Player Grades: Recapping the Mavericks disappointing 105-99 loss to the Timberwolves on Christmas Day

Kyrie Irving’s heroics weren’t enough in the end as the Mavericks got punked in a Nationally televised game where they lost Luka Doncic to yet another injury.

Well… Christmas is ruined. The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t pull off the comeback in their Christmas Day matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, losing 105-99. The bigger story from the game was the loss of Luka Doncic to yet another lower leg injury that will probably cause him to miss the next few weeks.

Going into the game, the Mavericks were about as healthy as they could be with even Jaden Hardy being listed as available after missing the last few weeks with an Ankle sprain. However, Doncic came up limping midway through the 2^nd quarter with the Mavericks down 9 and headed to the locker room soon after. He would not return to the game and looks to be out for a little while with a left calf strain.

The Mavericks folded after that for the remainder of the second and most of the third, being down by 28 points at one point. Kyrie Irving willed the Mavericks back into the game in the fourth quarter with 15 points in the frame, matching the entire Wolves’ team’s scoring in the frame. The Mavericks got the game to within 2, before back-to-back bad misses and a lack of stops on the other end confined this game to the loss column.

Here’s a look at how the Mavericks graded out in a disappointing Christmas Day affair against the Wolves:

Kyrie Irving: A

39 Points/5 Rebounds/2 Assists/1 Block

Kyrie was the Mavs’ offense in the second half, scoring 26pts and singlehandedly willing them back into the game, but ultimately ran out of gas under the burden of carrying the entire offensive load once Luka left the game.

Luka Doncic: Incomplete

14 Points/5 Rebounds/2 Assists/1 Steal

Welp. Luka’s injured again. Doncic’s exit after a non-contact injury in the middle of the 2^nd quarter sucked the air out of the AAC and seemingly also the team. Before that, Luka looked hungry on the court going 5/9 from the field and 3/5 from 3. Let’s hope that this Calf Strain isn’t too serious and he won’t miss another 9 games.

Klay Thompson: C

12 Points/4 Rebounds/1 Assist/2 Steals/2 Blocks

Klay had an off game on the offensive end, forcing multiple shots and missing badly. Considering how well he had been playing over the past few weeks, this was an uncharacteristic bad game. He went 4/12 from the field with all 4 of his makes from beyond the arc. His 3^rd 3-pointer with 8:49 left to go in the 4^th quarter pushed him past Reggie Miller for 5^th place on the All-Time 3pt makes list.

P.J. Washington: C

7 Points/7 Rebounds/2 Assists/1 Steal/1 Block

PJ was quiet for most of the game, looking tentative and lost on the offensive side. He still brought his edge on the defensive end though. Unfortunately, he was going up against Julius Randle for most of the game – A vs. Mavs All-Star and wasn’t as effective as a result. The Mavericks will need more from him over the next few games in Luka’s absence, so he can’t afford to be as tentative as he was tonight.

Dereck Lively: C

6 Points/10 Rebounds/3 Assists/1 Steal/2 Blocks

Lively looked out of it for large parts of the game but seemed to switch on in the 4^th quarter like most of the team. His energy on the defensive end was infectious and he had some highlight blocks. Much like PJ, he was tentative for most of the game, allowing Rudy Gobert to get the best of him.

Quentin Grimes: C

10 Points/7 Rebounds/2 Assists/1 Block

Grimes was OK. He brought energy and feistiness for the most part and defended Anthony Edwards as well as he could. He wasn’t efficient though, needing 9 shots for his 10pts. Grimes, Naji and PJ are going to have to step up like they did earlier in the season in Luka’s absence if the Mavericks are going to have to weather the absence of their superstar.

Spencer Dinwiddie: D

2 Points/1 Rebound/2 Assists/1 Steals

Spencer was awful in this game and it probably showed that he didn’t play even a minute in the 4^th quarter. He was 0/7 from the field and 0/4 from the 3pt line, with his 2 points coming from the FT line. Let’s hope that this was an anomaly, and his form picks up after this stinker like it did after that horrific Miami game last month.

Daniel Gafford: D

0 Points/0 Rebounds/0 Assists/1 Block

If possible, Gafford should receive an ‘F’ for this game. He looked out of it from the moment he checked in to the game and was abused by Gobert multiple times. Gafford isn’t the greatest defender but found himself out of position so many times when the Mavs were getting punked in the 3^rd quarter that it’s no surprise that he wasn’t on the floor in the 4^th at all. His stat line says it all – Nothing of note in 13 minutes played. That’s a Maxi Kleber special.

Naji Marshall: D

4 Points/2 Rebounds/0 Assists/1 Block

Naji was low-key bad in this game and this has a lot of people wondering if he’s fully back from the illness he had difficulty recovering from. He, along with Dinwiddie and Gafford was part of the unit that played terribly in the 3^rd quarter and allowed the Timberwolves to run away with the game. The Mavericks need him to be a productive contributor in Luka’s absence if they’re going to keep pace in the Western Conference.

Maxi Kleber: B

5 Points/2 Rebounds/1 Assist

Maxi was…. Fine? Kleber played more minutes in this game because everyone else was getting steamrolled by Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert. There were some typical Maxi moments where he refused to shoot and was an offensive minus, but the big man lineup of Lively, PJ & Maxi was key in putting the clamps on the Wolves in the 4^th quarter and sparking the possibility of a comeback. Bonus: He hit 2 shots! One of them might have been the ugliest 3pt make we’ve ever seen. Seriously.