Mavericks surge, closing gap in West play-in race. Portland's loss opens a crucial new opportunity for Dallas.
The Dallas Mavericks’ gradual rise up the Western Conference standings continued to take shape Sunday night, even as they watched from home. Portland’s 119–96 loss in Memphis trimmed the distance between the two teams yet again, pulling Dallas to within a half game of the conference’s final play-in position. For a team that sat at the bottom of the West just over two weeks ago, the shift has been substantial and sudden.
Dallas is now 9–16 after winning four of its last five, a stretch that has helped erase the effects of a 4–12 start and pushed the Mavericks back into the crowded middle of the conference. They now trail Memphis by only two games for ninth, a meaningful marker in a race where seeds seven through ten will ultimately determine who survives into late April.
The improvement has stemmed from clearer defensive purpose, increased pace and newly stabilized guard play — elements that were difficult to establish early in the season as injuries to Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and Danté Exum disrupted nearly every layer of the rotation. With more structure behind them, the Mavericks have finally been able to lean into the version of themselves they hoped to be at the start of training camp.
“We’re getting stops and getting out in transition,” Washington said. “Our pace is better and we’re sharing the ball at a high level and we’re just kind of figuring it out and meshing together,” he said.
The Mavericks have also mirrored the league’s hottest teams during their recent stretch. Oklahoma City, Minnesota and Boston all went 5–0 in their last five games; Detroit, Memphis, New York and Philadelphia joined Dallas at 4–1. For a team working its way out of an early-season hole, matching that pace mattered as much as Portland’s loss Sunday.
Anthony Davis said the team’s overall cohesion has finally begun to resemble the intentions they carried into the fall.
“I think we’re starting to figure everything out,” Davis said. “(There have been) a lot of injuries, so now we’re starting to get our guys whole,” he said. “Gaff and Lively are still out obviously, and Kyrie. But now we’re starting to figure it all out on what we’ve been trying to do since training camp – be a great defensive team, and then just play well offensively. Play basketball and competing on both ends of the floor and just trust each other.”
A major part of the turnaround coincided with the decision to move rookie Ryan Nembhard into the starting point guard role. Since the change, Dallas has gone 4–2 behind his 14.8 points and 6.8 assists.
“He’s very vocal,” Davis said. “He rarely turns the ball over. He makes the right reads and sends in the right plays and that’s what you want out of a point guard,” he said. “He comes down, he gets us in our sets, he pushes the pace. Everybody on the team really likes playing with him, because he passes the ball to everybody.”
Jason Kidd pointed to small moments finally breaking Dallas’ way — including a corner three from Nembhard against Houston that bounced along nearly every surface before falling.
“Ryan shoots the three, and it touches every part of the rim and backboard, and it goes in,” Kidd said. “Normally, that does not go in for us early in November... But the ball’s going in (and) our defense is giving us a chance to win games, but also, I think just the spirit and the energy of this group believes that they can win, and you can see that here of late.”
Brandon Williams, averaging 10.8 points in nine starts, added another layer of backcourt aggression.
“We’re kind of just doing the stuff that we did the last couple of days,” Williams said. “We take what the defense gives us -- being aggressive – and kind of just having that winning attitude... Our intensity as a team is coming up -- the physicality. It’s starting to become a lot more fun. Ultimately, winning will bring all of that.”
Rookie Cooper Flagg’s recent burst — scoring 19 or more in four of five games — has continued to round out Dallas’ reshaped offense.
“He’s making strides,” Washington said of Flagg. “Each and every day he’s learning,” he said. “He’s putting in the work and obviously he’s going to be a great player in this league.”
Davis said Flagg has embraced both the freedom and responsibility that come with his growing role.
“He’s playing free, and you want everybody to play free,” Davis said. “Obviously, he’s going to draw a lot of attention because of who he is… He wants to be held accountable, he wants to be great, and he’s going to continue to learn.”
Washington, returning from four missed games with a sprained ankle, said the lift of winning has helped restore the team’s rhythm.
“I just love being able to be on the winning side of things,” Washington said. “It just feels great seeing everybody smile and obviously seeing the fans get into it, and things are starting to turn.”
Washington added that the team’s recent surge isn’t about answering critics, but about staying grounded in who they want to be.
“That’s not really our goal – to silence anybody,” he said. “It’s just to come out and just show who we are… we feel like we can find our pace and just try to take it one game at a time.”
With Portland stumbling and the middle of the West tightening, those incremental gains now carry weight. For the first time all season, the Mavericks are within reach — and within rhythm — of the postseason line.