Dallas had a chance shorthanded, but couldn’t measure up to Denver’s size
The Dallas Mavericks gave a valiant effort but came up short against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets Sunday afternoon, losing 112-101 in Dallas.
It was a disappointing game for a variety of reasons, but the biggest being Dallas had separate 17 and 19-point leads at various points of the game and still couldn’t finish. The Mavericks were once again without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, both still out with calf and back injuries, respectively.
Dallas started scolding hot and holding Denver in check. The Mavericks raced to a 14-3 lead before Nuggets coach Michael Malone called the first timeout of the game. Dallas then extended the lead shortly after play resumed to 21-5, and the Mavericks didn’t really look back in the first quarter. Dallas made its threes, turned over Denver, and got out in transition to lead 32-17.
From that point, the Nuggets slowly bur surely chipped into the game. Dallas offense died as the Nuggets cut out the sloppy turnovers that allowed the Mavericks to run-and-gun in the opening minutes. Rebounding was the dominant story, as the Nuggets collected 15 offensive rebounds for a staggering 27 second-chance points.
What made this hard to swallow for Mavericks fans is a key spurt in the third quarter extended the lead back to 19 after the Nuggets got it to one. Another run by the Nuggets to end the third and start the fourth actually gave Denver a lead in the fourth quarter, 94-93 with less than eight minutes left in the game. From there it went a little back and forth before the Nuggets controlled the game for good in the final minutes, as Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook went to work, with Jokic finding Westbrook uncontested for easy layups multiple times down the stretch.
It’s not an embarrassment that Dallas lost to a good Denver team in a close game without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but having a 19-point lead in the third quarter and losing by 11 is tough to swallow.
Here’s what we noticed.
The Mavericks centers have to rebound better
This game showcased another crucial missing piece when Luka Doncic is on the shelf, besides his scoring and playmaking — his rebounding. Doncic is a big, 6’7 player and he uses his size and basketball IQ to rebound well. Without Doncic, Dallas’ bigs simply have to step up to the challenge and against the Nuggets this afternoon they did not.
Denver had 15 offensive rebounds for 27 second-chance points in this game. Dereck Lively had three defensive rebounds in 27 minutes, while backup center Daniel Gafford had two in 15 minutes. Nikola Jokic alone had 14 defensive rebounds. Overall Denver outrebounded Dallas 55-37.
Say what you will about the Mavericks stagnant half-court offense down the stretch, or their inability to keep Westbrook away from the basket, the Mavericks inability to secure defensive rebounds truly cost them this game. Keep everything the same, but limit Denver to a manageable second-chance points number and the Mavericks probably win this game comfortably. The Nuggets also had an alarming 68 points in the paint, which is something the Mavericks defense schematically always tries to take away.
Doncic is one of the team’s best rebounders, but Dallas has invested a lot into their two centers, spending a lottery pick on Lively and then acquiring another first rounder to then send away to trade for Gafford. Those two just have to be better, full-stop. The Mavericks aren’t a small team without Doncic — with Lively, Gafford, PJ Washington, Maxi Kleber, Naji Marshall, and Klay Thompson the Mavericks still have plenty of 6’6 or taller players in their rotation. The team just has to be collectively better, whether that’s boxing out or putting their nose in the fray to grab contested rebounds.
Dallas needs better halfcourt ideas
There’s only so much you can really say about the Mavericks offense when its missing Luka and Kyrie. No matter what the players or coaching staff does, it’s just going to look ugly at times. The Mavericks have rebuilt their roster to not rely on their stars, but playing multiple games without them is going to wear on the rest of the roster eventually.
Dallas started hot from three, making 10-of-14 to start the game, but finished 12-of-34. That hot-shooting masked a bit of the half-court stench, as Dallas really only got going in transition when they were able to turnover the Nuggets. The Mavericks had 16 fastbreak points, with most of those coming in the first half. In the halfcourt, it was simply too much staring and standing around.
The Mavericks did do some good things, like using Lively as a dribble-handoff hub — Lively finished with a career high eight assists and only three turnovers. Unfortunately the Mavericks weren’t able to go to it late, as Lively was on and off the floor for parts of the second half due to foul trouble. Once he checked into the game for good late in the fourth and with five fouls, it felt like the momentum had already swung.
In lieu of Lively handoffs or off-ball action for Klay Thompson (who was 6-of-13 from three and had a team-high 25 points), the Mavericks just let Spencer Dinwiddie iso on his lonesome. It worked occasionally, as Dinwiddie had 10 free throw attempts and 10 assists, but otherwise it was brutal. Dinwiddie shot 4-of-13 from the floor, with lots of those attempts coming off zero-pass possessions where Dinwiddie sized up his man as the other four Mavericks were stationary.
It didn’t help that Jaden Hardy and Quentin Grimes had off games, but PJ Washington finishing with only nine field goal attempts feels weird. When Dallas wasn’t running, their offense just never looked right. That’s going to happen a lot without Luka and Kyrie, but it’d be nice if there could be some more good process, even if it leads to bad results.