Daniel Gafford is a good player to watch when a possession has already done most of its work. The layup is available, the pass arrives, and there’s no particular reward for making the finish look harder. Dallas got 18 points from Gafford on eight shots in a 130-93 win over Brooklyn Sunday at American Airlines Center.
He made several different Mavericks look good for passing him the ball.
Gafford made seven of those eight field-goal attempts, collected five rebounds and handed out two assists in 19 minutes. He also blocked three shots. The line was efficient because Dallas did not ask him to solve difficult possessions. His job was to finish the advantage after someone else created it, clean up near the basket and make Brooklyn think twice about driving.
The defensive part arrived before his scoring became prominent. With 10:40 left in the first quarter, Gafford blocked Nolan Traore’s 6-foot driving layup. He secured the defensive rebound at 10:09, ending the possession rather than leaving Brooklyn another chance.
At 9:22, Gafford assisted Flagg on an 8-foot driving floater. At 8:51, he blocked Julius Randle’s two-point attempt. The sequence was not a single spectacular burst; it was a useful series of interior decisions, moving from rim protection to possession control to help for a scorer.
His first clear scoring sequence in the second quarter showed why the arrangement worked. At 11:06, Flagg found Gafford for a 3-foot layup, and Gafford added the free throw to put Dallas ahead 39-28. At 10:13, Flagg again supplied the assist, this time on a 3-foot jump bank shot.
Gafford made the ensuing free throw, pushing the margin to 44-30. Dallas won the quarter 33-20, and those close finishes helped turn pressure around the basket into points without requiring Gafford to dribble through a defense.
The partnership remained productive after halftime. Gafford converted a 1-foot hook shot at 9:50 of the third quarter and a 4-foot layup at 9:24, both set up by Flagg. At 8:57, Irving connected with him for a 1-foot alley-oop dunk.
Gafford added another dunk on Caleb Martin’s assist at 6:53, then finished one from Flagg at 5:17. Those baskets came while Dallas was already pulling away, but they still describe the role cleanly: creators draw the attention, and Gafford turns the opening into a finish before the defense can reset.
That economy complemented Dallas’ headline production. Flagg finished with 25 points and 12 assists, while Irving scored 21. The Mavericks made 48 of 84 shots, including 34 of 49 two-point attempts, and scored 64 points in the paint.
