Nets at Mavericks Preview – Yahoo Sports

The Mavericks finally got back on track Friday night with a 112-100 win over the Utah Jazz, and now they get another very winnable game Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets. Dallas enters at 5-4 after snapping a two-game losing streak, while Brooklyn entered the weekend at 2-6 and has to come to Dallas on the second night of a back-to-back after playing Atlanta on Saturday.

This is the type of game Dallas needs to start taking care of consistently. The Mavericks have already shown they can hang with much better teams, but losses like the one to Sacramento have also shown how quickly things can go sideways when they play down to an opponent. Brooklyn has enough legitimate NBA talent to make that happen again if Dallas comes out flat.

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Keep building on Friday

The Jazz win wasn’t perfect, but there were plenty of encouraging signs.

Cooper Flagg finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists despite another slow start; P.J. Washington carried the offense early with 26 points, and Morez Johnson Jr. was fantastic with 13 points and 17 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass. Santi Aldama also made his season debut, giving Dallas eight points and nine rebounds in just 13 minutes.

That is the kind of collective production Dallas needs. Kyrie Irving and Flagg combined to shoot just 3-of-17 in the first half against Utah, but the Mavericks survived until both eventually got going. Dallas has spent too much of the early season needing Flagg or Kyrie to solve everything. Friday was a good example of what this roster can look like when Washington, Morez and the rest of the rotation actually give them something.

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Brooklyn should give Dallas another opportunity to build on that.

More Morez

Morez Johnson Jr. might be forcing Dusty May’s hand.

The rookie was one of Dallas’ best players Friday, dominating the offensive glass and giving the Mavericks the type of physicality they have badly needed with Dereck Lively II still sidelined. His 17-rebound performance was easily one of the biggest reasons Dallas controlled the second half against Utah.

Brooklyn has size with Julius Randle, Michael Porter Jr.,…

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Publish date : 2026-11-08 05:12:00

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