The Dallas Mavericks beat down a depleted New Orleans Pelicans squad 132-91 Tuesday night. The matchup was the second NBA Cup game for both teams, with the Mavs currently 0-1 in Cup qualifiers while the Pelicans sit at 1-0. With both teams being in West Group C, to say nothing of being in the same Division, there was a little extra motivation for both teams in this one. While the Mavericks inched toward a healthier roster with the recent return of P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively and Luka Doncic, the Pelicans unfortunately could not say the same as they played without Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Jose Alvarado and others. Under the collective circumstances, this was basically a must-win for the Mavericks and they came out swinging. Hard. Yes, the Pelicans were depleted and yes they made a little push going into halftime, but the Mavs took care of business in a big way and that is exactly what they need to do with these types of opportunities. Let’s get to the grades!

Luka Doncic: B+

26 Points / 5 Rebounds / 5 Assists / 3 Steals / 1 Block

Doncic kicked off the festivities with back-to-back steals which he took the other way for layups to give the Mavs an early 4-0 lead to set the tone. He had active hands all night forcing turnovers that didn’t necessarily get credited to him and shot a blistering 10-for-16 from the floor. His three-point shooting demonstrated some cold-blooded ruthlessness but also some questionable heaves that didn’t quite fit the flow of the offense. His three turnovers left a bit to be desired on that front, especially since one led to complaining which led to another technical foul.

Kyrie Irving: A-

18 Points / 1 Rebound / 7 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks

Let’s get it out of the way immediately. The grade is probably a little high for Irving’s performance in a somewhat truncated 27 minutes. Having said that, he gets a bump (again) for his shooting percentages (54.5% from the floor; 4-for-5 on threes) along with how and when he does what he does. He has been on his game day in and day out, and when this game got a little close, he nailed back to back devastating threes that turned things back to the Mavs’ favor.

Klay Thompson: A-

19 Points / 4 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 2 Steals / 0 Blocks

Thompson did what he was brought here to do, plus a little extra. 5-for-9 from three with a nice little rebounding haul and two nice steals was a well-rounded game for 24 minutes of play. Although they weren’t actual assists, Thompson had amazing passes to a wide open P.J. Washington on two occasions in the first quarter, but neither three-point attempt would fall. Regardless, this is the type of heady play that won’t show up in the stats, but which will pay massive dividends over a larger sample size.

Naji Marshall: A-

15 Points / 0 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 3 Steals / 0 Blocks

I am very high on Naji Marshall and what he is bringing to the team right now. He simply adds a dimension the Mavs didn’t have last year, with his ball handling and his finishing with little flip and push shots around the rim. I re-checked the box score multiple times to make sure he actually tallied no rebounds in this one, but perhaps this game is the object lesson of how what you see and what logs in the box score can appear very different sometimes – it certainly felt like Marshall did everything tonight even though he left the rebound column blank.

Quentin Grimes: A

12 Points / 8 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block

Grimes appears to be getting into the groove, doing all the things he was brought here to do. In the first quarter alone, he had a great strip under the basket, drilled a three in the natural flow of the offense and nailed a buzzer beater to bring the Mavs’ first quarter scoring total to 44 points. For a guy who averages 2.5 rebounds per game, he’s had a few nice games on the boards lately, with tonight being a season high (8). 5-for-9 shooting (2-for-3 on threes) is exactly what the Mavs expected and need from a 3-and-D player like Grimes.

Daniel Gafford: B

11 Points / 6 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks

Gafford’s stat line doesn’t leap off the page in this one, however he was an efficient 5-for-7 and played a strong game. His rebound tally wasn’t monumental, but he was clearly on the hunt and did a better job securing the ball than he has in some recent game. Overall, he had a nice game with a bit more of an impact than his stats show.

Dereck Lively II: B

9 Points / 7 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks

Like Gafford, Lively put in a solid body of work that wasn’t especially remarkable in the stats, but which probably impacted the game more favorably that it would initially appear. The center tandem somehow logged zero blocks combined, but definitely altered multiple shots and held down the back line defense in a blowout win.

P.J. Washington: C+

4 Points / 6 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 1 Steal / 2 Blocks

Washington had a nice defensive game, highlighted by a beautiful strip under the hoop which he then saved from going out of bounds, but his 2-for-9 shooting and four fouls left room for improvement. Even on a sub-par night, his very presence makes a positive impact when you think back to how the team looked in the games he sat out due to injury.

Maxi Kleber: A-

2 Points / 6 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 0 Steals / 2 Blocks

Kleber had one of those games where the intangibles contributed massively to his grade. His stat line was nothing to write home about, but if you watched the game, you saw he was nothing but positive impact. He emphatically grabbed rebounds, played exceptional defense in all the ways that don’t show up in the box score, and had two really nice blocks. His team-leading plus-30 fit his performance.

Jaden Hardy: B+

11 Points / 2 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks

Hardy hasn’t always been the best finisher, but lately has taken to driving harder and dunking a bit more. He had a nice play to break down the defense for a drive and dunk, which opened him up for a nice turn-around jumper a few possessions later. He’s letting the game come to him a bit more while making the most of his opportunities. His shooting percentage was not impressive tonight, however it felt as though he had at least three obvious no-calls go against him on drives to the hoop. There was no one else to blame for his missed alley-oop in the fourth quarter, however he had a nice jam a few minutes later.