The Dallas Mavericks faced off against the Denver Nuggets Friday night, pulling off a nice win in their third NBA Cup West Group C game. Both the Mavs and Nuggets came into the night 1-1 in Cup qualifiers, so Dallas especially needed this one to have a realistic chance at moving into the knockout round. While Nikola Jokic returned to the lineup for Denver after welcoming a newborn the night before, the Mavericks were disadvantaged without superstar Luka Doncic who is sidelined with a wrist injury and is expected to miss at least the next two games as well.

After taking a 24 point lead early in the third quarter, things flipped quickly and the Mavs found themselves down late in the fourth. Despite some questionable calls (and no calls), the Mavs never looked flustered and for perhaps the first time this season, looked like the poised playoff squad from last year. This was a gutsy win without their best player, a big conference win and a big win relative to the NBA Cup. Let’s get to the grades!

Kyrie Irving: B+

19 Points / 6 Rebounds / 6 Assists / 1 Steal / 1 Block

Kyrie had his first sub-par shooting night in quite some time. He started off hot, but the Nuggets played him much better in the second half, forcing misses and preventing the killer threes we have come to expect of late (he was 1-for-6 on the night from three). His rebound total was very nice and he did a little bit of everything, but when defaulted into the number one spot, the expectation is rightfully higher. He gets the “+” added to his grade for nailing two absolutely clutch free throws with 7 seconds remaining with the Mavs holding a 1-point lead.

Quentin Grimes: A

14 Points / 4 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 2 Steals / 0 Blocks

Grimes is really showing that his recent flow isn’t a fluke. Starting in the absence of Luka Doncic, he made the most of his 29 minutes, shooting 5-for-9 from the floor, 2-for-4 from three, and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe (both of which came with 1:20 left in the game to give the Mavs a two-point lead). He played scrappy defense and put himself in the right spots to do the intangibles that don’t necessarily result in stats.

Klay Thompson: C

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

This was a rough 0-for-8 night for Thompson (0-for-4 from three). I’ve often graded him high on a “shooter shooting well” basis, so it’s only fair to grade low on generally disastrous performance. His grade isn’t lower, only because he had positive impact passing and rebounding and playing some nice non-stat bearing defense, but had he played even marginally better the Mavs may never have relinquished the lead in this one.

Naji Marshall: A+

26 Points / 1 Rebound / 1 Assist / 1 Steal / 0 Blocks

11-for-15 from the floor. 3-for-4 from three. Career high 26 points. An excellent drive and finish with 19 seconds remaining in the game to put the Mavs up four. A perfectly timed intentional foul with four seconds remaining in the game. Yes, we would have all liked higher numbers in rebounds and even assists, but Naji gets the coveted A+ for being the best player in a Mavs uniform for all 48 minutes on this night.

P.J. Washington: A++ (yes, it’s really just an A+)

22 Points / 13 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 3 Steals / 0 Blocks

I promise, I’m not handing out A+ grades as a result of the euphoria of a great win. Like Naji Marshall, Washington earned every bit of this grade in my eyes. He kicked things off looking like an absolute world-beater in the first few minutes of the game, starting out 3-for-4. He finished the game hitting 53.3% from the field, though he did miss both of his three-point attempts. On the negative side of the ledger, he had four turnovers, and while that can be a grade killer, he simply did way too many intangibly positive things in this one to not give him top marks. His defense overall was fantastic throughout the night, but his final two minutes of the game were epic. With 2:08 remaining, he had the ball down low, but had the presence of mind to wait for a full-steam-ahead defender to foul him for an and-one, which he converted to tie the game. He then hit a layup with 50 seconds remaining, extending the lead to four. He followed that up by going 2-for-2 from the free throw line with three seconds left in the game to push the lead to three. Finally, he stole the full court inbound pass to seal the game. If Spinal Tap can “go to 11” then so can P.J. Washington, at least for tonight.

Daniel Gafford: A

13 Points / 6 Rebounds / 1 Assist / 3 Steals / 1 Block

Gafford had a generally on-par night for himself, but did so while carrying much of the burden of defending one of the best players on earth. The victim of a bad call or two, Gafford stayed the course and impacted this game in a meaningful way, perhaps highlighting his effort with a tally of three steals. He also managed to commit only two fouls while the other Maverick centers were hack-heavy in this one. He was 5-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 on free throws in a game where just about every point counted. This was an overall nice game, highlighted by solid play against Nikola Jokic, despite what his gaudy numbers show on the surface (as much of his proficiency was against other Mavs’ defenders).

Dereck Lively II: B

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

Lively hit all four of his shots and was 3-for-4 on free throws. He had a really nice (and very timely) put-back off a Kyrie Irving miss and his two blocks were huge. He registered five fouls however, a couple of which were bone-headed to say the least. He had a nice stat line and a good game overall, but his inability to stay on the floor impacted things down the line (see: Maxi Kleber) and hurt the team overall throughout the game based simply on the ripple effect it had.

Maxi Kleber: C-

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

Kleber got some extra burn in this game, largely because Dereck Lively could not stop fouling. Despite the scenario not being an ideal setup for success, Kleber really had a rough go in this one. He collected five fouls of his own by the time the third quarter buzzer sounded. Putting that in further perspective, he only played 9:12 to that point. Maxi gave effort and didn’t hang his head, but aside from that, this was a very forgettable night for him.

Jaden Hardy: C

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

Hardy’s eight points were a solid contribution, but they came on an inefficient 3-for-9 from the floor. He also carried a plus/minus of -16 to lead the team in the way you don’t want to lead the team.

Spencer Dinwiddie: B+

10 Points / 2 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 0 Steals / 0 Blocks

Dinwiddie had a quietly nice night. On one hand, you could argue this is about as ideal a stat line as you may expect, however I would argue that the expectation for Dinwiddie is realistically higher. I think he has more to give and will do so in due time, especially in a game where Luka is back in Dallas watching on TV. Still, I bump him a bit higher here for doing nothing wrong and contributing a team-leading three made 3-pointers (tied with Marshall) on 60% shooting.

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