emphasized and bring it to the floor, and I was the beneficiary of that is the way I look at it.”. .Kristaps Porzingis missed Sunday’s game while in the health and safety protocols. Willie Cauley-Stein also was sidelined due to personal reasons.

Twitter: @DwainPrice