Things fall apart.
Just when you thought the Dallas Mavericks (37-39) had hit rock bottom, they crumble in the fourth quarter against one of the worst teams in the league, the Brooklyn Nets (25-51), at American Airlines Center on the night Daniel Gafford returns to the lineup. The Dallas offense went cold in the second half on Monday, and the team provided a new definition of the term “unserious” at the free-throw line in the sloppy loss.
Make no mistake; this is still a play-in-worthy team, as the Phoenix Suns implode in on themselves behind the Mavs and the Sacramento Kings provide Dallas with all the runway the team needs in front of them. But if Monday’s loss proves anything, it’s that we, as Mavs fans, can’t have nice things. Keon Johnson had a game-high 24 points for the Nets in the win, while no Maverick managed more than Gafford’s 17.
Here are four stupid stats from a very stupid game.
16-4: 4th quarter Nets run
Dallas led 94-84 after Naji Marshall made a fadeaway jumper late in the shot clock with 9:53 left to play. It looked like the Mavs may finally have been able to put the Nets away. But Brooklyn went on a 16-4 run to take the lead over the next five-plus minutes as Klay Thompson laid brick after brick from the perimeter down the stretch. Richardson Pearce’s own Drew Timme scored three times during the run before Tyrese Martin hit his second 3-pointer of the game to tie things up, 98-98 with 4:55 left to play.
Johnson threw down a dunk on the break after a Trendon Watford rebound to give the Nets a 100-98 lead the next time down. It was all falling apart when Gafford bumped knees with someone while battling for a rebound and came up lame for a couple possessions.
17-of-29: Dallas free-throw shooting
There is no excuse for a group of professional basketball players to hover around 50% from the free-throw line, especially in a close game. Dallas handed the Nets the game with missed freebies.
Dallas managed just 17-of-29 shooting (58.6%) from the charity stripe in the ugly loss to Brooklyn.
56-36: Dallas’ paint points advantage
By halftime on Monday, the Mavericks had already stacked up a 32-14 lead in paint points. In the second half, the bludgeoning continued down low. Daniel Gafford gathered up a loose ball after Klay Thompson’s baseline 3-point attempt was blocked on Dallas’ first possession of the third quarter and slammed the offensive board home with a cathartic yawp thrown in for good measure. Anthony Davis was a little more assertive in getting to the bucket at times against the Nets. Even Klay Thompson got into the act with some good off-ball cuts in the second half before he went frigid in the fourth.
13: First-half Brooklyn 3-pointers
The Nets made nine 3-pointers in the second quarter to stay connected to the Mavericks on the scoreboard early on. Johnson, Timme, D’Angelo Russell, Trendon Watford, Dariq Whitehead, Ziaire Williams, Maxwell Lewis each hit at least one from deep in the second as the Mavs were content to live in the paint on the other end of the floor.
Despite Dallas’ 30-18 advantage on the boards and 32-14 lead in paint points in the first half, the 21-point advantage for the Nets from beyond the arc was the great equalizer. They attempted 26 from deep in the first half to keep math on their side. The Nets came into the game averaging 39.2 3-point attempts per game, the seventh-most in the NBA, and making 13.5 (13th).
The Mavericks, meanwhile, came in averaging 34.7 (25th) and making 12.7 (22nd). Dallas made 6-of-14 from deep in the first half against Brooklyn and led 63-58 at the break after a first half that saw 14 lead changes and eight ties. The 20 made 3-pointers by the Nets were the most the Mavs have allowed since the team’s 129-128 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 10.