Dallas didn't need Santi Aldama to carry the offence against Brooklyn. That's precisely why his 12-point contribution in Sunday's 130–93 win was worth noticing: the Mavericks found another source of efficient scoring without taking the ball away from Cooper Flagg or Kyrie Irving.
Aldama scored 12 points in 14 minutes and 39 seconds, making five of seven shots and two of four three-pointers in his second appearance of the season. It was a compact burst rather than a featured role, but Dallas had plenty of room for that sort of contribution in a game it controlled from start to finish. The official Mavericks box score also records two rebounds, one steal and three turnovers for the reserve forward.
The wider numbers explain the opportunity. Dallas shot 57.1 per cent from the field and made 14 of 35 threes. Flagg delivered 25 points and a career-high 12 assists, Irving scored 21 and Daniel Gafford converted seven of eight shots for 18 points. With Flagg creating advantages and Gafford finishing around the basket, a forward who can step outside and punish an open look gives the offence another way to stretch a defence.
Aldama's two threes were useful in that context. They accounted for six of his 12 points and came on four attempts, while his other three makes came inside the arc. That mix matters more than the raw total: he didn't have to dominate possessions to contribute, and his shooting offered a different option from Gafford's work near the rim. Dallas scored 64 points in the paint, so Brooklyn was already under pressure to protect the interior.
There was a limit to the night, too, and it was a specific one. Aldama finished minus-two despite the 37-point victory and committed three turnovers in fewer than 15 minutes. Those figures don't erase his scoring, but they show why this was a useful offensive cameo rather than a complete two-way statement. The Reuters match report noted that Aldama and Zaccharie Risacher supplied 12 and 11 points respectively as Dallas' supporting cast helped widen the margin.
The Mavericks' reserves outscored Brooklyn's bench 58–31, an important detail in a contest that was effectively decided before the fourth quarter. Dallas led 66–46 at half-time and 100–71 after three periods. That gave the coaching staff space to use a broad rotation while the starters' work had already established control. Aldama's scoring belongs in that wider picture of depth rather than as an isolated box-score curiosity.
Dallas moved to 6–4 with its second straight victory, while Brooklyn fell to 2–8. For the Mavericks, the headline remains Flagg's passing and the team's overwhelming shot-making. The quieter takeaway is that Aldama has already shown he can add quick points from a supporting role. If Dallas keeps generating clean looks through Flagg and Irving, a reserve forward who can finish inside and hit from deep is an option worth using.
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