A valiant effort fell by the wayside
The Dallas Mavericks fell in overtime to the Sacramento Kings by a score of 129-128 Monday night in Dallas. Kyrie Irving was the leading scorer for Dallas with 30 points, while DeMar DeRozan went nuclear for Sacramento with a season-high 42. It was a tightly contested battle that saw numerous lead changes, and Dallas was simply outlasted.
Dallas opened the game by feeding Klay Thompson; the Mavericks’ sharpshooter took their first five shots, hitting three en route to seven quick points. Neither Dallas nor Sacramento could string stops together early in the period, as the two teams ran up and down the court trading baskets. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, their offense dried up while Sacramento’s did not, and the Kings used a 9-0 run to build a nine-point lead. But Dallas quickly responded with a 9-0 push of their own, knotting the game at 22. That Maverick run was expanded upon, and a strong close to the quarter helped the Mavericks take a 35-27 lead into the second.
Things took a dark turn early in the second quarter, as Daniel Gafford, the Mavericks’ lone healthy center, hurt his knee and exited the game. Gafford collided with Kings guard Malik Monk on a screen, and it looked like the contact may have caused a hyperextension of his right knee. He was later ruled out for the night. The Kings made a push after that, but Spencer Dinwiddie helped keep the Mavericks in front by continually taking advantage of a porous Sacramento defense. Dallas kept fighting, and Olivier Maxence-Prosper gave them some excellent minutes moonlighting at the center position. It looked like the collective effort from this rag-tag Maverick bunch would be enough for a halftime lead, but DeMar DeRozan went supernova from three late in the period (yes, really) and brought the score to level at 61 after two.
Sacramento turned things up a notch early in the third quarter, but the Mavericks did just enough to keep things close. About halfway through the frame, the Kings started to pull away, building an advantage to as many as eight. Dallas, however, had an answer, rattling off a 9-0 run to grab the lead back. Back-to-back threes from birthday boy Max Christie at the end of the period punctuated an excellent close to the quarter, and Dallas took a 93-87 lead into the final frame.
The Mavericks continued their excellent play in the fourth, establishing the first double-digit lead for either team. Sacramento responded with desperation, playing a two-big lineup of Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas in an attempt to junk the game up. And it actually worked, as the Kings, led by DeRozan’s insane shotmaking, fired off a 12-0 run to take the lead back with four and a half minutes remaining. The two teams traded baskets for a few possessions before Prosper hit a huge and-one to restore a two-point advantage for Dallas. After two DeRozan free throws, Dinwiddie responded with yet another and-one, fouling out Valanciunas in the process. Dallas had chances to pull away but went cold down the stretch, eventually allowing the Kings to tie the game. But Kyrie Irving hit a huge driving layup with 15.4 seconds left, giving Dallas a 116-114 lead. Of course, DeRozan responded on the next possession with a tough mid-range jumper to restore the tie. Irving’s game-winning drive attempt was blocked, and the game went to overtime.
Overtime started cold for both teams, with neither one gaining separation. The Kings were clinging to a two-point lead when Max Christie hit a massive three to give Dallas a 121-120 lead with two minutes to play. After trading baskets, Sabonis went one for two at the free-throw line to knot the game at 123 — but Malik Monk got the offensive rebound off his miss and scored to give the Kings a two-point lead. Irving missed a three for Dallas on the next possession, DeRozan made two free throws for the Kings, and it looked like it was over. However, DeRozan inexplicably tried to force a layup with 15 seconds left instead of letting Dallas foul him to extend the game. The Mavericks got the rebound with a chance to tie or take the lead; after a timeout, Thompson hit a massive three-pointer to give Dallas the lead with 10 seconds to play. Dallas needed one stop, but they couldn’t get it. DeRozan split a double-team and hit a tough floater to restore the Kings’ lead with two seconds left. Dallas had no timeouts, Dinwiddie committed a turnover, and the game ended. The Mavericks fell, 129-128. Here are three observations from this heartbreaker.
These players have heart
It would have been very easy for this Mavericks group to lay down and give up today. With everything that’s been going on around them and the looming Anthony Davis injury, they had every excuse in the world to mail this one in. They even got another one when Gafford was ruled out early in the second quarter. But these players kept fighting. The entire group played incredibly hard from the opening tip, leaving everything on the floor. As justifiably jaded as the entire fan base is right now, it’s hard not to feel some admiration for that.
Despite coming up short, tonight was a total team effort. Dallas had 64 bench points, five players in double figures, and four players with at least four assists. If Davis is out for an extended period, it will be difficult for Dallas to salvage its season. But it won’t be because of the effort on the court or in the locker room.
DeMar DeRozan was completely unstoppable
Dallas was without its top three defenders tonight in Anthony Davis, PJ Washington, and Dereck Lively II. Washington was especially missed, as he would have certainly been the Mavericks’ primary defender on DeRozan. Without those three, DeRozan had as dominant a game as I’ve seen this season. The star guard shot a mind-numbing 15-of-22 from the floor. DeRozan, not a three-point shooter, also went 4-of-6 from distance. And just for good measure, he also hit all eight of his foul shots. The Mavericks had no answer for him.
DeRozan felt inevitable all night; when he had the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game, there was no question as to whether the shot would fall. Sometimes, as a basketball fan, you just have to appreciate when a player is on one like that. What a special performance.
The Mavericks organization needs to build a bridge
And then they need to get over it. Look, tonight’s game was an incredible back-and-forth contest. Both teams put on an incredible display of shotmaking. The game went to overtime and featured seemingly endless game-breaking clutch shots. With all this exciting action, it’s a real shame that the drama was not confined to the basketball court. Throughout the night, several fans were kicked out of the arena for voicing their displeasure with Nico Harrison and the front office in the wake of the Luka Doncic trade. There were multiple instances of fans being forcibly removed from the arena for the crimes of displaying non-explicit signs and booing. This is such ridiculous behavior from the organization. As long as fans are not being profane, violent, or disruptive, where is the harm? Why are you enraging the fanbase further by removing paying fans from the arena and refusing to show them on the Jumbotron? This kind of suppression tactic is only going to make the unrest in the community worse. If the Mavericks just let fans get this out of their system, it would eventually blow over. Instead, they are using Draconian measures to censor dissenters, escalating the situation and embarrassing themselves in the process. Do better.
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