Mavericks forward joins elite company in NBA history, sets career-high against Knicks

The Dallas Mavericks fell 128-113 to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, allowing the Knicks to shoot nearly 60% from the floor and have two different players put up triple-doubles against them. Dallas just ran out of gas in the third quarter, where the Knicks outscored them 30-16. But one Maverick showed up and showed out.

Naji Marshall poured in 38 points on 17/25 shooting, a career-high for the undrafted forward from Xavier. He's been a revelation for Dallas this season after coming over from New Orleans, but no one expected performances like this out of him.

Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) shoots the ball during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

But it was the first half where Naji Marshall joined an elite company. He ended the first 24 minutes with 28 points on 13/15 shooting, joining Luka Doncic, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James as the only players since play-by-play tracking started in the 1996-97 season to make 13 field goals in a first half against the Knicks. Three Lakers legends and Naji Marshall.

Naji Marshall joins Luka, LeBron & Kobe pic.twitter.com/oRiaHVXUK2
— Panda Hank (a broken fan) (@pandahank41) March 26, 2025

But that wasn't the only thing he did. According to the Mavs PR team, he joined Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Al Jefferson, Bison Dele, and Luis Scola as the only players in the play-by-play tracking era to score at least 28 points in a half while making one or fewer three-pointers AND one or fewer free throws. It was a heck of a night for Marshall.

In the play-by-play era (since 1996-97), Marshall joined Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Al Jefferson, Bison Dele and Luis Scola as the only players to record at least 28 pts in a half while making one-or-fewer 3-pointers and one-or-fewer free throw, per @bball_ref.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) March 26, 2025

Over the last 10 games, Marshall has averaged 22.6 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 3.9 APG while trying to carry the injured Mavericks to the Play-In Tournament. Besides a strange illness that lingered for a long time early in the season, he's been one of the healthier players on the team and is quickly outplaying the three-year, $27 million deal he signed last offseason.

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