DALLAS (AP) — It came to Anthony Davis following his pregame nap Wednesday afternoon that he would finally play all out for the Dallas Mavericks that night against the Atlanta Hawks and finally put the adductor strain that sidelined him Feb. 8 for six weeks out of his mind.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Davis said. “Just go out there and play with a lot of energy, a lot of force, a lot of dominance.”
Dominate he did. The 10-time All-Star had 34 points (his most in six games with Dallas), 15 rebounds and five blocks (also a Dallas best) despite missing most of the second quarter after taking an elbow above his right eye as the Mavericks rallied from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Hawks 120-118.
“We go as he goes,” Mavericks guard Klay Thompson said. “He’s obviously our best player.”
Davis had 13 points in the first period, and scored the game’s final points on a driving floater with 3.4 seconds left. He moved to his left, shooting with his right hand.
“A shot that I’ve been shooting for a long time,” he said. “It’s a shot I’m very confident in.”
Davis spent time laying on the floor at the end of the first period after being struck by teammate Daniel Gafford and was taken to the locker room. He returned two minutes before halftime with a bandage over the eye having gotten four stitches.
“Probably my first time getting cut open,” Davis said. “Us Chicago kids are pretty tough.”
The game finished with Davis back on the floor, crashing into the scorer’s table after defending Atlanta’s final shot. Trae Young, who scored 25 points but only four in the second half, was short on a 26-foot 3-pointer with Davis lunging toward him.
A Mavericks team that a few weeks ago appeared headed for the lottery and was in danger of not meeting the NBA minimum for active players because of a flood of injuries sits ninth in the Western Conference with a 2 1/2-game cushion over 11th-place Phoenix with five games to play.
They lost nine-time All-Star Kyrie Irving on March 3 to a season-ending knee injury. Superstar Luka Doncic played his last game for the Mavericks on Christmas Day, and was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1 in the deal that brought Davis to Dallas. Then Davis was injured in his Dallas debut.
Davis returned last week and was joined this week by injured big men Daniel Gafford (out since Feb. 10) and Dereck Lively II (out since Jan. 14).
“With the guys we have, we definitely have enough to make some noise,” Davis said.
Davis remains on a minutes restriction, raised to 32 on Wednesday night. He played 30, missing the first 10 minutes of the second quarter.
“It’s good to see that he’s starting to get in a rhythm,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He was assertive from the beginning.”
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The Associated Press
