3 studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' thrilling victory over Nets

The Dallas Mavericks edged out a 125-120 victory over the Brooklyn Nets last night, and it was yet another Luka Doncic masterclass down the stretch to win Dallas a game they shouldn't have been in.

The Mavericks played some pretty rough second-half defense and had a hard time generating offense without Doncic on the floor throughout various junctures of the game. Mavericks fans on Twitter were particularly puzzled at some of the rotation decisions by Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, as Dereck Lively II for instance was basically pulled after the first half despite playing well.

However, given how spectacular the night ended, it can't be overstated enough that we can't be too critical of the Mavericks' hectic 2-0 start, especially with everyone still working back up to peak game shape. The Mavericks essentially have the whole weekend to diagnose rotation adjustments and watch plenty of film, so hopefully they can improve around the margins and establish an identity as a team here in the coming games.

3 studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' thrilling victory over Nets

Luckily for Dallas though, the game featured many positives for them outside of Luka Doncic, but the game was also a pretty hefty blend of things the Mavericks desperately need to clean up as well.

That being said, here are three studs and two duds from the Mavericks' 125-120 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Honorable Mention: Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving continued to struggle shooting the ball in the Mavericks’ second game of the year, but his overall process on both sides of the ball has been objectively better than last year. He looks much more comfortable in the Mavericks offense and his playmaking and rebounding really stood out last night. Kyrie will definitely be a “stud” in the coming games, as he’s doing a great job of leading the team and affecting the game in other areas amidst his current shooting slump.

Honorable Mention: Dereck Lively II

Dereck Lively II honestly played extremely well given the card he was dealt to start this game after a great debut against San Antonio. With Nets starting center Nic Claxton out of the lineup, the Nets went super small and opted to run Ben Simmons and Dorian Finney-Smith at center often. Lively II did a pretty good job guarding the perimeter in the Mavericks' switch-heavy scheme and he was poised to have another big game offensively after nine first-half points, but Jason Kidd didn’t play him much after that as he thought Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber were better suited to guard the Nets’ smaller lineups.

5. Stud - Tim Hardaway Jr.

Despite only shooting 6-17 on field goals last night, Tim Hardaway Jr’s aggressiveness was much needed off the bench last in Dallas. Dallas was extremely challenged from a shot-creation standpoint last night with Kyrie Irving having a rough go shooting the ball and Jason Kidd not opting to let Jaden Hardy see any time despite not being listed on the injury report anymore.

Hardaway Jr. stepped up to fill that void, as he had a more diverse approach to his offensive game compared to the Spurs game the other night. Hardaway Jr. shot seven 3-point shots last night compared to 10 in the Spurs game.

He usually always attempts a few extremely unwarranted early shot-clock 3-pointers every game, so it was nice to see him operate in a more efficient manner. Hardaway Jr. was knifing through the defense in pick-and-roll scenarios, trying to find gaps to attack the rim or within the mid-range area to pull up for a floater.

The shot didn’t always fall, but Tim’s assertiveness along with him playing fairly disruptive defense (even if he missed a few rotations) warrants him making an appearance on this list. The Mavericks sorely needed the offensive production he gave them last night on a night where they couldn’t find much outside of Luka Doncic and Hardaway Jr.’s aggressiveness alone generated timely free throws.

4. Dud- Maxi Kleber

Maxi Kleber was tasked with a pretty tall order defensively last night, as the Mavericks opted to match the Nets’ small ball lineups with their own smaller lineups. Kleber played 28 minutes and was largely responsible for guarding Ben Simmons or one of the Nets’ bigger wings like Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale.

The Mavericks are switching a lot more this year too and playing some matchup zone, so Kleber inevitably had to guard the perimeter a decent amount last night and he got beat off the dribble quite a few times by the likes of Cam Thomas and other Brooklyn guards.

Maxi still played pretty stout interior help defense and did a good job mirroring Simmons when he was in the game, but he’s starting to show signs that he may not be as dynamic as he once was at guarding the perimeter as he’s set to turn 32-years-old this upcoming January. Maxi has also looked really unconfident offensively to start the season, and he didn’t register a single basket in last night's game as he went 0-3 from the field.

Kleber obviously doesn’t need to fill up the box score every game, but he at least needs to stay a consistent and assertive threat from outside if the Mavericks are going to be able to continue to play him in 5-out and small-ball lineups this year.

He had a rough preseason, and hopefully he can string together some solid performances going forward.

3. Stud- Dwight Powell

Jason Kidd talked in his post-game media availability about how Dwight Powell has historically guard Ben Simmons really well, and needless to say, Powell delivered defensively for Dallas last night.

Powell obviously isn’t known for his defense and had some of his worst defensive performances ever during Dallas’ preseason, but tonight was somehow a stark contrast compared to two weeks ago.

Powell had multiple possessions where he held his own when switched on to some of the Nets’ wings such as Mikal Bridges and did a good job at rotating in the Mavericks’ defensive scheme to negate some of the curl-off action the Nets ran to get Simmons, Dinwiddie, and Bridges attacking downhill.

It obviously wasn’t flawless from Powell on defense, but he showed that he has the ability to anchor down and guard bigger wings when need be, as his lack of length and height deter him from being an effective traditional rim protector. Powell also spaced the floor well on offense, as he was hyper-efficient as a roller and even made a corner 3-pointer late in the game.

Powell making a three of that magnitude was uncanny for him, and it was an extremely timely shot for Dallas who looked devoid of offense in the fourth quarter before Luka Doncic pulled some heroics. Powell may not deliver this level of production on a nightly basis, but he may increase his minutes soon if he keeps playing like this defensively after not playing at all in the Mavericks’ season opener versus the Spurs.

2. Dud - Josh Green

Josh Green has yet to have a statement game this season after his preseason play and new contract extension pointed toward a potential breakout season. To his credit, we don’t know if it’s coaching that is limiting some of his potential offensive output due to scheme, or if it’s solely on Green.

Nonetheless, though, he hasn’t looked as aggressive off the bounce as some may have expected heading into this season. Green made his mark on being explosive off the dribble last year for Dallas, and he has an increased amount of opportunities to get to the rim when playing with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving because of the spacing they provide offensively, but he didn’t take advantage of that last night against Brooklyn.

Green missed all three of his shots from outside last night, and it makes you wonder if getting off to a slow start shooting-wise adversely affects his confidence offensively. Green had a few good dump-off passes when attacking downhill and played decent defense on Brooklyn’s wings, so it wasn’t a total slugfest from him as no one played truly abysmal last night.

However, he struggled guarding Cam Thomas and Spencer Dinwiddie at the point of attack and didn’t look as laterally sound when guarding the perimeter. Green preemptively reacted to opposing guards' deceptive footwork on multiple occasions en route to getting beat to the spot a few times.

Green still played with a lot of effort per usual and had some big rebounds and free throws down the stretch as he finished the game out for the Mavericks despite not starting. While he may not have had the most effective game, Green is hopefully still poised to break out at the start of the year for Dallas as he’s shown some crazy potential with how effective he’s looked when he’s locked in on both sides of the ball.

1. Stud - Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic accounted for 14 of the Mavericks' final 17 points in the last three minutes and 22 seconds of game action, and his late-game shot-making was nothing short of legendary down the stretch as it capped off a 49 point performance off 9-14 shooting efficiency from 3-point range.

Doncic went 4-4 on 3-point shots in the final juncture of the game, concluding the most clutch performance of the year so far in this young NBA season with a jaw-dropping 25-foot bank shot while double-teamed at the end of the shot clock to put the Mavericks up 123-120 with 26.1 seconds remaining in the game.

Doncic wasn’t gun-shy whatsoever last night and was hoisting threes from the get-go. He’s arguably been getting to the rim with increased effectiveness this year, but you can’t blame him for shooting 14 three-point shots last season when he only came one three-point make shy of tying the Mavericks’ single-game record for most three-point shots made in one game in franchise history.

Doncic was the source of all the Mavericks' offensive initiation when he was in, especially with Irving and Josh Green having less-than-ideal games offensively. He did a great job at ball moving and used an effective drag dribble to make passes out of double teams once Brooklyn started trapping him on the perimeter.

Luka also had one of his more aggressive games defensively and on the glass, as he defended well in plenty of one-on-one scenarios throughout very pivotal possessions in the game even if he still had a few blatant mistakes on that end as per usual.

We’re only two games in, but Doncic is already making the case for an MVP campaign this season if he keeps willing the Mavericks to wins like this, but hopefully, he doesn’t have to, and the rest of the team follows suit. Regardless of what happens though, we’ll have you covered with everything involving the Dallas Mavericks as we look ahead to Memphis on Monday night.