DALLAS — Anthony Davis missed Monday’s game in Utah with a left calf contusion. At the Dallas Mavericks’ shootaround Thursday morning, signs pointed toward him sitting out again. Davis was still battling calf soreness, and top of that, he was dealing with an illness.

So it was a surprise when Mavericks coach Jason Kidd announced two hours before tipoff against the Detroit Pistons that Davis was in. Davis didn’t score until the third quarter and had to leave the floor twice to throw up, but he still wound up with 15 points and 14 rebounds — enough to help the Mavericks emerge from a physical  against the first-place Pistons with a 116-114 overtime win.

“He’s special,” Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg said. “His presence around the rim. He has such a big rim presence. Blocking shots. He has great hands. Probably the best hands at his position I’ve ever seen. His presence definitely just elevates us.”

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With 1:32 in overtime, Flagg assisted Davis for a dunk, which put Dallas ahead by two points. It was the final basket either team scored in the game. The Pistons missed four shots in the final 37 seconds. P.J. Washington blocked Pistons center Jalen Duren’s last-gasp effort in the paint. Davis recovered the loose ball, and Dallas (11-17) hung on to win its fourth consecutive home game.

The Mavericks, who spent the first month of the season at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, have gone 5-2 since Davis returned from a left calf strain in late November. Their wins haven’t come against weak competition either; Dallas has beaten three teams — the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Pistons — who could be hosting first-round playoff series this spring.

“We are just confident in our group,” Davis said. “Confident in our game plans. Confident in what the coach wanted to do. We feel like we can beat any team in this league.”

The Mavericks continue to rely on Flagg, the NBA’s youngest player, in high-leverage moments. Flagg scored two baskets in the final 59 seconds of the fourth quarter, which got Dallas into overtime. In the extra period, Flagg missed the three shots he attempted but was able to assist Davis for the game-deciding basket.

The soon-to-be 19-year-old Flagg has played 93 “clutch” minutes this season, according to NBA.com tracking data, the most of any player. He’s fourth in clutch scoring with 62 points on 19-of-41 shooting (46.3 percent).

In April, when Flagg was still at Duke, he missed a go-ahead shot in the final seconds of a Final Four game against Houston that could have sent the Blue Devils to the national championship. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said if Flagg could relive that situation, he would have tried to make the same exact play.

“I always talk with him and the others about that shot at Duke,” Kidd said. “He said he would take that shot again. He’s not afraid. That will show he’ll be a great one. Because great ones have missed shots, but they always want to take it.”

The attention Flagg attracts as a drive resulted in Davis’ game-winning dunk. Without Davis in the lineup Monday, the Mavericks wasted Flagg’s 42-point night in a loss to the Jazz. On Thursday, Davis found a way to play under less-than-ideal circumstances, and Dallas won.

“He’s got a lot of gravity,” Flagg said. “He’s a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams. For almost every team. He has a lot of gravity. That opens up the whole floor for the rest of us. That just gives us the ability to go make plays.”