Losing is back on the menu
The Dallas Mavericks lost 116-108 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 25 points of his own.
Dallas came out with a ton of energy, looking great on offense and playing hard on defense. Unfortunately, they missed many of the wide-open threes they generated, preventing them from building a big early lead. Kyrie Irving began to boil and the Mavericks briefly stretched their lead to double digits, but a run by the Sixers late in the first quarter closed the gap. The Philly bank then caught fire and they went forward briefly; but Dallas responded and an odd four-point play by Josh Green at the buzzer gave them a 37-28 lead into the second quarter.
The Sixers started the second by raining threes on the Maverick defense and wiping out most of the lead in the first two minutes. Dallas stabilized, Tim Hardaway Jr. got going and the Maverick lead was extended back to seven midway through the quarter. Dallas’ outstanding play stretched that lead to as much as 12 points, but a late run by the Sixers wiped out much of that effort; the Mavericks had to settle for a 62-57 halftime lead.
After a long delay after halftime to make up for a shaky net, Dallas and Philly traded early in the third mini-run. Things started going south for the Mavericks in the middle part of the frame as their sloppy play and inability to protect without fouling allowed the Sixers to push forward. But here, too, Robert had an answer; Hardaway’s Big Three and Jaden Hardy helped them retake the lead in short order. The two teams continued to trade blows, with the Mavericks going into the fourth quarter with a 91-89 advantage.
The final third began with both teams trading three-pointers, with Hardaway hitting two three-pointers to respond to Philadelphia’s go-ahead buckets. Things quickly turned to chaos as strange games and strange energy took over the Well Fargo Center. Robert slowly watched the lead slip; The Sixers went in front and began retreating with five minutes left in regulation. The Mavericks tried to mount one last rally, but it wasn’t to be. You lost the game. It’s incredibly upsetting because they’ve played so well at this game for so long and really needed that win to keep their playoff hopes alive. So it works. Here are three observations of this.
Clutch timing issues continue
According to NBA.com, the Mavericks went 25-25 in today’s game in the whopping 50 “Clutch” games they’ve played this year, a .500 win ratio. I honestly can’t believe it’s that high. This team keeps folding down the stretch of games. Dallas was in control for much of that game, even holding the lead for about half of the fourth quarter. But Philly finished the game on a 16-5 run that saw the Mavericks go 2 of 9 off the floor and turn the ball over four times. You just can’t win games like that, especially not against big teams in your home country. Luka Doncic was the only Maverick to score in the last six minutes. They looked lost and confused. In game number 77 of the season it is unacceptable that these problems are still occurring. Coach Jason Kidd deserves a lot of blame for not fixing it.
Dallas kept Philly’s superstars in check
Joel Embiid is likely to win the MVP award this year. His 25 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-17 shooting would make for a great night for most players, but it was a so-so performance for him. James Harden only had 15 points (with 12 assists) on 4-of-14 shooting. Both star players came on through injury and clearly weren’t 100%, especially Embiid. But credit has to be given to the Maverick defense, who got the job done and fought hard for at least 3.5 quarters. Again, it really hurts that they couldn’t get this one across the finish line because I think they did things on defense that can be built upon.
Lose the three point fight, lose the game
Our editor Josh Bowe ran a story last week detailing how much the Mavericks have relied on drowning their opponents since the Kyrie trade. Dallas actually hit it very well tonight! They went 18 out of 46, good for 39.7%. But the Sixers were even more efficient, going 17 of 36 (47.2%). Roleplayers George Niang and De’Anthony Melton combined for a 9 out of 13. Dallas has actually made one more three-pointer than Philadelphia, but as Josh points out in his post, making more three-pointers isn’t enough. The Mavericks need to comfortably win the three-pointer to stand a chance. They failed to do that tonight and predictably lost the game. It’s a tough road to run your business.
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