Mavericks Notebook: 5 Takeaways On Eve Of NBA Regular Season Tipoff

DALLAS — The Atlanta Hawks led by 22 at halftime Friday night and by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter at American Airlines Center. Their 135-111 win closed the preseason for the Dallas Mavericks, who finished the exhibition schedule 1-3. Atlanta finished 4-1.

Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg played together for the second time. Marcus Sasser made his Dallas debut after sitting out the first three preseason games with a left adductor injury, and he scored all 5 of his points in the first quarter on a 3-pointer and a floater. Morez Johnson Jr. was back after missing two games with right shin splints.

Santi Aldama (right knee surgery) and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) stayed out. Tarik Biberović sat with right heel bursitis, Jett Howard with an illness, and Max Christie for rest.

Our Five Takeaways as Dallas is ready to pivot from the preseason to the real deal ...

Zaccharie Risacher scored 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting in 12 first-half minutes against the team that drafted him. He was minus-23 before halftime.

After the break, he did not miss a shot. Risacher went 6-of-6 in the second half and scored 14 points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter. Three of those baskets came on a cutting layup off an Irving pass, a tip dunk, and a cutting dunk off a feed from Naji Marshall with 5:26 left.

He finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Atlanta took Risacher first overall in the 2024 draft. On July 19, the Hawks traded him to Dallas in a three-team deal that also sent Luguentz Dort to Atlanta. Dort scored 8 points off the Hawks' bench Friday.

Mavericks coach Dusty May said he does not know whether Risacher will start the opener, but that judged on Friday's second half, Risacher is going to be a major rotation piece and play a lot.

"Zach showed what we need him to be," May said. "I thought his energy, his effort. He made a couple of really nice cuts to the basket. I thought he was on the glass. He settled into the game."

"And obviously, this one's an emotional one for Zach. He played there," May continued. "I think any time you have history with the team, it's tough to go against your former teammates and things like that. But I thought he made some aggressive plays. He was much more explosive in the paint in the second half. And his aggression was rewarded. That was one of the bright spots to see how well he played in the second half."

Two nights earlier, Risacher missed all 7 of his 3-point attempts in the loss to New Orleans and scored 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting. He was 0-of-1 from 3-point range Friday.

Facing his former team was exciting for Risacher, but going into the last preseason game, his focus was on the game plan, the chemistry Dallas is building, and playing for each other.

"I feel like it's a part of the adjustment, just playing in a new environment," Risacher said. "I feel like also I got to do a better job and show up early in the game, because you're right, the first half usually during those preseason games wasn't that good. And I felt like I could have done a better job. But still preseason, that's what this is for, get adjusting, find the rhythm, find the chemistry with new teammates."

"And I feel like the communication has been great with everybody," Risacher added. "And it's just, I'm super excited about this new season. And I feel like everybody's on the same page. And, yeah, I'm grateful to be able to compete with those guys. And I feel like that's going to be an amazing season."

Irving's 18 points came on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. He had 5 assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes and 36 seconds, and he did not play in the fourth quarter.

Friday was his first game at American Airlines Center since he tore his left ACL on March 3, 2025.

His first 3-pointer came off a Flagg pass with 9:40 left in the first quarter. Two of Irving's first-quarter assists set up 3-pointers by P.J. Washington.

Flagg had 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. Through the first half, he was 4-of-14 from the field. He went 4-of-6 after halftime, made all 5 of his second-half free throws, and finished 8-of-9 at the line.

Flagg checked out for good with 10:25 left and Dallas down 107-87.

May said Flagg and Irving are having to fight so hard for every catch that Dallas has to find a way to relieve the pressure with some of its other players.

"I thought overall they played well, and we haven't had our lineups," May explained. "We don't even really know what our lineups are going to be, but we haven't had them together, so it's difficult to find the way you function within each group."

"But I thought just to see Kyrie back competing like he was, I thought he made a lot of really good passes," May detailed. "I thought he trusted his teammates. Over time, that's a recipe for success. So overall, pleased with that group."

Johnson, the ninth overall pick in June, started at center in his NBA debut in Macao before the shin splints kept him out.

Friday, he came off the bench and grabbed 7 rebounds in 14 minutes, 2 of them offensive. He scored 4 points and had 2 assists.

His reverse layup off a Flagg pass with 4:09 left in the first quarter gave Dallas a 24-23 lead, its first of the night. Dallas never led by more than 1.

With Flagg and Irving on the floor, Johnson's job is to screen the best he can to get them open, play in the pocket, and sprint to the back of the rim as an outlet when they cannot get out of the pick-and-roll.

"When I was playing the five out there, it was mostly in switching one through five," Johnson said. "So I think it's kind of very similar to playing a four because I'm switching one through five still. It's making sure I'm finding bodies on the glass. Just being a connector out there like I was doing last year, it's the same thing for me, because especially with me switching one through five."

Johnson played for May at Michigan last season. He did not feel like he was in great rhythm Friday.

May said Johnson looked a little rusty, but that he is not worried about him and that the 14 minutes will prove invaluable going into the regular season.

"Just his physicality. He was a step slow tonight," May said. "The conditioning's obviously a factor, but I thought he did a nice job. He was blocking out. He was around the ball. I guess he got 7 rebounds in limited minutes, which is pretty good."

"That shows the level of expectations that we have for him. It didn't seem like he was dominating glass, and he had 7 in 14 minutes," May noted. "So he's capable of getting double-digit rebounds with minutes consistently, and it was just good to see him out there playing."

Washington made 2 3-pointers in the game's first 4 minutes and 19 seconds, both on Irving passes.

He went 1-of-10 the rest of the night, and his only make was an alley-oop dunk off a Marshall pass in the fourth quarter.

He finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds on 3-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-8 from 3-point range. Washington was minus-21 in 27 minutes.

Dallas had 30 assists on its 40 baskets, and May said the Mavericks are sharing the ball well for the most part.

"Just like the Hawks did when we packed off certain guys, you take the shot," May said. "I think P.J.'s a good shooter. I think he's going to make shots. The reluctant open shooter, analytically and statistically, is really bad for your offensive flow, and you can't anticipate the shots going up. I think he's going to make those."

"I thought he took good looks. Obviously, not one of his better games. But, yeah, we believe in P.J.," May continued. "Those were driving kick shots. I thought his teammates did a nice job early, especially cutting. I think a lot of those were off of Kyrie and Cooper making the right plays, seeing multiple bodies and kicking to open teammates. And we're still getting used to each other, though."

Atlanta outrebounded Dallas 55-42, including 17-12 on the offensive glass. In the third quarter, the Hawks grabbed 8 offensive rebounds. Dallas had none.

Jalen Johnson had 20 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes and sat out the fourth quarter. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and made 6 of his 10 3-point attempts.

As a team, Atlanta went 21-of-51 from 3-point range and 34-of-45 at the line. Dallas was 13-of-33 and 18-of-26.

Between Flagg's layup with 10:41 left in the second quarter and Jalen Johnson's dunk at 5:01, Atlanta outscored Dallas 19-3. The Mavericks went 1-of-10 from 3-point range in that quarter.

Dallas outscored Atlanta 26-18 in second-chance points and 50-38 in the paint. Atlanta had 19 fast-break points to Dallas' 6.

May said the biggest difference was Atlanta's ability to get offensive rebounds, kick the ball out, and make Dallas pay, even when the Mavericks were on the verge of a run.

"Give Atlanta credit," May said. "I thought their point-of-attack defense, their disruptions, they were tough tonight. They played inspired. They look like a playoff team that's capable of advancing and guys that have played together. We just weren't quick enough to the ball and gave them too many opportunities. But there were some small wins for us, and looking forward to going into the regular season."

Dallas committed 4 turnovers in the first half and 11 in the second, and Atlanta turned the second-half giveaways into 12 points. Against New Orleans, the Mavericks had 27.

May called the first half "excellent" on that front and said the second half "was what it's been."

Risacher said Dallas has to get the 50-50 balls and be more connected on defense so it can make stops and run with its athletes.

Moussa Cissé, who tweaked his left ankle Wednesday, played the final 4:21 and scored 3 points. Dwight Powell went scoreless in 7:55. The final roster spot is set to be decided after the finale.

Dallas opens the regular season against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Toyota Center, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. CT.