DALLAS (AP) — If the Dallas Mavericks can get mostly healthy by mid-March, there should be time for the defending Western Conference champions to play their way into a decent playoff position.
Coach Jason Kidd understands it might be a big “if.”
Click to Gallery
Dallas Mavericks' Dereck Lively II, left, who is recovering from injury works with assistant coach Sean Sweeney, right, at the end of NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, right, talks with team staff at the end of an NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks newly-acquired player Moses Brown responds to question during a news conference after NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd responds to questions during a news conference after an NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks' Anthony Davis, center, talks with team staff at the end of NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis is introduced before an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
“You're never guaranteed to be healthy,” Kidd said Thursday after the Mavericks announced that recently acquired star Anthony Davis will be out at least two more weeks but is making “good progress” in recovery from a groin injury sustained in his Dallas debut.
“Beginning of the season, we had injuries right off the bat,” Kidd said. “And so it would be great to get healthy. But if we're not healthy, we've got to deal with the cards that we have and put guys in a position to be successful.”
The Mavericks are eighth in the West heading into their return from the All-Star break Friday night at home against last-place New Orleans. Dallas is well within range of the top six, which would avoid the play-in tournament.
“I would say that our goals are still attainable,” Kidd said. “It’s a matter of, ‘Can we get healthy?’”
Davis was dominant in the first half of his only game with the Mavericks against Houston on Feb. 8, but pulled up lame late in the third quarter of Dallas' 116-105 victory.
The 10-time All-Star had missed his last two games with the Lakers because of an abdominal injury before the seismic trade that sent fellow superstar Luka Doncic to Los Angeles. Davis then sat the first two games he could have played for Dallas before suiting up against the Rockets.
“He's doing better,” Kidd said. “I saw him in the weight room and then on the court shooting, so a lot of positive stuff. It's always good to see.”
The groin injury only intensified criticism of Dallas general manager Nico Harrison over a trade that infuriated many Mavericks fans. Doncic was out the last five-plus weeks of his Dallas career with a calf injury that has plagued the 25-year-old the past few seasons, but the 31-year-old Davis has a much longer history of injuries.
Davis' absence is the biggest for a depleted Dallas frontcourt. The top three centers — Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell — are out with injuries and have no timelines for a return. Powell is the closest of the three to being ready.
Forward P.J. Washington Jr., a key piece of the deep playoff run last season after being acquired before the trade deadline, sprained an ankle the same day Davis went down. Washington is listed as questionable against the Pelicans.
Lively, the promising second-year pro who has battled injuries since the Mavs drafted him in the first round in 2023, has a stress fracture in his ankle. The 21-year-old hasn't played since Jan. 14.
Gafford sprained a knee Feb. 10 against Sacramento and could miss several weeks. Powell hasn't played in a month because of a hip injury, but went through non-contact drills Thursday and is expected to be listed as doubtful against New Orleans.
The Mavericks added 7-foot-2 center Moses Brown on a 10-day contract, giving them a second option until others get healthy. In the last two games before the break, the only healthy big man on the roster was 7-foot Kylor Kelley. The 27-year-old rookie on a two-way contract hasn’t played much even with the depleted frontcourt.
The 25-year-old Brown has played for seven teams in six seasons, including the Mavericks in 2021-22. His longest stint was 43 games with Oklahoma City in 2020-21, when he also had his career highs at 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Brown’s career averages are 5.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
“I see it as a big opportunity,” Brown said. “They’re going to need size to be able to bang and to deal with the guys that we’re playing against these coming weeks. I’m here for it. I’m 100% ready.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Dallas Mavericks' Dereck Lively II, left, who is recovering from injury works with assistant coach Sean Sweeney, right, at the end of NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, right, talks with team staff at the end of an NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks newly-acquired player Moses Brown responds to question during a news conference after NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd responds to questions during a news conference after an NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks' Anthony Davis, center, talks with team staff at the end of NBA basketball practice at the team's training facility in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis is introduced before an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Keionte Scott peeked over at the Miami sideline to see the reaction of his teammates as he sprinted 72 yards untouched for a touchdown returning an interception against defending national champion Ohio State.
They certainly were excited, as were a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver and a former coach who won national championships with the Hurricanes.
Scott picked off a screen pass by Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin, Carson Beck threw a touchdown pass and 10th-ranked Miami shocked the Buckeyes 24-14 on Wednesday night at the Cotton Bowl in the first College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
“I was full of emotions. ... That was a pretty cool moment,” said Scott, who has TD returns on both of his interceptions this season. “Just having fun. ... That’s what this team relies on, man, just going out there playing free and just having fun.”
The Hurricanes (12-2, CFP No. 10 seed) have won two playoff games to get into football’s final four after needing an at-large berth to make the 12-team field, after not even playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. One more win and they will get to play for a national championship in their home stadium.
Next for Miami in coach Mario Cristobal’s fourth season is a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 against No. 3 seed Georgia or No. 6 seed Ole Miss, the SEC teams in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.
There hasn’t been a national title for “The U” since 2001, which was their fifth; Cristobal was a standout offensive tackle for the Hurricanes in their 1989 and 1991 championship seasons. The Hurricanes were denied a repeat championship in 2002 with a double-overtime loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State, the only other time the teams met in a bowl — and the last Miami played in that game.
“It is 100% not about me. I’m part of their team, I’m a part of that family,” Cristobal said. “It is my obligation as a former Miami Hurricane player and all the things that Miami did for my brother and I to do my best to try to provide these guys with even better opportunities so they can fulfill all the great things they are destined for.”
Before receiver Michael Irvin and coach Jimmy Johnson were Super Bowl champions with the Dallas Cowboys, they were part of the Hurricanes' 1987 national championship. Irvin excitedly ran down the sideline while Scott was scoring for a 14-0 lead, and Johnson was nearby when acknowledged by Cristobal during the on-field trophy presentation.
Now it's third-ranked Ohio State (12-2, CFP No. 2 seed), which went into the game as a 9 1/2-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, that can't win back-to-back national titles for the first time in program history.
The Buckeyes hadn't played since a 13-10 loss to now-No. 1 Indiana in a Big Ten championship game matchup of undefeated teams on Dec. 6. They still got a first-round bye, then lost just like all four teams that went directly to the quarterfinal round in the inaugural 12-team playoff last season.
“We worked really hard during the last three weeks leading up to this game to come out of the gates and win the first quarter, win the first half, be ready to go,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. “I think the guys bought into it. But at the end of the day, we didn’t get it done.”
Scott's interception return came only 1:42 after Beck's quick pass to Mark Fletcher Jr. out of the backfield for a 9-yard score.
Beck, who was part of Georgia's national titles in 2021 and 2022 when Stetson Bennett was the starter, completed 19 of 26 passes for 138 yards.
When asked what stood out to him about these Hurricanes, Beck said, “Just the way that this team has responded to adversity. We knew coming into today that it wasn’t going to be easy.”
The TD throw to Fletcher, who also ran 19 times for 90 yards and was the game's offensive MVP, was the seventh of 13 consecutive completions for Beck. That set a record in the Cotton Bowl, which was played for the 90th time.
Sayin, a freshman backup behind Will Howard for Ohio State's championship run last season, was 22 of 35 for 287 yards with two interceptions and a TD to Jeremiah Smith. Sayin was sacked five times.
AP All-America receiver Smith, the Miami native, caught seven of those passes for 157 yards, including a 14-yard TD on a fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Carter Davis added a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter and ChaMar Brown ran for a 5-yard TD in the game's final minute for the Hurricanes, whose 24 points were the most Ohio State gave up this season.
Miami: The Hurricanes have won six games in a row since an overtime loss Nov. 1 at SMU, less than 25 miles from AT&T Stadium, where the Cotton Bowl is played. They also made their CFP debut in the Lone Star State, winning 10-3 at No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round on Dec. 20.
Ohio State: All-America safety Caleb Downs, who started in the CFP for the third season in a row, became the first player to force two fumbles in a CFP game. ... The Buckeyes had gone four consecutive quarters — the equivalent of a full game — until Bo Jackson’s 1-yard TD run to cap its opening drive of the second half.
Miami waits to see who it will play in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State is scheduled to open the the 2026 season at home against Ball State on Sept. 5.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Former NFL football players Ray Lewis, left, and Michael Irvin react after Miami running back Charmar Brown, not visible, scored a rushing touchdown during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, right, hugs defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr. following the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, center, is sacked by Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., left, and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Miami quarterback Carson Beck, right, prepares to hand off to running back Mark Fletcher Jr. during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding, with Joe McGuire holding, misses a field goal against Miami during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day looks o during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Miami Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Miami defensive back Jakobe Thomas, right, makes a tackle on Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
