DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks keep finding themselves in tight finishes. On this night, even historic efficiency and a career performance weren’t enough to flip the script in a 130-121 loss.
Friday marked Dallas’ league-leading 38th clutch game of the season — more than any team in the NBA, ahead of the Chicago Bulls (33). The Mavericks once again executed offensively at a high level, but late-game details proved costly in a defeat that stung despite one of their most efficient shooting efforts of the year.
Dallas shot 55.6% from the floor (45 of 81) and 43.5% from 3-point range (10 of 23), just the fourth time this season the club has cleared both the 55% overall and 40% from deep marks. The Mavericks are now 3-1 in such games — with this defeat marking their highest field goal percentage in any loss this season. Their previous high in a setback was 55.1% at Golden State on Dec. 25.
Marshall Delivers Historic Line
Naji Marshall turned in the finest all-around performance of his career.
The Mavericks forward poured in a season-high 36 points on 14-of-23 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and six assists for his first career 30-point, 10-rebound outing. It marked his second career 30-point double-double and his seventh 30-point performance overall — all coming in a Dallas uniform.
Marshall’s 36-10-6 stat line placed him in rare company. He became just the third undrafted player since 1983-84 to post at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game, joining Austin Reaves and Amir Coffey.
Within franchise history, the performance was equally significant. Marshall is only the seventh Maverick ever to record 35-10-5 in a game, joining Luka Dončić, Dirk Nowitzki, Jim Jackson, Mark Aguirre, Sam Perkins and Jason Kidd. He’s the only Maverick other than Dončić to hit those numbers in a single game since Nowitzki did so in 2009.
League-wide, Marshall became the 16th player this season to reach 35-10-5 — and one of just three non-All-Stars to accomplish the feat.
He fell just two points shy of matching his career-high 38, set earlier this season in New York.
Bench Production Keeps Dallas Close
Brandon Williams continued his steady production off the bench, scoring 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four assists. The performance marked his 15th game this season with at least 15 points as a reserve — nearly doubling the eight such games he had across his entire career entering the year. His 471 bench points rank among the top totals league-wide this season.
AJ Johnson added 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night, his best scoring output as a Maverick and his first double-digit performance without a miss from the field.
Opponent Answers with Career Nights
The Mavericks’ offensive efficiency was matched by breakout efforts on the other side.
Precious Achiuwa delivered a career-high 29 points along with 12 rebounds, only the second 25-point, 10-rebound game of his career. Nique Clifford dished a career-best seven assists, reaching 100 for his career in the process.
Maxime Raynaud added 22 points — his third-highest scoring effort of the season — while Daeqwon Plowden chipped in a career-high 19.
For Dallas, the theme remains the same: elite shot-making, heavy clutch minutes, and razor-thin margins. Despite shooting better than 55% from the field, the Mavericks walked away with a 130-121 loss — another reminder of how slim the margin has become as the season pushes forward.
