ORLANDO, Fla. — On Jaden Hardy’s fifth and final 3-point make of Thursday’s game against the Orlando Magic, the Dallas Mavericks guard was assisted twice.
Once by Anthony Davis and once by a higher power.
Davis drove toward the middle of the floor, and a pack of Magic defenders converged. He kicked the ball to Hardy, who was waiting on the left wing. Hardy’s shot bounced on the rim three times before falling in.
“It felt good,” Hardy said. “I felt like that was God right there. I felt like it was God that did that one.”
WATCH IT FALL 😱 pic.twitter.com/t0N6Ir51aA
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 28, 2025
Hardy’s make increased the Mavericks’ lead to nine points with 1 minute, 53 seconds to play. The Mavericks beat the Magic 101-92 on the road, allowing Dallas to creep a half-game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for 10th place in the tightly contested Western Conference Play-In Tournament race.
The Mavericks (36-38) have been snakebitten by injuries this season. Yet they have remained competitive enough to stay a part of the postseason race as NBA teams sprint toward the regular-season finish line. Dallas is 2-1 on a four-game road trip that concludes Saturday in Chicago.
The offensive production the Mavericks got from their bench was the difference in Thursday’s game. Three Dallas reserve guards scored in double figures. Hardy had a team-high 22 points, Brandon Williams contributed 14 points and Max Christie tallied 12 points.
The Mavericks bench outscored the Magic bench 57-19.
“The fight, the togetherness, you can see it on a nightly basis,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “The character is high. You have guys who are fighting to get back from injury.”
Davis is one of the Dallas players who has battled back from injury. The 32-year-old made it clear Monday that waiting to return next season was not an option he considered. Davis might have had one of his worst offensive performances of the season in Orlando — scoring 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting — but it’s unlikely Dallas would have won without him.
“I put pressure on myself to be great,” Davis said. “Everyone was telling me, ‘Bro, you missed six weeks. It’s your second game back.’ Trying to find a rhythm. Most importantly, we got the win.”
At halftime, Dallas trailed Orlando 50-43. The Magic’s lead swelled to 11 points at the 5:17 mark of the third quarter on Paolo Banchero’s driving dunk. In the rest of the quarter, the Mavericks outscored the Magic 20-2. Dallas forced Orlando into turnovers and contested jump shots, and it benefited from Williams, Hardy and Davis connecting on timely baskets.
Davis’ 3-point make from the left wing with 11.6 seconds in the third punctuated the turnaround. Dallas took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter, which was enough cushion against an Orlando team that entered the game ranked 27th in offense and had another woeful shooting performance.
“AD has been great since he got here,” Hardy said. “Coming in, we welcomed him. He’s cool. Making everyone feel comfortable. When he’s out there on the floor, I feel like we’re a different team. We can play off of him. His ability to bring the ball up. Initiate the offense. When he’s out there, we move the ball well and have fun.”
The Mavericks are 3-0 with Davis in the lineup this season. On Feb. 8, they beat the Houston Rockets at home in the only game Davis played with Kyrie Irving.
The Mavericks know they won’t be completely whole again this season; Irving’s ACL tear in his left knee has a recovery timetable of eight-to-12 months. But there is at least optimism that Dallas can roll out the frontcourt it imagined when it traded for Davis in February. Centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford both played three-on-three with the Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, last week.
“Hopefully, Gaff and D-Live are next to be due back playing,” Kidd said.
Irving’s injury eliminated any chance Dallas had of being contenders this season. That doesn’t mean the Mavericks have stopped pushing forward. Their goal is to win enough to get into the Play-In Tournament. If they can get Gafford and Lively back, they’re capable of winning their way into the playoffs, where a first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder would await.
“Having those two towers back, man, on both ends of the floor, it would be (big),” Davis said. “Obviously, we don’t want them rushing back. We want to make sure they take their time and get 100 percent healthy. But if and when they do, it’s going to take more time to kind of get adjusted to them being on the floor.
“Once we get whole — well, we won’t be whole because (Kyrie) — but once we get whole, we’ll see where it goes. We’ll take it one game at a time and let those guys get back right. We’ll be focused on winning basketball games and figuring out this battle between us and Phoenix.”
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(Photo of Anthony Davis and Wendell Carter Jr.: Jeremy Reper / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
