3 things we learned from the Mavericks 122-105 win over the Nuggets

After blowing out the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, the Dallas Mavericks were able to keep their momentum going against the short-handed Denver Nuggets, winning decisively, 122-105. Dallas came out of the gates blazing on Seats for Soldiers night, scoring a season-high 39 points in the first quarter. Although there were some anxious moments in the second half, the Mavs never took their foot off the gas.

Here’s three things we learned from the game tonight.

Mavs able to hold off a relentless push by the Nuggets

Dallas got hot early in the first half and built a 25-point lead, only to see it shrink to as little as 8 points multiple times in the second half. Just when you thought Denver was going to break through, the Mavs made timely basket after timely basket to keep them at bay. Overall, this was one of the most impressive wins of the year, given the Dallas’ resiliency and aggressiveness.

The Mavs only turned the ball over to the Nuggets 7 times shot a stellar 57-percent from the field for the game. The next question for Dallas will be — can they sustain this kind of play? We can all hope. Seth Curry’s return (which should be in a week or two) could really help them stay consistent on a nightly basis.

Harrison Barnes and Dennis Smith Jr. had big nights

Barnes finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. He went 9-of-18 from the field and continued to show off hisn newfound aggressiveness this season with multiple drives to the basket. Barnes was able to notch a double-double for the 5th time this season.

Smith Jr. finished the game with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Like Barnes, he also had a good shooting night, going 9-of-16 from the field. The rookie showed some really nice poise down the stretch and, of course, no Mavs win would be complete without at least one flashy DSJ highlight.

Yogi Ferrell finally gets it going

After multiple lackluster performances, Ferrell finally got his shot to fall in this game, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. He was in attack-mode all night long and hit a couple of really big shots late to keep the Nuggets from getting back into the game. Hopefully for Yogi, this game will really get him going for the rest of the season.