The Mavericks have already recalled Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri from a brief NBA D-League assignment with the Texas Legends on Friday, but not before all three got major burn in a 115-106 loss to the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Anderson was easily the most impressive, scoring 34 points on 13-of-24 shooting, including 2-of-7 from behind the line. He hit a bevy of mid-range jumpers, showed impressive touch on a few finishes around the rim and had a clever bounce pass setting up a layup for a teammate. You can watch his highlights above.
He also gave a quick reminder of his athleticism. Sometimes I forget how impressive an athlete he is, given that his primary use on the Mavericks so far has been as a spot-up shooter, but the kid can dunk.
(Added benefits to this gif: it loops forever and no sound!)
Jeremy Evans started, played 35 minutes and scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He shot four 3-pointers, knocking down two of them. If I had to guess, given Evans is a six-year veteran, I'd say that the Mavericks sent him down there to get some more game action shooting the long ball. They clearly continue to push him into developing that part of his game and any additional reps there can't hurt.
Plus, he'll still dunk sometimes, too.
Salah Mejri also started but played only 16 minutes due to foul trouble. He finished with two points on 1-of-2 shooting and four rebounds.