There have been worse trips in history than the one the Mavericks just finished. That canceled flight that required an extra night’s stay in Fargo in December. Maybe some of those experiences the hippies had back in the ’60s.
But the Mavericks ended one of their worst trips in recent memory and, perhaps, put a lid on their season, too, as they were bounced in overtime 132-130 by the Atlanta Hawks Sunday evening at State Farm Arena.
The Mavericks went 1-4 on their final journey of the season and now, at 37-42, cannot reach .500 this season and need a miracle to get into the play-in tournament with three home games remaining. Only two of the five opponents on this trip had winning records. The only win the Mavericks got was against Indiana, a team that was missing its two best players.
“We’ve just been losing tough ones,” said Kyrie Irving, who had 41 points 16-of-27 shooting. “Emotionally draining, but at the same time, we’re professionals. I think the fun part of it is we still have a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel where we can still sneak in. But at the same time, I’m at peace with our effort . . . we just got to be able to finish better as a team.”
That glimmer of hope actually is still there. Earlier Sunday, the Portland Trail Blazers did the Mavericks a favor with a win at Minnesota, dropping the Timberwolves to 39-40. But just like the Thunder, the Wolves have the tiebreaker against the Mavericks. Utah, sitting just behind the Mavericks in the standings, also lost at Brooklyn. But the Mavericks could not take advantage.
They will have to pass one of the teams in front of them outright to squeeze into the play-in tourney. It could happen. But the odds are long, to say the least.
The magic number for elimination from postseason contention, at the moment, is any combination of two Maverick losses or Thunder victories.
“We know the situation we’re in,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’re playing catch-up. And we got to find a way to win. Right now, we’re coming up short. We need to win games and unfortunately we’re not winning right now.”
The way this eight-game trip ended added insult to injury for the Mavericks. JaVale McGee, who played splendidly to help the Mavericks rally from a 15-point third-quarter deficit, missed the second of two free throws with 0.4 seconds left in regulation that could have avoided the overtime.
Once it happened, a foul call made a major difference in the final moments of overtime.
The Mavericks needed a wild finish to get to the extra period. Once they did, they fell behind 130-128 on a Clint Capela slam on a lob from Trae Young.
Both teams missed and the Mavericks had possession with 46.2 seconds left. They worked the clock until Kyrie Irving, who had lit up the Hawks all night to finish with 41 points, knifed to the basket for a difficult layup to tie the game with 25 seconds left.
The Mavericks took a foul with 6.7 seconds left. And the Hawks were ready to set up for a potential winner. They got the ball to Young, who was in trouble, but got bailed out when Irving fouled him outside of the three-point arc.
Young hit both free throws with 1.8 seconds showing.
“That last play was supposed to be a turnover or an offensive foul,” Irving said. “I was headed the other way. The refs tonight, they’re going to look back on it and I don’t think they’re going to be too happy with that call. But it could have gone either way. I thought I was in great position. But that foul cost us the game, practically.
Luka, Dončić’s three-pointer at the buzzer clanged off the rim and the Mavericks lost for the third time in a row and seventh time in eight games.
“It was a wild ending,” Kidd said. “There was a lot that had to be executed on both sides. To get JaVale to the line after the jump ball was overturned, for him to send it to overtime was big for us.
“Unfortunately, we got a foul there late, which could have gone either way. But give them credit. They stepped up and made the free throws. And I thought Luka got a great look at the end. It would be a tough shot for a lot of players. He’s the one that can make it.”
The Mavericks were in danger throughout the fourth quarter on Sunday, but trimmed it to 119-117 before former San Antonio Spur Dejounte Murray scored with two minutes to go.
But Irving scored twice as the Mavericks finally secured a defensive rebound in between. But the Hawks did what they did much of the game, grabbed an offensive rebound that Clint Capela tipped in with 21 seconds to go to put the Hawks up by two.
Wood drove hard to the basket and got the foul call but he missed the second of two free throws, leaving the Mavericks down 123-122. Saddiq Bey appeared to tip the rebound out of bounds. The play was reviewed and the Mavericks had one last desperation chance and McGee was fouled. Two free throws would have won it, but he missed the second.
“In hindsight, that’s what movies are made of,” McGee said, “Not playing the whole season, then coming down to you hitting those two free throws for the win. Unfortunately, I missed one of them and we went to overtime. That movie went straight to DVD.”
The Mavericks were coming off a great offensive night in Miami that also included a heavy workload on Irving, Dončić and Hardaway, all of whom played more than 40 minutes in the 129-122 loss, including more than 44 for Dončić.
Kidd said the Mavericks were battling fatigue on the second night of back-to-back games which is why the play of McGee and Wood was important.
“We had some tired bodies out there from last night and I thought they did a great job of giving us a spark and getting us back in the game,” he said.
Unfortunately, it didn’t end with a win.
“It hurts. It hurts bad,” McGee said. “We all put our hearts out there to try to get that win. It doesn’t feel good at all. It doesn’t feel good being in this position at all.
“We’re trying to stay focused and stay together. We’re trying to get every win we can and get our streak on the winning side so we can make that play-in.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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