Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford scored his 27th point of the team’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night, setting a new career-high for his most points scored in a game. Gafford’s previous career-high was 26, something he accomplished in 2023, per StatMuse. However, the Pelicans narrowly defeated the Mavericks by a final score of 119-116 on Wednesday night.
The Mavs knew the game was going to be a challenge, as Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic , Dereck Lively IIand Dante Exum were all out because of injuries. Irving was initially listed as doubtful before ultimately being ruled out before tip-off. It was clear the Mavericks needed someone else to step up.
Daniel Gafford answered the call.
“It means a lot for us,” PJ Washington said of Gafford’s performance. “We need Gaff (Gafford)… He’s a great player. We got a lot of good players on this team… I love playing with guys who give their all every night and Gaff does that so, overall just a great player and I’m just happy he had a great game tonight.”
“Gaff was great,” Jason Kidd added. “What he did for us, that’s just kind of what he’s done when he has started. We needed that game from him.”
The Mavericks center led the way with 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds in a double-double effort. He also missed just one shot, going 12-13 from the field. Jaden Hardy added 21 points and Spencer Dinwiddie added 20, but the Mavs still fell short in the end.