Dallas Mavericks' forgotten duo holds the keys to get back on track

With an almost healthy roster, the Dallas Mavericks got their first taste of the NBA Cup against Golden State.

Dallas played about as good as they're capable of. They led the game by as much as 11, and by as much as seven with less than four minutes left.

As Mavs fans know, the Warriors aren't truly out of it until the clock hits zero. Stephen Curry exposed the Mavs' latest flaw in closing out games.

The Mavericks proved to have some security that they must build on in order to not worry about those late-game woes.

A Lively II and Gafford rotation is lethal for Dallas

The two big men were dominant on the night.

It was the first time in over a week that Mavs fans saw Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford play in the same game for Dallas.

Lively II was coming off an unexpected injury that hurt Dallas against Indiana's stretch bigs as Gafford struggled. The big man depth wasn't the same, and Indiana's big guys kept eating in the paint and from downtown.

Lively II coming back in an NBA Cup game was desperately needed. Even with the Mavericks going down, it's a sign for this big man tandem to grow this season.

Gafford, who started the game, finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Lively II, who came off the bench, recorded 12 points and eight rebounds.

Another reason why the two guys worked together was because the minutes were distributed evenly. Both guys had 24 minutes of playing time.

Before the season, we knew this would be a tough decision for the coaching staff to make when it comes to who would start. Both guys have such tremendous value in the game.

They just might be the best center duo in Dallas history, and that's saying a lot considering the two guys haven't played in a full season together.

It's fair to go to the fact that Dallas is having a problem with closing out games, in fact, they've lost three straight games for a combined six points. These are scenarios where they should've closed out games.

Now, with both big guys playing as well as they have, they might not even have to worry about those dramatic late-game sequences for much more. The Mavs can open up the game with more pick and rolls and lobs to each guy as a quick energy booster. The Mavericks didn't waste any time with Lively II and Gafford scoring high-percentage buckets.

This is one of the biggest expectation seasons for Dallas in recent memory. There's just too much talent on the roster to be starting out slow or losing a late lead.

These clutch situations will certainly be simulated in practices as to what exactly the gameplan will be if the Mavericks are ever in such a situation later in the year.