The Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of their most impressive wins of the season on Friday night, beating the Denver Nuggets 123-120 at Ball Arena in an NBA Cup game. The Mavericks were without Luka Doncic (wrist strain) for this road game in Denver but managed to emerge victorious regardless and improved to 9-7 on the season.
The Mavericks led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter here but the Nuggets stormed back and even took the lead late. You’d have thought that was it for the visitors but they went on a 15-7 run in the final three minutes to stun the home team.
Naji Marshall was the unlikely star of the show for the Mavericks on the night, finishing with 26 points (11-15 FG), one rebound, one assist, and one steal off the bench. P.J. Washington also came up big, recording 22 points (8-15 FG), 13 rebounds, one assist, and three steals. As for the stars, Kyrie Irving (19 points) wasn’t quite at his best while Klay Thompson (zero points) struggled, but the role players ensured that didn’t cost the Mavericks the game.
Meanwhile, for the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic impressed on his return after missing three games due to the birth of his second child, with 33 points (13-22 FG), 17 rebounds, and 10 assists. He got some help from the likes of Michael Porter Jr. (17 points), Christian Braun (17 points), and Peyton Watson (16 points), but it wasn’t enough. This was the Nuggets’ third loss in four games and they have now dropped to 8-6.
This was supposed to be an easy win for the Nuggets with Jokic returning and Doncic being out, so where did it all go wrong? Let’s have a look.
The Mavericks Bench Came Up Big
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd had ripped their bench after a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 8, but he’d have been thrilled by what he saw from the reserves against the Nuggets. Their second unit scored 57 points on Friday, while the Nuggets’ second unit only managed 24. That’s more than double the production and you usually win games when that happens.
Marshall had 26 of those 57 points but wasn’t the only reserve to impress. Daniel Gafford had 13 points (5-7 FG), six rebounds, one assist, three steals, and a block on the night. Spencer Dinwiddie (10 points) and Jaden Hardy (eight points) also contributed well off the bench.
The Mavericks bench had averaged 30.7 points per game coming into this contest, which ranked 25th in the NBA. That kind of production was one of the reasons why they had gotten off to such a slow start to the season, but we have seen some signs of life recently. If the bench unit can consistently deliver for the Mavericks, they’re going to be a very difficult team to beat.
Jamal Murray Struggled
Jamal Murray came into this game against the Mavericks on the back of one of his better displays this season. He had scored 27 points (10-20 FG) against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday but failed to build on that display on Friday.
Murray finished with 14 points, five rebounds, 11 assists, and three blocks against the Mavericks. He was incredibly inefficient too, going 4-16 from the field, 4-11 from three, and 2-2 from the line.
Murray was getting torched on the defensive end in the closing stages of this contest too, with Washington and Marshall scoring on him with ease. He needs to put more effort on that end of the floor, especially on a night when the shots just aren’t falling.
At this point, I am starting to get very worried about Murray. There have been some flashes of brilliance from him this season but overall, he has been a major disappointment. The Nuggets’ decision to give him a four-year, $209 million deal this offseason is looking like a mistake right now but I wouldn’t count him out just yet.
The Nuggets Missed One Too Many Free Throws
The Nuggets aren’t a great free-throw-shooting team, but they struggled even by their standards against the Mavericks. They went 19-29 (65.5%) from the line in the game and were 4-8 (50%) in the fourth quarter.
We saw the Los Angeles Lakers pay for missing free throws against the Orlando Magic and that was the case for the Nuggets here. They probably would have won this one had they made those free throws in the fourth quarter.
Funnily enough, the Nuggets made one free throw they shouldn’t have in that fourth quarter, as Murray dropped it in when trying to miss when they were down 121-119 with 4.2 seconds remaining. It just wasn’t his night.
The Nuggets will now take on the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday at 10:30 PM ET next and it’ll be interesting to see if both teams can make their free throws then. As for the Mavericks, they take on the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center on Sunday at 6 PM ET.
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