Anthony Davis takes both sides in Dallas’ win over the Nets

The Dallas Mavericks kept things rolling on Friday night with a 119–111 home win over the Brooklyn Nets at the American Airlines Center, improving to 10–16. It was their fifth win in their last six games and their second straight win at home, the first time they have done so this season.

Anthony Davis played both sides of the court, finishing with 24 points14 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in 32–33 minutes. After a quiet first half, Davis took control after intermission, scoring 20 of his 24 points in the second half. He played primarily at center, and Dallas was also missing Derek Lively II, who will miss the rest of the season after foot surgery, and Daniel Gafford, who missed his third straight game with a right ankle injury.

Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg provided the early offense, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the first half and closing the night with eight assists and five rebounds. Dallas led 65–61 at halftime behind Flagg’s scoring, while Brooklyn stayed close thanks to Michael Porter Jr., who had 21 of his 34 points before the break. Naji Marshall had 17 points, Max Christie had 15 off the bench, PJ Washington finished with 13 points and Klay Thompson added 12 points as the Mavericks shot 48.9% from the field.

Brooklyn entered the game having won three of its previous four and looked to Porter Jr. for production, who went 6 of 10 from three-point range and recorded his fourth straight 30-point game, the first of his career in seven NBA seasons. Rookie Danny Wolf scored 17 points off the bench, while Nick Claxton had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Nets shot a season-best 17-of-39 (43.6%) from beyond the arc and 45.3% overall.

Brooklyn was sharp from deep, but Dallas dominated near the basket, outrebounding the Nets 66–44. The Mavericks also held Brooklyn to 28.6 percent shooting in the fourth quarter, including 2 of 9 from deep. The game had more momentum, with the score tied at 90 late in the third quarter and again at 110 with just over three minutes left. Dallas ended things on a 9–1 run, thanks to a nice 3-pointer by Brandon Williams and clutch baskets by Davis.

The win was the Mavericks’ 19th game of the season, the most in the NBA. They sit in 10th place in the Western Conference and will next travel to face the Utah Jazz on Monday.