Sometimes, you just can’t stand prosperity.
For the second time in a week, the Mavericks followed up one of their most impressive wins of the season with a clunker.
First, they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and chased it with a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, who were missing their two all-star players.
On Saturday, after a gritty, short-handed victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday, the Mavericks were drop-kicked by the New Orleans Pelicans, who were without four of their best players.
Rookie guard Jordan Hawkins had 34 points as the Pelicans took a 118-108 victory over the Mavericks in the first of a two-game set.
“It’s the NBA. You got to show up every day,” coach Jason Kidd said of the rollercoaster the Mavericks have been on lately. “We were in this position against Memphis and we responded the next game.
“Give New Orleans credit. They came out and they were aggressive, they rebounded the ball on the offensive end at a high rate and we just couldn’t compete. Our physicality wasn’t there tonight.”
The Mavericks fell to 23-17 while the Pelicans are 24-16. The Mavericks are 4-2 on this marathon home stand that ends Monday when the teams vying for the Southwest Division lead meet again on Martin Luther King Day at 1:30 p.m.
With practically an all-star team of players missing for both teams, it was clear style points were going out the window into the shivering, subarctic weather.
But it was the Pelicans who managed to pick up the slack best by heating up, particularly in the third quarter.
The Mavericks were without Luka Dončić for the second game in a row and the third time in the last five. They also were missing center Dereck Lively II and guard Dante Exum.
The Pelicans, who played Friday night in Denver and didn’t arrive in Dallas until about 4 a.m. Saturday, were missing Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, C.J. McCollum and Trey Murphy.
That’s about 75 points per game, or roughly the same amount Luka provides. OK, maybe Dončić’s absence isn’t that pronounced. But it’s close.
At any rate, the Mavericks were down 88-81 going into the fourth quarter after Hawkins had uncorked a big run of three-pointers in the third frame.
The Mavericks got busy behind Irving and Dwight Powell, who was in the midst of one of the most remarkable individual games of the season. Midway through the fourth quarter, he had zero points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
The Mavericks were plus-10 when he was on the floor.
Yet they were down 97-91 on the scoreboard. They never could make up the deficit.
Their last gasp came when they closed to 111-1o4 with nearly two minutes left. They forced a missed shot, but Jonas Valanciunas grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play for a 10-point lead.
Valanciunas finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
The Mavericks were led by Kyrie Irving with 33 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr., both of whom had 24.
It was a far cry from the 128-124 win they earned against the Knicks.
“It’s the season, there’s going to be ups and downs,” Kidd said. “Every team goes through it. Every team goes through injuries. You put your best foot forward and you’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some. But you’re going to learn about who you are. You can’t hide.”
Asked what the low level of physicality could be contributed to, he said: “Tired bodies. We got guys playing a lot of minutes. We’re small and it happens. So we got to learn from it and move forward.”
And as Jones said, the Mavericks can take a lot from learning experiecnes like this.
“It’s basketball,” he said. “It don’t matter who is in front of you. You got to play the game the same way. I know everybody was out there giving it their all. We just got to give a little more, play a little harder.”
The Mavericks got some good news before the game when Maxi Kleber, who has been out for just over two months with a dislocated small right toe, was cleared to play.
The 6-10 Kleber had been one of the first big men off the bench before the injury and his return was a welcomed boost to the Mavericks’ depth on the front line.
“I thought he was really good,” Kidd said. “In the minutes he played, I thought he played really, really well. Hopefully, he has a positive experience and tomorrow he’s not sore or hurting. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
They also had Josh Green and Grant Williams available. Both had been listed as questionable before the game, but both played and were prime contributors.
But making up for the absence of Dončić, along with Lively and Exum, was not easy. The Mavericks and Pelicans shadowed each other into the third quarter, when Hardaway came alive from long range and the Mavericks were able to inch ahead 72-67.
But moments later, the Pelicans were back up 81-77 as they heated up from long range.
It was that kind of game.
X: @ESefko
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