John Poulakidas

Gabe Flores

John Poulakidas scored 16 points tonight in the preseason game against the Pelicans with 12 of those coming from beyond the arc. DALLAS MAVERICKS on Social Media: ► Follow us X: / dallasmavs ► Like us Facebook: / dallasmavs ► Follow us Instagram: / dallasmavs For more updates check us out on Mavs.com: https://www.mavs.com

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John Poulakidas (16 PTS 3 REB) vs. New Orleans Pelicans | Preseason | October 14, 2026

Dwain Price

LAS VEGAS – Summer league play started very slow for the Dallas Mavericks. But they finished it with a bang.

After losing their first two games in Sin City to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavs re-grouped and showed some promising signs while winning their final three games against the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks. Before players went their separate ways following Friday’s convincing 110-88 victory over the Knicks, the Mavs looked back with fond memories over the summer league’s 3-2 record.

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“Our goal was to win, and I think we did it,” center Jorge Diaz Graham said. “We struggled a little bit at the start, but it was normal – it was our first games.

“I feel like once we knew each other a little better we just got so much better and we started having more fun. We just figured out each other, we started knowing who’s doing what and we just played our best basketball at the end.”

Rookie Morez Johnson Jr., the No. 9 overall pick in last month’s NBA Draft, only played the first two games and averaged 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. That includes scoring 27 points, grabbing eight rebounds, making three steals and blocking two shots in the summer league opener against the Warriors.

Ryan Nembhard, undrafted in 2025, also played just the first two games and averaged 13.5 points and eight assists. That includes a 15-point, 11-assist game against the Warriors.

As the summer league progressed, the Mavs picked up steam and players like Sergio De Larrea, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, John Poulakidas, Darin Green Jr., Vsevolod Ishchenko, Jaden Springer, Tyler Smith, Tobi Lawal and Graham stepped up their games with the increased amount of minutes that came their way.

De Larrea’s finest moment came when he collected nine rebounds and 14 assists during Thursday’s 97-87 win over the Thunder. He also finished with 16 points and 12 assists in the 96-88 win over the Grizzlies.

Both games represented a masterful playmaking performance by De Larrea, who displayed some exceptional passing skills and an uncanny feel for the game.

“I think the next step for him will probably be I think a lot of teams will be so scared of him playing in pick-and-roll against coverage that he’ll face a lot of more switching in the regular season and there will be opportunities for him to create one-on-one and to go finish at the rim and finish contested layups,” summer league coach Joe Boylan said. “I think that’s going to be the next step in his growth. Just the ability to break down his man and go in and finish contested layups.”

Akobundu-Ehiogu’s best game came when he used his amazing leaping abilities to turn five passes near the rim into picturesque alley-oop dunks. Meanwhile, Poulakidas scored 37 points and converted 10-of-19 three-pointers in the final two games against the Thunder and Knicks.

Also, Smith completely turned the game against the Knicks upside down when he nailed four three-pointers in a little over two minutes in the pivotal third quarter. Overall, he scored 21 points and was 6-of-12 from three-point land against the Knicks.

“Early on I didn’t play much,” Smith said. “You’ve got guys in this league that get paid a lot of money to come off the bench and knock down a few shots and come right back out the game. I showed coach that I can do that as well.

“Just showing coach that I can play at this level. Whether it happens or not, just showing him that I can compete at the highest level.”

When he was on the floor with De Larrea, Smith knew there would be more opportunities to get buckets since the rookie from Spain is a pass-first point guard.

“Playing with Sergio, he made it a lot easier on the court,” Smith said. “When you have 14 assists and nine rebounds, there’s not many rebounds out there for me to get when the point guard is out there getting (nine) of them.

“But like we say, we want to play fast. And 14 assists kind of helps me out as well.”

Boylan was particularly pleased with the 6-11 twins – Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham.

“I think their ability to shoot, dribble, pass, bring length to the defensive end, block shots, shrink the court, their personality, their character, how they cheer for their teammates, those are guys you want to have around,” Boylan said. “I’m so happy that they’re around and that they’re in the program right now. I think those guys have major potential.”

Jorge was especially pleased with what he was able to show the Mavs’ coaches. After scoring just three points and playing only 13 minutes in the first two games, he had 11 points, 10 rebounds and two steals against Memphis, and 15 points, 12 boards and five against the Knicks.

“I was not expecting anything that happened this week,” Jorge said. “I appreciate the Dallas Mavericks and the entire coaching staff for supporting me and giving me the confidence to go out there and play my basketball, which is what I did.

“So, I’m super happy with what I did and I’m super grateful.”

The Mavs as a whole are also super happy they were able to end summer league play with a three-game winning streak.

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Mavs start slow, but ended summer league play on a roll

LAS VEGAS – What the Dallas Mavericks did to the New York Knicks from three-point range on Friday night was a picture of beauty. And the main person painting the picture was Darin Green Jr.

Green drained four three-pointers in a 2:02 span of the third quarter, flipping the game in the Mavs’ favor and setting the Knicks back on their collective heels. The marksmanship by Green was the impetus the Mavs used to end summer league play with a 110-88 triumph over the Knicks at Cox Pavilion.

With the victory, the Mavs flew back to North Texas after winning their final three games and ending summer league action with a 3-2 record. And they can thank the hot shooting by Green for changing the momentum of this game.

“As a shooter, you’ve got to have a short memory,” said Green, who scored 21 points in 24 minutes. “I know I went probably like 1-for-6 in the first half, but my teammates and my coaches encouraged me to keep shooting and that’s all I can ask for as a shooter.

“Once I get going I can kind of get it going. My teammates kept feeding me and running in transition. That’s kind of how we wanted to play and we kind of executed that game plan to a tee.”

The Mavs were down 58-56 when Green — who was 6-of-12 from downtown — started his three-point barrage. By the time he buried his fourth triple of the third quarter, they were ahead 70-58.

“The last three games Darin Green has been completely an X factor out there,” Mavs summer league coach Joe Boylan said. “His shot-making (was impressive), but also we had to play him on the ball as well and he had to face the pressure.

“A guy that’s probably been deployed more coming off screens just as a shooter, today he had to face a lot of full-court pressure. He handled the ball and got us organized, (and) he competed defensively. I think his overall game was really impressive tonight.”

Green’s explosive third quarter started right around the time Boylan won a crucial coach’s challenge with the Mavs behind 55-54. After that, the Mavs finished the quarter on a brisk 22-5 run and walked into the fourth quarter with a commanding 76-60 lead.

“I don’t think we missed a challenge all summer league,” Boylan said. “It took three points potentially off the board there.

“Those are the high value challenges that you look for any advantage you can in the game, and those were big plays.”

Tyler Smith also produced his share of big plays for the Mavs as he finished with 21 points in just 22 minutes and was 3-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. In addition, John Poulakidas was 5-of-7 from downtown and tallied 18 points; Vsevolod Ishchenko collected 15 points and seven assists; and Jorge Diaz Graham wound up with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

“Honestly, I was just playing hard, not quitting on plays and just following through and getting rebounds,” Graham said. “And then just shooting my shot and having fun.”

After a slow start, it turned into a very fun game for the Mavs. It was a game that saw the Mavs convert 18-of-39 shots from three-point land and 14-of-27 shots from two-point range.

On his team making more three-pointers than two-pointers, Boylan said: “We always want to put pressure on the paint first to try and collapse the defense, and if the defense collapses, we want to make the right read and find the guys on the perimeter. But playing John, playing Darin, these guys are just very good three-point shooters.

“I think our guys did a great job of finding them. We did want to sell a lot more off-ball screens because they were switching basically one-through-four. I think it was really just playing with pace and being unselfish is what generated those (three-pointers).”

The Mavs were 6-of-8 from behind the three-point line in the third quarter. It was target practice at its finest, and the Knicks -- they shot just 37 percent from the field and only 20 percent (8-of-41) from three-point range -- had no answer to stop the onslaught.

“We were just having fun,” said Graham, who was 3-of-7 from downtown. “We’ve been practicing our basketball.

“We’ve been sharing the ball, and we shared the ball a lot. Guys were ready to make shots, and we made shots.”

“He’s just so good,” Graham said. “Once he gets going it’s hard to stop him.

“It’s about him just being focused on the game and just playing his game, and as you can see he showed today he’s just so talented that he can play anywhere.”

The Mavs played without Morez Johnson Jr. Ryan Nembhard and Sergio De Larrea. Still, they were able to persevere.

“It was different having to play (point guard) a little bit,” Green said. “But I think that’s something I definitely have to work on and expand my game if I want to play at this level.

“Coach threw me in the fire and I think I kind of handled the pressure pretty well.”

After some early missteps without their top three players, the Mavs had 26 assists and didn’t miss a beat as they built their lead to as high as 26 points (106-80) following a dunk by Ja’Vier Francis with a little over two minutes remaining in the game.

“I think it’s a testament to the identity that we were trying to establish,” Boylan said. “We want to be a connected group, we want to cheer for our teammates, we want to stay ready, and then whoever is out there we want to be the hardest playing and best passing team.

“(This was) another game over 25 assists, another game holding a team under 40 percent shooting. I was just really proud that the guys that hadn’t played a lot came out and played Mavericks basketball.”

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Green-led three-point barrage helps Mavs end summer league with 110-88 win over Knicks

John Poulakidas poured in 18 points and connected on five three-pointers in the Mavericks' win over the New York Knicks. DALLAS MAVERICKS on Social Media: ► Follow us X: / dallasmavs ► Like us Facebook: / dallasmavs ► Follow us Instagram: / dallasmavs For more updates check us out on Mavs.com: https://www.mavs.com

john-poulakidas-18-points-highlights-vs-new-york-knicks-summer-league-july-17-2026

John Poulakidas (18 Points) Highlights vs. New York Knicks Summer League | July 17, 2026

DALLAS MAVERICKS on Social Media: ► Follow us X: / dallasmavs ► Like us Facebook: / dallasmavs ► Follow us Instagram: / dallasmavs ► Follow us TikTok: / dallasmavs For more updates check us out on Mavs.com: https://www.mavs.com

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Joe Boylan, Sergio De Larrea & John Poulakidas | Summer League Media Availability vs OKC | 7/16/26

John Poulakidas scored a team-high 19 points to help lift the Mavericks to a 97–87 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Dallas’ fourth Summer League game. DALLAS MAVERICKS on Social Media: ► Follow us X: / dallasmavs ► Like us Facebook: / dallasmavs ► Follow us Instagram: / dallasmavs For more updates check us out on Mavs.com: https://www.mavs.com

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John Poulakidas (19 Points) Highlights vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Summer League | July 16, 2026

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John Poulakidas Practice Media Availability | 7/10/26

00:00 Joe Boylan 07:38 John Poulakidas 13:51 Tobi Lawal DALLAS MAVERICKS on Social Media: ► Follow us X: / dallasmavs ► Like us Facebook: / dallasmavs ► Follow us Instagram: / dallasmavs ► Follow us TikTok: / dallasmavs For more updates check us out on Mavs.com: https://www.mavs.com