Green’s game is one of the key moments in the victory over the Pelicans.

Hats off to the Dallas Mavericks for doing what they had to do on Thursday and jumping on a New Orleans team that had all sorts ofJosh travel problems just trying to get to Dallas.

The Pelicans lost the game in Denver on Tuesday night and were due to leave Mile High City and fly to Dallas on Wednesday. But Mother Nature had other ideas.

Not only that, the Pelicans were unable to leave Denver on Wednesday due to black ice in Dallas. But they didn’t arrive in Dallas until 1:30 a.m. Thursday, just six hours before their game against the Mavs kicked off.

Knowing this, the Mavs ran and ran and ran until they went 40-22 after the first quarter and 62-31 midway through the second quarter. That strategy worked when the Mavs — coupled with Monday’s win over the Detroit Pistons — came out of home with a great 2-0 record.

“All wins are important, especially before the All-Star break,” said coach Jason Kidd. “This is often where teams can split up.

“But coming out of the house with two wins (good) and now we have a tough five-game trip right before the break.”

Here are three takeaways from a five-point victory over the Pelicans.

THE GREEN STAR RISES: Right before our eyes, Josh Green is steadily becoming a rising star. I understand. Green doesn’t have the cash like some other “name” stars who roll from the language of the average NBA fan. But what he does for the Mavs is very important. The energy he brings to the floor, the well-timed shots, rebounds and defensive stoppages he makes were the focus of attention during Thursday’s game. Dorianvictory over the Pelicans. Green finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and two key assists in the fourth quarter to help the Mavs win over New Orleans.

DONCIC STARTED IT ALL: As usual, Luka Doncic got the Mavs off to a terrific start on Thursday, scoring 21 points in the first quarter. Doncic was 7 of 11 from the field – 2 of 5 from three-point range – and 5 of 6 from the free throw line in the first quarter alone. This is the second straight game in which he has scored at least 20 points in the first quarter after scoring 24 points in the first quarter during Monday’s win over the Detroit Pistons. The last player to score at least 20 points in the first quarter in consecutive games was Tracey McGrady in 2003 with the Orlando Magic.

FINNEY-SMITH STRONG AS A ROCK: Dorian Finney-Smith does a lot of the dirty work for the Mavs. This is work that goes unnoticed by the casual fan, but work that is very important during the game. When Finney-Smith isn’t chasing point guards or scoring shooting guards all over the court, he ducks and tries to stop the opposing team’s scoring forward. And in his free time, Finney-Smith will fight the other team’s center, although he may refuse four or five inches. On Thursday, Finney-Smith finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Twitter: @DwainPrice

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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