Anthony Davis stars as Dallas Mavericks beat Atlanta Hawks

Dallas Mavericks’ talisman Anthony Davis came up with his best performance since the surprising trade with Luka Doncic as they defeated Atlanta Hawks by 120-118 on Wednesday night.

The former Laker scored the winning basket with 3.4 seconds left on the clock. Davis finished with 34 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks in 30 minutes as he brought his best to the court.

Klay Thompson said they wanted to follow in the footsteps of their best player and wanted to provide him all the support.

“To have a closer and a two-way player like Anthony, we all rally around him,” Mavs shooting guard Klay Thompson said. “We go as he goes. He’s obviously our best player, so he did what he was supposed to do. That was incredible.”

Mavs guard Spencer Dinwiddie showered praise on his teammate and he is hopeful of more such performances.

“That’s who he is,” Mavs guard Spencer Dinwiddie said. “I hope Dallas gets to see a lot of that, for both the city’s sake and his own. … He obviously wants to carry this team. He wants to perform.”

Davis was struggling to find his A-game since returning from injury as he was averaging 14.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.5 minutes.

Davis said it was all about playing freely to get the best out of himself after the injury setback.

“It’s just a mental hurdle of allowing my body to just be free,” said Davis, who received four stitches over his right eye after catching an inadvertent elbow from teammate Daniel Gafford at the end of the first quarter Wednesday. “Even though I’ve been pain-free and haven’t had any problems, I’ve always had a burst and then start thinking about it. I just made up my mind after my pregame nap, I was just going to play and just whatever happens, happens. Just go out there and just play with a lot of energy, a lot of force, a lot of dominance and was able to catch a rhythm.”

The Mavericks will next take on the LA Clippers on Friday.