The Mavericks faced off with the Detroit Pistons at the American Airlines Center in a matchup of two teams with identical records and both in need of wins desperate to battle their way back into the playoff picture.

In a game that will be headlined by star performances from Luka Doncic and Blake Griffin, it was really the unsung heroes further down the roster that sealed the deal in a 106-101 Mavs win.  Here are my three biggest takeaways:

MAXI KLEBER! *CLAP-CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!*
The second year big man out of Wurzburg, Germany continues to steal everyone’s heart with his hustle, grit and insane defensive presence in the paint.

Maxi postgame: pic.twitter.com/vuUQL418aQ

— The People’s Tweeter (@RKonkle_Mavs) January 26, 2019

One night after soaking up a Justin Timberlake concert at the AAC, Maxi came ready to rock some bodies on Friday night… yeah, I don’t know about that one. He was really good!  The 26 year-old had a career high four three-pointers for twelve points and an insane FOUR blocked shots.  Two of those came at absolutely critical points down the stretch as the Mavericks were able to slow down Blake Griffin, who finished with 35 points, whenever it mattered the most.

Both Kleber and DeAndre Jordan battled hard to slow down the Pistons frontcourt of Griffin and Andre Drummond all night long with both Mavs bigs battling foul trouble.  The pair were able to play strong, clean defense late in the game and were absolutely vital to Dallas getting the stops it needed to seal the deal.

What’s the deal with the starting five?
Once again, the Mavericks starting five of Doncic, Smith Jr., Jordan, Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews gave a very uninspiring performance to start the game and the second half.  They were outscored 11-6 to start the game before Jordan picked up two quick fouls and then quickly gave up an eight point lead to start the third quarter after Detroit went on a 12-4 run out of the gates.

Matthews would leave the game midway through the third and never return.  The veteran wing played only 15 minutes on the night and went scoreless.  When asked after the game about if a change could be coming to the starting five, coach Rick Carlisle was unsurprisingly guarded in his answer.

“You’ll have to show up on Sunday and see.

Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. acknowledged after the game that something isn’t quite right, but neither were willing to offer their two cents on anything that could help the issue.

“I don’t know, man.  I’m not really sure,” Smith Jr. with a concerned tone. “We’re going to watch some film and figure out how we’re going to do it, but we need to change; and we need to start on Sunday.”

“We have to get better starts, for sure,” Doncic said postgame.  “I don’t know what would help, but we have to work on it, for sure, and get better starts.”

Luka and Dennis with strong nights
The Mavs electric pair of playmakers did a great job tonight to silence the critics who doubt their ability to coexist.  While Rick Carlisle’s tendency of the last two games to stagger their minutes beyond the starts and finishes of halves has limited the number of minutes the two play together, they’ve both played well in the last two games since Smith Jr. returned from his sabbatical.

Smith Jr. came out of the gates blazing 11 points and 3 assists on 5/6 shooting in the first quarter.  Doncic started relatively quiet before exploding in the second half to get himself to a 32 point, 8 rebound and 8 assist statline for the night.  A performance like that as a rookie put him among pretty elite company.

Teenagers to go 30-8-8: LeBron, Durant, and Doncic.

— Bobby Karalla (@bobbykaralla) January 26, 2019

In his two games since returning, Smith Jr. has averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists and has played 36 and 37 minutes.  All of those numbers are well above his season averages.  Hopefully this is a trend that can continue while Doncic remains successful as well.