The Dallas Mavericks lost 135-103 to the Washington Wizards on Friday night in Washington, DC. It was the Mavericks’ third game in four nights, so some exhaustion was to be expected. But the fact that they hardly fight back in this game is a bit concerning.
The Wizards raced to an early lead through incredible shooting, scoring 41 points in the first quarter alone. Washington couldn’t miss, hitting 66% of his three-pointers in the first quarter. The Mavericks kept pace offensively and scored 30 goals, but their defense couldn’t be stopped. In the second quarter, they gave in a bit, only allowed 26 points, but then didn’t get their own offensive going anymore. They went into the half 67-53.
Dallas came out with even less energy after halftime, and Washington extended the lead to 26. But then the Mavericks found a way to pull in some stops and get up to 13 after a 16-3 run late in the quarter and went down 16 into the fourth quarter. Dallas never really got going in the fourth, however, and the Wizards piled up points until the blowout took full effect. Coach Jason Kidd was even fired, his first sacking from the Mavericks.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 36 points and dished out six assists. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Wizards with 35 points. Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 goals in his first game against his former team.
Here are three things from the game:
The Mavericks’ defense is steadily slipping
When Dallas went nuts in February and early March, defense was the talk of the NBA. However, it has slipped in recent weeks. Tonight, the Mavericks gave up 135 points, allowing the Wizards to shoot 54 percent from field and 51 percent from deep. They allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to shoot 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from three on Wednesday. They’ve let the opposition score at least 110 points in seven of their last ten games. Her defensive rating over the past two weeks is 115.1 per NBA.com, 19th in the league for that span.
The Mavericks played defensively above their talent in February, but they’re also not as bad as they’ve been lately. Some of this is just a regression to the mean of the opponent’s three-point shooting. But some of that can be attributed to a tiring schedule for the big ones and just general malaise for the rest of the team. Without a dominant rim protection, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell have to do a lot on the defensive, the rest of the team has to switch a lot. This can wear you down for months. The Mavericks should hope that the brief hiatus between the regular season and the start of the playoffs, as well as several days between playoff games, will give their roster the breather they obviously need.
The Mavericks didn’t attack the rim enough
Dallas finished the game with just six tries in the restricted area, not nearly enough. They bombed away from above the break and missed most of those shots, going 5 from 26. Strangely, they shot well from corners (6 of 12) and center (8 of 16). But the lack of rim attacks and long three-point shots falling short are just another example of this team being exhausted. It happens, but on the other hand, this team is fighting for third place, which would mean avoiding the Phoenix Suns until the Western Conference Finals. Competitors win games they need even when they are tired.
The supporting cast did not show up again
Jalen Brunson showed up and contributed, scoring 21 points, along with five rebounds and three assists. Other than that, the Mavericks got almost no production from the rest of the lineup. Luka and Brunson scored 57 points together. The rest of the squad scored 46 points. That’s crazy. And if the Mavericks lose in the playoffs, it’s probably a game like this where the rest of the roster falls flat on their face and the defense isn’t strong enough. Again, players are probably tired, but so is everyone else in the NBA.
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