Dennis Smith scores 25 points in second summer league game with Mavericks

Dennis Smith looked much more comfortable in his second Vegas Summer League game with Dallas, and unsurprisingly, the results were better as well. Smith scored the first bucket of the game and finished the afternoon with 25 points on 8-14 shooting, including 3-5 shooting from three. He also had eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

He played under control but was also decisive, playing well off the pick-and-roll and taking advantage any time he had a big on him. The monstrous dunk he missed (see the tail end of the first embedded video below) was a good example of his mindset in this game.

DSJ also showed his competitive streak against fellow lottery pick Josh Jackson. Smith played with a chip on his shoulder against a kid who was drafted ahead of him, and toward the end of the fourth quarter he buried a step-back three in Jackson’s face. (Skip to 1:40 here to see that.) I don’t think he’s gonna be quick to forget about the eight teams that passed over him.

During the telecast, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joined the announcing crew to talk for a bit and had nothing but praise for Dennis Smith’s game, though he did relate this amusing story about a conversation he had with Dennis after the draft:

(Related: Really glad there was no such thing as Twitter when I was in high school.)

Here’s more from Cuban on DSJ. Good bit in there too about cutting through the BS that ended up becoming a part of Smith’s rep out of college.

Smith and the Mavs are off Monday but will be back in action on Tuesday night.