Coming off a gutsy win on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks squared off against the Memphis Grizzlies in their fourth and final NBA Cup qualifier game. Sitting at 2-1 in Cup competition, the Mavs were in a veritable must-win situation to move on to the Cup knock-out games. Although Naji Marshall was still sidelined due to illness, Klay Thompson and Dereck Lively made their return to the starting lineup for Dallas.

The game was generally close throughout the first half and the refs were letting both teams play (in a good way) for a high-energy, entertaining 24 minutes. The third quarter felt like it dragged on for an hour, with official reviews and coaches challenges that all seemed to go in favor of the Grizzlies. Dallas was outscored by 16 in the frame and was down 13 entering the final 12 minutes, a deficit that frankly felt like is should have been more. Dallas did a nice job staying connected and keeping it ugly in the fourth, but a sequence of 3-for-8 from the free throw line (Lively 1-for-4, Washington 1-for-2, Dinwiddie 1-for-2) made their task unnecessarily more difficult. Then something happened. What exactly it was, I can’t say for sure, but one thing that is certain is that Mavs fans loved every second of it. A 15-2 run leading into the final 15 seconds of the game saw the Mavs pull out an improbable win and punch their ticket to the knockout round of the NBA Cup. Let’s get to the grades!

Luka Doncic: A

37 Points / 12 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 4 Steals / 1 Block

Since his return on Sunday, Luka looks like he feels better and it’s a welcome sight. He was very active on the defensive end, using his body without fouling, displaying quick hands and sprinting (yes, sprinting) back on defense. Offensively, he dropped in 24 points in the first half alone. Doncic also had back-to-back steals in the third quarter which resulted in him converting an uncontested layup, and him connecting with Lively on rim shaking alley-oop. His low assist total and six missed free throws kept him from getting the “+” but this level of defensive effort prevented him from getting a “-”.

Kyrie Irving: C

10 Points / 6 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks

Much like Luka, Kyrie (and really the whole team) had a clear focus on defense in this one. It won’t show in the box score, but Kyrie had a great play in the second quarter closing out on seven-footer Santi Aldama, not only causing him to hesitate on a three, but ultimately forcing him to bobble the ball out of bounds. Otherwise, this one was pretty ugly. At one point in the third quarter, he had as many turnovers as points (4). 3-for-14 from the floor (0-for-4 on threes) was uncharacteristic to say the very least, but his six boards and two clutch free throws with 15 seconds remaining kept him just out of the basement on grading. The good news in this one is that the team won despite his struggles, and its difficult to fathom a similar performance from him any time soon.

Klay Thompson: C-

4 Points / 2 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks

I debated this one heavily, ultimately landing at a C- instead of a D. Thompson just returned from injury and only played 20 minutes so he got some benefit of the doubt, but when a shooter can’t connect (1-for-5 overall and 0-for-3 from three), the grade can’t be high. He also got roasted on a few consecutive defensive efforts against Ja Morant before getting subbed out.

Dereck Lively: A+

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

Lively had three dunks within the first two minutes of the second quarter, to epitomize his effort and energy on the night. Yes, a dunk is a two-pointer just like a midrange jumper, but there is no denying that a fierce slam is a huge momentum boost and helps open up outside shooters. Not only were these dunks pretty, but they were noteworthy for how they developed and how Lively executed them. He had two awesome, emphatic blocks (three total) – one to send back a drive, and one he swatted at peak height. His free throws almost prevented me from grading as high as I did, but he had a massive positive impact on this game, and his 6 offensive rebounds put him over the top. Lively is getting better right before our eyes and it’s fun to watch.

Quentin Grimes: C+

8 Points / 2 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks

Grimes didn’t have much to write home about in this one. He didn’t shoot particularly well, but did drill a big three in the moment. He also only played 20 minutes. It wasn’t his night, especially relative to what we’ve seen from him lately, but he at least stayed the course and gave maximum effort.

P.J. Washington: A+

18 Points / 8 Rebounds / 7 Assists / 1 Steal / 2 Blocks

This was another difficult one for me. An A+ really should mean something big, but I’m going with it here despite this not being a uniquely remarkable stat line for Washington. 6-for-10 overall from the floor and 4-for-6 from three were huge, especially the three that doubled the Mavs lead with 27 seconds left. That cold-blooded shot can’t be understated. 2-for-5 free throws did not help his grading cause, but seven assists sure did. What really puts this grade to top marks was his defense throughout the night. It’s not feasible to articulate each nuanced play, but there is no mistaking that PJ was a defensive force in this game and it made a massive difference in the outcome.

Daniel Gafford: A-

11 Points / 4 Rebounds / 0 Assists / 1 Steal / 1 Block

Gafford only logged 15 minutes and that can make it tricky to grade accurately. Going 4-for-4 from the floor and 3-for-3 on free throws (in a game the team shot 68.2%) is as efficient as it gets.

Spencer Dinwiddie: A+

16 Points / 1 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 0 Steals / 1 Block

Dinwiddie is in the same boat as Washington in this game. I concede this was not statistically an A+ game, but this is an object lesson as to why we don’t just grade on box score. Dinwiddie shot 50% overall, 60% from three, and helped run the offense when Kyrie had a very atypical turnover night. Of course drilling back-to-back threes in 30 seconds —one of which gave the Mavs the lead, the second of which extended the lead to five — is damn near the stuff of legend. These were Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out level blows. Cold-blooded, clutch a-bombs that shook the foundation of the AAC.

You can listen to our latest podcast episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Pocketcasts, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox.

You can check out our After Dark Recap podcasts, YouTube Live recordings, and guest shows on the Pod Maverick Podcast feed. Please subscribe, rate, and review.