{"id":72628,"date":"2025-12-02T07:15:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T07:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/72628\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T07:15:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T07:15:07","slug":"mavs-claim-most-impressive-win-of-season-over-nuggets-behind-ryan-nembhards-breakout-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/72628\/","title":{"rendered":"Mavs claim most impressive win of season over Nuggets behind Ryan Nembhard\u2019s breakout game"},"content":{"rendered":"

DENVER \u2014 This year\u2019s iteration of the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> has built a reputation for being competitive, no matter the circumstances.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter if they\u2019re short-handed because of injuries or playing through their shooting struggles, the Mavericks typically find ways to keep games close.<\/p>\n

That trend continued on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets as they found themselves in their 17th clutch game of the season.<\/p>\n

Dallas used a 42-point second-quarter lead to erase a 17-point deficit, which set the stage for their most impressive win of the season \u2014 a 131-121 victory over the Nuggets.<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

Be the smartest Mavericks fan. Get the latest news.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mavericks (7-15) captured their second consecutive win for the first time this season, but that wouldn\u2019t have happened if it wasn\u2019t for the trio of Anthony Davis<\/a>, Cooper Flagg<\/a> and Ryan Nembhard<\/a>, who posted career-highs of 28 points and 10 assists.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

The two-way rookie proved himself worthy of Jason Kidd\u2019s trust in him as the team\u2019s starting point guard and provided a much-needed lift for a struggling offense. Nembhard made 12 of his 14 shot attempts, and made four 3-pointers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he was great the whole game,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHe\u2019s been great since we put him in the starting lineup. Being able to find guys, also his shot as we talked about. To have 28 and 10, he controlled the game. Big play down the stretch. The ball touches the paint and he finds [Max] Christie in the corner for a big 3. He took what the defense gave him. He was really good tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nembhard scored 15 points in the third quarter to keep the Mavericks within striking distance. He knocked down a midrange fadeaway to give Dallas a nine-point lead with 1:57 left, which was the game\u2019s final dagger.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to be aggressive,\u201d Nembhard said. \u201cThey\u2019re in that deep drop with [Nikola] Jokic. Just trying to be aggressive, get downhill and make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nembhard wasn\u2019t the only one making plays for the Mavericks. Dallas welcomed Davis back to the lineup after he missed Saturday\u2019s win over the LA Clippers. He reasserted himself as the team\u2019s number one option on offense and finished with a game-high 32 points and 13 rebounds in 32 minutes. It was the second-most points he\u2019s scored in a Mavericks uniform.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks entered the game with the fourth-best defensive rating in the NBA, but they were tested by the league\u2019s best offense. Without PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, it was a tall task to stop an offense powered by Jokic.<\/p>\n

Denver came out the gate and dropped 42 points in the first quarter, thanks to Jokic and a second-year forward by the name of Spencer Jones, who scored a career-high for the second straight game.<\/p>\n

Jokic stuffed the stat sheet early and finished with a triple-double of 29 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists. Jones had 28 points, 19 of which were scored in the first half. That mark surpassed his previous career-best of 16 points from the Nuggets\u2019 win at Phoenix on Saturday. Jones was also undrafted and signed to a two-way contract, just as Nembhard was by the Mavericks.<\/p>\n

Nembhard also accomplished history on Saturday as he became the first undrafted rookie with 25 points and 10 assists and zero turnovers and the first overall rookie to accomplish the feat since Stephon Marbury in 1996.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a blessing,\u201d Nembhard said. \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing to be with this group of guys. Great group here. I just put in my work every day and stay consistent with that. When you do that, good things will happen. It was a fun night.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mavericks finish their four-game road trip with a record of 2-2, which left Nuggets fans booing their own team after witnessing four consecutive home losses.<\/p>\n

X\/Twitter: @MikeACurtis2<\/p>\n

Klay Thompson is regaining his offensive rhythm when the Mavericks need it most<\/a>Sherrington: Why the Mavericks need bubble wrap, plus some credit Jerry Jones deserves<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DENVER \u2014 This year\u2019s iteration of the Dallas Mavericks has built a reputation for being competitive, no matter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4643,4642,102,104,2582,103,4281,3080,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-72628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-headlines","12":"tag-dallas-mavericks","13":"tag-dallas-news","14":"tag-mavericks","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}