Hardy appreciates Doncic presenting him with the game ball

Following Saturday’s game in New York against the Knicks, Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic presented the game ball to rookie guard Jaden Hardy.

It wasn’t because Hardy played a major role in the Mavs destroying the Knicks, 121-100. It was because that was the game where Hardy scored his first NBA points.

Occasions like that are memorable for any player, and Doncic knew of its significance.

“That was super dope for Luka for him to do that for me, to go get the game ball for me and present it to me in the locker room,” Hardy said. “Shout out to Luka for that.

“Him being a great team leader that he is, that was dope for him. He didn’t have to do. I was surprised that he got it for me. I was happy that he did that, because those are good memories.”

Hardy said the ball is currently at American Airlines Center.

“The equipment staff has it for me,” he said. “They’re going to get it painted for me.”

Coach Jason Kidd knows the importance of being able to look back years later and look at a ball that indicates a player’s first points scored in the NBA.

“He’s 20-something,” Kidd said of Hardy. “He won’t understand that until when he’s out of the league. But how cool was that for one of the best players in the world to be able to give you an assist with the game ball at the end?

“Knowing Hardy, he probably wanted to shoot it again just because of who he is. I think it’s just a classy thing, and that’s who Luka is, and I think Hardy really appreciates the gesture there at the end of the game.”

Hardy has mainly been playing in the G League with the Texas Legends this season. While he was ripping through G League defenses faster than water flowing through a sifter, fans were clamoring for him to get some minutes with the Mavs.

Especially since Hardy is averaging 29 points with the Legends, and also scored a whopping 41 points in a recent game against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. But getting buckets is what Hardy does so flawlessly.

So for Hardy to get his initial NBA points at Madison Square Garden – aka the world’s most famous arena – that was a proverbial feather in his cap.

“It was super dope and also super fun just being able to get it there and get in (the game) and being there to cheer my guys on and get the win out there,” he said. “I had a bunch of fun and a bunch of energy.

“Me going out there and scoring my first bucket is a dream come true. To do it in Madison Square Garden — like an historic building — it was super fun for that to happen.”

It was Hardy’s first time ever being in Madison Square Garden, and he made sure he left with a lasting memory after scoring five points in just seven minutes.

“Just being able to watch it on TV and then finally being there, it was super fun,” Hardy said. “I wasn’t nervous. I felt like I was prepared for it.”

Kidd said losing games with Hardy on the court because he’s not really NBA-tested on a grand scale just yet is not what he fears. But Kidd is aware that Josh Green didn’t play much as a rookie two years ago under then-coach Rick Carlisle.

“You have to be able to put him in a position — even if you do lose the game — to give him minutes because there’s a balancing act here of now and also the future,” Kidd said. “And I use Josh as an example — nothing against Rick or Josh — but you want him to have minutes his rookie year. Josh didn’t have that many minutes his rookie year, so you don’t always want to be behind.

“So you have to find minutes for (Hardy), and we will, even if we lose the lead in the second quarter because of something that he did. It’s not an ‘I’ situation. It’s a ‘we.’ We never will blame anything on one person.”

Hardy played just two minutes during Monday’s 130-111 victory over the Phoenix Suns and exploded with a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. And he was flexing his muscles after muscling in a pair of baskets.

“He deserves some minutes,” Kidd said. “It’s just that we got a lot of players ahead of him.”

With so many players ahead of Hardy in the rotation, that’s one reason why the Mavs sent him down to play for the Legends. But Hardy said his time playing for the Legends has turned out to be valuable.

“I feel like my time with the Legends has helped me tremendously,” he said. “Just being able to go down there and work on my game and build my confidence (is helpful), so whenever my name is called up here, then I’ll be ready.”

The Mavs want Hardy to develop his all-around game whenever he’s playing for the Legends.

“Not just scoring,” Hardy said. “But playmaking as well, and defending and becoming a better defender and having a better awareness out there and taking the right shots and making the right decisions.”

However, knowing that playing time with the Mavs may not come in bunches for Hardy the way it was last year when he averaged 17.7 points while playing for the NBA G League Ignite is somewhat challenging.

But Hardy said the key is: “Really just going in and getting your reps in every day — getting a bunch of reps — and then staying confident and not being down on yourself. (What’s critical is) putting in your reps, believing in your work and just staying confident.”

WILLIAMS ON DONCIC: Like any other coach in the NBA, Suns coach Monty Williams explained how difficult it is to defend Mavs point guard Luka Doncic, especially since he has so many skills to his game.

“When he touches the paint their numbers go through the roof, and it’s hard to keep him out of the paint,” Williams said. “He’s maybe the best in the league at it, because he can score there and he passes out of it. A lot of the guys when they get to the paint just score.

“Luka can get there and he does a really good job of pausing on one leg and then finding guys all over the place. I don’t know if anybody doesn’t the way that he does. I think it’s a combination of his skill, but the size.” 47.2 secs left in the game fans started chanting AOBJ

And Doncic’s size – he’s 6-7 – gives him a distinct advantage.

“Most guys that can play like that can’t see,” Williams said. “He’s 6-7. He can see the whole floor.

“It just causes a lot of late night film sessions and early morning discussions with the staff to try to figure out what nobody has been able to figure out yet.”

BRIEFLY: Members of the Dallas Cowboys who attended Monday’s game include Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot. Ex-Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant also was at the game, as was former Mavs players Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons. . .Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckman Jr. sat courtside after spending the day being courted by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and others in the team’s management. When fans started chanting “OBJ!, OBJ!, OBJ!,” he suddenly appeared on the Jumbotron and was smiling, and fans started cheering. And with 47.2 seconds remaining in the game, the “OBJ!, OBJ!, OBJ!’ chants got extremely loud. . .Guard Spencer Dinwiddie came up one rebound and one assist shy of his second career triple-double in Saturday’s game against the New York Knicks. “I thought Spencer was aggressive,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought he played at a high level for us in that game. Unfortunately, he did come up short with the triple-double. We tried to get him an assist. He came up short, and he needed a rebound, and I think his teammates boxed him out so he couldn’t get it.” Kidd, of course, was just kidding. . .In the four games since his one-on-one talk with Kidd, guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 23.3 points and shooting an amazing 24-of-47 from three-point range for 51.1 percent. So, what was discussed in the talk heard around the NBA? “I told him to be Timmy,” Kidd said. “He’s putting in the work. I think given the opportunity to start and play with Luka (Doncic) in that starting group, he’s comfortable with that. But he’s playing at a high level for us. The conversation was just about being himself and doing the things that he’s capable of doing, and that’s all we’re asking him to do and you can see that and he’s doing it at a high level for us right now.” Suns coach Monty Williams has noticed the superb shot-making by Hardaway. “He’s shooting the ball well,” Williams said. “He’s shooting with confidence. They’re running stuff for him. He’ll ball screen a guy and come off a big to get a shot. They’re running a lot of things to get him open, and he’s more than a capable jump shooter, but he’s also a guy that can put the ball down and score. I’ve always liked him. His toughness and size, he’s just a really good player.” When asked if Hardaway compares favorably to his dad – former NBA player Tim Hardaway Sr. – Williams paused and said: “Naw, I don’t see any of his dad. If they didn’t have the same last name and if I didn’t see some of it in his face, I wouldn’t even think they were related. I think their games are totally different.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice