The Dallas Mavericks played their final qualifying game of the NBA Cup on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, entering the night with a good chance to make the NBA Cup’s Knockout Round as long as they won the game against Memphis.

Dallas also got a lot of players back who missed Sunday night’s win against the Portland Trail Blazers, as Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and Dereck Lively II all returned to action on Tuesday, and they were only missing Naji Marshall and Dante Exum.

With a mostly healthy lineup again, the Mavericks started Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson (who was on a minute restriction), PJ Washington, and Dereck Lively II. Memphis started Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaylen Wells, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Brandon Clarke.

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This was back-and-forth action early on, with four lead changes in the first five minutes. Luka Doncic had seven early points for the Mavs, while Jaren Jackson Jr. had eight for Memphis, but a bucket by Dereck Lively II after having his shot blocked by Jackson gave Dallas a 16-15 lead midway through the quarter. This game had a playoff atmosphere early.

Doncic then hit a three-pointer and a couple of free throws to give him 12 in the quarter and extend their lead up to four. The scoring would dry up from there, as Dallas went scoreless for two minutes, and a putback dunk with the clock winding down from Memphis gave them a 26-25 advantage heading into the second quarter. Doncic was 3/4 in the opening quarter, every other Mav was just 5/15.

The second quarter started with a Dereck Lively posted over Jaren Jackson on a lob; then Lively had another dunk in transition on the next possession to put the Mavs back up three. Klay Thompson would get on the board with an elbow jumper soon after that, too. Doncic hit a three a minute later to go up six, their biggest lead of the game to this point, 38-32.

After a Grizzlies timeout, Luka hit back-to-back shots to give him 20 for the game and the Mavs a nine-point lead, and Dallas would eventually lead by 10. Memphis would respond with a 12-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer by rookie Jaylen Wells, giving them a 50-48 lead, but PJ Washington came right back down to hit a three to retake the lead. Dallas held the lead the rest of the half, going up by as much as four in the closing minutes of the half and taking a 60-57 lead into halftime, led by Luka Doncic’s 24 points.

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Memphis started the second half on a 10-0 run in the first three minutes of the half. Dallas finally got on the board and scored six points in the span of about 30 seconds to get back within one. But the Mavs just could not score after that, with just 12 points in the quarter through the first eight minutes. That allowed Memphis to open up an 82-72 lead following a made three by backup center Jay Huff.

The Mavs started to score some points, but they couldn’t get any stops on defense, and the Grizzlies would take a 95-82 lead into the fourth quarter. Ja Morant had four points in the final eight seconds of the period to extend that lead.

A transition three by PJ Washington would briefly cut the lead to single digits early in the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t get the lead under nine for the longest time. It wasn’t until an and-one converted by PJ Washington with about six minutes to go that the lead went down to six. But the good news was the Mavericks were already in the bonus.

The lead would stay around six for a few minutes before Luka Doncic hit a free throw to cut it to five, but Ja Morant came right back and hit a contested three. After a Luka Doncic three-pointer, Dereck Lively hit two free throws to cut the lead to three with a little over two minutes remaining. Doncic was then fouled 90 feet from the basket while in the bonus, hitting both before Spencer Dinwiddie hit a transition three to take a two-point lead. Dinwiddie hit another on the next possession from the exact same spot to go up by five.

PJ Washington would hit a clutch three after a Desmond Bane bucket to go up 119-113 with 26.1 seconds remaining. Ja Morant would miss a three-pointer, and Kyrie Irving would ice the game with free throws. The Mavericks would go on to win 121-116 and should advance to the knockout stage of the NBA Cup. It was an 18-5 run to close the game for the Mavs to win the game.

Luka Doncic led the way with 37 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists but was a shaky 10/16 from the free-throw line. After him, there were five other Mavs in double figures: PJ Washington (18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists), Dereck Lively II (17 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks), Spencer Dinwiddie (16 points), Daniel Gafford (11 points), and Kyrie Irving (10 points, just 3/14 shooting).

Dallas won this game because they shot 44 free throws to Memphis’ 14. That kept Dallas alive when the offense looked shaky, as they ended with 25 turnovers.

Ja Morant had 31 points, Desmond Bane had 19, Jaren Jackson Jr. had 16, Santa Aldama had 15, and Jaylen Wells had 10.

The Mavericks will travel to play the Wizards on Thursday night.

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The Memphis Grizzlies hit the road to take on their in-division rivals, the Dallas Mavericks. Today will be the first time these two teams meet, and it comes as both teams are in the midst of solid win streaks.

With one game separating the teams in the Southwest Divsiion standings, getting the advantage in the season series goes a long way. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, a few key players are on their injury report for today’s game.

The Grizzlies have three players on their injury report: Zach Edey, GG Jackson, and Vince Williams Jr.
Zach Edey remains out with a left ankle sprain, GG Jackson also remains out as he is recovering from an injury to his right fifth metatarsal, and Vince Williams Jr. is out with a right ankle sprain.

The Mavericks have five players listed on their injury report: Klay Thompson, Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum, Naji Marshall, and Brandon Williams.

Klay Thompson is currently questionable with felt foot plantar fasciitis, Dereck Lively II is also questionable as he is dealing with hyperextension of his right knee, Dante Exum is out due to right wrist surgery, Naji Marshall is out with an illness, and Brandon Williams is out due to his two-way G League contract.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks will face off tonight at 8:30 p.m. EST.

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FRISCO — The Cowboys are tied with San Francisco as the NFC enters the stretch run.

Dallas has a better record than the Cincinnati team it prepares to host on Monday Night Football.

If this scenario had been presented back in September you would have been convinced that the Cowboys were sitting pretty.

Now?

Not so much.

Sure, this modest two-game winning streak has given the team a desperately needed jolt of confidence. It even has Micah Parsons suggesting a playoff run.

Parsons knows how to drop opposing quarterbacks. But his command of the current standings can be called into question.

The problem with having the same record as the 49ers is that 10 teams in the conference have a better record than Dallas and San Francisco at the moment. Seven teams make the playoffs.

The best path to the postseason is to win your division. The Cowboys find themselves five games behind NFC East-leading Philadelphia with five to play.

One more Cowboys loss or one more Eagles win eliminates Dallas from the division race. The only viable path is as a Wild Card. That starts with the division rivalry between Dallas and Washington.

Dallas has the head-to-head advantage here based on their chaotic win nine days ago. But the Commanders currently own a three-game lead in the win column.

Let’s say the Cowboys are somehow able to tie or pass Washington on the final weekend of the regular season when the teams next meet. That would allow Dallas to finish second in the division.

What are they up against at that point?

The NFC North is the most top-heavy division in the NFL. Detroit (11-1), leads the way followed by Minnesota (10-2) and Green Bay (9-3). Those three teams appear to be locks.

If the Cowboys edge past the Commanders — a big if — they will still trail the Vikings and Packers in the Wild Card.

Atlanta and Tampa Bay sit atop the NFC South with 6-6 records.

Seattle leads the NFC West with Arizona and the LA Rams on their heels. Both of those teams have 6-6 records.

The best-case scenario is that Dallas secures the seventh and final playoff spot in the conference. To do that, the Cowboys must pass Washington and the second-place finishers in the South and West.

A daunting task is a kind way to characterize what the Cowboys face in December. Still, going into the month with a two-game winning streak is better than the alternative.

Head coach Mike McCarthy welcomed his players back to The Star on Monday after a three-day break. After getting back into their strength and conditioning work, the players departed for their annual December visit of area hospitals.

The team is off Tuesday and has a light workout on Wednesday — McCarthy said it will be about 60-65% of a normal workout — before hitting a normal practice week on Thursday.

“I feel it’s real important to try to make this a mini-bye for what’s in front of us,’’ McCarthy said. “That’s what I’ve learned over my experience of playing on Thanksgiving, so that’s really what we’re trying to accomplish.’’

And the mindset?

“It’s great,’’ Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin said after his visit to Children’s Health in Dallas. “To come out with two wins, especially on Thanksgiving, it’s huge for our football team moving forward to give us some confidence, give us some momentum.’’

Oh, one more scenario. What happens in the unlikely event the Cowboys and Niners finish in a two-way tie for the final Wild Card spot.

San Francisco advances.

Happy Holidays.

Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.

Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.