‘Our Bench Was Awesome’: Dusty May Credits Naji Marshall, Morez Johnson Jr. As Dallas Mavericks Reserves Outscore Utah Jazz 44-19
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks’ bench outscored the Utah Jazz reserves 44-19 Friday night in a 112-100 win at American Airlines Center. Morez Johnson Jr. finished plus-20 off the bench, and Naji Marshall and Santi Aldama were each plus-17.
Johnson had 13 points and 17 rebounds. Walter Clayton Jr. scored 12 points, and Aldama had 8 points and 9 rebounds in his Dallas debut. Marshall added 7 points and 5 assists, and Zaccharie Risacher had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Josh Okogie scored 12 of Utah’s 19 bench points. Utah had Dallas bogged down in the first half, Mavericks coach Dusty May said, by limiting passes and assists and getting the Mavericks into one-on-one battles.
“The effort plays, the second shots, those allowed us just to hang around, and we didn’t have to dig ourselves out of a hole in the second half because Utah was playing well in the first half,” May said. “They were making shots. They found some holes in our defense. They had us bogged down. It’s what they do. They limit passes. They limit assists, and they get you into this one-on-one battle. And they’re quick and fast, and they’re good individual defenders.”
“So we didn’t adjust to the game very well early, but because of the effort plays, we were able to hang around, and in the second half, just on our intensity level, our on-ball pressure, and we were able to wear them down, especially with our bench,” May continued. “I thought our bench was awesome tonight, and each night it’d be a little bit different. But the group that played majority of the minutes really had a major impact.”
Naji Marshall Hands Out 5 Assists In 24 Minutes
Marshall played 24 minutes, 56 seconds. He set up Cooper Flagg’s cutting dunk in the third quarter, and his lob to Johnson with 1:41 left in the period made it 85-73. With 4:07 left in the fourth, he turned a P.J. Washington steal into a fast-break dunk for a 109-94 lead.
Marshall had played in five of Dallas’ first eight games, missing time with an illness. He entered Friday averaging 13.6 points and 5.4 assists. Since coming back, May said, Marshall has looked like he is in much better shape and has played longer spurts.
“I thought his tenacity, his on-ball pressure, that gave us a little bit of ignition, and during that stretch when we were playing well, he had a lot of life, and man, he’s a great teammate,” May explained. “He makes everyone around him better. And now also since he’s back from his illness, he looks like he’s in much better shape, and he’s playing longer spurts, and up until then, he didn’t look tired at all.”
May said the staff’s first glimpse that Johnson’s athleticism was coming back came on Wednesday in San Antonio, “when Naji threw the lob.” Johnson went up and got that one but did not finish it. Friday’s lob from Marshall ended in a dunk.
“I’m back, man. Right here. See that lob? No one’s doing that to us,” Johnson said.
Walter Clayton Jr. Plays All 12 Minutes Of The Second Quarter
Clayton played the entire second quarter and had 7 points and 2 steals in it. His 3-pointer in transition with 8:04 left cut Utah’s lead to 40-35, and his layup off a Marshall pass with 3:54 left gave Dallas a 47-45 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Clayton scored on a layup off a Kyrie Irving pass that made it 94-76. He finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers in 22 minutes, 33 seconds, and he went 3-of-4 at the free-throw line in the final 2:15.
Utah traded Clayton to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 3 in the deal that sent Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz. Memphis waived him in October, and Dallas signed him to a two-way contract on Oct. 21.
At shootaround Friday morning, Aldama said Clayton had found his spot in Dallas after a tough first year with two trades. The two overlapped in Memphis.
“Hell of a shooter,” Aldama said. “Just get guys involved. And I think he had tough first year with two trades. That’s never easy. And I think he’s found his spot here. Just playing free, playing the way he played at Florida, and just seeing that, great guy, hard worker. So I think he’s going to really flourish here.”
The win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved Dallas to 5-4. The Mavericks host the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at American Airlines Center, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
