CHARLOTTE – Guard Kyrie Irving knows how critical it was for the Dallas Mavericks to win those last two games they
played against the Charlotte Hornets. Instead, against all odds, the Mavs lost to the Hornets twice in three days – 117-109 in Dallas last Friday and 110-104 in Charlotte on Sunday.
“Losing in basketball is very frustrating, especially when we have as talented a group as we do,” Irving said. “We have the talent, but we just got to be able to perform and be able to execute the details that we go over in the game plan.
“This is the second game that we played against Charlotte (in three days). And these are dangerous games in the season, because we’re obviously playing for something and they’re not playing for anything.”
The two heartbreaking losses to the Hornets dropped the Mavs to 36-39 and had the Charlotte players and fans dancing as if they had just won the NBA championship.
“You can tell after they celebrated after the game,” Irving said. “The home crowd was a little surprised, too.
“They celebrated 
because they haven’t had a consistent flow throughout the season, so when they beat us it’s a big deal.”
It’s a big deal because the Mavs advanced to last season’s Western Conference Finals. This year the Mavs have a target on their back and have lost 13 of their last 18 games, including the last four,
“I’ve realized that being in the league . . . it’s a little personal and we have to play with a toughness that we’re getting ready to go to war or to battle with who we’re going against,” Irving said. “It’s a learning experience for all of us, but I think over the last few games it’s definitely been frustrating from that aspect. We know what we’re going into, but we’re just not performing.”
Here are the three takeaways from the six-point loss to the Hornets.
MORE FIRST-QUARTER WOES: After allowing 37 points to Charlotte in Dallas on Friday, this again was not exactly a pretty start for the Mavs. They trailed, 30-16, when the first quarter ended. At that juncture, the Mavs were only 3-of-18 from the field while the Hornets’ Gordon Hayward was 4-of-7 from the field. Charlotte also outrebounded the Mavs, 19-9, in the first quarter. The Hornets had five offensive rebounds in the first quarter, while the Mavs had just two for the entire game.
INTERIOR DOMINANCE: After the game, Tim Hardaway Jr. said the Mavs’ problems are on the defensive end of the court. And the stats bear that out. Charlotte hammered away inside and outscored the Mavs in the paint (48-26) and on second-chance points (19-4). The Mavs did block seven shots, but the Hornets kept attacking the rim with better than average success. Charlotte was 24-of-47 from the field on shots inside the paint.
NO REBOUNDS, NO RINGS: The Hornets feasted on the Mavs on the boards. With relatively unknown center, Mark Williams, grabbing 16 rebounds and Frisco Lone Star High School product P.J. Washington dragging down 12 boards, Charlotte won the rebounding battle by a sizeable 58-36 margin. That includes a commanding 14-2 edge on the offensive end of the floor.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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