11-20-2021, 02:16 AM
SUNS SCORCH MAVS IN FOURTH QUARTER
The Mavericks faced the Suns in Phoenix for the second consecutive match, hoping to avenge their loss on Wednesday. They kept it competitive for three periods, but cratered in the fourth. The deep bench salvaged a few points in the last couple of minutes to make the score line look respectable.
GAME NOTES
Luka and Maxi both remained unavailable. Coach Kidd selected Wednesday’s starters to begin this game — Brunson-Tim-DFS-KP-Powell.
FIRST QUARTER
After a couple of tip-off violations, it’s Suns’ ball. But Brunson gets on the board first, followed by a Hardaway jumper. Two good looks for Dallas. Brunson-KP alley-oop. Euro-step from JB, blowing by his defenders. KP from way downtown. Another three from Porzee. Timeout after Suns pull ahead. 14-16 6:18
Both teams shooting very well. Frankie running point now, as he comes in for JB. DFS hits an above-the-break three. Booker has his second foul, this one drawn by Frankie. Bullock takes back the lead on a second-chance opportunity. 20-18 2:19
McGee over Willie and Frankie. FN hits two freebies off foul by McGee. Suns scoring on every possession.
24-27 after one
Suns doubling up Mavs on PIP (16-8). Only 4 FTA in the quarter, all by Dallas. KP leading Dallas with 10 points. Bridges has 10 for Phoenix.
SECOND QUARTER
Burke and Brunson serving as the back court. Jalen for a long two. Burke steal, Reggie takes advantage. McGee crushing us offensively in the paint. KP over McGee. Jalen probes, moves to the basket, scores over McGee. 32-34 8:44
Sterling Brown hits from three off a pass from JB. Bullock steal, Sterling runs the court, Burke completes the play. Good teamwork! Lead seesawing back and forth. Ayton swats Powell in the face, Powell looks uncomfortable, but dunks on the next possession off a FN lob. Mavs getting ORs but can’t capitalize. Here's a Bullock second-chance basket. CP3 with back-to-back threes. Suns making a push here. Timmy hits a three, after several misses. 44-49 2:15
Timmy puts it on the deck, earns an and-one. He misses the free throw, but that’s the third foul on Ayton. McGee scores on a lob-dunk over KP. KP then misses a three, and fouls Bridges on the other end. THJ probes, dashes to the basket for a bucket.
51-55 HT
Mavs doing a little better in the paint in the second quarter, but go 2-11 from three. For the first half, three-point shooting is not going well for Dallas (5-19). Several Mavs need to re-lace their shooting boots everywhere on the court -- DFS (1-4), THJ (4-11), FN (0-5). KP-THJ-JB combine for 32 points. Bridges and Paul total 27 for Phoenix.
THIRD QUARTER
KP scores on his first possession off PNR with Brunson. Hardaway three over Booker! But Book returns the favor. KP post up is successful. KP draws free throws on a long outlet pass from Tim. Hits ‘em both. After briefly taking the lead, Mavs are slightly behind. 60-64 8:30
JB weaves his way to the basket. Mavs force a shot clock violation. Brunson bad pass intercepted. Doe-Doe forces a turnover, then hits a three. Foul on Hardaway called on the floor, Tim is livid, Powell holds him back from the refs. Mavs force another turnover, Tim earns an and-one as a result. 8-0 Mavs run since the timeout. Timmy getting it going from three. DFS three off another Mavs turnover! Great hustle from FN on that one. Tim’s last three reviewed, reduced to a two. 73-68 4:26
Willie with a pull-up free-throw line jumper! McGee, with two baskets in the paint, ties the game. Willie with a three on a catch-and-shoot from Brunson! OMG! Burke draws a foul off a KP downcourt pass. Brunson tough shot inside. Brunson closes the quarter with one of two free throws. 33-24 quarter for Dallas.
84-79 after three
FOURTH QUARTER
Cam Johnson opens with a three. Brunson with a couple of misses at the rim. Burke pull-up. McGee over KP. Shamet takes back the lead with a three from an offensive rebound. Paul hits over KP. 7-0 Suns run. 86-89 8:55
Mavs playing a no-center lineup. They force a turnover, but can’t capitalize. Chris Paul score on a crossover. Brunson can’t finish at the rim. Crowder three. Make that a 12-0 Suns run. Yikes. 86-94 7:27
Chris Paul working his magic out here. Brunson gives up his dribble, DFS bails him out with a smart cut, draws free throws, makes one of two. Bullock horribly off on a three. KP hits from three! Bullock misses a corner three. Paul hits again. Brunson misses a layup. Phoenix starters all back in. Paul with his signature mid-range pull-up over KP. Booker blocks JB at the rim. Booker with a corner three. The Mavs are really cratering here. 90-103
DFS and-one from Brunson. Misses the FT, but offensive rebounds result in a KP three. Ayton dunk. Booker from three. Tim misses a baseline jumper. KP turns the ball over, results in Ayton dunk. This is turning into a massacre. 95-110
Kidd yells calf rope. A deep bench unit is on the floor with two minutes left. Luka looking pensive on the sideline. Mavs make a 9-2 run in garbage time, but they’re a day late and a dollar short.
104-112 FT
ANALYSIS
The Mavs got 8 more shots up than the Suns, including 11 more threes, and had a 23-14 FTA advantage, but shot so poorly that they couldn’t take advantage (41% overall, 30% from three). The Suns, meanwhile, put up comparable numbers of 52% and 48%. Point differentials were -10 on points from twos, -6 on points from threes, and +8 on made free throws. They also had a 40-53 rebounding disadvantage. They were aggressively trying to force turnovers, and had some success, with 15 steals, and the Suns giving up 23 points on 18 giveaways. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make up for their subpar shooting and poor defense.
Having said all that, the Mavs made a game of it for three quarters, and even had a 5-point lead after 36 minutes. That was followed by an absolutely abysmal fourth quarter. Eliminating garbage time, they lost that period by an horrendous 11-31. They couldn’t buy a bucket — Tim 0-4, Brunson 1-6, starters 3-13. The Suns, OTOH, shot 65% for the quarter, and 71% from three. All five Dallas starters combined for 9 points, while the Suns’ starting five had 21. There’s your ball game. Those guys in the desert know how to turn it on when it matters. Just an embarrassing collapse. The final score does not reflect the game -- when the Mavs waved the white flag, they were down 95-110, with two minutes left.
PLAYER NOTES
BRUNSON (35 min). Jalen had a good line, at 18 points and 10 assists, but was 7-19 from the field, and really seemed to run out of gas in the fourth quarter. He played all 10 meaningful minutes in the final frame, and managed only 3 points and 2 assists. He repeatedly killed his dribble on unwarranted occasions, and looked to be running on fumes.
HARDAWAY (35). Tim got off to a poor start, but eventually came on, scoring 18 points. Overall, however, he was 7-21 from the field and 2-10 from three, which was not what we were hoping for on a night when the team needed his scoring punch. To be fair, he had to take some tough shots, without Luka on the floor. He also played the full 10 competitive minutes in the fourth, and didn’t score.
DFS (33). Dorian had an efficient 12 points (4-8, 3-6 3PTA), including three triples, and did what he could from a defensive standpoint. But he had 3 points and 1 steal in the fourth, not even securing a rebound.
PORZINGIS (30). KP had a good offensive night, with 23 points on very efficient shooting (8-13, 3-6 3PTA). He also drew a team-high 8 free throws, but made only 4. He boasted 12 rebounds (4 offensive), along with a couple of steals and a block. Harp thought KP did what he had been asked to do defensively, but in the fourth, the Suns aggressively and successfully targeted him with their PNRs. That is a weakness that would seem to bear addressing.
BULLOCK (28). Reggie had six points and a couple of steals off the bench, but was 0-5 from three. Continues his underwhelming performance, for now.
POWELL (20) had an unremarkable stat line (2-4-2), but provided some offensive rebounding and a few high-energy plays. FRANKIE (18) had 5 assists and 3 steals, but was 0-7 from the field, collecting 4 points off free throws. He had some exciting plays, as usual, but overall, not his best night. STERLING (16) had 5 points and 4 rebounds, and looked encouraging for a minute or three, shooting 100% from three (1-1), and getting a couple of steals. BURKE (15) had 8 points and 2 steals, and was on the floor with Brunson as part of a miniature back court for a couple of stretches. WILLIE (9) surprisingly exceeded expectations in some respects, with 8 points (3-3 shooting) and 3 boards. Mark and Harp thought this was his best game of the season. His three (the sixth of his career) was declared the Play of the Game. Guess we won't worry too much about the defensive breakdowns. GREEN did not score in a couple of minutes of GT.
MOSES and BOBAN were DNP-CDs.
SUNS. Mikal Bridges roasted us with 19 points on 7-7 shooting. Devin Booker was 7-20 and had 4 turnovers, but the Dallas defense could only contain him for so long. Thirteen of his 19 points were in the second half. Chris Paul had 18 points and 14 assists, and gave a virtuoso performance in the fourth quarter. JaVale McGee was our nemesis as a reserve with 14 points (7-10) and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes. The two Camerons combined for 23 points off the bench.
OBSERVATIONS
Kidd was not happy with the fourth quarter bomb. Said that his team couldn’t score, and their offense affected their defense, which was something they had talked about avoiding. The squad didn’t do a good job defensively, giving up a lot of easy baskets.
He noted that they tried various things, to no avail. They went small, only to see the Suns go on a run. They tried to force turnovers, with some success, but were not able to accomplish enough to turn the tide. He observed that if the team is going to rely on threes, they have to be able to make them at a good clip. Said that he would take a look at the film, but he knows that they aren’t going to beat good teams playing like this. Ouch.
This performance was more or less what I had expected in the Wednesday game, and when Dallas at least kept the scoreline respectable then, I admit to cherishing a sliver of hope that they might at least do themselves proud tonight, but it wasn’t to be. Kidd also said we have to remember that we were playing the WC champs without Luka and Maxi. Okay, we remember, but this game was supposed to give our guys confidence that they could compete without Luka, and they clearly could not. I guess we knew that, in our heart of hearts. Hopefully, it will at least be something they can learn from.
NEXT. The Mavs face the the Clippers on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center (or Crypto.com Arena, if the name change has taken place by then). Luka’s status is officially game by game, but I imagine the team will be conservative in deciding when it is safe for him to get back out there. Maxi will presumably still be out. This is quite a rough patch in the schedule, without a doubt.
The Mavericks faced the Suns in Phoenix for the second consecutive match, hoping to avenge their loss on Wednesday. They kept it competitive for three periods, but cratered in the fourth. The deep bench salvaged a few points in the last couple of minutes to make the score line look respectable.
GAME NOTES
Luka and Maxi both remained unavailable. Coach Kidd selected Wednesday’s starters to begin this game — Brunson-Tim-DFS-KP-Powell.
FIRST QUARTER
After a couple of tip-off violations, it’s Suns’ ball. But Brunson gets on the board first, followed by a Hardaway jumper. Two good looks for Dallas. Brunson-KP alley-oop. Euro-step from JB, blowing by his defenders. KP from way downtown. Another three from Porzee. Timeout after Suns pull ahead. 14-16 6:18
Both teams shooting very well. Frankie running point now, as he comes in for JB. DFS hits an above-the-break three. Booker has his second foul, this one drawn by Frankie. Bullock takes back the lead on a second-chance opportunity. 20-18 2:19
McGee over Willie and Frankie. FN hits two freebies off foul by McGee. Suns scoring on every possession.
24-27 after one
Suns doubling up Mavs on PIP (16-8). Only 4 FTA in the quarter, all by Dallas. KP leading Dallas with 10 points. Bridges has 10 for Phoenix.
SECOND QUARTER
Burke and Brunson serving as the back court. Jalen for a long two. Burke steal, Reggie takes advantage. McGee crushing us offensively in the paint. KP over McGee. Jalen probes, moves to the basket, scores over McGee. 32-34 8:44
Sterling Brown hits from three off a pass from JB. Bullock steal, Sterling runs the court, Burke completes the play. Good teamwork! Lead seesawing back and forth. Ayton swats Powell in the face, Powell looks uncomfortable, but dunks on the next possession off a FN lob. Mavs getting ORs but can’t capitalize. Here's a Bullock second-chance basket. CP3 with back-to-back threes. Suns making a push here. Timmy hits a three, after several misses. 44-49 2:15
Timmy puts it on the deck, earns an and-one. He misses the free throw, but that’s the third foul on Ayton. McGee scores on a lob-dunk over KP. KP then misses a three, and fouls Bridges on the other end. THJ probes, dashes to the basket for a bucket.
51-55 HT
Mavs doing a little better in the paint in the second quarter, but go 2-11 from three. For the first half, three-point shooting is not going well for Dallas (5-19). Several Mavs need to re-lace their shooting boots everywhere on the court -- DFS (1-4), THJ (4-11), FN (0-5). KP-THJ-JB combine for 32 points. Bridges and Paul total 27 for Phoenix.
THIRD QUARTER
KP scores on his first possession off PNR with Brunson. Hardaway three over Booker! But Book returns the favor. KP post up is successful. KP draws free throws on a long outlet pass from Tim. Hits ‘em both. After briefly taking the lead, Mavs are slightly behind. 60-64 8:30
JB weaves his way to the basket. Mavs force a shot clock violation. Brunson bad pass intercepted. Doe-Doe forces a turnover, then hits a three. Foul on Hardaway called on the floor, Tim is livid, Powell holds him back from the refs. Mavs force another turnover, Tim earns an and-one as a result. 8-0 Mavs run since the timeout. Timmy getting it going from three. DFS three off another Mavs turnover! Great hustle from FN on that one. Tim’s last three reviewed, reduced to a two. 73-68 4:26
Willie with a pull-up free-throw line jumper! McGee, with two baskets in the paint, ties the game. Willie with a three on a catch-and-shoot from Brunson! OMG! Burke draws a foul off a KP downcourt pass. Brunson tough shot inside. Brunson closes the quarter with one of two free throws. 33-24 quarter for Dallas.
84-79 after three
FOURTH QUARTER
Cam Johnson opens with a three. Brunson with a couple of misses at the rim. Burke pull-up. McGee over KP. Shamet takes back the lead with a three from an offensive rebound. Paul hits over KP. 7-0 Suns run. 86-89 8:55
Mavs playing a no-center lineup. They force a turnover, but can’t capitalize. Chris Paul score on a crossover. Brunson can’t finish at the rim. Crowder three. Make that a 12-0 Suns run. Yikes. 86-94 7:27
Chris Paul working his magic out here. Brunson gives up his dribble, DFS bails him out with a smart cut, draws free throws, makes one of two. Bullock horribly off on a three. KP hits from three! Bullock misses a corner three. Paul hits again. Brunson misses a layup. Phoenix starters all back in. Paul with his signature mid-range pull-up over KP. Booker blocks JB at the rim. Booker with a corner three. The Mavs are really cratering here. 90-103
DFS and-one from Brunson. Misses the FT, but offensive rebounds result in a KP three. Ayton dunk. Booker from three. Tim misses a baseline jumper. KP turns the ball over, results in Ayton dunk. This is turning into a massacre. 95-110
Kidd yells calf rope. A deep bench unit is on the floor with two minutes left. Luka looking pensive on the sideline. Mavs make a 9-2 run in garbage time, but they’re a day late and a dollar short.
104-112 FT
ANALYSIS
The Mavs got 8 more shots up than the Suns, including 11 more threes, and had a 23-14 FTA advantage, but shot so poorly that they couldn’t take advantage (41% overall, 30% from three). The Suns, meanwhile, put up comparable numbers of 52% and 48%. Point differentials were -10 on points from twos, -6 on points from threes, and +8 on made free throws. They also had a 40-53 rebounding disadvantage. They were aggressively trying to force turnovers, and had some success, with 15 steals, and the Suns giving up 23 points on 18 giveaways. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make up for their subpar shooting and poor defense.
Having said all that, the Mavs made a game of it for three quarters, and even had a 5-point lead after 36 minutes. That was followed by an absolutely abysmal fourth quarter. Eliminating garbage time, they lost that period by an horrendous 11-31. They couldn’t buy a bucket — Tim 0-4, Brunson 1-6, starters 3-13. The Suns, OTOH, shot 65% for the quarter, and 71% from three. All five Dallas starters combined for 9 points, while the Suns’ starting five had 21. There’s your ball game. Those guys in the desert know how to turn it on when it matters. Just an embarrassing collapse. The final score does not reflect the game -- when the Mavs waved the white flag, they were down 95-110, with two minutes left.
PLAYER NOTES
BRUNSON (35 min). Jalen had a good line, at 18 points and 10 assists, but was 7-19 from the field, and really seemed to run out of gas in the fourth quarter. He played all 10 meaningful minutes in the final frame, and managed only 3 points and 2 assists. He repeatedly killed his dribble on unwarranted occasions, and looked to be running on fumes.
HARDAWAY (35). Tim got off to a poor start, but eventually came on, scoring 18 points. Overall, however, he was 7-21 from the field and 2-10 from three, which was not what we were hoping for on a night when the team needed his scoring punch. To be fair, he had to take some tough shots, without Luka on the floor. He also played the full 10 competitive minutes in the fourth, and didn’t score.
DFS (33). Dorian had an efficient 12 points (4-8, 3-6 3PTA), including three triples, and did what he could from a defensive standpoint. But he had 3 points and 1 steal in the fourth, not even securing a rebound.
PORZINGIS (30). KP had a good offensive night, with 23 points on very efficient shooting (8-13, 3-6 3PTA). He also drew a team-high 8 free throws, but made only 4. He boasted 12 rebounds (4 offensive), along with a couple of steals and a block. Harp thought KP did what he had been asked to do defensively, but in the fourth, the Suns aggressively and successfully targeted him with their PNRs. That is a weakness that would seem to bear addressing.
BULLOCK (28). Reggie had six points and a couple of steals off the bench, but was 0-5 from three. Continues his underwhelming performance, for now.
POWELL (20) had an unremarkable stat line (2-4-2), but provided some offensive rebounding and a few high-energy plays. FRANKIE (18) had 5 assists and 3 steals, but was 0-7 from the field, collecting 4 points off free throws. He had some exciting plays, as usual, but overall, not his best night. STERLING (16) had 5 points and 4 rebounds, and looked encouraging for a minute or three, shooting 100% from three (1-1), and getting a couple of steals. BURKE (15) had 8 points and 2 steals, and was on the floor with Brunson as part of a miniature back court for a couple of stretches. WILLIE (9) surprisingly exceeded expectations in some respects, with 8 points (3-3 shooting) and 3 boards. Mark and Harp thought this was his best game of the season. His three (the sixth of his career) was declared the Play of the Game. Guess we won't worry too much about the defensive breakdowns. GREEN did not score in a couple of minutes of GT.
MOSES and BOBAN were DNP-CDs.
SUNS. Mikal Bridges roasted us with 19 points on 7-7 shooting. Devin Booker was 7-20 and had 4 turnovers, but the Dallas defense could only contain him for so long. Thirteen of his 19 points were in the second half. Chris Paul had 18 points and 14 assists, and gave a virtuoso performance in the fourth quarter. JaVale McGee was our nemesis as a reserve with 14 points (7-10) and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes. The two Camerons combined for 23 points off the bench.
OBSERVATIONS
Kidd was not happy with the fourth quarter bomb. Said that his team couldn’t score, and their offense affected their defense, which was something they had talked about avoiding. The squad didn’t do a good job defensively, giving up a lot of easy baskets.
He noted that they tried various things, to no avail. They went small, only to see the Suns go on a run. They tried to force turnovers, with some success, but were not able to accomplish enough to turn the tide. He observed that if the team is going to rely on threes, they have to be able to make them at a good clip. Said that he would take a look at the film, but he knows that they aren’t going to beat good teams playing like this. Ouch.
This performance was more or less what I had expected in the Wednesday game, and when Dallas at least kept the scoreline respectable then, I admit to cherishing a sliver of hope that they might at least do themselves proud tonight, but it wasn’t to be. Kidd also said we have to remember that we were playing the WC champs without Luka and Maxi. Okay, we remember, but this game was supposed to give our guys confidence that they could compete without Luka, and they clearly could not. I guess we knew that, in our heart of hearts. Hopefully, it will at least be something they can learn from.
NEXT. The Mavs face the the Clippers on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center (or Crypto.com Arena, if the name change has taken place by then). Luka’s status is officially game by game, but I imagine the team will be conservative in deciding when it is safe for him to get back out there. Maxi will presumably still be out. This is quite a rough patch in the schedule, without a doubt.
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