Mavs Get Major Boost From 2 Newcomers As They 'Flip The Switch' In Win

The Dallas Mavericks' Friday 112-100 home win over the Utah Jazz featured the usual work by the usual suspects.

As Dallas outscored Utah 32-19 in the third quarter, Kyrie Irving overcame an illness (and 1-of-9 shooting in the first half) to total 14 points and Cooper Flagg was good for 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

The Mavs also got big-time help from P.J. Washington, who finished with 26 points and 6 rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range.

But in the win at the AAC, which snapped a two-game losing streak and moved Dallas to 5-4 (and to 2-0 in West Group A of the NBA Cup), a pair of newcomers also helped out as Dallas "flipped the switch'' to record the win over the 1-8 Jazz..

That term comes from first-year head coach Dusty May in describing Dallas' dominance in the second half as the game was tied at intermission.

“I’m not sure what changed,” May said. “I noticed that it just looked like they were, they’re just playing with great competitive spirit. I thought the second half, for whatever reason, we just kind of locked in, and we just looked like we’re just out there on the playground having fun playing basketball.”

“Their physicality, their intensity, whatever it was, they flipped the switch at half and came out with a different look,” May said.

That "different look'' featured the Mavs debut of Santi Aldama alongside a breakout game for first-round rookie Morez Johnson.

Aldama, acquired by Dallas in a July trade, has been dealing with a knee issue. But in his first game as a Mav, he finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 13 minutes.

“Just honestly happy to be out there,” Aldama said. “It just felt so good to feel the energy of an NBA game and just be out there. But yeah, just trying to impact the game as soon as I got there.”

Johnson, who has also been dealing with some injury issues, experienced a breakout effort as the first-round rookie finished with 13 points, 17 rebounds, and two assists while coming off the bench for 24 minutes.

“I thought Rez was amazing,” Flagg said. “But I think just his effort crashing every single time … He was playing both sides of the ball at a really high level, so I think when he’s in that mode, it’s gonna make us a lot better.”

Dallas' depth might come in handy in an upcoming back-to-back, as the Mavs host the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at American Airlines Center, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. CT. ... and then get coach Rick Carlisle's Indiana Pacers on Monday.