By james art 
Dallas – Dallas Maverix needed a stabilizer, entering the unofficial second half of the season after three weeks, full of turmoil and uncertainty.
This familiar presence came in the form of Kiri Irving, their lonely representative in the All-Star game. Erving gave the All-Star performance of 35 points to bring Mavericks to win 111-103 over New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
PJ Washington, who made a definite return from absence of three games, was also a major figure in the first victory of Mavericks Post All-Star.
Washington was prevented by right-wing ankle in the three games leading to the All-Star break, but the extra time helped Mavericks regain some of their identity, which was taken away from a brutal stretch of luck. He scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds to help Mavericks win his third consecutive game and improve to 31-26.
Washington had 20 of its 24 points in the first half. He was aggressive with his drive to the rim and knocked out 3-tellers in a timely manner.
Irving turned the switch and scored 13 of his 35 points in the third quarter.
Washington average 22.5 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 theft and 1.7 blocks in the six games before its injury against Houston on February 8.
Naji Marshall, who enjoys his race against his former team, added 15 points and 10 rebounds to help Mavericks split the serial series against Pelicans, 2-2. Marshall, who spent four seasons in New Orleans, was lively all night. His most expressive moment came when he put his sailing for signature over the security of Pelican Jose Alvarado in the third quarter. Marshall, 6 feet-7, put his hand near the court, signaling that the 6-foot guard was underdeveloped and overcome.
Max Christie continued his star game with another game of at least 15 points, ending with 16 to 6-from-7 firing from the pitch. Christie is slowly becoming a reliable option for insult that will be needed while Anthony Davis, Derek Lively II and Daniel Gafford are aside with injuries.
The low pelicans, who entered the game with the second worst record in the NBA, fell to 13-43. Zion Williamson was a dominant presence in paint and ended with 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. He was a permanent visitor to the free throws with seven rules in his 11 attempts. Williamson made a coherent effort to take advantage of the exhausted Dallas Frontcourt and attacked the basket as far as he could within his minutes.
Trey Murphy III added 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pelicans. CJ Mccollum had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
The game on Friday was the debut of Moses Brown, a 7-foot-2 center, which signed a 10-day contract with Mavericks on Thursday. Brown finished with two points, four rebounds, two assists and one block.
After winning four of the last five games before the break, Maverix coach Jason Kid was concerned about whether the rhythm of the team would be broken or not. A seven-day vacation did the team well, mostly because Mavericks were able to return one of their most important players in Washington.
The inertia, which was built before the All-Star break, really moved into the first game after a break, which put a good tone on Mavericks, which enter their trip with two games to California.
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