Oh, you thought Dallas had already hit rock bottom? Well, the floor just fell out.
The Philadelphia 76ers (23-44) and the Dallas Mavericks (33-35), who had combined to lose 22 of their last 25 going into Sunday’s game at American Airlines Center, tested the sports theorem stating that in a contest between two teams, one of them must win. If it was at all possible for both teams to lose the same game, surely these two teams could break ground on that innovation in futility. The scientific inquiry on both ends of the floor was rigorous, but in the end, the long-held notion mandating one winner and one loser was proven true. The 76ers backed into a 130-125 win over a completely inept and ill-equipped Mavericks bunch behind 28 points from Quentin Grimes, whom the Mavs handed to Philadelphia for a bag of sand ahead of February’s trade deadline.
It was Grimes’ seventh game of 25 or more points since being traded to the 76ers, and that was a freebie. Here are four more stats that tell the latest tale of Mavericks woe — this time from a loss to bottom-feeding Philadelphia that opened the door to the Phoenix Suns to potentially take over 10th in the Western Conference standings.
14: PJ Washington first-quarter scoring
After missing the last seven games with an ankle injury, PJ Washington was a heaping spoonful for what ails the Mavericks’ beleaguered offense in the first quarter. He scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and pulled down three rebounds in just over eight minutes on the floor in the opening frame.
His running finger-roll with just over four minutes left put Dallas up 23-21 and was one of four strong drives to the hoop from Washington starting at the seven-minute mark of the first. Washington was fired out of a cannon after his stint on the injury list, but the 76ers’ ‘clear advantage from beyond the 3-point arc nullified a large portion of the juice Washington brought.
Philly made 6-of-12 from deep in the first quarter, while the Mavs shot just 1-of-8, leading to a 36-32 deficit going into the second. Washington piled up 20 of his 28 points in the first half, his third 20-point first half of the season.
16-4: Mavs’ run to open second quarter
But Dallas cleaned up the shooting late in the first and early in the second. The Mavericks connected on eight straight field goals across the end of the first and into the second, which extended into a 16-4 run to start the second quarter. A Brandon Williams drive, a Spender Dinwiddie pull-up jumper at the elbow and two more free throws from Williams had the Mavs up 48-40 with 8:24 left before halftime.
That run set the tone for the second quarter, and Cormax Karl “Max” Christie got out of his recent funk to extend Dallas’ momentum throughout the frame. He hit his first two 3-point attempts of the game in the second quarter and had eight points and five boards at the half, a modest step in the right direction, but a welcome one after Friday’s 1-for-13 performance from the field in Friday’s 133-96 loss at the Houston Rockets. Christie finished with 18 and eight in Sunday’s loss.
A driving score from Naji Marshall and a last-possession 3-pointer from former Grimes left Dallas with a 68-64 lead at the break. Caleb Martin, whom the Mavs received in return for Grimes in last month’s trade between these two teams, did not play with another hip injury. He has averaged less than three points per game in limited action with the Mavericks, while Grimes has averaged 19.3 points per game in his time with Philadelphia.
4-of-16: Dallas’ third-quarter shooting
Dallas imploded on offense in the third quarter. The team shot just 4-of-16 from the field after connecting on 26-of-44 (59.1%) attempts in the first half. It was an order of magnitude worse than disgusting to watch. They scored just 18 points in the third after piling up 68 points in the first half. Marshall went 0-for-5 from the field, Williams and Dinwiddie each missed both their attempts in the third and the entire offense powered down for the duration.
Grimes scored 11 in the third to pace the 76ers. He was clearly Philly’s best offensive option, and it was more than enough to get the better of the Mavs on Sunday.
4-of-5: Klay Thompson fourth-quarter shooting
Klay Thompson did everything in his power to help bring the Mavs back from a 12-point deficit early in the fourth. He went 2-of-3 from 3-point range and shot 4-of-5 overall in the final frame, but the Dallas comeback came up painfully short. Thompson finished with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting (3-of-7 from 3-point territory), but the unexpectedly dynamic duo of Grimes and Jalen Hood-Schifino kept the lead just out of reach.
Hood Schifino’s 19 points on five made 3-pointers smashed his previous career-high scoring mark of 10. He scored seven of those in the fourth quarter, including two at the free-throw line with four seconds left on the clock to preserve the win. Hood-Schifino also connected on a nice pull-up jumper and an open 3-ball early in the fourth to keep Dallas at arm’s length.