3 overreactions as Mavericks’ rookies carry them to upset win over Nuggets

The Dallas Mavericks entered Monday’s game against the Denver Nuggets looking to establish a winning streak for the first time this year. They beat the LA Clippers in a tight battle on Saturday night, but the Nuggets were one of the best teams in the NBA. Surely, this was a loss, right?

And it looked UGLY early. The Nuggets led 41-27 after the first quarter, well on their way to a blowout win. And then, the Mavericks stormed back in the second quarter on the back of Ryan Nembhard, who was a perfect 5/5 in the frame. And he helped give the Mavs the lead at halftime.

The next quarter would have a razor-thin margin. No team led by more than four in the third quarter, a frame that saw seven lead changes and five ties. And it appeared the fourth would be more of the same, but Ryan Nembhard and Cooper Flagg helped push the Mavs on an 11-0 run to push the game out of reach, and the Mavericks would take down the Nuggets, 131-121.

The Mavericks’ rookies were absolutely fantastic. Ryan Nembhard had 28 points on 12/14 shooting and 10 assists with no turnovers. Cooper Flagg had 24 points and 8 rebounds. But Anthony Davis also had a great game with 32 points and 13 rebounds. Do not discount the effort he put on display against Nikola Jokic, and while Davis was at center (where he should’ve been all along), he was great in this game.

That helped counteract 29 points, 20 rebounds, and 13 assists from Nikola Jokic. Spencer Jones even almost had a 30-piece. But the Mavericks came away with a huge upset win, and their first winning streak of the season.

Here are three overreactions from this win.

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1. Let’s Never Sit Ryan Nembhard Again, Okay? Ok.

I’m aware Ryan Nembhard is on a two-way contract, and the roster is full. Cut someone, trade someone, I don’t care. Ryan Nembhard is the best point guard on this roster. And he’s likely only going to get better. He finished with 28 points and 10 assists in this game, and the offense finally looks like it has life. Keep him playing.

2. Anthony Davis Finally Looks Great

Anthony Davis didn’t look great to start the season. He may have put up numbers, but that production didn’t feel impactful. He wasn’t moving as well. And then he missed 14 games with a calf strain.

He looks to be in much better shape now, and he was dynamite in this game with 32 points and 13 rebounds. He will likely still be traded sometime this season, because the roster doesn’t make sense with him at power forward (he played center in this game). But he’s at least showing how great he still can be.

3. Klay Thompson Has Finally Found His Rhythm

NBA fans are used to Klay Thompson starting a season off slowly. But it was looking BAD to start this year. He was shooting just 26.7% from three in the first nine games of the year, and a lot of his misses were WAY off.

The Captain is back. Fresh off a season-high 23 points on 6/10 three-point shooting against the Clippers on Sunday, he responds with a 15-point outing with three triples on Monday against the Nuggets. He’ll never be the player he once was, but he’s still a REALLY good shooter and is a future Hall-of-Famer for a reason.

READ MORE: Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg made NBA history in back-to-back games vs Lakers, Clippers

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