Inside Report

Dwain Price

SAN ANTONIO – Guard Walter Clayton Jr. had no preconceived notions when the Dallas Mavericks signed him to a two-way contract on Oct. 21.

As he analyzed the Mavs’ roster, Clayton knew they were loaded at the guard spots with Kyrie Irving, Max Christie, Marcus Sasser, Caleb Martin and Sergio De Larrea. He just wanted to pry open the door a little bit and see if there were some minutes that were available for him to possibly shine.

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“I’m willing to adapt to kind of whatever the team needs me to be on whatever night it is,” Clayton said. “Whether that’s with the ball in my hands or without the ball in my hands. I’m just trying to be a team player.”

Clayton was certainly a team player during Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. While the Mavs were struggling to get the ball in the basket, Clayton wound up converting 6-of-9 shots and scoring a career-high-tying 20 points in 24 minutes.

In Clayton’s only other time playing more than 16 minutes this season, he poured in 15 points on 6-of-7 shots in 17 minutes during a 113-109 victory at Miami on Oct. 26. His production hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“I’ve been a fan of Walter’s game ever since he left Florida,” Mavs center Daniel Gafford said. “Just seeing the things that he’s done in a couple of games that he’s actually had good (minutes), he’s a good shooter, he attacks the basket, he facilitates, he communicates with us, (and) he finds ways to show how he’s a true point guard.”

Irving has gone out of his way to show Clayton the ropes on how to be a much more effective player, and the former University of Florida product is very appreciative of the nine-time All-Star’s support.

“From a day-to-day standpoint, how he takes care of himself, how he works, and then the mental aspect, too,” Clayton said in describing what he’s learned from Irving. “He’s giving me little bits and pieces day-by-day, so it’s definitely great having him and I’ve learned a lot.”

More importantly, when Irving is on the sidelines, he’s able to watch whatever Clayton’s doing and offer some sage advice. Constructive criticism, Clayton knows, is what he needs at this stage of his young career.

“There might be a point where (Irving) feels like I could have rejected a screen,” said Clayton, who is in his second NBA season. “He’ll just get in my ear and let me know about that.

“And then the main thing really is just don’t get down on myself. Whenever something bad happens, move on to the next play. He’s big on next-play mentality. That’s something he’s been preaching to me a lot.”

In just 13.2 minutes per game, Clayton is averaging 6.8 points while shooting an efficient 53.8 percent from the field (14-of-26) and a sizzling 57.1 percent from three-point territory (8-of-14).

“He’s steady, he’s producing (and) he’s progressing like he wants to,” Gafford said. “And he’s got a great guard in his ear in Kyrie Irving that’s giving him, I’m pretty sure, tips and pointers on how to be good in this game.”

A first-round pick of the Washington Wizards in 2025, the 23 year-old Clayton said Mavs coach Dusty May also has given him some pointers.

“Dusty’s great,” said Clayton, who was 4-of-5 from three-point range against the Kings. “He cares about us even more like being a person, so I think that’s big going out here playing for a coach that cares about you as a person.

“He’s obviously a great basketball mind and a great dude. He’s been adapting to us as well in his first year in the league. He’s been great, and it’s only going to get better.”

And in time, Clayton also knows he’s only going to get better.

*Kyrie Irving will be back in the lineup after sitting out Monday’s 115-100 loss to the Sacramento Kings due to left knee injury management. With Irving sidelined, the Mavs had all sorts of problems getting the ball in the basket as they shot 41 percent overall and 21.2 percent from the three-point arc (7-of-33). The Mavs also know they need to protect the ball better after turning it over 16 times against the Kings. In addition, center Santi Aldama is listed as doubtful after not playing all season due to right knee surgery he underwent in March while he was playing for Memphis. Also, guard Max Christie (right hip soreness)) will not play Wednesday.

*For the Spurs, both the offense and defense centers on high-octane center Victor Wembanyama. The 7-4 Frenchman is first in the NBA in blocks (4.0 bpg), fifth in rebounding (10.7 rpg) and 10th in scoring (25.7 ppg) while causing all sorts of problems on both ends of the floor. Also for the Spurs, Dylan Harper averages 18.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg &nbsp;and 5.3 apg, and De’Aaron Fox is averaging 15.9 ppg and 6.4 apg. Stephon Castle (14.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.0 apg), Devin Vassell (11.9) and Julian Champagnie (11.1 ppg) have been viable weapons for the Spurs.

*The Mavs are not concerned one bit about the 17 points on a frosty 3-of-19 shooting that they got from forward Cooper Flagg during the 15-point loss to the Kings. “I know he’s going to bounce back,” center Daniel Gafford said. “Whenever it comes to the conversations throughout the locker room, I always say our response is going to dictate how we feel the next day or the next game. I try to speak life into people. Whenever I see the head down, one of the main things is (Flagg) said I’m sorry for how I played. It’s not on him. This is a team game night-in and night-out. If one person has a bad game or two people have a bad game, it’s still on the team, because we play defense at the end of the day, too.”

*The Spurs spoiled the Mavs' home opener, 122-106, on Oct. 24. San Antonio distributed 34 assists on its 48 baskets and were led by Wembanyama (23 points, seven rebounds, four blocks), Harper (22 points, two steals), Castle (19 points, eight assists, three steals), and Fox (19 points, nine assists, three steals). The Mavs’ Cooper Flagg (shoulder) and Kyrie Irving (resting on the second night of a back-to-back) did not play in that game.

Dallas Mavericks (4-3) at San Antonio Spurs (5-2)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

RADIO: 105.3 The Fan, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)

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Mavericks-Spurs preview: Clayton ready and willing to adapt to whatever is needed

Over the course of a long 82-game season, what happened to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night will likely also happen to the other 29 NBA teams on multiple occasions this season. For the Mavs, it just leaves a sour taste in their mouth when it happens.

Favored to win a game this season for the first time – against a Sacramento team that was the league’s only winless squad – the Mavs surprisingly played down to the competition and wound up losing to the pesky Kings, 115-100, at American Airlines Center.

In having their three-game winning streak snapped, the Mavs fell to 4-3 as they head to San Antonio on Wednesday, while the Kings improved to 1-6. Afterward, Mavs coach Dusty May didn’t make any excuses for his team, who looked nothing like the team that swept through Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston last week.

“I want to credit Sacramento,” May said. “They were the more determined team tonight and the more prepared team, and they came in here and earned it.

“We didn’t put much pressure on the paint and on the rim, and we were on our heels. Win or lose, we’re going to look back at our process and see: Did we prepare the right way, did we have the right game plan, what would we do different the next time?”

The Mavs couldn’t contain rookie Darius Acuff Jr. (25 points, five rebounds, six assists), Malik Monk (24 points, seven assists) or Zach LaVine (23 points, 5-of-9 three-pointers). And for that, they paid dearly against a Sacramento squad that has lost five of its games by 11 or more points.

“To be honest, I think they were more hungry than us tonight,” said Mavs guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored a team-high tying 20 points and converted 4-of-5 three-pointers. “I think we kind of played to their record.

“We didn’t play up to our abilities. We lost the rebounding battle (42-35). That was a big one. They beat us to a lot of 50-50 (balls). We just got to come out with more energy.”

Yes, the Mavs played without superstar guard Kyrie Irving, who was resting as Dallas played the first of five games in eight days. And when Cooper Flagg struggled with just 17 points on 3-of-19 shots, not many players stepped up to become a factor.

May acknowledged that the Kings loaded the paint and forced Flagg to become a jump shooter, and he kept missing the mark.

“There’s a cadence to it where he’s fanning out early and then we missed our first (10) threes and we thought several of them were good looks,” May said. “At that point it fuels their fire to get to him even more in the paint. . .and they’re running a second guy and a third guy at him.

“I don’t think our spacing or relocations were great as a whole, and we didn’t find any rhythm together.”

The Mavs, who got 13 points in 17 minutes from rookie Morez Johnson Jr., entered the fourth quarter down, 81-74. And whenever they tried to nip away at the deficit, either Acuff, Monk or LaVine kept burying big shots.

“They spread us out and they made tough shots,” May said. “I thought LaVine was very, very sound. Obviously, Acuff is dynamic. I thought they picked their spots well.

“But Monk, every time we made a run he came back with a step-back three dagger after dagger. It wasn’t as if they didn’t make plays.”

In the meantime, the Mavs missed their top playmaker – Irving.

“He does so much for us in making big shots and calming us down,” May said. “We haven’t been able to answer runs very well, and that’s one area that he does.

“When one of your guys is out and another one just has an off night, you’ve got to have some other guys step up. And making shots is part of that, and it just didn’t drop tonight.”

On playing without Irving, center Daniel Gafford said: “We definitely missed him. He has a lot of gravity when he’s on the floor. He makes everyone’s job a little easier.

“But whenever he’s not on the floor everybody knows it’s the next man up. Everybody has to take that next step and find ways to make an impact whenever one of our star players is not on the floor.”

Overall, the Mavs shot 41 percent from the field and just 21.2 percent (7-of-33) from beyond the three-point arc. They started slow – down 19-18 after the first quarter and 54-53 at the half – and finished even slower.

Indeed, it was not one of the Mavs’ finer moments, especially considering the competition.

“I felt like the energy was a little low,” said Gafford, who collected 20 points and seven rebounds and was 9-of-10 from the field. “P.J. (Washington) said it a lot in the locker room -- we played their record tonight, 100 percent. They came in and they played like pros tonight.”

Sacramento shot 52.4 percent from the floor and 44.2 percent (19-of-43) from three-point land. For the most part, the Kings were in command of this game.

“We’ll have several learning experiences from this game,” May said. “We do have a young team and when it’s not going well, we just kept stressing everything’s going poorly for us, but let’s just find a way to hang around and get it to the end.

“Their shot-making prevented us from doing that. Those guys, they found great connections -- especially in the fourth quarter -- found some matchups, and I thought they played unselfish basketball.”

Now the Mavs must regroup and battle a Spurs team that defeated them in Dallas, 122-106, on Oct.24.

“We can’t let the record fool us, at the end of the day,” Gafford said of the Kings. “An 0-6 team coming in with a fire under their tail. We had to be ready for anything. There were times when shots didn’t fall and I felt like we kind of let go of the rope in those situations.

“We’ll let this hurt until midnight, and then we’ll focus on the next one. We’ve got a big game coming up in two days against a good Spurs team. We can’t dwell too much on this one.”

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Mavericks fall to previously winless Kings, 115-100

It’s obviously extremely early in this 82-game marathon of an NBA season. But when the Dallas Mavericks host the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, they’ll be dealing with something they haven’t dealt with so far.

“Each game there are different challenges, and this will be the first game that we’re favored -- that we’re supposed to win,” Mavs coach Dusty May said. “That’s a new puzzle for us to put together.”

While the Mavs will be putting that puzzle together, they’re also aware that the Kings have the worst record in the NBA at 0-6. That presents all types of challenges, especially since it’s human nature for teams to sometimes play up or down to the competition.

The challenge for May is to get his team as fired up to play the woeful Kings as they were when they won the first three games of this streak against some of the NBA’s best teams – Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston.

“Every game is a different challenge,” May said. “There’s challenges every night. When you look at Sacramento’s roster and you take out the wins and losses, you couldn’t have more respect for (Domantas) Sabonis. And Zach LaVine being a Team USA guy is capable of putting 50 or 60 (points) on you.

“(Kings rookie guard Darius) Acuff (Jr.) obviously is, I think, the most productive rookie right now as far as points per game and usage rate. And then obviously De’Andre Hunter, and Precious Achiuwa really came into his own. It’s not as if there’s any teams that lack talent.”

Acuff averages 26.3 points and 6.3 assists and is the early frontrunner to be this season’s Rookie of the Year.

“I’ve watched him play a lot the last couple of years and he’s a smooth operator,” May said. “He’s very crafty with the ball in his hands. He doesn’t get sped up.

“He has a unique ability for a young guy to shoot really well from three off the dribble and create space. If you look at his frame and stature, he’s strong for his age. But he’s a very advanced guard that’s scores at all levels, finishes at the rim with creativity, and then also has a real effective mid-range shot as well.”

Acuff, who turns 20 on Nov. 16, played just one season at Arkansas and was a consensus first team All-American last season before the Kings chose him with the No. 7 overall pick of last June’s NBA Draft.

“I watched him a lot whenever he played at Arkansas,” said Mavs center Daniel Gafford, who played at Arkansas from 2017-19. “He’s a dynamic scorer, he can score the three, he can score up under the basket. He’s pretty much an all-around scorer in general.”

After beating the then-undefeated Thunder and the then-undefeated Rockets in consecutive games, the Mavs know it’s a definite adjustment trying to prepare to defeat a desperate Sacramento team that hasn’t won a game since last season.

“We just got to be a team that plays the game in front of us at a high level and be more worried about our habits and developing winning habits than anything else,” May said. “Every game sometimes the shots aren’t going in.

“That was the thing we were most pleased with (against the Rockets). The first half we felt like several transition threes were wide-open. We weren’t making shots, and things weren’t going necessarily well for us, and we found a way.”

If the Mavs continue to find a way and ultimately handcuff the Kings, they will have put together their first four-game winning streak since they won four consecutive games last season from Jan. 15-Jan. 22. And that will be a high-water mark for May in his first season coaching in the NBA.

“The things that I’ve been shocked with coming to this level is the point of attack defense and the physicality you can use on an open court ball handler encourages you to pick up more because there’s very little risk,” May said. “We did give up two layups because of our pick-up points the last game, but we generated several turnovers and we felt like we made teams a little uncomfortable getting into their offense.

“Teams are picking up higher. The numbers and the data is there. But also the way the game is officiated, I think, lends itself to encouraging more pick-ups because you’re allowed to be more physical with the ball handler in the open floor.”

*The Mavs’ two losses have been against the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. But they’ve responded with wins over Indiana, Miami, Oklahoma City and the Rockets. “We had a little bit of a bump in the road when it came to the two losses that we have,” center Daniel Gafford said. “But I feel like we responded the way that we needed to and adjusted in ways that we wanted to fix the rebounding, we wanted to fix the energy (and) the approach to the game. We wanted to fix the physicality, we wanted to fix turnovers, and all of those through the span of games that we won, we fixed those. So, we really have been paying attention to details.”

*The Kings are led by rookie Acuff, who leads all rookies in scoring and is eighth in the NBA at 26.3 ppg. Zach LaVine is 16th in scoring at 23.5 ppg and also is shooting 49.5 percent from the field. Kings center Domantas Sabonis averages 16 ppg and is first in the league in rebounds (15.8) and second in field goal accuracy (69.1 percent).

*This is the finale of a three-game home stand for the Mavs before they play in San Antonio on Wednesday. Dallas opened the home stand last week with wins over Oklahoma City (120-96) and Houston (116-111). The last time the Mavs swept a home stand that consisted of at least three games was April 4-7, 2024, when they beat Atlanta (109-95), Golden State (108-106) and Houston (147-136 in overtime).

*Except for the 128-120 loss to Portland on Oct. 23 in the second game of the season, all of the Kings’ losses this season have been by 11 or more points.

Sacramento Kings (0-6) vs. Dallas Mavericks (4-2)&nbsp;&nbsp;

WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas&nbsp;&nbsp;

RADIO: 105.3 The Fan, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)&nbsp;

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Mavericks-Kings preview: It's a different challenge against a winless team

The damage guard Kyrie Irving did to the Houston Rockets down the stretch of Friday's game reminded center Daniel Gafford of exactly what Irving did to the Rockets back on April 7, 2024.

Back then, Gafford had only been with the Dallas Mavericks for less than two months following a trade with the Washington Wizards. Irving, meanwhile, put on an extraordinary clinic in that late-season game against the Rockets as he poured in a season-high 48 points, with 25 of them coming in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Mavs escaped with a pulsating 147-136 victory.

Fast forward to Friday and Irving was just as electric against the Mavs’ Interstate-45 rivals. This time Irving poured in 16 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavs prevailed, 116-111, over the Rockets.

“It reminded me of that (April 7, 2024) game a lot,” Gafford said following Sunday’s practice. “I’m just like, man this is like déjà vu.”

Irving’s show-stopping performance had Gafford gushing about one of the NBA’s best performers.

“The game deserves a guy like him,” he said. “Seeing him out for (19 months). That’s too long for a guy like Kyrie.”

Irving returned for the first time this season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on March 3, 2025, against the Sacramento Kings.

“The game deserves him and he deserves everything that’s coming his way, especially when it comes to basketball in general,” Gafford said. “I’m happy for him.”

Gafford also is happy that Irving has a star-studded sidekick in 19 year-old Cooper Flagg, who scored 33 points against the Rockets.

“The sky’s the limit for the kid,” Gafford said. “Just seeing the stuff that he’s doing on a night-to-night basis, I’m still amazed with what he’s doing at the age that he is right now.

“He’s happy, when he comes in he makes the atmosphere energetic, he makes it fun. I’m pretty sure if he feels like if there’s anybody in a bad mood or anything, he’s going to try to find a way to lighten the room up for them. He’s just doing, I would say, everything he’s putting his mind to right now.”

And with Flagg and Irving both capable of hitting clutch shot after clutch shot, Gafford said: “It’s like watching your favorite movie over and over again. It never gets old. I know it’s going to be more and more games like that down the stretch of the season, and I’m prepared for it.

“It’s just exciting whether I’m out there on the floor with them during the stints when they go crazy, or if I’m on the sidelines cheering them on. The energy is just contagious.”

While Gafford may not be one of the Mavs’ primary offensive threats, he’s taking on the less glamorous – but very important -- role of setting hard screens to free up players like Irving and Flagg.

“I take a lot of pride in it because it gets guys downhill and it gets our main ball handlers in the open floor when they’ve got, of course, the main pesky defenders on them,” he said. “So getting them open is obviously my main priority, but when it comes to what I see, I just try to get guys downhill.

“I just try to make sure I set a physical screen -- whether they’re trying to double guys off of the screen or they’re not – and make sure we find some type of way to have some type of regulated flow into our offense. Setting screens the majority of time for me, that’s going to be my main job, so I’m definitely going to try to be elite as I possibly can at that role.”

And when the ball does comes Gafford’s way, he definitely knows what to do with it. The eight-year veteran scored a season-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shots against the Rockets.

“On the offensive side I’m really just taking what the game gives me, being confident in the shots that I take, and if there is any type of possession where I mess up or anything like that, I’m not really just letting that get to me,” Gafford said. “There was a lapse, but I really just had to take a moment to myself and control myself and just get back to the mindset of let’s go out and just have a good game instead of focusing on the mistakes that I made, because that’s in the past. If you make that mistake, it’s not going to make the whole game for you.”

That type of philosophy has worked wonders for Gafford.

“I get in here with Kai, I get in here with Coop and pretty much with anybody that’s out there, and I just try to pick and point and really just find ways that I can impact our offensive sets and just find ways to get us a basket,” he said. “Whether it’s me getting the basket or if my teammates are getting us the basket, that’s going to help us throughout the season, honestly, when it comes to the impact that I can have on the floor.”

Gafford is certainly having a decisive impact when it comes to protecting the rim. He currently is tied for fourth in the NBA in blocks with two per game, and also averages 8.5 points and seven rebounds.

“I’m really just trying to be better in my element,” Gafford said. “Of course, at the end of the day I want to be number one when it comes to blocks and in the defense in general. I’m really trying to assert myself in my role a lot more, being the captain of the defense.

“I’m really just being out there and being as loud as I possibly can. And it gets us a lot of transition buckets time and time again.”

MAVS ATTACKING THE BASKET: Mavs coach Dusty May has noticed something very positive during his team’s three-game winning streak when it comes to his players attacking the basket.

“I think guys have been timely whenever they’ve attacked,” May said after Sunday’s practice. “We’ve been less likely to take a marginal shot on the first pass. We did a couple of times in the first half against Houston – in the second quarter, I think it was.

“But other than that I think we’ve worked to use the leverage of our star players, and those guys are incredibly unselfish.”

One of those, Irving, scored 35 points and handed out nine assists in the win over the Rockets. Flagg, meanwhile, tallied 33 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

“It’s wise to use the attention they’re generating and garnering to get us good looks, and that’s part of us growing as a group – how to use how we’re being defended in our favor,” May said. “But more than anything else we’ve been very efficient with our two for ones.

“We’ve been able to steal some baskets, we’re getting a little bit better getting to the (free throw) line -- we still have a ways to go. And we haven’t turned it over at the same rate even though we’re still a high turnover team. I think it’s just a little bit of everything in incremental gains.”

BRIEFLY: After missing three games with an illness, Mavs forward Naji Marshall went through Sunday’s practice and will play in Monday’s home game against the Sacramento Kings. “Naji is feeling much, much better,” coach Dusty May said. “He looks good. He looks ready to go.” . . . May said center Santi Aldama is “doing more and more” during practice sessions and that “his starting date is in the near future.” Aldama underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on March 17 while he was playing for Memphis. The Mavs acquired him in a July trade, but he has yet to appear in a game for Dallas . . . After the Houston Rockets shot 44 percent from three-point range (16-of-36) on opening day against the Mavs, Dallas’ long distance defense has since been very efficient. In the last five games from downtown, this is what the Mavs have allowed: Indiana (7-of-32 for 22 percent), San Antonio (15-of-42 for 36 percent), Miami (13-of-41 for 32 percent), Oklahoma City (5-of-32 for 16 percent), and Houston (7-of-29 for 24 percent). “We’re just playing with more intensity,” May said. “We’re starting to jump and contest the ball versus landing on shooters. We still had one or two the other night. But we had to be at the bottom in the NBA in fouling jump shooters the first couple of games and also in the exhibition season, so we made an improvement there. But overall, the intensity and the quickness to the ball in all facets has helped our defense improve.”

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Gafford a big fan of a show-stopping entertainer like Irving

During the 2020-21 season, Kyrie Irving and Ime Udoka were both working for the Brooklyn Nets. At the time, Irving was the Nets’ superstar guard and Udoka was one of the team’s assistant coaches.

And there was one thing Udoka frequently noticed about Irving that he'll never forget.

“That he’s the best offensive player I’ve seen one-on-one,” he said. “Talked about it quite a bit.”

After what Irving did to the Houston Rockets on Friday night at American Airlines Center, practically everyone was talking about it again as the Mavs’ nine-time All-Star made Udoka sound like a prophet. Irving poured in 16 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavs won their third straight game, edging the Rockets, 116-111, before a boisterous crowd of 18,832.

Some of the things Irving did to the Rockets must have brought back some bad memories to Udoka.

“The things he would do in practice and in games on a daily basis, they start not to surprise you,” said Udoka, who is now the Rockets’ head coach. “But he’s a very competitive guy, prideful and takes extremely good care of himself and puts a lot of work in on his craft.

“Him, Kevin (Durant) and James (Harden) after practice would go through their routine and I’m not surprised they’re where they’re at skill wise and success wise.”

In the fourth quarter, Irving was 5-of-9 from the field – 2-of-4 from three-point range – and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. In tallying almost half of the 40 points the Mavs scored in the fourth quarter, Irving was money in the bank.

Just like Houston did in the season opener against the Mavs, the Rockets frequently sent two players to double Irving and take the ball out of his hands. The Rockets had some success in that season opener, winning 128-110. But Irving got the best of them this time around.

“I understand and think I did the same thing to Kevin (Durant) when I was in Boston and he was in Brooklyn, just being there and seeing what they can do on a daily basis,” Udoka said. “We went after Kyrie in the first game.

“We knew he was going to be amped up and try to make some other guys beat us. It worked well for us. We’ll take them off the ball a little bit more and try to get them on some off-ball actions to limit some of that, but we’ll do what we do and see how they counter.”

The Mavs countered by making sure Irving could escape some of the double teams, and then they promptly made the Rockets pay. Irving wound up 12-of-19 from the field, 5-of-8 from three-point land, 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and also distributed nine assists.

WASHINGTON CHECKING BOXES: Before Friday’s win over the Houston Rockets, coach Dusty May was talking about how practically no one was talking about the play of forward P. J. Washington.

In last week’s121-105 win over Indiana, Washington had 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. And in Monday’s 113-109 victory over Miami he finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

“The great thing about P. J. is I haven’t heard much about him,” May said. “I’ve heard through different channels a lot about most of our roster, but I haven’t heard anyone talk about him.

“That’s a heckuva compliment when you can go get 20 and 13, and 23 and 9, and you don’t hear a peep about him. I think that’s a testament to his consistency, to his blue-collar approach. But also, it’s not about him. He’s a great teammate. He does whatever the team needs.”

That includes May playing Washington at center when the Mavs turn to their small ball lineup.

“You talk about the small ball lineup, he checks a lot of boxes where he can play big and he can play small, and he can shoot threes,” May said. “You saw Oklahoma City try to play him with smaller opponents a couple of times and he was able to punish those mismatches, and he did it quickly and effectively.

“I’m very, very happy with how he’s playing, and it seems as if he gets a little bit better than the last.”

LIVELY MAKING PROGRESS: Mavs coach Dusty May said 7-2 center Dereck Lively II is making progress, but he doesn’t exactly know when he’ll be able to play this season.

Lively played just seven games last season and hasn’t played since undergoing right foot surgery in December.

“Just to see someone that big and agile that communicates, is a lob threat and a rim presence on both sides of the ball (is good),” May said. “If you have someone that can impact the rim on offense and defense like he does, but also just the live body and energy. . .

“The first time I saw him running a month or two ago, 7-2 guys aren’t supposed to run that easy. I don’t know what his timetable is (for his return), but he’s making major progress. He looks great. He’s still going through his process.”

BRIEFLY: When asked before Friday’s game was there any extra juice involving the matchup against the Rockets because it was an NBA Cup game, coach Dusty May said it “absolutely” was. “I don’t know what the money part of it is, but when we have a chance to compete for a tournament we’re going to compete for a tournament. When I was watching as a fan I’d turn (the TV) on and noticed the court and noticed there was something else on the line. The league’s done a good job with it and I think its improved every year. We’re excited to compete.”. .Dusty May gave injury updates on Santi Aldama (right knee surgery), De Larrea (right knee sprain) and Biberovic (right heel bursitis). “Santi is very close (to returning),” May said. “He practiced with the (G League’s) Texas Legends a couple of times. He played in our stay-ready game today. He looks to be very close. Larrea and Tarik are getting very close as well. Not as close as Santi, it doesn’t appear. Larrea will be re-evaluated next week and we’ll have a much clearer picture.”. .So, what difference has Houston Rockets’ coach Ime Udoka seen from Mavs forward’s play last season and his performance this season? “His usage has gone way up,” Udoka said. “I think he’s more comfortable with the ball in his hand making plays. His shooting is kind of up and down a little bit, but he’s taking them. He was a point guard for a little bit last year at times and that took him off the ball. The combination of both and the reps he had last year has shown improvement. (He’s) putting up huge numbers assist-wise, creating for everybody and scoring at a high level.” Flagg had 33 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals in Friday’s victory over the Rockets. . .Coach Dusty May talked about the importance of having a deep bench, and how that could determine how team make it in the playoffs. “I saw a stat in our coaches group text and you see how much more frequently teams are picking up full court, how much faster they’re running the possessions,” May said. “You can play less minutes and play the same amount of possessions that you could five or 10 years ago. &nbsp;When you look at the teams that are playing well, a big part of it is because of their depth. We think our depth (is solid), and our front office has done a great job of bringing us guys that can help us win and position versatility.”

ime-udoka-described-irving-as-the-best-offensive-player-ive-seen-one-on-one

Ime Udoka: Irving is 'the best offensive player I've seen one-on-one'

He’s only in his second season, but Cooper Flagg has already planted a proverbial flag in the ground while subconsciously letting the masses know that he’s among the next wave of extremely talented young players who could become one of the faces of the NBA.

But none of the league-wide respect the Dallas Mavericks’ forward has received is a surprise to coach Dusty May. He knows Flagg moved the needle last year when he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, and he knows he has a wealth of talent to add many more awards to his trophy case.

“You watch him from afar and he’s a guy that he’s just always going about his business,” May said. “I had a friend who trained him when he was young, so I knew what his DNA is.

“I don’t think there’s anything that surprises me, seeing where he’s from, seeing the people he surrounds himself with. He’s very, very unique and special.”

So special that Flagg could invariably find himself representing the United States as a member of the 2028 Olympics, which will be played in Los Angeles. After all, Flagg collected 29 points, six rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and three blocks as the Mavs went on the road and defeated the Miami Heat, 113-109, this past Monday.

Thus, Flagg became the first teenager in NBA history to record a massive stat line which included a player scoring at least 25 points, distributing at least 10 assists, grabbing at least five rebounds and picking up at least five steals in a single game. One person with a front row seat watching Flagg’s heroics was Heat coach Erick Spoelstra, who will be the head coach of Team USA at the Olympics in LA.

Flagg’s dominant performance against the Heat served as somewhat of an audition for Spoelstra that actually never crossed the Maine's product mind. In short, Flagg has always been resourceful about keeping the main thing the main thing, which is winning games.

“Obviously, I’ve played for the country before when I was younger playing for the (FIBA) Under-17 team,” Flagg said. “So it’s obviously a pleasure to be able to play for my country every chance I get.

“I have no idea what (the 2028 USA Olympic team is) going to look like. That’s a good ways down the road. Obviously, if I was ever asked to be able to play for my country, that’s something I would love to do and that would be amazing.”

Flagg played on the FIBA Under-17 team that captured the gold medal in the 2022 World Cup in Spain.

On his NBA journey, what’s been amazing is the way Flagg stepped onto basketball’s biggest stage last season as an 18-year old – he played one year at Duke – and acted like putting up eye-popping performances night-in and night-out was just second nature to him. He’s been so oblivious to the supposedly pressures of being the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft that it’s become stunning to some onlookers the way he just takes over games.

“He’s a major problem,” said Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. “He’s so hard to guard for many reasons.

“But one of the reasons is he handles the pick-and-roll so much. At his size and with his ballhandling ability and his ability to turn the corner and get in there and get fouled and cause problems. . .Flagg’s obviously a great young player.”

At 6-10, Flagg possesses the ability to grab a defensive rebound and utilize his exceptional speed to go coast-to-coast and finish a play with a thunder dunk. Then again, he’s added a respectful three-point game to his repertoire to go along with his dead-eye mid-range jumper, his ability to attack the rim and his vision to see the whole floor and become the author of so many assists.

“That’s just kind of how I always play – just making the right plays,” said Flagg, who had 26 points and eight assists during Wednesday’s 120-96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. “Whether it was scoring, passing, rebounding, getting in the lane, steals, blocks, (I’m) just trying to impact the game and impact winning and competing at a high level.

“I’m just holding my lines, getting all the way downhill, trying to create more contact and get fouled. I think just getting stronger helps with that, too -- being able to hold my line better and be more physical.”

And Flagg isn’t just impacting the game on the offensive end of the floor, where he’s averaging 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shooting a solid 52.2 percent from the field. He takes just as much pride shutting down offensive-minded players as he’s averaging 1.3 blocks and is tied for second in the league in steals at 2.8 per game.

“That’s one thing that surprised me a little bit with Coop is his off-ball instincts,” May said. “He’s got football safety-type of instincts reading where the ball is going (and) reading what’s going on behind him.

“We felt like just the first week of summer workouts that he would be someone that we would probably need to tailor our defense around a little bit as a special guy that when he went for one (steal) we had to be ready to rotate in case he missed it. So we immediately started doing more rotational type of stuff because he has that unique gift.”

It’s the unique gift that keeps on giving from a player who is just 19 years old.

“The thing that I’ve been blown away at is the ball comes out of his hands at the right time,” May said of Flagg. “A lot of times guys will hold the ball because they want the assist, or some guys will hold the ball and try to make the play.

“He has just as many hockey assists as he does regular assists, because he doesn’t care about it.”

What Flagg cares about is the team concept. He’s not one to stay in a blowout game to pad his stats -- as some NBA players are known to do.

Playing alongside nine-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, has been very beneficial to Flagg taking his game to a higher level.

“Having so much gravity as a player like he is, it attracts so much attention that it opens up the floor for everybody else,” Flagg said, referring to Irving. “I think my gravity, as I continue to grow more and more gravity, I think I’ve gotten him some easier looks as well.

“We’re just finding ways to play off each other and find him -- and him finding me -- and just helping each other and making the game easier has been something that’s been fun to experiment with. I think there’s a lot of growth – another gear that we can get to with each other out there and help each other out there. But it’s been a pleasure to be able to just be alongside him and learn kind of on the fly.”

While kind of learning on the fly, the impressionable Flagg has been teaching defenders a thing or two about the difficulties of trying to slow him down.

“He’s a big-time player,” OKC coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s impressive because of his motor at that level.

“The high-end talents don’t always play with that kind of motor, but to me that’s the thing. When I think about us with (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and Chet (Holmgren), that’s the thing. That’s the secret sauce, because those guys are monster competitors. He’s in that mode.”

By being in that mode of being a monster competitor, Flagg has rightfully taken his place among the NBA’s elite players. Coaches get in the lab and put their best defensive wing player on him, and they still have problems trying to contain him.

“His court vision, his ability to read (defenses), but also too, some of his unique talents as far as his size and athleticism – and we’re playing a complex defensive team – he can hang and he can make those decisions in the air because of his gifts,” May said. “But also he’s just a really smart player.

“He’s good in the halfcourt, he’s good in transition, but most importantly he’s unselfish and the way he sees the game. He’s just playing the game the right way.”

And by playing the game the right way, it probably will come as no surprise to many if Flagg winds up in Los Angeles in 2028 – representing the USA in the Olympics.

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Cooper Flagg could be on the verge of representing USA in '28 Olympics

With four of their top six players sidelined due to injuries, the Oklahoma City Thunder were seriously compromised against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. And the Mavs did what teams do to an opponent that’s compromised.

They went out and made life absolutely miserable for the Thunder.

With Cooper Flagg leading a parade of eight Dallas players with 10 or more points, the Mavs exploded for a convincing 120-96 triumph at American Airlines Center over the shorthanded Thunder. At 3-2, this is the first time the Mavs have been above .500 since they were 32-31 on March 5, 2025.

“I thought we had a great team effort,” Mavs coach Dusty May said. “If we can manage the game and limit the turnovers like we did tonight we believe we’ll be very difficult to beat.

“I think we’re definitely developing some winning habits along the way against an organization that’s become a standard.”

The Thunder, indeed, is considered one of the league’s gold standards after they won the NBA title two years ago and lost to San Antonio last season in a Western Conference Finals series that last seven games. But with the Thunder missing Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso on Wednesday, they were a mere shell of themselves.

However, that mattered not to the Mavs, who put the defensive clamps on the Thunder, holding them to just 5-of-32 shooting from three-point land and outscoring them in fastbreak points, 17-0.

It was a master class on the Mavs’ part on what to do to a team that doesn’t have all of their important weapons. And the 18,111 fans at AAC loved every minute of it.

“I thought we had good defensive balance,” said Flagg, who finished with 26 points, five rebounds and eight assists. “I thought we could have crashed (the boards) a little bit more.

“But still, if you can hold a team to zero fastbreak points that means that we were getting set. And I think honestly when we can get our defense set it’s tough to score on.”

Flagg had 12 of his points and three of his assists in the up-and-down first quarter, which concluded with the Mavs ahead, 33-30. He worked very well in unison with Kyrie Irving, who poured in 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter.

The table-setting by Flagg and Irving set the tone for what turned into a very long night for the Thunder, who shot just 41.4 percent from the floor.

“They were bringing the double from the weak side (on Flagg) and he was able to navigate that,” May said. “Just like Kai, when you look at the shots that he’s getting, he’s creating great looks for himself and his teammates.

“And just like Kai, when your franchise guy is that unselfish it’s very difficult not to fall in line and continue with playing good ball.”

It was Irving’s first regular season game at AAC since he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on March 3, 2025, which led to him missing over 19 months.

“His rehab, his planning, he’s as meticulous as anyone in the NBA as far as the day-to-day process,” May said. “The beautiful part is he’s still just getting his rhythm back. . .but he’s managing the game for us. When he’s on the floor we’re really, really good.”

Behind some torrid three-point shooting, the Mavs built a 65-59 lead at the half and stretched that out to 94-81 entering the fourth quarter, coasting from there.

“(We’re) just competing at a high level and covering for each other,” Flagg said. “Obviously, I think it looks a little different with their guys (not) out there and they’re a little under-handed.

“(We’re) just covering for each other and flying around the court and trying to get them to take shots we wanted them to take.”

One of the Mavs players flying around the court was Zaccharie Risacher, who found himself chasing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the player who won the last two NBA Most Valuable Player awards. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 21 points on 7-of-19 shots, and was just 1-of-6 from behind the three-point line.

“I would say that it was a collective win,” said Risacher, who collected 13 points and six boards. “Everybody was involved, everybody played hard and we’re having fun.

“We played hard on defense, we got each other’s back and we’re playing free, too. We’re sharing the ball on offense, we’re running the floor and I feel like that chemistry keeps building. It’s a great win as a team and we’ve got to keep it rolling.”

The Mavs kept it rolling with Risacher getting a lot of the credit.