The Dallas Mavericks (6-4) took on the Brooklyn Nets (2-8), winning 130-93 on the first night of a back-to-back. This may be a game where one could draw correlations that aren’t really there, or it may be the perfect example of a lesson learned. The Mavs slept on the Kings a few nights ago and got embarrassed, but tonight they came out strong and stayed that way, holding a lead for roughly 47 minutes.

Let’s get to the grades!

21 PTS / 3 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 29 MIN

Irving displayed his typical veteran poise, recognized his matchup against an inexperienced player and took advantage while staying within himself and doing what was best for the team. His three-ball left a bit to be desired (2-of-7), but there were times it felt like he was literally working on that part of his game in real time, as if to work out a kink. More importantly, he finished well at the rim with no hesitation getting amongst the trees; hopefully that is a sign of building confidence and there will be more of it to come. Despite the misses from downtown, Irving still shot 9-of-15 overall (60%). His circus shot for the and-one to end the third quarter was the cherry on top.

25 PTS / 5 REB / 12 AST / 1 STL / 28 MIN

Flagg led all scorers in his double-double effort. He hit 8-of-13 from the floor, 3-of-5 from downtown and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Three turnovers was about the only blemish on his game. In relatively few minutes, he all but dominated every aspect of the game and set a new career high in assists in less than 30 minutes of action.

2 PTS / 2 REB / 2 AST / 19 MIN

Martin insists on being the most difficult player on the team to grade. Since getting the starting job a few games ago, Martin hasn’t blown up the box score but has done a lot of intangible things. He’s smart, lets the game come to him and finds teammates (even if it comes by way of the hockey-assist or poking a rebound to a teammate that doesn’t register for him on the stat sheet).

6 PTS / 5 REB / 1 STL / 1 BLK / 25 MIN

This was a tough grade to give, as it’s not especially high despite Washington having a pretty solid night. He was 2-of-3 from the floor, both from deep and did little bits here and there to contribute. It felt like this was a game he could go gang-busters in, especially off a great outing last game, but he was instead quietly effective.

18 PTS / 5 REB / 2 AST / 3 BLK / 19 MIN

Gafford was a mixed bag early on, with some strong finishes through contact for the and-one, but some matador defense on the other end. Then all of sudden he locked in and you blinked and realized he put together a very nice game. All said, he scored nearly a point per minute on a highly efficient 7-of-8 shooting from the floor while connecting on 4-of-6 free throws. His presence early on was a big help in the Mavs getting early separation.

Walter Clayton, Jr.: 6/10

5 PTS / 4 REB / 6 AST / 2 STL / 16 MIN

May Clayton go down as a super slick pickup by the front office. The guy is totally in control, makes good plays and seems to be in the right spot all the time. In just 16 minutes he was terrific, boosting his grade given how little time he had to work. He drained 2-of-3 shots including 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. Two turnovers and three fouls hurt him, but he gets the benefit of the doubt relative to his role and minutes played.

4 PTS / 9 REB / 1 AST / 19 MIN

He gets a major grade boost for how he managed himself throughout some chippiness with Noah Clowney. Clowney hit the deck after Johnson boxed him out, then proceeded to jaw with Johnson and bump him on their way back down court. Clowney persisted, bodying up into Johnson for an intentional foul, but literally bounced off Johnson for all the good it did. Johnson never got flustered, never retaliated and even though he was assessed with a technical foul, he showed poise well beyond his years. Also, Johnson made a heads up play that stood out in the first quarter. Instead of hopelessly closing out on an open shooter (he gave it a thought), he instead dropped to the basket to get a body on a cutter and ended up with the rebound. It was a savvy play he wasn’t necessarily making a few weeks ago.

12 PTS / 2 REB / 1 STL / 15 MIN

Aldama was 5-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep. He barely played a quarter, but came in scorching. In the flow of watching the game live, it was hard to remember him getting so many shots – he was totally within the flow of the offense and got a couple easy ones right at the rim. It’s a small sample size, but Aldama has thus far been everything Mavs’ fans could hope for. Another smart player that doesn’t get ahead of himself and makes the absolute most of his time on the floor.

11 PTS / 6 REB / 1 AST / 16 MIN

Like Aldama, Risacher did a lot with a little. Aside from an air-balled three that he had to put up after getting the ‘live grenade’ tossed to him, he was on fire, shooting 5-of-8 (1-of-3 from downtown). He didn’t commit a foul and pursued rebounds including two on the offensive end. He joined Aldama as a big reason the starters got a lot of rest.

This was a fantastic game all around. One could argue the Mavs played a struggling team. While that is true, we saw what happened against Sacramento just a few nights ago. Sunday night, Dallas got out to a lead, extended it and maintained it. The latter may have been the best part – the Mavs never relented and it seems to be in no small part due to Dusty May’s coaching. May at one point (with a large double-digit lead) was still yelling to his players to box out. Anyone could have mailed it in on the first night of a back-to-back, but no one did.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.