The Dallas Mavericks continue their upward trajectory. The Texans won their sixth of the last ten games against the Denver Nuggets. Rookie Cooper Flagg set a new personal best.
With 33 points (14/21) and nine rebounds and nine assists each, the No. 1 pick, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Sunday, narrowly missed his first career triple-double. Nevertheless, he took a personal record away from the evening: Flagg had never hit four three-pointers in any game in his young career – and he only needed six shots to do so.
The teenager was partly responsible for the Western Conference’s third-placed team being blown away at one point. In the second quarter, the home team was already 21 points ahead.
After the break, Denver got better and better. Jokic (16), Hardaway Jr. (12), Murray and Brown (11 each) all scored in double digits in the second half. A Strawther three-pointer at the start of the final quarter even turned the game in the visitors’ favor (103:106).
Davis strong in the final quarter
However, it was Anthony Davis who sealed the deal, scoring ten of his 31 points (12/19) in the final twelve minutes. With the score at 131:130, the Nuggets even had another chance to win on their last possession. With the shot clock running down, Jokic (29 PTS, 14 AST) found Peyton Watson completely open in the corner. His three-pointer bounced once on the rim but then rolled out, and the Mavs survived.
With a record of 12-19, Dallas is now tied with the tenth-placed Trail Blazers and is thus sniffing at the play-ins. Denver, on the other hand, has fallen behind in the battle for second place with the Spurs.
