The old Chandler Parsons stepping up for Mavericks

The last declaration from Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle concerning Chandler Parsons was that the small forward probably wouldn’t have his game totally back until after the Feb. 14 All-Star Game.

Uh, that declaration might need to be revisited.

Over the past two games, Parsons was been so good that he was able to establish his best two-game stretch of the season.

In Wednesday’s 106-94 overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Parsons scored a season-high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting. And in Friday’s 109-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the fifth-year veteran scored 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting.

Those 26 points represent Parsons’ second-highest point total of the season and capped his first two-game stretch of 25 points or more this season. As a result, it might be safe to say he has finally recovered from the hybrid microfracture surgery he had on his right knee May 1.

“I’m just trying to string a couple [of games] together,” Parsons said. “The knee felt fine and I’m shooting the ball with a very high level of confidence right now, so at that point, it’s a positive.”

Parsons has been working out with teammate Dirk Nowitzki in an attempt to put more arc on his flat shot. The results speak for themselves.

“He’s been phenomenal,” Nowitzki said. “There’s weeks in the season when his offense is high, and you can tell. He’s stepping into shots, he’s in a rhythm now, and he thinks in his head every shot is going in. He’s aggressive.”

That aggressiveness enabled Parsons to average 24 points and six rebounds on the Mavs’ recent 2-1 homestand, in which he shot 57.4 percent from the field (27 of 47) and 61.1 percent from 3-point range (11 of 18).

“I’m just trying to be aggressive, trying to continue to play within the flow of the offense, but I feel good,” Parsons said. “Every shot I take I think it’s going in. I’m getting to the basket easy, I’m getting to the free-throw line more, I made my free throws [Friday when he was 6-of-6 from the line]. So it’s definitely a positive step forward.”

A positive step for a Mavericks team in need of another scorer to take some of the pressure off Nowitzki, who is questionable for Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. game at the Toyota Center against the Houston Rockets due to a right knee effusion.

“Like I said after the last game, opponents are starting to realize he’s shooting the ball better, and that opens up his driving game,” Nowitzki said of Parsons. “Guys got to go for his pump fake.

“Guys got to close out a little harder on him again, and that opens up his drive where he’s really, really good after going in the paint with his long steps and either finishing for himself or making plays for others.”

Mejri shines

The Mavericks are really excited about how third-string center Salah Mejri was able to come off the bench Friday against Oklahoma City in the final 7:59 and get them back in the game with his high energy.

Dallas was down 95-80 when Mejri entered the game for the first time. He quickly scored five points, but more impressively the 7-foot-2 Tunisian blocked two shots at the rim by Thunder All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

“Great blocks — he came out of nowhere,” Nowitzki said. “He’s really long. He changed the game for us there in a positive way. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get over the hump.”

Mejri had 17 points and nine rebounds in a Jan. 13 game against the Thunder.

“He was instrumental in us coming back,” point guard Deron Williams said. “He did a lot of great things on both ends of the floor. He just gave us a lot of energy. He was going to the basket and finishing, he came up with that huge block and he made his presence felt on the defensive end.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 8:12 PM with the headline "The old Chandler Parsons stepping up for Mavericks."