Fresh off shaking the NBA landscape by trading for Kyrie Irving, the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks shocked the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Monday night thanks to a career night from Josh Green.

Following the excitement from Sunday’s blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving, it was back to on-court business for the Dallas Mavericks (29-26) on Monday night as they took on a Utah Jazz (27-28) squad that is close behind them in the Western Conference standings.

With an admirable performance from a team missing Luka Doncic, Irving, Maxi Kleber and the two players they just traded away – Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie – the undermanned Mavs were able to finish the job in Salt Lake City and defeated the Jazz, 124-111. It was an all-around, feel-good win for Dallas as it looks to climb the West ladder.

Josh Green, who will undoubtedly have a bigger role for Dallas going forward with the departure of Finney-Smith, got off to a great start in this new era, as he finished with a career-high 29 points on 10-17 shooting from the field, 3-6 from deep and 6-6 from the free-throw line. Green was an outstanding +39 in his 37 minutes of action as a starter.

All other Mavericks starters finished with double-digit points, and rookie guard Jaden Hardy tied Green as Dallas’ leading scorer with 29 points off the bench. The 20-year-old shot 8-12 from the field, including 4-6 from deep and 9-9 from the free-throw line.

If Monday night was any indication, the future is brighter for the Mavs than people realize … and that’s not factoring in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving just yet.

Next up, the Mavs will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers on Wednesday in what is expected to be Irving’s Dallas debut. It will be at least one more game before Irving teams up with Doncic, though, as he’ll miss Wednesday’s game while still recovering from a heel contusion.