Anthony Davis finally flips the Jokic script in Dallas

Life has a funny way of reshaping things. Not so long ago, a Dallas Mavericks–Denver Nuggets game was a Balkan summit between Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. Now, almost a year after that historic February 1 trade that shook the NBA to its foundations, everything has changed. The Slovenian is in Los Angeles, trying to win what has always eluded him, while the Texans gather the crumbs of what they once were – watching the days pass, sinking into self-pity and convincing themselves that better times will come, all while cursing a Nico Harrison dismissed without ceremony, because there is no fighting the obvious.

Anthony Davis answers Jokic at last

Fortunately for them, the Nuggets are in a far healthier place. After the golden symphony in the Rockies that delivered the long-promised championship ring, they seemed content with what they had achieved. Back-to-back seasons ended with elimination in Game 7 of the conference semifinals – first against the Timberwolves and then again as reigning champions – but now they have recharged and look sharper than at any point since lifting the trophy. Jokic is in a state of grace, chasing what would be a historic fourth regular-season MVP in a race that includes Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the current holder of the award. The Serbian center is averaging a triple-double – as he did last season – tireless, omnipresent, and the constant hub through which almost every possession flows. A generational player.

What remained to be seen, if anything did, was the individual duel between Jokic and Anthony Davis, the collateral damage of the Doncic trade, now seemingly adrift in Dallas. Jokic had already won that matchup in the Nuggets–Lakers clashes of the 2023 Western Conference finals (4–0) and the first round in 2024 (4–1), with the battle under the boards as the decisive factor. Davis, slowed physically and surrounded by rumors linking him away from the Mavericks, is no longer the player he once was. Yet his talent is undeniable. In a recent loss to the Pelicans, he put up 35 points and 17 rebounds, proof that something can still be salvaged from a body that has taken a beating. The question was how much he would play on the second night of a back-to-back. Beyond that, and the performance of Cooper Flagg, everything seemed settled in a game with a clear favorite, though never fully closed to surprises.

In the end, the Mavericks edged it by the narrowest of margins, 131–130, in a heart-stopping finish in which Peyton Watson missed a three that would have won it for Denver. The real story, though, was finally seeing the best version of Anthony Davis – the one we never quite saw with the Lakers, where he consistently lost his personal duel with Jokic. This time was different: 31 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals on 12-of-19 shooting, against the Serbian star’s 29 points, seven rebounds and 14 assists. Jamal Murray had 31 points and 14 assists, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 on 7-of-12 from deep, but no one could contain Davis. He was superbly supported by Cooper Flagg, who was sensational with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on 14-of-21 shooting and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. A tremendous night in Dallas, and a brief breath of relief for the Mavericks, who glimpse light in the darkness for a day and rediscover a feeling they seemed to have lost for a long time: pride.

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Dallas Mavericks

Stats

32 Cooper Flagg
13 Naji Marshall
3 Anthony Davis
1 Jaden Hardy
9 Ryan Nembhard
30 Moussa Cisse
21 Daniel Gafford
14 Miles Kelly
16 Caleb Martin
5 D'Angelo Russell
10 Brandon Williams

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
32 Cooper Flagg	39	33	9	2	7	9	2	1	1	1/1	10/15	4/6	0	1	0
13 Naji Marshall	31	15	4	1	3	3	1	1	0	1/1	4/7	2/4	0	0	0
3 Anthony Davis	35	31	9	4	5	4	1	3	0	6/6	11/17	1/2	0	3	0
1 Jaden Hardy	27	10	2	1	1	2	1	1	0	0/0	5/6	0/3	0	2	0
9 Ryan Nembhard	32	11	3	0	3	7	1	0	0	0/0	4/8	1/3	0	1	0
30 Moussa Cisse	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
21 Daniel Gafford	17	4	3	1	2	0	0	1	1	0/0	2/4	0/0	0	3	0
14 Miles Kelly	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
16 Caleb Martin	24	9	4	2	2	3	2	2	0	1/1	4/5	0/1	0	1	0
5 D'Angelo Russell	15	9	2	0	2	4	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	3/5	0	0	0
10 Brandon Williams	15	9	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	5/6	2/3	0/3	0	1	0

Denver Nuggets

Stats

23 Cameron Johnson
8 Peyton Watson
15 Nikola Jokić
21 Spencer Jones
27 Jamal Murray
11 Bruce Brown
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.
14 DaRon Holmes II
1 Curtis Jones
22 Zeke Nnaji
24 Jalen Pickett
3 Julian Strawther
5 Hunter Tyson
17 Jonas Valančiūnas

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
23 Cameron Johnson	23	8	2	0	2	3	0	0	0	0/0	1/4	2/3	0	0	0
8 Peyton Watson	24	4	2	0	2	1	3	0	0	4/4	0/1	0/2	0	4	0
15 Nikola Jokić	36	29	7	3	4	14	4	3	0	0/0	7/12	5/10	0	4	0
21 Spencer Jones	26	6	4	1	3	2	1	2	0	0/0	3/4	0/1	0	1	0
27 Jamal Murray	37	31	7	0	7	14	3	1	0	4/4	9/14	3/7	0	0	0
11 Bruce Brown	26	13	7	2	5	3	2	2	1	0/0	5/5	1/2	0	3	0
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.	29	23	2	0	2	1	0	0	0	0/0	1/1	7/12	0	0	0
14 DaRon Holmes II	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
1 Curtis Jones	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
22 Zeke Nnaji	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
24 Jalen Pickett	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/1	0	0	0
3 Julian Strawther	12	8	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	1/1	2/3	0	3	0
5 Hunter Tyson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 Jonas Valančiūnas	14	8	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	2/2	3/4	0/0	0	1	0