The Mavericks’ career high came when it was most needed vs. Nuggets

When it was announced that Luka Doncic would miss at least a wrist strain, everyone expected Kyrie Irving to carry the Dallas Mavericks until Doncic returned. But in the two games Doncic has missed (OKC Thunder on Sunday, Denver Nuggets on Friday), it’s been scoring by committee to pick up big wins over some of the best teams in the West.

On Friday night, Naji Marshall tallied a career-high 26 points when they needed it the most. He was also 3/4 from the three-point line after entering the game, shooting 13.3% from three. He had only made four threes in all season and beat three in this game alone.

Marshall was 11/15 from the floor and continued a trend of him being lethal inside the arc. He is now one of three non-centers shooting better than 65% on two-pointers on more than five attempts per game. match. The other players are Josh Hart and Elfrid Payton, who have played in two games.

READ MORE: Mavericks Survive Nuggets’ Rally in Nikola Jokic’s Return, 123-120

In Marshall’s first six games as a Maverick, he averaged just over 18 MPG and scored 3.3 PPG. In his last ten games, he is up to nearly 27 MPG and averaging 14.2 PPG. As he’s settled in, it’s helped the Mavericks find consistent bench production.

Dallas’ bench started out as one of the worst scoring benches in the NBA, but ended up being a big reason why they were able to knock off the Denver Nuggets on the road Friday night, scoring 57 points compared to Denver’s 24 bench points, and Naji Marshall was it. main contributor.

With Doncic out for at least a few more games, players like Maji Marshall will need to continue to step up in the scoring column.

READ MORE: Mavericks’ Luka Doncic falls off latest NBA MVP ladder

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