Mavs Lose Another Clutch Game
The Mavericks put up a good rally against a Pacers team they had trailed for most of the game, but the comeback sputtered in the last few minutes.
Game Story
The Mavs were missing five key players -- DFS (hip flexor), Seth (ankle), MKG (illness), along with long-term injured players Brunson and Powell. But Hardaway returned from his illness, and KP, who was listed as questionable with an ankle problem, suited up. The starting lineup was Luka/THJ/Lee/KP/Maxi -- the 27th starting unit of the season.
The Mavs got behind early, but managed to recover to an extent on the basis of 12 points from Luka, who was inserted back into the lineup late in the first quarter after being called for his second foul at 7:39. The home team Mavericks trailed 26-31 after one. The second period featured putrid play from both teams. The Pacers got out to a 9-point lead, but the Mavs battled back, going into halftime trailing 52-55. They had scored 26 points in the second, with their opponents putting up 24. Woof.
Dallas briefly tied the game a couple of times in the third, behind 16 points from Luka. However, they never could get over the hump, in terms of grabbing a lead. They went into the fourth down 84-86.
The bench gave the Mavs a small lead early in the fourth, and the team trailed for the last time (until the last minute of play) at the 7:50 mark. Alas, the last five minutes loomed. At 4:40, a Hardaway layup would be the Mavericks' last made basket. At 3:14, a pair of split free throws by Luka gave our men a quarter-high lead of 5 points. Then --
3:04 Sabonis cutting layup over KP. Mavs up 3.
2:45 Luka jacks a contested three and misses, when THJ is open to his left.
2:33 Oladipo hits a midrange pull up. Mavs up 1.
2:11 Tim gets stuck in traffic at the end of the shot clock and heaves a cross-court pass to Maxi in the corner. Maxi misses the 3PTA. Tim grabs the offensive board, drives into a crowd, and has his shot blocked. Harper chides him for not passing out and resetting. The Mavs get the offensive rebound. They swing it around the court, and Tim takes and misses a corner three. Luka has been screaming for the ball.
1:45 Oladipo loses his dribble to a Hardaway steal, but Luka loses the ball on the other end. It goes out of bounds off Indiana, and Mavs get another play. KP is stuck after picking up his dribble in the corner, and flings an overhit pass to Maxi, throwing it away.
1:08 KP blocks an attempted reverse by Oladipo.
0:49 Luka gets a screen from THJ, and is doubled coming off the screen. He passes to THJ, who is swarmed. THJ drives and kicks to KP in the corner. KP has Maxi to his left, and Luka farther over, but takes a side step and shoots over Turner, who blocks the shot. Luka is beyond aggravated.
0:38 After Luka takes the foul to give, Oladipo hits another midrange pull up over KP. Mavs down 1. Mavs take a time out.
0:21 Luka passes to Lee in the corner, rather than taking a contested shot in the paint. Lee misses a three. Oladipo collides with Luka under the basket, hitting him in the mouth, but nothing is called.
0:14 Lee intentionally fouls Oladipo, who hits both free throws. Mavs down three. Mavs take their last time out.
0:07 Luka gets a contested corner three, and misses. He grabs the offensive board, and backs out for another three, but misses it, as well. Game over.
In the last 4:39, the Mavs missed ten FGAs and had two turnovers (Luka turnover scored as blocked shot). Their only score was one free throw. The Pacers closed the game on an 8-0 run, scoring on essentially the same play for several possessions. Poor defense. Poor decision-making. Miscommunication. They were right there. Frustrating.
Analytics
Statistically, the match came down to poor shooting. It was a clash of old-school Eastern Conference style basketball against the Mavs' modern 3-point oriented game. Dallas put up 20 more 3PTAs than the Pacers, but were a miserable 33%, with all the starters not named Tim going 5-26 from deep. Yikes. Going back to my pet peeve, the Mavericks missed 8 free throws, plenty more than enough to have won the game. Grrr. Overall, our boys were +18 on points from threes, +5 on made free throws, and -26 on shots from twos, reflecting a win for the grinders. The Pacers hurt the Mavs with 60 points in the paint and 25 fast-break points.
Point differentials for the quarters were -5, +2, +1, -1, giving Rick another excuse to point out the hazards of going down in the first quarter.
Players
Hardaway (39 min) had a splendid game, for the most part, with 30 points on 21 shots, including 6-11 from deep. It's too bad it was wasted in a loss. This player has really come on this season, and has become a true third option. I love watching him play.
Porzingis (38 min) put up a stinker. He had 9 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 3-17 from the field, and taking only 4 shots in the second half. Adding insult to injury, he also committed 4 turnovers. The Pacers game plan looked to defend Luka with one player, and focus on KP. Sabonis and Turner played him very physically, and managed to throw him off. Even at that, he got a number of open shots, and just missed them.
I'm not sure if his ankle affected him, as he wouldn't use it as an excuse, even if it did. He was embarrassed after the game, and thought if he could have played just a little better, the result would have been different. Carlisle said that any player can and will have an off night occasionally, and the team can't blame a loss on one player, which of course is right. Hope he has it out of his system.
Luka (36 min) had a 36-10-8 line, so I hesitate to criticize. His hand was still braced, but didn't seem to be visibly bothering him as much, and he said that it was getting better. Notwithstanding that, he was 4-13 from long range, missed 4 free throws, and made some questionable decisions down the stretch. He also may have let the refs get into his head. They were pretty terrible, but he spent much of the game arguing with them, and I wonder if it took some of his attention away from the moment. The Mavs wouldn't have been in the game without him, and I acknowledge that, but still think he may have some room to grow as far as game management goes. It would be weird if he didn't, as an NBA sophomore.
Luka complained of being hit in the face three times during the game with no response from the refs. At one point, he was even bleeding from the mouth, but in his words, the refs "didn't care." It didn't seem to me that the refs were biased, just that they were bad, especially Tyler Ford. I guess it's pointless to rag on the refs, but still. . . .
Maxi (34 min) was invisible offensively, scoring 2 points and taking only 4 shots. He had 5 rebounds, and he and KP made an effort to protect the rim, but the Pacers were just too much for them.
Lee (31 min) started again, and didn't make a huge impression. He had 7 points on 2-9 shooting, and contributed a couple of steals. At least he was another sizable body.
Wright (23 min) was the sixth man, and put 7 points on the board. Nothing terrible, but not a particularly good night, either.
Jackson (19 min) was the third-leading scorer with 11 points, and also recorded 5 assists, a steal, and a block. He was one of the team's bright spots, and he led the team in +/-, at +7. Great to see him doing well in the last couple of games!
WCS (10 min) had 5 points and 3 rebounds off the bench, and did a pretty decent job in short minutes.
Boban (6 minutes) got a few minutes in the first half. The Pacers managed to stifle even the scoring machine offensively, but Bobi did register 5 boards in his time on the court. The refs did him no favors, calling him for a foul when his gather resulted in an elbow in his opponent's face, even though he had been hit in the back on the play.
Barea (4 min) had an assist in a cameo appearance.
Pacers. This Indiana team is looking quite good. I don't tend to follow the East as much, and I was a little surprised to see them looking so organized. Sabonis was amazing, and torched our team with 20 points and 17 rebounds. He was instrumental in shutting down KP. Warren had 16 points and 8 boards, but fouled out when Luka drew three fouls on him in a period of about twelve seconds. Turner impressed with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and some very effective defense in the paint. Oladipo had 16 points and 7 assists, and scored his team's last 6 points. Holiday and McConnell performed well off the bench.
This squad was relentless, and kept at it until the Mavs finally buckled. They could make some noise in the postseason.
Remarks
Rick described the contest as a tough loss. He said the Mavs struggled to get good shots down the stretch, missed the ones they did get, and made a lot of little mistakes in execution. He took responsibility for the loss, saying that they should have played better, and it is his job to have them playing better. He had hoped that DFS would be ready, and he acknowledged that the absences made things a lot tougher, but said the roster is deep enough that they should have been able to pull it out.
Sometimes, I get a laugh out of Kirk's rants after bad losses on his MMB After Dark podcast. He thinks KP reverted to his old bad habits of dribbling to nowhere, seeking out midrange shots, attempting fancy one-handed shots instead of taking solid attempts, and making terrible decisions in the clutch. Luka missed free throws, griped to the refs most of the game, and was poor defensively. He is frustrated that the Mavs keep losing games the very same way, making mistakes that they shouldn't be making at this point in the season. He thinks Carlisle, KP, and Luka should all be embarrassed after this match. I am not saying he's wrong, I just occasionally find myself a little tickled by the unbridled knee-jerking. Sort of matches my feelings after a game like this, even though I know I should be less emotional.
I ended up not being that disappointed with the loss, primarily because, even when the Mavs got a lead, I never had the sense that they were playing in a winning fashion. They just didn't seem on much of a string, and they were really impacted by KP's subpar game. I suspect the ankle may have been more of a factor than they were willing to let on. But the Mavs just didn't have it. They made unusual mistakes -- giving up a shot clock violation when Luka was stuck in the paint, letting a defensive rebound fall to the floor and be stolen by a Pacer, and such. It was probably a minor miracle that they were still in it until the end.
I guess the bright side is that this was a close loss against a quality team, and they can learn something for the playoffs from it. Hopefully, someday, the Mavs can get something close to a full healthy roster on the floor again.
Next. The Mavericks face the Spurs in San Antonio on Tuesday. I hope that some or all of DFS, Seth, and MKG will be available. Doe Doe and Seth were sorely missed in this one.
Keep the faith, MFFLs!
The Mavericks put up a good rally against a Pacers team they had trailed for most of the game, but the comeback sputtered in the last few minutes.
Game Story
The Mavs were missing five key players -- DFS (hip flexor), Seth (ankle), MKG (illness), along with long-term injured players Brunson and Powell. But Hardaway returned from his illness, and KP, who was listed as questionable with an ankle problem, suited up. The starting lineup was Luka/THJ/Lee/KP/Maxi -- the 27th starting unit of the season.
The Mavs got behind early, but managed to recover to an extent on the basis of 12 points from Luka, who was inserted back into the lineup late in the first quarter after being called for his second foul at 7:39. The home team Mavericks trailed 26-31 after one. The second period featured putrid play from both teams. The Pacers got out to a 9-point lead, but the Mavs battled back, going into halftime trailing 52-55. They had scored 26 points in the second, with their opponents putting up 24. Woof.
Dallas briefly tied the game a couple of times in the third, behind 16 points from Luka. However, they never could get over the hump, in terms of grabbing a lead. They went into the fourth down 84-86.
The bench gave the Mavs a small lead early in the fourth, and the team trailed for the last time (until the last minute of play) at the 7:50 mark. Alas, the last five minutes loomed. At 4:40, a Hardaway layup would be the Mavericks' last made basket. At 3:14, a pair of split free throws by Luka gave our men a quarter-high lead of 5 points. Then --
3:04 Sabonis cutting layup over KP. Mavs up 3.
2:45 Luka jacks a contested three and misses, when THJ is open to his left.
2:33 Oladipo hits a midrange pull up. Mavs up 1.
2:11 Tim gets stuck in traffic at the end of the shot clock and heaves a cross-court pass to Maxi in the corner. Maxi misses the 3PTA. Tim grabs the offensive board, drives into a crowd, and has his shot blocked. Harper chides him for not passing out and resetting. The Mavs get the offensive rebound. They swing it around the court, and Tim takes and misses a corner three. Luka has been screaming for the ball.
1:45 Oladipo loses his dribble to a Hardaway steal, but Luka loses the ball on the other end. It goes out of bounds off Indiana, and Mavs get another play. KP is stuck after picking up his dribble in the corner, and flings an overhit pass to Maxi, throwing it away.
1:08 KP blocks an attempted reverse by Oladipo.
0:49 Luka gets a screen from THJ, and is doubled coming off the screen. He passes to THJ, who is swarmed. THJ drives and kicks to KP in the corner. KP has Maxi to his left, and Luka farther over, but takes a side step and shoots over Turner, who blocks the shot. Luka is beyond aggravated.
0:38 After Luka takes the foul to give, Oladipo hits another midrange pull up over KP. Mavs down 1. Mavs take a time out.
0:21 Luka passes to Lee in the corner, rather than taking a contested shot in the paint. Lee misses a three. Oladipo collides with Luka under the basket, hitting him in the mouth, but nothing is called.
0:14 Lee intentionally fouls Oladipo, who hits both free throws. Mavs down three. Mavs take their last time out.
0:07 Luka gets a contested corner three, and misses. He grabs the offensive board, and backs out for another three, but misses it, as well. Game over.
In the last 4:39, the Mavs missed ten FGAs and had two turnovers (Luka turnover scored as blocked shot). Their only score was one free throw. The Pacers closed the game on an 8-0 run, scoring on essentially the same play for several possessions. Poor defense. Poor decision-making. Miscommunication. They were right there. Frustrating.
Analytics
Statistically, the match came down to poor shooting. It was a clash of old-school Eastern Conference style basketball against the Mavs' modern 3-point oriented game. Dallas put up 20 more 3PTAs than the Pacers, but were a miserable 33%, with all the starters not named Tim going 5-26 from deep. Yikes. Going back to my pet peeve, the Mavericks missed 8 free throws, plenty more than enough to have won the game. Grrr. Overall, our boys were +18 on points from threes, +5 on made free throws, and -26 on shots from twos, reflecting a win for the grinders. The Pacers hurt the Mavs with 60 points in the paint and 25 fast-break points.
Point differentials for the quarters were -5, +2, +1, -1, giving Rick another excuse to point out the hazards of going down in the first quarter.
Players
Hardaway (39 min) had a splendid game, for the most part, with 30 points on 21 shots, including 6-11 from deep. It's too bad it was wasted in a loss. This player has really come on this season, and has become a true third option. I love watching him play.
Porzingis (38 min) put up a stinker. He had 9 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 3-17 from the field, and taking only 4 shots in the second half. Adding insult to injury, he also committed 4 turnovers. The Pacers game plan looked to defend Luka with one player, and focus on KP. Sabonis and Turner played him very physically, and managed to throw him off. Even at that, he got a number of open shots, and just missed them.
I'm not sure if his ankle affected him, as he wouldn't use it as an excuse, even if it did. He was embarrassed after the game, and thought if he could have played just a little better, the result would have been different. Carlisle said that any player can and will have an off night occasionally, and the team can't blame a loss on one player, which of course is right. Hope he has it out of his system.
Luka (36 min) had a 36-10-8 line, so I hesitate to criticize. His hand was still braced, but didn't seem to be visibly bothering him as much, and he said that it was getting better. Notwithstanding that, he was 4-13 from long range, missed 4 free throws, and made some questionable decisions down the stretch. He also may have let the refs get into his head. They were pretty terrible, but he spent much of the game arguing with them, and I wonder if it took some of his attention away from the moment. The Mavs wouldn't have been in the game without him, and I acknowledge that, but still think he may have some room to grow as far as game management goes. It would be weird if he didn't, as an NBA sophomore.
Luka complained of being hit in the face three times during the game with no response from the refs. At one point, he was even bleeding from the mouth, but in his words, the refs "didn't care." It didn't seem to me that the refs were biased, just that they were bad, especially Tyler Ford. I guess it's pointless to rag on the refs, but still. . . .
Maxi (34 min) was invisible offensively, scoring 2 points and taking only 4 shots. He had 5 rebounds, and he and KP made an effort to protect the rim, but the Pacers were just too much for them.
Lee (31 min) started again, and didn't make a huge impression. He had 7 points on 2-9 shooting, and contributed a couple of steals. At least he was another sizable body.
Wright (23 min) was the sixth man, and put 7 points on the board. Nothing terrible, but not a particularly good night, either.
Jackson (19 min) was the third-leading scorer with 11 points, and also recorded 5 assists, a steal, and a block. He was one of the team's bright spots, and he led the team in +/-, at +7. Great to see him doing well in the last couple of games!
WCS (10 min) had 5 points and 3 rebounds off the bench, and did a pretty decent job in short minutes.
Boban (6 minutes) got a few minutes in the first half. The Pacers managed to stifle even the scoring machine offensively, but Bobi did register 5 boards in his time on the court. The refs did him no favors, calling him for a foul when his gather resulted in an elbow in his opponent's face, even though he had been hit in the back on the play.
Barea (4 min) had an assist in a cameo appearance.
Pacers. This Indiana team is looking quite good. I don't tend to follow the East as much, and I was a little surprised to see them looking so organized. Sabonis was amazing, and torched our team with 20 points and 17 rebounds. He was instrumental in shutting down KP. Warren had 16 points and 8 boards, but fouled out when Luka drew three fouls on him in a period of about twelve seconds. Turner impressed with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and some very effective defense in the paint. Oladipo had 16 points and 7 assists, and scored his team's last 6 points. Holiday and McConnell performed well off the bench.
This squad was relentless, and kept at it until the Mavs finally buckled. They could make some noise in the postseason.
Remarks
Rick described the contest as a tough loss. He said the Mavs struggled to get good shots down the stretch, missed the ones they did get, and made a lot of little mistakes in execution. He took responsibility for the loss, saying that they should have played better, and it is his job to have them playing better. He had hoped that DFS would be ready, and he acknowledged that the absences made things a lot tougher, but said the roster is deep enough that they should have been able to pull it out.
Sometimes, I get a laugh out of Kirk's rants after bad losses on his MMB After Dark podcast. He thinks KP reverted to his old bad habits of dribbling to nowhere, seeking out midrange shots, attempting fancy one-handed shots instead of taking solid attempts, and making terrible decisions in the clutch. Luka missed free throws, griped to the refs most of the game, and was poor defensively. He is frustrated that the Mavs keep losing games the very same way, making mistakes that they shouldn't be making at this point in the season. He thinks Carlisle, KP, and Luka should all be embarrassed after this match. I am not saying he's wrong, I just occasionally find myself a little tickled by the unbridled knee-jerking. Sort of matches my feelings after a game like this, even though I know I should be less emotional.
I ended up not being that disappointed with the loss, primarily because, even when the Mavs got a lead, I never had the sense that they were playing in a winning fashion. They just didn't seem on much of a string, and they were really impacted by KP's subpar game. I suspect the ankle may have been more of a factor than they were willing to let on. But the Mavs just didn't have it. They made unusual mistakes -- giving up a shot clock violation when Luka was stuck in the paint, letting a defensive rebound fall to the floor and be stolen by a Pacer, and such. It was probably a minor miracle that they were still in it until the end.
I guess the bright side is that this was a close loss against a quality team, and they can learn something for the playoffs from it. Hopefully, someday, the Mavs can get something close to a full healthy roster on the floor again.
Next. The Mavericks face the Spurs in San Antonio on Tuesday. I hope that some or all of DFS, Seth, and MKG will be available. Doe Doe and Seth were sorely missed in this one.
Keep the faith, MFFLs!