Mavericks finally stop ignoring obvious key to Anthony Davis' domination

The Dallas Mavericks finally closed a game out where their lead was compromised late in the game after multiple blunders in that department in recent weeks, as the Mavericks beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-118 off the heels of a highly contested game-winning floater by Anthony Davis that put the Mavericks up two points with 3.4 seconds left in the contest.

Despite the Mavericks holding a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Atlanta clawed back into the contest off some stingy perimeter defense, and the Mavericks found themselves down three with under a minute left until Klay Thompson drained a 3-pointer off a dribble handoff with Davis. This game was massive for the Mavericks in their race to the Play-In Tournament, considering the Sacramento Kings dropped a game to the Washington Wizards tonight, as the Mavericks now have a one-and-a-half game lead for sole possession of the ninth seed in the Western Conference.

This game was also very big for the Mavericks from a morale standpoint, as Dereck Lively II finally returned from a stress fracture in his ankle that has kept him out for months. Though Lively II was on a minute restriction in the game, Dallas' size with the trio of Davis, Lively II, and Daniel Gafford was tantalizing for the Hawks throughout points in this game.

Mavs finally made a concerted effort to get Davis involved offensively

The most problematic of those three bigs for the Hawks was easily Davis though, as he had his best game in a Mavericks uniform without a shadow of a doubt. Besides hitting a tough game-winner going toward his non-dominant hand from the top of the key, Davis dominated the game in all aspects even after missing most of the second quarter because of getting elbowed in the eye by Daniel Gafford on accident, and the Mavericks got him involved offensively much better than they have been recently.

This was only Davis' fifth game back since returning from injury, and while he hasn't necessarily been struggling mightily from the field outside of some bad shooting performances versus the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls last week, Davis hasn't been nearly as assertive as fans are accustomed to seeing. Davis came out with a different tone and ferocity in his debut for the Mavericks versus the Houston Rockets, and while he had still played decent defense and team basketball over the past four games, fans hadn't seen that impactful two-way play finisher since February 8 until Wednesday night versus the Hawks.

The Mavericks were running multiple off-ball actions to get Davis involved as a screener in the pick and roll as well as to set up face-up and post-up opportunities in the midrange and nail area versus the Hawks on Wednesday night, and it seems like Davis' teammates are getting more comfortable figuring out where he wants the ball in certain scenarios.

Davis was aggressive in isolation opportunities, was hitting from outside and from the midrange, and did a great job with his spacing when probing off-ball. This was the first game since that Houston game where it was evident Davis looked near or at 100 percent from a health perspective, as he was fighting for every rebound, being timely with all of his defensive rotations, contesting vertically at the rim, as well as being a huge threat in the lob game.

Overall, Davis finished with a gaudy stat-line of 34 points on 14-23 shooting from the field, 15 rebounds, and five blocks in just 30 minutes of action. Lively II wasn't even fully available in this game, but his return highlights how huge of a benefit it is for Dallas to have three dynamic bigs, as Kidd can stagger their minutes in a way that keeps them fresh and gives them the least amount of chance to get re-injured, especially with Kai Jones as a fourth option.

Davis may not be the level of player that Luka Doncic is, but nights like this are a reminder that he is still widely considered a top-10 player in the NBA when fully healthy, and it's great to see his productivity scaling back toward a superstar level. If Wednesday night is a sign of more to come from Davis in Dallas down the stretch of this season, it will give fans a great preview of what this team could potentially look like once Kyrie Irving returns at some point next season, as it will be extremely difficult for Dallas to make any noise in the NBA Playoffs this season even if Davis continues to play better.