The Mavericks were hoping for a Cyber-Funday, a bounce-back moment to get back on the winning track.
Instead, what they got Monday at American Airlines Center was worse than that maxed-out credit-card bill that comes after the holidays.
The Mavericks got run out of their own gym as the Cleveland Cavaliers were the latest beneficiaries of the Mavericks’ inability to make shots. The Cavs rolled to a 114-96 victory as the Mavericks lost for the second time in a row at home and for the fifth time in their last six games.
And the tension is mounting.
“It’s everybody, you know,” said Luka Dončić, who had a triple-double but was far more concerned with the problems that have become obvious. “Just stick together. We had a lot of open shots. We got to stick together.”
Asked if this is a challenging time to keep the team pulling in the same direction, he said:
“Yeah, this is what real teams do – in tough times they stick together. It’s easy to stay together when it’s all good. The tough times, that’s when you got to stay together.”
The Mavericks fell to 10-9. They trailed most of the way and fell behind by 24 points in the third quarter. No miracle comeback was in the cards, because it’s hard to come back when you can’t make shots.
Through three quarters, the were 26-of-70 from the field (37.1 percent). Garbage time in the fourth quarter provided some cosmetic improvement. But the bottom line is that virtually everybody on the roster is struggling with their shot.
“We got to continue to trust,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Luka could easily not pass it to anyone because no one’s making shots. And so, he has to continue to trust and make the right basketball play. He has a triple-double, which is an incredible feat in itself when we can’t make shots.”
Dončić had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was 7-of-11 from 3-point range. The rest of the Mavericks were 5-of-28 (17.9 percent).
Kidd said these are defining times for a team that clearly has ability, but is struggling on both ends of the floor right now.
“The biggest thing is you can’t feel sorry for yourself,” Kidd said. “You have to keep working. No one said it’s easy to make shots. But we’re getting wide-open shots . . .They’re just not going in.
“No one’s going to feel sorry if you’re in a slump, offensively or defensively. It tends to test your character. It tests you mentally and physically to (not) point the finger at someone else.
“But it’s just us. So we have to talk about it, be honest with one another and then we have to go to work. When the ball doesn’t go in the hole, it tends to eventually wear on you.”
Kidd said he was willing to go out on a limb and say that the offensive woes have had a horrible impact on their defense.
“When we don’t make shots, we tend to feel bad or feel sorry for ourselves,” he said. “The opposing team is not going to wait for us to get back on defense. Our transition defense has stunk here of late because we’re not making shots. So we have to address that.”
Their next chance to do so will be on the road Wednesday against the struggling New Orleans Pelicans.
Improvement won’t come the way they are playing, which simply isn’t very good right now. Dončić tried to do all he could. He was sizzling from 3-point range. But none of his teammates could find the basket.
After a forgettable first half when everybody not named Luka was 1-for-16 from 3-point land for the Mavericks couldn’t make a serious push in the third quarter and with former Texas Longhorn Jarrett Allen making all sorts of point-blank buckets, the Cavaliers pulled ahead 82-58 and the Mavericks were doomed.
Allen finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds. The Cavaliers, also got 24 points from Lauri Markkanen.
The Mavericks got guard Jalen Brunson back after missing a game with a left foot bruise, but they found out earlier Monday that Willie Cauley-Stein, who had started the previous two games at center, would be out with a non-COVID-related illness.
That opened the door for Moses Brown to get his first start of the season. It came against one of the biggest teams in the NBA. Cleveland started Markkanen and rookie Evan Mobley, both 7-footers, plus the 6-11 Allen.
Twitter: @ESefko
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