And that's why it's hard to go on streaks in the NBA. On any night the other team could just be hot. I'll credit the Mavs for not packing it in, but at the same time, the Mavs had more do with this loss than Washington's hot shooting or the, ummmmmm, poor officiating.
The defensive rotation was horrible until the fourth quarter. The Wizards had open shots galore and that's the one thing you can't allow against a team who is on fire. Even when Dallas tried using a zone to slow them down they looked confused, and it just backfired. The Mavs played like a really bad team for the first 32 minutes and the score testified to that. Of course, you can't do anything about Gilbert Arenas and DeShawn Stevenson seemingly making every shot they take.
On a mostly unrelated note, I don't know how anyone can look at Wizard's coach Eddie Jordan and not think of Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow. I kept on looking for Jordan to hand his mix tape to Jess Kersey.
| Rating | Avg | - | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 8 | 8 | Got beat up all night and still put up 27 and 9 |
| Jason Terry | 4 | 6.7 | Couldn't score - couldn't defend - in other words useless |
| Josh Howard | 5 | 7.3 | When is the last time Howard disappeared in a game like that? |
| DeSagana Diop | 6 | 6 | Why did he play six minutes? |
| Anthony Johnson | 8 | 6 | An enigma - never really messes up but rarely contribute in a meaningful way either |
| Jerry Stackhouse | 7 | 6.8 | Took smart shots and made them |
| Greg Buckner | 4 | 5.8 | Made mistakes in his first stint and didn't get back on the court |
| Devin Harris | 7 | 7.1 | Did a good job getting to the line during the "comeback" |
| Erick Dampier | 4 | 6.8 | Yeah he had 9/9 - but he AWFUL on defense - he was late on every rotation |
| Austin Croshere | 6 | 5.9 | Didn't do anything wrong |
| DJ Mbenga | 5 | 5 | Just looked like a body to rest the real guys |
| Devean George | 7 | 6.1 | His 3-point shooting has really surprised me this season |