MEMPHIS – With injuries stacking up and the Mavericks reaching deep into their bench for some
assistance, immediate help arrived Monday night in the presence of second-year guard Jaden Hardy and rookie forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
That young dynamic duo came off the bench to combine for 30 points and 8-of-13 shooting from three-point land as the Mavs fought their way to a tough 120-113 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.
The win was the third in a row for the 14-8 Mavs, who will make a quick turnaround and entertain the freshly-minted in-season tournament champion Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.
But before hosting the Lakers, the Mavs found themselves in a physical tussle with the Grizzlies, who fell to 6-16 and sliced a 21-point deficit down to seven points with under a minute left. However, the sixth dunk of the night from rookie center Dereck Lively II with 32.6 seconds remaining padded 
the Mavs’ lead to 119-110 and sent Dallas home with an impressive 8-4 record on the road.
Hardy didn’t even play Friday at Portland and had a combined total of just 14 points in his two previous games against Oklahoma City and Utah. But there he was on Monday drilling three-pointers at crucial moments while helping the Mavs get some separation between themselves and the Grizzlies.
“I thought Hardy did a great job in that slot of being the playmaker and being the ballhandler,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He was finding all the right guys tonight and also looking for his shot, so I thought he was great in that position.”
The Mavs were without guard Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion), forward Grant Williams (right knee soreness), guard Josh Green (right elbow sprain), guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (back tightness) and forward Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation). Thus, Hardy was much-needed as another playmaker alongside superstar guard Luka Doncic, who contributed 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals.
“It felt real good to be out there on the floor with us going on the runs,” said Hardy, who was 5-of-7 from three-point range and played a season-high 34 minutes. “When I’m out there and the ball is finding me and just being ready to shoot, I feel like if I’m open, it’s going to go in every time I shoot it.
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The same can be said for Doncic, who has now scored 30-plus points in seven consecutive games while simply torching whatever defense he’s confronted with.
“It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, we’ve got to give (Doncic) different looks,’ “ Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “You’ve got to keep him off balanced.
“He’s one of the best players in the game, probably the best offensive player in the game just with his ability to score and play make and beat you at all three levels and get to the free throw line.”
Doncic was 9-of-21 from the field, 5-of-10 from three-point land, and converted 12 of his 13 attempts from the charity stripe. He was deep in his bag, and the Grizzlies couldn’t figure out how to slow him down.
“It definitely all starts with Luka,” Jenkins said. “He’s the quarterback out there. He initiates their fast break with long kickouts ahead.
“They’re one of the tops teams in three-point production, top four or five in the corners and the wings. He does a great job finding the corners, great job finding the rolls. They have one of the top offenses no matter if they have a couple of different guys out, because he’s going to be the lead engine.”
A healthy 16 points and a career-high tying 16 rebounds from rookie Dereck Lively II, plus 16 points, six assists and two steals fro
m Dante Exum were huge boosts for the Mavs. So, too, were the 11 points in 18 minutes they received from Prosper, who was 3-of-6 from long distance.
“It’s all about being ready and the next man mentality,” Prosper said. “It’s about stepping in and doing the little things and how can I compliment the guys already on the floor and how can I do little winning plays.
“I feel like I can give great energy and be in the right place at the right time, and being confident enough to knock down shots and helping by teammates defensively.”
Prosper knocked down a major three-pointer to bump the Mavs’ lead up to 107-94 with 6:16 left after the Grizzlies went on an 11-0 run to slice a 104-83 deficit down to 104-94.
“It’s not somewhere I haven’t been before,” Prosper said. “Yes, in the NBA it’s new to me. But my teammates have been great and telling me to keep shooting it and let it fly every time, and I stepped into it with confident and knocked it down.”
Meanwhile, Kidd was thrilled with everyone he played in this game.
“Everyone who played tonight deserves some credit,” Kidd said. “Short-handed, next man up mentality and they displayed what they’ve been patient for, and that’s getting time — consistent time — and they got it tonight.
“Again, on the road and against a talented team, we found a way to win, but it starts with Luka and he set the tone.”
Doncic’s 11 points, along with six points and five boards from Lively, helped stake the Mavs to a 29-24 lead after the first quarter. It was a quarter highlighted by a pair of dunks from Lively to open the game – he had a third dunk later in the quarter – and three-point plays apiece from Doncic and Derrick Jones, who left the game midway through the first quarter and didn’t return after suffering a left quad contusion.
Jenkins is totally aware of the mitigating problems Doncic creates for opposing defenses. Particularly since Doncic has now scored 30-plus points in seven consecutive games.
“You’ve studied him enough over the years,” Jenkins said. “You try to take one thing away. Say you take away his scoring ability, he does a phenomenal job of manipulating the playmaking opportunities.
“Whether it’s easy paint scorers, he’ll put himself in different locations on the floor, then obviously he’s surrounded with great shooting. You’ve got to kind of respond to how those guys are playing as well.”
In the meantime, Kidd noted how Lively — he finished the night with five offensive rebounds — was able to dominate inside the paint on both ends of the floor.
“I just asked him to get 15 (rebounds) and he got 16,” Kidd said. “I didn’t challenge him, I just asked him to get 15-plus rebounds from him and he went and got them. So, now we’re going to hold him accountable for being able to do that for us on a consistent basis.
“You can see he’s getting used to it. He was big for us on the glass — not giving up second shots tonight. Against a team like Memphis, if you’re giving up second opportunities it’s going to hurt you. So, for us and for D-Live to be able to clean up the glass for us tonight was huge.”
It was a rough night for the Mavs that saw Doncic take a hard spill and land awkwardly on his rear end early in the first quarter.
“I was hurting.,” Doncic said. “And my knees are swollen. It was my back.
“I landed right on my back. But I’ve got to be ready for (Tuesday).”
Now, the Mavs hope to take Monday’s success into the second leg of a back-to-back against a Laker team that arrived in Dallas on Monday and haven’t played since Saturday when they beat Indiana during the in-season championship game.
“They’re coming off two days free and they’re a great team, so it’ll be a really tough game,” Doncic said. “I think they’re playing way better than the beginning of the season – a very tough team – so we’re going to have to bring a lot to beat them.”
X: @DwainPrice
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