Mavs very much alive in 2024 Cup Nights tournament

 DENVER – When it comes to the 2024 Cup Nights tournament for the Dallas Mavericks, it’s all about the Benjamins.

In other words, each member of the winning team in the 2024 Cup Nights games will receive a whopping $500,000. And the Mavs – who are still in the thick of the chase for the big money — are well aware of it.

With Friday’s 123-120 win over the Denver Nuggets, the Mavs are now 2-1 in the 2024 Cup Nights standings. That left the Mavs one game behind the Golden State Warriors, who lead the West Group C with a 3-0 record, thanks in large part to their 120-117 victory over the Mavs on Nov. 12

The win by the Mavs over the Nuggets helped them remain alive in advancing as a wild card team with the big prize being next month’s semifinals and finals in Las Vegas.

“It’s huge,” forward P. J. Washington said. “At the end of the day it gives us something to play for early in the season.

“I think guys are excited about it and we know every game matters.”

Because of the Mavs’ 132-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans this past Tuesday – along with their three-point win over Denver and three-point loss to Golden State –  Dallas has a point differential of plus-41. That’s the best in the Western Conference 2024 Cup Nights wild card race of the teams with only one loss.

The Mavs can inch even closer to clinching a wild card spot when they host Memphis on Dec. 3 in their final group play game.

“We’re taking it to each team each and every night,” Washington said. “And we’re just absolutely excited we got a win (Friday). We’re trying to go to Vegas.”

Here are the takeaways from the Mavs’ three-point win over the Nuggets.

CAREER NIGHT FOR MARSHALL: Naji Marshall had the game of his (NBA) life on Friday. Playing with a lot of poise and confidence, Marshall came off the bench to pour in a career- and team-high 26 points. Basically, since he played 26 minutes, Marshall scored a point for every minute he was on the court. He wound up converting 11 field goals in 15 attempts, and also was 3-of-4 from three-point range. In addition, Marshall produced the play of the game. With 18.8 seconds left and the 24-second shot clock about to expire, Marshall drained an off-balance 13-footer that put the Mavs ahead, 119-115.

MAVS ROLLING SEVENS — AGAIN: For the third game in a row, the Mavs showed the world that general manager Nico Harrison has built this team with a lot of quality talent. In each of the past three games, the Mavs have had seven players score at least 10 points. On Friday, Marshall led the way for the Mavs with 26 points, P. J. Washington scored 22 points, Kyrie Irving tallied 19 points and Quentin Grimes added 14 points. Also, Daniel Gafford scored 13 points, Dereck Lively II had 11 and Spencer Dinwiddie collected 10.

TEAM MEETING WAS VERY HELPFUL: After the Mavs turned in a subpar performance during a 115-113 loss at the Utah Jazz on Nov., forward P. J. Washington said they had a team meeting. The meeting, Washington said, consisted of the players and coaches. And since that meeting, the Mavs have reeled off four straight wins. Those wins came directly after the Mavs had four straight losses.

X: @DwainPrice