Herb Jones came up big against the Dallas Mavericks. Not only did he back up the scoring numbers of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram but he also hounded Luka Doncic on defense. This all led to a 131 to 110 demolition job for the New Orleans Pelicans which gets a step closer to notching a record above .500. The Mavs star knew that he had to compliment the ruthless two-way player after their faceoff, via Grant Afseth of Dallas Basketball.

“He’s just a great defender. You could see his impact today because he wasn’t there in the first game. I really admire that guy,” was the praise that Luka Doncic dropped about Herb Jones.

Jones started for the Pelicans and it paid dividends. He along with the other guards held the Mavs star to just 16 points and two assists. This limited impact allowed their stars to shine. Brandon Ingram led the scoring barrage with 25 points and also had a nice all-around game with seven dimes and nine boards. Zion Williamson followed it up by draining 19 points and using his court vision to deliver five assists.

Jones, meanwhile, notched 19 points despite focusing heavily on defense. He cleaned up the glass four times and also dropped the same number of assists. His defense along with the other Pelicans was impeccable, to say the least. They limited the Mavs to a 42.2% field goal shooting clip throughout the whole four quarters. Will he be a staple on the starting lineup moving forward because of this defensive masterclass?