ORLANDO — With the wind swirling outside, rain falling and Hurricane Nicole on the way, the Dallas Mavericks’ went through too many cold spells in the second half of Wednesday’s surprising 94-87 loss to the Orlando Magic.
After impressively scoring 54 points in the first half, the Mavs couldn’t weather the storm after that as they only scored 33 points in the second half on 12-of-39 shooting. That includes getting outrebounded in the second half, 27-16, and scoring just 13 points in the fourth quarter on 5-of-18 shooting with no assists.
“I kept asking the coaches how long have we been on this non-scoring kick?,” coach Jason Kidd rhetorically asked. “And it was the six-minute mark.
“For three minutes there we couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”
The loss snapped the Mavs’ four-game winning streak and dropped them to 6-4 on the season. They’ll try and right the ship Thursday at 6 p.m. when they face the Washington Wizards in Washington, DC.
Here are the three takeaways from the 94-87 loss to the Magic.
DINWIDDIE GOES OFF: Spencer Dinwiddie finished with a game-high 29 points and was 9-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-10 from three-point land. He also contributed five assists and two steals. Dinwiddie scored 16 of his points in the first half when the Mavs had a 54-50 lead. In addition, he was in complete control of that second unit, scoring eight points and distributing three assists during a nine-minute stint in the second quarter.
DONCIC’S STREAK SNAPPED: Luka Doncic’s streak of scoring at least 30 points in every game this season was snapped at nine games when he finished Wednesday’s outing with 24 points. Doncic converted just 9-of-29 shots in a night where his shots just weren’t falling. Wilt Chamberlain holds the record of starting a season with the most 30-point plus games at 23, and Doncic is second with nine.
SHOTS WEREN’T FALLING: It was a night where the Mavs just couldn’t make many meaningful shots. And a lot of the missed shots came when the Mavs got good looks at the basket. Overall, the Mavs were just 37.6 percent from the floor while making 32-of-85 field goals. The Mavs also were only 11-of-42 from beyond the three-point arc for 26.2 percent. It’s a night where the Mavs committed just six turnovers.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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