Mavs have lots of trust in their role players

 MEMPHIS – Trust was the operative word the Mavericks repeatedly used after they dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies, 120-113, on Monday night at FedEx Forum.

With several key players sidelined because of injuries, the Mavs were forced to go deep into their bench and had to trust that their reserves would step in and help bail them out of a tough spot. And that’s precisely what happened.

Jaden Hardy and Olivier-Maxence Prosper combined for 30 points and eight three-pointers, Dereck Lively 11 turned in another strong performance with 16 points and a season-high tying 16 rebounds, and Dante Exum continued to be one of the steals of the offseason with 16 points, six assists and two steals.

Add it all up and it led to coach Jason Kidd saying: “There’s a lot of trust in that locker room and it was displayed again (on Monday).”

With 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) all sidelined due to various injuries – not to mention the loss of forward Derrick Jones Jr. to a left quad contusion early in the first quarter – a lot was placed on guard Luka Doncic.  But he was sensational yet again, and was also able to get an incredible amount of help from his teammates.

“They were doubling me the whole game, so I was just trying to get to my spot,” Doncic said. “The trust factor was big (Monday). Everybody that came to the court gave it their all, so I’m really proud of this team.

“We had five guys out and it was a pretty amazing win. The trust factor was huge this game.”

Here are the three takeaways from the seven-point win over the Grizzlies.

DONCIC THE DOMINATOR: It has become very common for Mavs point guard Luka Doncic to dominate whoever has the gall to want to try and contain him. It happened again Monday as the six-year veteran filled up the stat sheet with 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals. It was, in three words, Luka being Luka. And whenever that occurs, a defense hasn’t yet been created to slow him down.

HARDY SIGHTING: He hasn’t had a lot of playing time this season. However, when he got an opportunity Monday to show he still can be a viable contributor to the Mavs, Jaden Hardy was right on point. While playing a season-high 34 minutes, Hardy produced a season-high 19 points and four assists. The second-year guard was 7-of-15 from the field and a red-hot 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc.

O-MAX TO THE RESCUE: With the Mavs down too many bodies to count due to injuries, forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper suddenly found himself receiving some quality minutes. And the rookie from Marquette didn’t disappoint. In 18 minutes, Prosper tallied a season-high 11 points and was 3-of-6 from three-point land. He also drained a key three-pointer that helped stymie a Memphis rally and put the Mavs up by 13 points with 6:16 remaining in the game.

X: @DwainPrice