The Dallas Mavericks lost again Thursday night, this time to the Sacramento Kings 116-100. Buddy Hield torched Dallas, pouring in 29 points. Justin Jackson was the only Maverick to show up the whole game and he scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Dallas looked good early, showing no signs of having played last night. Dwight Powell struggled being good at basketball early, resulting in Salah Mejri seeing early action and playing reasonable rim defense. Neither team looked particularly crisp in the first frame and the Mavericks lead 29-27 after twelve minutes of action.
The second quarter was ugly for both teams yet the Mavericks actually lead by eight points midway through the frame. But just when it looked like Dallas could blow the lead open the Kings roared back to tie the game with just under three minutes in the quarter. Sacramento took two point lead into half time, up 53-51.
The thread unraveled for the Mavericks in the third, as it quickly became evident to the Kings that Dallas isn’t very good. Missed shots, paired with poor defense and rebounding, led to Sacramento taking a double digit lead a few minutes after the half. The Kings led by as many as 15 in the third. The Mavericks continually tried to chip into the lead but couldn’t get closer than seven points. Sacramento took a 84-76 lead into the final period.
Did you know Dallas is 0-24 when trailing entering the fourth? The Mavericks continued to hang around but a total inability to defend anywhere prevented them from making much of a dent in the Sacramento lead. Things finally got out of hand in the last few minutes of the game
Luka was terrible
Not much more to say really. He rebounded well because no one on Dallas can rebound, but he missed make-able shots and let some bad bounces and non calls get to him. He’s got to be better or the Mavericks need to give him a rest day.
Action Jackson
This game would’ve been an utter disaster without Justin Jackson. I’ve watched most of the games he’s played significant time in and I don’t have any sort of read on his game. In all likelihood, Jackson won’t have more than a bit role next season if the Mavericks are able to improve via free agency. Yet his skill set, frame, and athleticism create an interesting package worth keeping an eye on.
Brice and I are prophets
The MMB slack had a discussion about the ramifications of the injury to Tim Hardaway Jr.
Harris led the team off the bench in minutes and FINALLY Ryan Broekhoff got some burn off the bench. Harris should not play this much, but Dallas doesn’t have a lot of choice and Carlisle can’t help but go to veterans. Broekhoff is a good shooter, so he shouldn’t have been chained to the bench like this anyway.
This isn’t it
"I like Bagley, but give me Dwight Powell especially for this Mavericks team"
— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) March 22, 2019
- A person paid to help inform people about basketball pic.twitter.com/ywKcwbstBM
Nope. Come on.