3 observations after the Mavericks come all the way back on the Memphis Grizzlies for a 121-116 win

The Dallas Mavericks (14-8) fell apart in the third quarter of a tough, physical game against the Memphis Grizzlies (14-8) at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday, then resurrected themselves in the fourth for the most improbable of 121-116 wins. Amidst all the commotion surrounding the momentous comeback, the win also qualifies Dallas for the knockout stages of the NBA Cup.

Luka Dončić, Dereck Lively II, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving all returned from injuries on Tuesday, and Dončić picked up right where he left off in the first half, after a 36-point, 13-assist performance Sunday in a 137-131 win at the Portland Trail Blazers. He led all scorers with 37 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Spencer Dinwiddie and PJ Washington combined to hit three humongous 3-pointers in the game’s final 1:30 to put the Mavs over the top in crunch time.

The Mavs overcame 25 turnovers and shot just 20-of-34 at the free throw line in the win.

The game had a playoff feel to it from the initial tip. Jaren Jackson Jr. hit his first two 3-pointers for the Grizzlies early on, but so did Dončić for the Mavs. His face-up 3-ball on the left wing with rookie Jaylen Wells’ hand in his face gave the Mavericks a 19-15 lead with just over five minutes to play in the first.

Dallas subsisted on that four-point lead for the rest of the first quarter but couldn’t generate any consistent offense in Dončić’s bench minutes. On the strength of a late 3-pointer and a tip dunk two possessions later by Santi Aldama, Memphis took a 26-25 lead after one.

Dereck Lively II came out with his hair on fire in the second, converting an alley-oop from Dončić in the quarter’s second possession then completing a fast break the next time down with another jam after Dončić came up with a loose ball on the Grizzlies’ prior possession. Lively’s rim-rocker just a minute later on a pick-and-roll with Klay Thompson gave the Mavs a 33-30 lead with 10:30 left in the second.

Dončić connected on his third straight 3-pointer of the game just a minute later. He raised up along the right wing before the defense had a chance to get set for the possession and forced a Memphis timeout with the make. The Mavs were up 38-32 and Dončić led all scorers with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting to that point. If three in a row wasn’t impressive enough for you, he hit another off one leg and about five feet behind the 3-point line a minute later to put the Mavs in front, 41-32.

Dallas worked the lead up to 10, but the Dončić bench minutes struck again late in the second. Kyrie Irving, who didn’t get into much of an offensive rhythm in the first half, picked up his third foul with just over three minutes to play in the first half. That came in the midst of a 12-0 Memphis run that briefly saw the Grizzlies take a 52-50 lead, but back-to-back 3-pointers from PJ Washington and Quentin Grimes pulled Dallas back in front. Dallas went into halftime nursing a 60-57 lead.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

But the Grizzlies scored the first 10 points of the third quarter as Ja Morant made it his mission to get to the cup after scoring just four points in the first half. Dallas didn’t score for the first 3:11 of the third before Dončić hit a floating banker, then picked off a wayward pass the next time down and converted the lay-in to quickly bring the Mavs back to within three, down 67-64 with 8:30 left in the frame.

The Grizzlies’ physicality and timely shooting won the quarter and put the Mavericks on their collective heels. Memphis forced five Dallas turnovers in the first six minutes of the third and 11, a new season-high for any quarter, overall in the third. The open shots the Mavs saw in the first half all came with a hand in the face after halftime. Grimes was finally able to pierce the Grizzlies’ defense on a drive through the lane with 4:51 left in the third and converted the 3-point play after contact to pull Dallas to within five, down 77-72, but Memphis had an answer every time. More and more, that answer came in the form of Morant and Desmond Bane, who combined for 21 points in the third quarter.

The Grizzlies outscored the Mavs 18-10 in the quarter’s final four minutes to stretch their lead to 95-82 at the end of the third. The Mavs matched Memphis’ intensity in the first half but couldn’t in the second half.

Dallas’ methodical comeback over the course of the fourth quarter took a frantic turn after Dončić hit his fifth 3-ball of the game to pull the Mavs to within 111-106 with under three minutes to play. Irving found Dinwiddie in transition for an open pull-up 3-pointer that put Dallas in front, 113-111, less than a minute later. Then the next time down, Dinwiddie canned another on an assist from Washington to increase the Dallas lead to 116-111. Washington nailed one of his own on a nice find from Dončić on the next Dallas possession to ice it with the Mavs leading 119-113 with 27 seconds left on the clock.

For our three observations on the Mavs’ win that likely punches their ticket into the NBA Cup quarterfinals, let’s focus on the three Mavericks that came back from multi-game injury absences against the Grizzlies and see if we can get a sense of where their game is headed.

Heat check

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images

If his first two games back from his wrist injury are any indication, Dončić’s game is headed back into the stratosphere, where it belongs. He had some bigger statistical games before the wrist injury, but that easy rhythm, that sense that he’s playing Star Trek 3-D chess while the other nine on the floor are reading the Tiddly-Winks instruction manual, was back in a big way against the Grizzlies. He hit his first four 3-pointers and peppered in some of those signature moments where he does things no other professional baller can do.

For those concerned about a “slow” or “weird” start to the season for Dončić, Sunday against the Trail Blazers and Tuesday against the Grizzlies are the signs you wanted to see. He had 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting and five rebounds at the half on Tuesday but wasn’t as effective in the second half. He hit a big 3-pointer with under three minutes to play to bring the Mavs to within 111-106, then hit two free throws to pull Dallas to within one, down just 111-110 with under two to play. Dončić finished with 37 points, 12 boards, four assists and four steals.

Livelier than thou

Lively provided the spark the Mavericks needed to start the second quarter, with three authoritative dunks that not only put the Mavericks in front at the time — they gave the Mavs a second layer of offensive threat the team had not displayed yet to that point. the problem became that no one else besides Lively provided Dončić with much support.

Lively made a couple more big plays in the third on putback dunks before Daniel Gafford picked up the slack a little in the fourth. He finished with 17 points and 11 boards in the win.

Kwestions about Klay

Thompson’s first game back from a plantar fascia injury was not quite as encouraging as it was for Dončić and Lively. He hit just one of his five shot attempts and went 0-of-3 from 3-point range in his return. He looked like a piece of wall art out there against Memphis. The biggest question mark is just his lack of engagement with what’s going on around him at times. If he’s not coming open on the perimeter due to the machinations of the offense or getting himself open somehow, what is Thompson here for?

He has plenty of time to get back into the swing of things — we’re just searching for Thompson to give us a sign that better days are coming soon. He and Irving combined to shoot just 4-of-19 from the field and 0-of-7 from deep in the win.