Mavericks get multiple EXCITING updates...

The Rockets were 5-0 and were looking forward to being 6-0. They were up 84-76 going into the fourth quarter and the Mavericks outscored them 40-27. Three straight wins after a start where people were talking about 0-6 for Dusty May's squad. His first words after it, quote, were extremely excited to win a game that was in the trenches. And that's not even the best part. Dusty May had a lot to say after this game, and almost all of it was good news. The stars, the role players, the injuries, and the bench, we have it all. Now, if you want every single exciting Mavs update the day it drops, well hit subscribe because we're currently at 26,669 and the next goal, of course, is getting to that 27,000 mark. Now, let's rewind a bit because 10 days ago, nobody was calling this team exciting. The Mavericks opened up in Houston and lost 128 to 110. However, Cooper Flagg scored 32 that night, but it still wasn't close. They went on to Indiana where they won 121 to 105, which should have been the turn, except Flagg then hurt his shoulder in that game and of course left. And May didn't hide from it after the loss to the Rockets, saying, quote, They outworked us, to be honest. They did a better job, he said about the Mavs, and how they're losing the principles in transition defense, and they lost their urgency. Now, in that first game, they were down 30 at the half. The Mavericks were 0-1 with a new coach, a new system, and two stars who had barely played together. But he also pointed at something. Of Irving, he said that in the second half, quote, He showed his true character, being a leader when things weren't going well, and, of the bench, they were cheering for each other. After their win in Indiana, they were without Flagg, they were without Kyrie against a very good San Antonio Spurs team, and fell 122-106. Two losses in the first three games, and 1-5 started being the conversation. Instead, they went to Miami and won 113-109 on October 26th. Flagg had 29 points, 11 assists, and 5 steals just two days after that shoulder sprain and scored the game-deciding points. Two nights later, Oklahoma City came to Dallas, and the Mavs were victorious 120-96. That was Dusty May's first home win as a Mavericks coach, and it put the Mavericks in a very good spot moving forward. So now the month ends at 4-2. The talk of an 0-6 October was premature, but it's something that the Mavericks can kind of use as fuel. And let's just think about how that's changed. On October 21st, Mays said the Mavs wanted to get to the free throw line more, and that Flagg was the best way to do it in the paint. This time, Flagg went 7-10 at the line and Irving went 6-6. The Mavs went from a team that couldn't hold its composure to the team that outscored the unbeaten Rockets by 13 in the fourth quarter. And that is just one part of the exciting updates we got from Dusty May after this one. Kyrie Irving had 35 points on 12-19 shooting and 26 of them came in the second half. He went 6-for-6 to the line and he owns the longest active made free throw streak in the NBA and that streak runs through the ACL injury he's coming back from. Cooper Flagg had 33 on 13 of 19 from the field, and a week earlier, he had just sprained his left shoulder in Indiana. We didn't know what the future was or whether or not that shoulder was going to be a big cause for him this season. Well, instead, he just missed the Spurs game, and he played 39 minutes against Houston. And here's how May described it. Having two of them at the end of the game? Well, what a problem. When you're in a pickle where two guys like that just have it going, then, well, it's obviously a luxury for us. He said it was tough for one guy to do it over and over, and having two closers? Well, it makes you feel very good, confident, and moving forward into close games. And the defense still had to answer on the other end, so he liked that they could share the load. That's what a real closing duo looks like. This was Kyrie Irving's best game since February 25th of 2025. 35 points is the most he's scored since then. The date is the reason, and the game matters. He was out for 19 months with a torn ACL, and 26 of the 35 points came after halftime. The jumper that put Dallas up 102-100 for good was his, and he went 5-of-8 from 3 on the night. May was asked about the fourth quarter, and he kept it simple, quote, don't overcomplicate it, just get the right matchup on him and let him go to work. And then the line to remember. That's why his stat line is 35-9-4. That looks great, and it's obviously impressive, but his leadership and his grace with his teammates is more impressive to me than anything else. There's also one more update, and it's about how fast Cooper Flagg is moving. Through his first 75 career games, Flagg has 1,607 points. That is second in franchise history, just next to Luka Doncic at 1,614. Read that over again. He is within 7 points of what Luka did over the same stretch, and Luka, He was the face of the franchise, Cooper, now trying to be that prince to take over. And of course, he did this all a week after a shoulder sprain, going 13-19 from the field on a night when he went 0-4 from behind the arc. His 33 came inside the arc and at the line where he was 7-10. Kyrie Irving said he's as clutch as anyone he's seen, and ESPN noticed it too. A clutch bucket from Flag after each Rockets miss down the stretch. Down 8 going into the 4th, the Mavs got Houston, a team that started the quarter 1-11. And of course, they started it and went on to go 40 points in the fourth. Dallas had 28 fast break points to Houston's 10, so the defense was turning into offense. Daniel Gafford at 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a team best plus 10. May was honest about him. He said Gafford was, quote, probably having his worst game of the year in the first quarter and the second half was just another level. Then, quote, those are energizing, momentum-changing plays. And then to step up and knock down the free throws at the biggest moment, just big winning play after winning play. And to give credit all over the roster, P.J.'s rebounds and traffic late, I think he had three of those in the last few minutes. And we need all of them. Obviously, Zach in the second half. P.J. Washington shot one of eight and still had 10 rebounds, seven of them in the fourth quarter. Zachary Shea came off the bench for 12 points, 6 rebounds and three steals and is still playing lights out defense. Now, obviously, it wasn't perfect. Houston had 20 offensive boards, but Mays said it wasn't effort. It was, quote, poor judgment, or maybe we got too far in help and couldn't block out. That's fixable. And he liked the ball security. Quote, we took care of the ball better and we had 17, and that's still better than a game one. Honestly, 17 is a lot, but he's right. It's about the direction this team is going. Houston was without Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, and Steven Adams, so it was a shorthanded Rockets team, but Kevin Durant still scored 28 and then were 5-0. You're going to take it, especially when you're still out, Dereck Lively, Sergio de la Raya, and of course, you're still missing Santi Aldama alongside him. And the ending was tight. Kevin Durant missed two free throws down two with 1.53 left, and Houston's Thompson missed two more with 42 seconds to go. Houston shot 24 of 33 at the line, and every single miss mattered. Gafford also got hurt in that stretch as well. He rolled onto Durant's foot with about a minute left, but somehow he came back and made two free throws with 11 seconds left with Dallas up one. May's quote big winning play was literal. Now to injury updates. Caleb Martin missed the first four games of the Thunder sprain. However, last night he played 25 minutes, eight points on three of five shooting, and the Mavs were plus seven with him on the court. May said this on Caleb, saying, quote, Caleb Martin back the last couple of games from injury, and he's been showing what he is a winning player. Najee Marshall sat out because of an illness. Mase said, quote, he hasn't practiced and we were worried illness. And they thought that they could get through this one without him. And they ultimately were right. But still concern is there for Najee. Now, the next game is the Kings on Monday. So he does have two days to try and get right. The long-term list is still long. Dereck Lively and Santi Aldama are out after surgery still. Santi is progressing, but he's still not there yet. Tarek Bobrovic has a heel issue, and Sergio de la Raya has a knee sprain. According to Dusty May, Bobrovic is a little farther back than Aldama. Aldama is closer than anyone else, and de la Raya will be re-evaluated in a week. ESPN lists November 2nd as the earliest return date for the three of them. And this is, again, ESPN's date, not Dusty's. As we said, de la Rea is probably going to be re-evaluated in a week. Aldama is close, but we don't exactly know how close. But even Lively, who is out, got a shout out from me saying, quote, I want to shout out Derek Lively. He's a big part of that. His energy is contagious and he's got such a positive spirit to him. He said this about the bench and cheers for each other. And overall, it just tells you, one, how good of an atmosphere Masai Ujiri and Dusty May are creating, but two, how connected this team is. And I don't think they were doing that last season. In the numbers, they say it wasn't a fluke. Dallas is fifth in the NBA in true shooting percentage at 59.4, up from 28th from last season. Offensive rating is at 11th, 114.1, up from 27th as well. May was asked about whether this group is special, and his answer is the entire video. Quote, I haven't been around very many teams, but this group feels like a very special group of human beings first, and they're working like crazy to get better at basketball. And on the roster, he thanked the front office, quote, We're deep. We're young. We have great character more than anything else. So here's my question. A week ago, people were saying, Oh, a 1-5 start, a 0-6 team, really. I don't know about that. We just beat a 5-0 Rockets team after beating Oklahoma City Thunder team. I understand both teams were injured, but they're looking solid. Now, is this a top-five team in the West? Drop your answer down in the comments section. The Kings are on Monday, and of course, we'll see you in the meantime before that with more injury updates and news to come. We'll also be live on that game as well, so we'll see you then for now. Peace out.