DENVER – Playing time doesn’t come very often for Mavericks forward Markieff Morris. Thus, whenever it comes, he is prime to
do his best to make the most of it.
Such was the case Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers when Morris posted season highs in points (10), rebounds (five) and assists (four). So, how does Morris come off the bench and be so productive after rarely playing?
“It’s not really that hard,” he said. “When you stay prepared like I do, it’s something normal.”
Morris played 20 minutes against the Blazers, one minute shy of the season-high 21 minutes he played on Dec. 11 against the Memphis Grizzlies. It was the 13-year veteran’s chance to remain folks that he can still be a productive player when given the chance.
“Obviously, everybody wants to play every game, but it doesn’t work like that,” Morris said. “With this type of team — a long season — everybody is going to get an opportunity. Coach (Jason) Kidd said that at the beginning of the year.
“So, I’m just staying ready and making shots and doing all this small stuff when my number is called.”
Morris hopes his number is called when the Mavs face the Denver Nuggets on Monday at 8 p.m. at Ball Arena. Kidd, meanwhile, knows he can count on Morris at a moment’s notice.
“He’s a pro,” Kidd said. “And we been playing him some minutes of late. (He’s) been able to stretch the defense, and he also gives us some physicality and toughness.
“He knows how to play. He’s always been prepared and always ready, and that’s what you can ask for when you’re the 12th, 13th, 14th man on the team.”
Morris has played in just nine of the Mavs’ 25 games this season, and is averaging 3.4 points in 10.7 minutes.
“On this team anybody is going to play, everybody is going to play,” Kidd said. “You just got to be ready, and I think he’s a perfect example for those young guys in the locker room on how to be a pro.”
*This is the finale of a brief two-game road trip for the Mavs before they return home to host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. The Mavs opened this road trip with a 131-120 win in Portland on Saturday.
*Monday’s game is the last of a three-game home stand for the Nuggets. The home stand opened with Thursday’s 124-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets behind a triple-double from Nikola Jokic, who finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Oklahoma City nipped the Nuggets in Denver on Saturday, 118-117.
*Mavs point guard Luka Dončić is on a heater and finds himself squarely in the middle of the NBA Most Valuable Player race. Dončić is coming off a 40-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in Saturday’s game against Portland. Dončić is second in the league in scoring (32.7 ppg), fourth in 
assists (9.1 apg), and second in three-pointers made per game (3.8). He also leads the Mavs in rebounds (8.3 rpg) and steals (1.3 spg).
*Jokic is up to his old tricks again. In other words, he’s terrorizing defenses with his all-around game. Jokic is averaging 27 ppg, is second in the NBA in rebounds (12.4 rpg), third in assists (9.5 apg), and is shooting 54.1 percent from the floor.
*Mavs guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is coming off an impressive outing against Portland when he scored 25 points while converting 5-of-15 shots from beyond the three-point arc. Hardaway is averaging 17.7 ppg and shooting 37.3 percent from three-point territory.
*Denver’s Jamal Murray is averaging 18 ppg, 6.0 apg and is shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range, Michael Porter Jr. averages 16.8 ppg and 8.0 rpg, Reggie Jackson is averaging 13.4 ppg and converting 40.9 percent of his shots from downtown, Aaron Gordon averages 13 ppg and 7.2 rpg and is shooting 50 percent from the field, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is averaging 10.6 ppg.
*In the Mavs’ fifth game of the season way back on Nov. 3, they lost in Denver, 125-114, despite 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Dončić. Nikola Jokic contributed 33 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets in that game.
*The Mavs own the NBA’s best record on the road at 9-4. They have won four of the last five games they’ve played away from American Airlines Center.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (16-9) at DENVER NUGGETS (17-10)
When: 8 p.m., Monday
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
TV: BSSW, NBA TV
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
X: @DwainPrice
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