The Dallas Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 101-90 Friday afternoon at the 2024 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. It was the Mavericks first win of the summer, after losing the previous three games to Utah, Memphis, and Miami.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper had his best game of the summer, leading all scorers with 22 points on an efficient 8-of-14 shooting. Prosper, the second year forward drafted with the 24th pick last year, combined with AJ Lawson’s 21 points to lead the Mavericks to a win. This was Lawson’s second-straight 20-point game.

Dallas started strong and never relented, leading 30-22 after the first quarter and never letting the Celtics get within one-possession. The Mavericks only shot 4-of-12 from three in the first half, but made 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) on two pointers to build their halftime lead. Prosper started aggressive, scoring 12 points in the first half on a variety of mid-range jumpers and some putbacks.

In the second half the Mavericks woke up from three, making 7-of-15, with Prosper and Lawson combining to go 4-of-5 from deep in the half. The Mavericks cruised to the final buzzer with a double-digit lead for most of the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks won’t make the Summer League playoffs, but will play one more game in Vegas that is currently to be determined.

Prosper’s big afternoon

As we mentioned earlier, Prosper had easily his best game of the summer, scoring 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-6 from three. It was good to see after Prosper struggled mightily with his offense in the first three games.

Prosper was mostly perimeter based against the Celtics — with six of his eight made field goals jumpers. He had a nice step-back two in the first half, and then an impressive bailout at the end of the shot clock near the three point line, crossing over and drilling a contested jumper. As we’ve said before, it’s doubtful Prosper will ever be asked to make these kinds of shots, but that’s what Summer League is for. It was good to see the ball go in the net repeatedly for the Mavericks second-year forward.

The defense was solid too, with Prosper collecting a steal and a block, while playing hustling near the basket. He somehow only finished with two rebounds, but he also had four assists. A nice afternoon for Prosper, which was much needed after the previous three stinkers.

Emanuel Miller might have earned a contract

The Mavericks haven’t settled on their two-way contracts just yet, but Emanuel Miller’s performance this summer might have earned him one. If not from Dallas, but maybe another NBA team.

Miller’s numbers don’t jump out at you (nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks), but he once again did a little bit of everything. Much like Wednesday against Miami, Miller was a jack-of-all trades — scoring near the basket, making a three, rebounding, defending and making some decent passes.

He seems to have a solid all-around game for a four-year college player, and while he isn’t the most exciting prospect, he seems to know what he’s doing when he’s on the floor. As bad as the Mavericks have looked this summer, the minutes with Miller on the court are noticeably better.

Is that enough for the Mavericks? Maybe. Lawson played well again, but he’s also in his fourth Summer League, and has already spent time in Dallas before. There should be enough room for both Lawson and Miller if the Mavericks want to go down that path, but Miller has been the most consistent Maverick in Vegas this summer.

The Mavericks love small scoring guards

Jazian Gortman started his second-straight game and had his second-straight solid performance with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, 3-of-5 from three. He also chipped in seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, and only three turnovers.

Dallas has a history of small scoring guards with their recent Summer League squads (Jaden Hardy, Brandon Williams, Jordan “Jelly” Walker), and it makes sense — Summer League is the perfect spot for these guys, too small to make an NBA team but effective in managing a team and trying to stabilize what can be sloppy and disjointed offense. These guys might not be able to gun at the NBA level, but having someone that can dribble and make shots helps the other prospects so as to not put too much on their shoulders. The Mavericks offense has looked significantly better the last two games, and it’s not surprising Lawson and Prosper have looked better as a result. Competent guard play goes a long way in Summer League.

It’s doubtful that’s enough to stay with the Mavericks, as they have a gluttony of guards on the main roster, but it’s been fun to watch Gortman nonetheless.