The Dallas Mavericks (9-7) showed a little backbone in crunch time on Friday, gutting out a 123-120 win over the Denver Nuggets (8-6) at Ball Arena. Sure, the Mavericks coughed up a 24-point lead in the process, but they didn’t fold, even without Luka Dončić, who missed the game with a wrist sprain.

Dereck Lively II blocked two big shots in the game’s final two minutes to help P.J. Washington key a late 9-0 Mavs run to preserve the win. Naji Marshall led seven Mavericks scoring in double figures with 26 points in the win, but Washington was huge down the stretch as well and ended the night with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the loss.

Here are five stats that tell the tale of what went down in Denver on Friday night.

7-of-9: Quentin Grimes’ and P.J. Washington’s shooting start

Playing without the safety net that is Dončić, the scoring was going to have to come from somewhere for the Mavericks. As they’ve done a couple of times before this season, the Mavs force-fed Washington in the post early in the first. He made his first three shot attempts on two post-up opportunities against smaller Denver defenders and a mid-range banker that gave the Mavs an early 9-3 advantage just two and a half minutes in. Quentin Grimes took Dončić’s spot in the starting lineup and promptly hit his first two 3-point attempts to apply a little early pressure on Denver’s home floor.

Kyrie Irving found Grimes streaking in transition for an easy dunk that put Dallas up 18-9 with just under seven minutes left in the first. Grimes hit his fourth straight shot attempt to start the game less than two minutes later, a mid-range jumper with a hand in his face that kept the Mavericks in front, 22-15 at the time.

Grimes led all scorers with 10 points in the first, but Denver chipped away at the lead in the last four minutes of the frame, and Dallas led 33-31 after one.

15-2: Mavs’ late second-quarter run

Irving and Naji Marshall ignited a 15-2 Mavericks run as the second quarter wound down to give Dallas a little breathing room before halftime. Jokic scored underneath after rebounding his own miss over Lively to pull the Nuggets to within 47-44 midway through the second, but Irving and Marshall combined to score 17 of the game’s next 20 points as the Mavs built their lead to as large as 19 points. Irving’s drive through the lane with 2:19 left in the first half gave the Mavericks a 63-46 lead. Marshall kept Dallas’ momentum rolling about a minute later with a tough drive in transition through several Denver defenders to give the Mavs a 67-49 advantage.

Irving and Marshall scored 15 apiece in the first half, while Jokic led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Nuggets. The Mavs went off for 40 in the second quarter and led 73-53 at the break. The second quarter was the second time Dallas has scored 40 or more in a quarter this season.

13-of-15: Dallas’ first-half shooting in the restricted area

Any way you look at it, Dallas was dominant inside in the first half. It would be a very repeatable way to win should the Mavs choose to repeat the effort any time soon. There was a concerted effort on everyone’s part to get to the rim whether in transition or in the halfcourt offense.

The Mavs shot 13-of-15 in the restricted area in the first half at Denver. They outscored the Nuggets 44-20 in the paint in the first half as well. It wasn’t just Lively and Daniel Gafford feasting in the middle, either. Seven of Irving’s 12 first-half shot attempts came at or near the rim. Marshall and Washington got involved, consistently getting shots in the lane if not right at the rim. It was a big part of the reason the Mavericks shot 30-of-49 (61.2%) from the field in the first half.

27-6: Denver’s third-quarter run fueled by Michael Porter Jr.

Dallas held Michael Porter Jr. to just four points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first half. Without Aaron Gordon (calf strain) in the lineup, Porter Jr.’s lack of production was no small part of what set Denver back in the first half.

He hit a finger roll in the lane and a step-back in the midrange on back-to-back possessions early in the quarter before driving through the teeth of the Dallas defense for a dunk and following that up with a long 3-pointer the next time down to bring the Nuggets to within 81-69 midway through the third. It all stretched into an excruciating 27-6 Nuggets run that brought Denver all the way back to within six, down just 83-77 after Jokic’ leaner in the lane with 3:29 left in the third. Porter Jr. scored 11 on 5-of-6 shooting (2-of-3 from 3-point range) in the quarter, and the Mavs’ led 95-89 heading into the fourth.

26: A career-high scoring night for Naji Marshall

Marshall provided the big bucket the Mavericks needed time and time again down the stretch. He never shied away from the big moment, showing that knack for getting into the lane and scoring on tough leaners. He weaved through the Denver defense and finished with a high banker late in the shot clock with 20 seconds left to play to give the Mavs a 119-115 lead. That basket also gave Marshall a new career-high scoring night with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

He wasn’t just a threat going to the bucket, either. After missing his last 14 3-point attempts coming into the game, Marshall hit 3-of-4 from distance in the win over the Nuggets. The Dallas bench outscored the Denver bench 57-24 behind Marshall’s 26 in the win.

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On the eve of the NWSL championship in Kansas City, commissioner Jessica Berman addressed a wide range of issues facing the league. She reflected on a historic 2024 season with record viewership after the first year of the league’s new media rights deal and hinted at some of what lies ahead for NWSL expansion.

She also announced a new partnership with the formula company Bobbie, intending to increase the spotlight on parents in the league.

“It’s important for us all to be reminded that this league is really young and our growth is in front of us,” Berman said, after quickly acknowledging the league’s belated birthday. “Although it’s our 12th-year birthday, it’s actually only been the third season that the league has been independent, so imagine the growth that’s in front of us, given how short our runway has been to date.”

In her remarks, Berman narrowed the list of potential expansion cities to three — Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver — and shared her thoughts on Caitlin Clark’s participation in the Cincinnati bid. While infrastructure remains a hot topic in the league, Berman remains adamant that top training facilities for teams will “become the norm.”

Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Berman’s state of the league address.

NWSL expansion

On Friday, Berman confirmed three finalists in the expansion race to likely join Boston in 2026, following a surprise announcement Thursday night that WNBA star Caitlin Clark had joined the ownership group hoping to bring a team to Cincinnati.

“The process is ongoing, and we’re really enthusiastic about the final three prospects that we have in the process,” Berman said. “We’ll have news to share in the coming weeks as we move to close with one of those three markets.”

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The ownership group in Cincinnati has strong ties to Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati, suggesting that an NWSL club in the city would share facilities with the men’s team. The ownership group in Cleveland, meanwhile, has plans to build a new stadium for an NWSL team to share with an MLS Next club in the city’s downtown.

When asked about Denver, Berman kept its proposals under wraps.

“Not a lot of details to share here,” Berman said. “We’re just excited about being at the stage of the process where we are, particularly given all the interest leading up to this point.”

Berman also made clear that going beyond 16 teams is not off the table.

“As we think about the geographic footprint of our country, we know that a 14-team league is not where we will end up. All of the men’s leagues are 30-plus teams for a reason,” she said. “In order to build the kind of national exposure and visibility and media deals that we think this league deserves, and our fans deserve, we know we need to be in more markets.”

NWSL youth development

Amid NWSL expansion, and with the elimination of the NWSL college draft earlier this year, conversations have been ongoing about how teams can better develop players.

Unlike MLS, the NWSL has yet to establish an academy system to develop players or better identify talent, even as younger players become professionals following the league’s establishment of the Under-18 Entry Mechanism.

“I think what you’ll see in the NWSL beginning as soon as 2025 is a stake in the ground around the pathway to pro and an iterative process year over year where we’ll be really intentional about the place in the ecosystem where our investment will make the biggest impact,” Berman said. “It may or may not look exactly the same in every market, and it may or may not look exactly the way it has been done in the men’s game.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Soccer announced that Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang was donating $30 million to the federation for women’s soccer. The funds, distributed over the next five years, will go toward women’s youth national team camps, talent identification and scouting, and female coach and referee education and mentorship.

“One of the things that we think is really important as we’re building this league, and have the benefit of doing that in 2024, is that we can learn from the past and make sure, again, when we think about resources, that we’re investing our resources in the places that will have the biggest impact and make the biggest difference,” Berman said.

“I sit on the board of U.S. Soccer. They’re going to be doing a lot in the youth space. … We’re going to work really hard to ensure that we’re working in lockstep with U.S. Soccer, making sure to complement and not compete in any places.”

Last month, five former Wave employees filed a lawsuit against the club in the San Diego Superior Court, following allegations first raised in July by Brittany Alvarado, a former video and creative manager for the club. She accused San Diego and its president, Jill Ellis, of creating a hostile work environment. Ellis was not named as a defendant in the employees’ lawsuit.

During a limited media availability ahead of the Washington Spirit and NJ/NY Gotham’s semifinal match, Berman said that the club is under relatively new ownership and that she had “a high degree of confidence that the club is going to be healthy and strong.” Berman described Ellis as “an icon in our industry” whose career “speaks for itself” when asked about Ellis’ role in the litigation.

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Jill Ellis is not named as a defendant in the former employees’ lawsuit but was alleged to have created a hostile work environment by Brittany Alvarado. (Ira L. Black / Getty Images)

The commissioner was pressed again about the matter Friday.

“Across our ecosystem, our policies and our procedures are available to everyone, players, technical staff and employees, and through our processes, we investigate and take action on any complaints that are brought to our attention,” Berman said. “We remain committed to ensuring that those policies are enforced and education exists for everyone to make sure that they know that we are here to support them in all ways that they need.”

When asked if she stood by the prior investigation, and whether that cleared the team of any wrongdoing, Berman responded, “The investigations that we’ve done in the past, universally, to the extent there was any misconduct identified, it was actioned.”

Former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry has been in negotiations to acquire the North Carolina Courage. Per Sportico’s September report, Lasry has been seeking a 60 percent stake in the team. Lasry has also recently brought on board former USWNT and NWSL player Lauren Holiday as an advisor for the sports arm of his investment group, Avenue Sports Group.

Lasry is involved in a lawsuit against a former employee, alleging she attempted to blackmail him over harassment claims. That employee has filed her own suit against Lasry, alleging that he sexually harassed her and retaliated professionally against her.

When asked if there had been any movement in Lasry’s bid to acquire the Courage or what discussions the league is having about the allegations against Lasry, Berman said, “Any new ownership that comes into the league is vetted through our robust process and due diligence, and that would be no different for that circumstance. We don’t have any news to report about that transaction.”

Global growth of club women’s soccer

This season was filled with more competitive international games than ever before, thanks to the formation of tournaments like the Summer Cup between the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil, as well as the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, which is regional clubs’ sole pathway to the Club World Cup in 2026.

“We’re really excited for the beginnings of what we have done together, and we think the future is bright for us to be able to continue working together,” Berman said about the NWSL’s partnership with Liga MX. “We are the foundational drivers of the professional game in this region, and we collectively take that responsibility very seriously. We continue to work closely with them on the ways in which we can continue to build on the momentum that we began this year, which was a first of its kind in the women’s game.”

Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga carries the Summer Cup trophy after winning the final. (Aaron Meullion / Imagn Images)

Berman alluded to even more collaborations with another North American neighbor, saying the NWSL has had “regular conversations” with the Northern Super League, which is set to begin competition in the spring of 2025 in Canada.

“I’ll give a shoutout to (NSL co-founder) Diana Matheson, who’s a former NWSL player, who we support and are excited to see be successful,” Berman said. “It’s not easy to launch a league, so we will be here to make sure that we do everything we can to create the environment that she can create a league that will allow for our entire region to continue to rise as we think about the international game.

“We have been spending a lot of time with international leagues and really beginning to unpack and understand the ways in which we can collaborate, share best practices and work together and find interesting and innovative ways to engage with each other and grow the global fan base,” Berman said. “We think the introduction of the women’s Club World Cup is going to be a moment that is going to really lift the game internationally, and I think a lot of us are thinking about the ways in which we can lean into that space in the years to come.”

(Top photo: Kylie Graham / Imagn Images)

For the first time in NFL history, a Sunday afternoon game has been flexed to Thursday Night Football.

The Denver Broncos‘ road game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16 has been flexed from Sunday, Dec. 22 to Thursday, Dec. 19, the NFL announced Friday. The original TNF matchup was set to see the Cincinnati Bengals host the Cleveland Browns. That game was moved to an afternoon slot on Dec. 22.

The Broncos previously played on TNF in Week 7 when they went on the road and defeated the New Orleans Saints 33-10. Denver is also scheduled to play on Monday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns in Week 13.

NFL rules prevent a team from being given two TNF away games when the initial schedule is released in the spring, but in-season flexes are allowed. So after playing in New Orleans on a short week earlier this season, the Broncos will play in Los Angeles on a short week later this year.

It is perhaps less-than-ideal for Denver from a competitive perspective, but it’s a sign that the league views the Broncos as an entertaining team worthy of a national spotlight. That’s quite a change from recent seasons.

Thursday Night Football is available to stream on Prime Video.