MAVS HAMMERED IN MILE-HIGH CITY
The Nuggets kicked the Mavericks’ collective butts in no uncertain terms. Maybe we can ascribe it to Dallas’ being on the second night of a back-to-back, a mile in the air, with KP on the bench with back tightness.
GAME NOTES
Porzingis (back) and S Brown (ankle) continued to be on the injured list. Jamal Murray was out for Denver. In KP’s absence, Kidd chose a starting lineup of Luka-THJ-Bullock-DFS-Powell, the same one he used in the Spurs game.
FIRST QUARTER
Mavs open with a Hardaway steal and Bullock transition dunk. Denver traps Timmy and gets a steal and dunk of its own. Mavs having some trouble with turnovers here. 9-15 5:56. Mavs shooting very poorly again.
Powell knocks Jokic down. Jokic gets a little nose plug and returns. 9-19 4:40. Mavs have missed their last seven shots. Yikes.
Frank, Maxi and Brunson ride in to save the day. Frankie hits a corner three. Powell hits a trey!! Josh Green is in. Nice steal by Frankie earns him two free throws. 21-29 after one.
Nuggets have nine turnovers and still lead by eight. How is that? Mavs shooting 27%, Denver 67%.
SECOND QUARTER
Dallas on an 11-0 run, Denver timeout. 28-29 10:45.
Josh tries to take a charge, but ref doesn’t see it that way. Mavs take the lead! Briefly. THJ elbows Campazzo, who makes a meal of it. Review. Flagrant one. Kidd has a chat with the official. Denver on a 7-0 run. Timeout. 30-36 7:44.
Maxi breaks a 13-0 run by Denver. DFS picks up two fouls within a few seconds. Maxi blocks Jokic. 33-46 4:17. 17-3 Denver run. Why can’t the Mavs make their shots, dang it? They’re getting some good looks.
Nuggets feasting on second-chance points. Mavs can’t guard the rim at all. Jokic killing them. Maxi with a block and a transition and-one by Luka. Denver commits a technical. Luka takes and makes the free throw. Mavs earn the last 7 points of the quarter. 44-54 at the half.
Mavs shooting 15-45. Ouch. Luka (4-12) leads with 11 points. Dallas out-rebounded 19-28, out-assisted 9-15. A 16-34 disadvantage in points in the paint. Doe-Doe, Bullock, and THJ combined for 8 points. They’re lucky to be only down 10. Devin Harris thinks they are suffering the effects of a back-to-back at altitude. I wouldn’t doubt it.
THIRD QUARTER
Kleber replaces Bullock to begin the third. Good start with a Luka-Maxi alley oop. Jokic giving the ref an earful over calling him for his third foul. Now he knocks DP down. Four fouls. Timeout Denver. 46-54 11:16.
Denver coaching challenge unsuccessful. They leave Jokic in with four. Jokic scores twice in the paint. Of course he does. Terrible stretch for the Mavs. Aaron Gordon over DFS. Luka turns the ball over. Timeout Dallas. 47-64 8:19. Brutal.
Mavs twenty points behind. Bobi checks in. Gordon runs over Brunson. Brunson called for the foul. Kidd challenges. Unsuccessful. Jokic hits a three. This is so demoralizing. Denver just piling on at this point. Mavs can barely score at all. Will Barton knocks Boban down. Dang. Jokic taking a breather. Burke is in. Hits a three. Mavs just can’t stop anything at the rim. DFS just called for his fourth foul. Still hasn’t scored. 56-87 after three. These boys are getting their hind ends kicked into next week.
FOURTH QUARTER
Mavs bring out Green, DFS, Frankie, Willie, and Burke. Burke running point. Moses comes in. Omoruyi enters the game. It’s all third-stringers out there now, on both teams.
It’s all Denver now. 75-106. Yuck.
ANALYSIS
The score was within seven points early in the third quarter, but the Mavs underwent a spectacular collapse from that point on. Dallas was outplayed in every aspect of the game. Shooting 29%, to Denver’s 52%. 8-37 from three (22%). They did draw 27 free throw attempts, compared to Denver’s 13, so perhaps that is a small bright-ish spot. Outrebounded 36-51. Assists — Dallas 14, Denver 28. Twenty-two points in the paint, while the Nuggets had 50. 1 second-chance point. The team scored only 12 points in the third quarter. And so forth. Just a thoroughgoing beatdown. I can hardly stand it.
PLAYER NOTES
DONCIC. The entire team played short minutes tonight, and Luka was on court the longest with 26. He was 16-6-4, on 5-18 shooting (1-4 from three). Not a great night from the 22-year-old, who was all but stifled in the paint. He was the picture of frustration, and seemed uncharacteristically hesitant. Kidd says he is not concerned with Luka’s shots not dropping tonight, but Luka and all the players have to get better. They have to maintain the discipline to not let their frustration affect their game. Luka took responsibility for the loss, admitting that he has to play “way better.”
DFS. Doe-Doe had a disappointing evening, with 2 points, no baskets, 0-7 shooting, 1 rebound, and 4 turnovers in 24 minutes. A humiliating line. He seemed to be playing hard. Not sure what the issues were.
KLEBER. Maxi had a halfway decent outing, comparatively speaking, with 7 points (2-4), 2 boards, and a block in 23 minutes. He notably replaced Bullock to start the third quarter, and played starter minutes, but ultimately, no one was able to stop Denver’s potent paint attack and diversified offense.
BULLOCK. Reggie got the nod for the starting lineup in KP’s absence, but was relatively invisible on the night, putting only 5 points and 2 rebounds up in 22 minutes. Not really making a case for himself as far as big minutes are concerned.
HARDAWAY. Timmy had another bad game, with only 3 points (1-7) in 21 minutes. I don't remember whether he ever even got a good look. Pee-yew.
POWELL. Dwight had the second-most points on the starting unit — 8 (2-4), including a triple, in 19 minutes. He really struggled on the defensive end.
BENCH. Brunson had 4 points (2-8) and 3 assists in 19 minutes. Led a good run in the first half, but ultimately didn’t have the impact he did against the Spurs. Frankie had 7 points on 2-6 shooting. Green got a 16-minute runout. He didn’t score, but had 7 rebounds, and was the only Mav in positive figures (+10). Burke had 15 minutes of mostly garbage time, and was the second-leading scorer on the team with 11 points. Willie had 4 points and 1 board in 13 minutes. Omoruyi, Moses, and Bobi each had cameos, and combined for 8 points, 7 boards, and one assist, mostly after the game was out of reach. Kidd complimented Omoruyi, and said it was great to have those guys as an option.
NUGGETS. Jokic, who was questionable to play before the game, was a monster, with 11 points, 16 boards, and 8 assists. Denver had 5 guys in double figures, led by Will Barton with 17 points. A statement game for them, perhaps.
OBSERVATIONS
Kidd could not think of any excuses for the embarrassing performance, and admitted that Denver was the better team tonight. He said the team had talked about the importance of getting off to a good start, but the team did not execute, and that pattern continued for the whole 48 minutes.
I don’t doubt that the SEGABABA, the altitude, and the absence of KP all had an effect on the Mavs, who were sluggish on the night. I hope that was most or all of the problem. I was not surprised to see the Mavs have trouble guarding the paint, but it continues to confound me that they have so much trouble scoring. Credit Denver’s D, but Dallas did get quite a few good looks that they just bricked. They were SO outmatched. What has happened to our Mavs??!!
NEXT. The boys will face Harrison Barnes and the Kings on Sunday afternoon. No rest for the weary.
The Nuggets kicked the Mavericks’ collective butts in no uncertain terms. Maybe we can ascribe it to Dallas’ being on the second night of a back-to-back, a mile in the air, with KP on the bench with back tightness.
GAME NOTES
Porzingis (back) and S Brown (ankle) continued to be on the injured list. Jamal Murray was out for Denver. In KP’s absence, Kidd chose a starting lineup of Luka-THJ-Bullock-DFS-Powell, the same one he used in the Spurs game.
FIRST QUARTER
Mavs open with a Hardaway steal and Bullock transition dunk. Denver traps Timmy and gets a steal and dunk of its own. Mavs having some trouble with turnovers here. 9-15 5:56. Mavs shooting very poorly again.
Powell knocks Jokic down. Jokic gets a little nose plug and returns. 9-19 4:40. Mavs have missed their last seven shots. Yikes.
Frank, Maxi and Brunson ride in to save the day. Frankie hits a corner three. Powell hits a trey!! Josh Green is in. Nice steal by Frankie earns him two free throws. 21-29 after one.
Nuggets have nine turnovers and still lead by eight. How is that? Mavs shooting 27%, Denver 67%.
SECOND QUARTER
Dallas on an 11-0 run, Denver timeout. 28-29 10:45.
Josh tries to take a charge, but ref doesn’t see it that way. Mavs take the lead! Briefly. THJ elbows Campazzo, who makes a meal of it. Review. Flagrant one. Kidd has a chat with the official. Denver on a 7-0 run. Timeout. 30-36 7:44.
Maxi breaks a 13-0 run by Denver. DFS picks up two fouls within a few seconds. Maxi blocks Jokic. 33-46 4:17. 17-3 Denver run. Why can’t the Mavs make their shots, dang it? They’re getting some good looks.
Nuggets feasting on second-chance points. Mavs can’t guard the rim at all. Jokic killing them. Maxi with a block and a transition and-one by Luka. Denver commits a technical. Luka takes and makes the free throw. Mavs earn the last 7 points of the quarter. 44-54 at the half.
Mavs shooting 15-45. Ouch. Luka (4-12) leads with 11 points. Dallas out-rebounded 19-28, out-assisted 9-15. A 16-34 disadvantage in points in the paint. Doe-Doe, Bullock, and THJ combined for 8 points. They’re lucky to be only down 10. Devin Harris thinks they are suffering the effects of a back-to-back at altitude. I wouldn’t doubt it.
THIRD QUARTER
Kleber replaces Bullock to begin the third. Good start with a Luka-Maxi alley oop. Jokic giving the ref an earful over calling him for his third foul. Now he knocks DP down. Four fouls. Timeout Denver. 46-54 11:16.
Denver coaching challenge unsuccessful. They leave Jokic in with four. Jokic scores twice in the paint. Of course he does. Terrible stretch for the Mavs. Aaron Gordon over DFS. Luka turns the ball over. Timeout Dallas. 47-64 8:19. Brutal.
Mavs twenty points behind. Bobi checks in. Gordon runs over Brunson. Brunson called for the foul. Kidd challenges. Unsuccessful. Jokic hits a three. This is so demoralizing. Denver just piling on at this point. Mavs can barely score at all. Will Barton knocks Boban down. Dang. Jokic taking a breather. Burke is in. Hits a three. Mavs just can’t stop anything at the rim. DFS just called for his fourth foul. Still hasn’t scored. 56-87 after three. These boys are getting their hind ends kicked into next week.
FOURTH QUARTER
Mavs bring out Green, DFS, Frankie, Willie, and Burke. Burke running point. Moses comes in. Omoruyi enters the game. It’s all third-stringers out there now, on both teams.
It’s all Denver now. 75-106. Yuck.
ANALYSIS
The score was within seven points early in the third quarter, but the Mavs underwent a spectacular collapse from that point on. Dallas was outplayed in every aspect of the game. Shooting 29%, to Denver’s 52%. 8-37 from three (22%). They did draw 27 free throw attempts, compared to Denver’s 13, so perhaps that is a small bright-ish spot. Outrebounded 36-51. Assists — Dallas 14, Denver 28. Twenty-two points in the paint, while the Nuggets had 50. 1 second-chance point. The team scored only 12 points in the third quarter. And so forth. Just a thoroughgoing beatdown. I can hardly stand it.
PLAYER NOTES
DONCIC. The entire team played short minutes tonight, and Luka was on court the longest with 26. He was 16-6-4, on 5-18 shooting (1-4 from three). Not a great night from the 22-year-old, who was all but stifled in the paint. He was the picture of frustration, and seemed uncharacteristically hesitant. Kidd says he is not concerned with Luka’s shots not dropping tonight, but Luka and all the players have to get better. They have to maintain the discipline to not let their frustration affect their game. Luka took responsibility for the loss, admitting that he has to play “way better.”
DFS. Doe-Doe had a disappointing evening, with 2 points, no baskets, 0-7 shooting, 1 rebound, and 4 turnovers in 24 minutes. A humiliating line. He seemed to be playing hard. Not sure what the issues were.
KLEBER. Maxi had a halfway decent outing, comparatively speaking, with 7 points (2-4), 2 boards, and a block in 23 minutes. He notably replaced Bullock to start the third quarter, and played starter minutes, but ultimately, no one was able to stop Denver’s potent paint attack and diversified offense.
BULLOCK. Reggie got the nod for the starting lineup in KP’s absence, but was relatively invisible on the night, putting only 5 points and 2 rebounds up in 22 minutes. Not really making a case for himself as far as big minutes are concerned.
HARDAWAY. Timmy had another bad game, with only 3 points (1-7) in 21 minutes. I don't remember whether he ever even got a good look. Pee-yew.
POWELL. Dwight had the second-most points on the starting unit — 8 (2-4), including a triple, in 19 minutes. He really struggled on the defensive end.
BENCH. Brunson had 4 points (2-8) and 3 assists in 19 minutes. Led a good run in the first half, but ultimately didn’t have the impact he did against the Spurs. Frankie had 7 points on 2-6 shooting. Green got a 16-minute runout. He didn’t score, but had 7 rebounds, and was the only Mav in positive figures (+10). Burke had 15 minutes of mostly garbage time, and was the second-leading scorer on the team with 11 points. Willie had 4 points and 1 board in 13 minutes. Omoruyi, Moses, and Bobi each had cameos, and combined for 8 points, 7 boards, and one assist, mostly after the game was out of reach. Kidd complimented Omoruyi, and said it was great to have those guys as an option.
NUGGETS. Jokic, who was questionable to play before the game, was a monster, with 11 points, 16 boards, and 8 assists. Denver had 5 guys in double figures, led by Will Barton with 17 points. A statement game for them, perhaps.
OBSERVATIONS
Kidd could not think of any excuses for the embarrassing performance, and admitted that Denver was the better team tonight. He said the team had talked about the importance of getting off to a good start, but the team did not execute, and that pattern continued for the whole 48 minutes.
I don’t doubt that the SEGABABA, the altitude, and the absence of KP all had an effect on the Mavs, who were sluggish on the night. I hope that was most or all of the problem. I was not surprised to see the Mavs have trouble guarding the paint, but it continues to confound me that they have so much trouble scoring. Credit Denver’s D, but Dallas did get quite a few good looks that they just bricked. They were SO outmatched. What has happened to our Mavs??!!
NEXT. The boys will face Harrison Barnes and the Kings on Sunday afternoon. No rest for the weary.
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