The Dallas Mavericks finished off their November schedule on Saturday night, beating the Los Angeles Clippers by a final score of 114-110. As a result, the Mavericks enter the final month of the calendar year with a 6-15 record, looking to build on the win going forward.

Let’s get to the grades!

8 PTS / 1 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 21 MIN

Nembhard came off a great game with a relatively mediocre follow-up. He wasn’t necessarily bad, though his shot was off (3-for-8), but was generally quiet, leaving little impact on the game.

3 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 20 MIN

Christie’s brother plays for the Clippers and his parents were in the stands to watch the brothers face off. We often see players have big games in their home town or when they play in front of family, but that wasn’t the case tonight. Max’s brother Cam did not play at all, and unfortunately Max appeared as though he didn’t either. He was 1-for-9 from the floor and contributed little else to the effort. I just wasn’t his night, as he missed seven of eight three-point attempts despite the long ball being his specialty to this point in the season.

35 PTS / 8 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 38 MIN

A+ grades should be saved for the “best of the best” type of games. When it comes to Flagg, the sample size remains small, but it’s difficult to deny him top honors in a game he scored his career high (second youngest player to ever score 30 points in a game), shot almost 60% (13-for-22), was the go-to guy throughout the clutch, and rose to the moment consistently. His game was not flawless, as he got overwhelmed a few times by some elite defense, but he played like a star all night. Nailing two free throws with under ten seconds left not only all but sealed the deal, but gave Flagg the highest scoring game of any rookie this season.

18 PTS / 8 REB / 3 AST / 3 STL / 0 BLK – 37 MIN

I sat on this grade for a while, feeling like there were far too many A ranks tonight, but couldn’t quite talk myself out an A- here. Marshall was 6-for-11 from the floor, didn’t turn the ball over, and did just about everything you could ask for aside from a slightly inefficient 2-for-6 on threes. He was sniffing a double-double, joined the heist party with three steals, and nailed two free throws to make a last ditch Clippers heave irrelevant even had it gone in. Great job stepping into the starting role without about five minutes advance notice.

9 PTS / 5 REB / 3 AST / 6 STL / 1 BLK – 34 MIN

I did not anticipate Dwight Powell having two A grades on the season, especially not within the first 21 games, but here we are. Powell once again stepped in when his number was called and had himself a nice game. The grade may seem falsely inflated, but if you get yourself a career high six steals, you have my attention. He committed five fouls, but otherwise had himself a solid game with efficient shooting (3-for-4 from both the floor and the free throw line) and surprisingly effective defense.

14 PTS / 1 REB / 7 AST / 3 STL / 1 BLK – 26 MIN

The other day I stated that even if Williams could shoot a horrendous 30% from the floor, the Mavs would have a couple more wins on their ledger. That’s how poorly he has been shooting. Ironically, he shot nearly 36% (5-for-14) tonight and the Mavs indeed won. While 36% isn’t exactly noteworthy, it’s a big improvement from where he has been, and I’d hazard a guess that he was actually fouled on at least two drives that landed on the stat sheet as misses. He again played hard, took care of the ball en route to a 7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio , and swiped himself three steals.

23 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 26 MIN

Thompson has basically lived in the basement or been outright omitted from our Grades pieces to this point in the season, so it is with especially great pleasure to see him reverse course tonight. Is the A+ a touch generous? Perhaps, considering how quiet he was for the entire first half. However, dropping a season high in points, hitting multiple crucial threes in the fourth quarter, and doing exactly what he is here to do (8-for-13 from the floor and a scorching 6-for-10 from deep) gets him top marks in this one. He does not lose the edge for what could have been a disastrously bone-headed foul in the waning moments, which resulted in three free throws for James Harden. I refuse to believe that a shooter spreading his legs just prior to landing, causing himself to step on the defender’s foot, is actually a defensive foul in any plane of reality.

Two weeks ago, The Mavs lost to the Clippers in a double overtime game that gave LA only their second win of the season when Kawhi Leonard does not play. This time, Leonard was on the floor on the second night of a back-to-back (for both teams) and Dallas was able to get the better of LA.

Earlier this month, the Mavs were in the liminal space between being a team that would attempt to make a run if they could get healthy, and a team that may look to tank for a higher draft pick in the offseason. With the Mavs going 2-8 over their past ten games coming into tonight, followed by news that Dereck Lively is expected to miss extended time, tanking was looking more likely whether the Mavs wanted to or not. One glance at the starting lineup would indicate the Mavs were in fact bagging this one on purpsose, however legit injuries and load management played a part in why the Mavs were without the services of Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively, P.J. Washington (who tweaked his ankle in warmups) and Anthony Davis.

On paper, the Mavs should arguably have been run off the floor, but instead they played an excellent game, matching every Clippers’ run with a run of their own, netting themselves an impressive and hard-earned win.

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