Mavericks rookie Justin Anderson has provided Dallas a spark

Justin Anderson’s game log is filled with a bunch of DNP-CDs — Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision.

That’s the life of a rookie drafted to a Dallas Mavericks team filled with veterans. But a lot has changed for Anderson.

Over the past three games, the rookie small forward from Virginia has played 53 minutes, scored 24 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked two shots. He has shot 8-of-19 from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers.

It’s the best three-game stretch of Anderson’s short career as he’s steadily showing signs of making the transition from the college to the NBA game.

“He’s been doing a lot of good things for the last week or 10 days,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s been getting an opportunity to play, which he has earned with consistency, with hard work, with understanding his role on the team.

“We knew he was a special kid when we drafted him. It’s been an arduous process getting to the point where he is now, where he understands what his job is on the team and how to really funnel his energies, but he’s doing a good job. He just got to continue with it.”

The 6-foot-6 Anderson grabbed a career-high seven rebounds Wednesday against the Miami Heat, and followed that by scoring a career-high 13 points Friday against the San Antonio Spurs. From there he had a major impact — six points, four rebounds — on Saturday when the Mavs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 114-110 overtime victory in Memphis.

The energy, the heart, the desire Anderson brought to the court against the gritty Grizzlies was precisely what the Mavs (29-25) needed.

“I just wanted to make sure I bring a level of energy and just play as hard as I can to try to help our team win, or put our team in a position to try to win,” Anderson said. “I think as a whole we really sacrificed ourselves and we played extremely hard.

“And I think when we play like that we’re a tough team to match up with. So I think overall we had a great night.”

The 21st player drafted in the first round last summer, Anderson stayed the course while learning when and where he could contribute for the Mavs, who host Utah on Tuesday.

And if he can rebound the way he did Saturday when he seemingly skied out of nowhere twice to grab rebounds in traffic, he may earn himself more playing time.

“We obviously know we have an older crew, not the most athletic crew, and he can impact the game for us with energy, with going hard on both ends of the floor,” forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “He got two rebounds out of the air that were really impressive.

“He looks like he knows more what he’s doing out there, and he’s been a nice little change of pace for us.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Mavericks rookie Justin Anderson has provided Dallas a spark."