The Dallas Mavericks (37-39) fell to the Brooklyn Nets (25-51) 113-109 in a Monday night matchup. Dallas had no answer for Brooklyn’s reign from three after winning their last two road games, and beating the Nets last week.
Daniel Gafford returned tonight after missing 21 games with a Grade 3 MCL sprain. Dereck Lively (ankle stress fracture), Dante Exum (hand fracture), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (wrist sprain), and Kyrie Irving (ACL tear) were out for Dallas. Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas were out for Brooklyn.
Gafford led the Mavericks with 17 points and seven rebounds. Keon Johnson contributed 24 points for the Nets.
The Mavericks led 29-25 after the first quarter, fueled by a spark from the bench. The starters went back and forth with Brooklyn’s first five, but a couple of shots from Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin swung the momentum in Dallas’ favor. Gafford looked like he hadn’t missed a step in his opening minutes.
Dallas struggled early defending Brooklyn’s shooters, allowing them to mount a comeback as the second period opened. The Mavericks flipped a switch, going on a 9-0 run, but Brooklyn continued to be scorching-hot from three. Dallas squandered the seven-point lead they had just created. An Anthony Davis block and a midrange jumper on the other end gave the Mavericks another opportunity to fight back before the half. Max Christie had a nice drive to the basket and a three-pointer that led Dallas to a 63-58 lead at the half.
Brooklyn continued to hang around throughout the third quarter, and a couple of buckets by Jalen Wilson and Tyrese Martin gave the Nets a one-point lead. Davis and Jaden Hardy stopped their run as the two teams continued to trade blows, this one putting Dallas up, 87-84.
The teams continued to trade blows in the fourth quarter until Brooklyn mounted a comeback as Dallas went scoreless for three minutes. A continuing trend since trading their lead, All-NBA guard, Dallas’ offense fell flat. A couple of baskets by Nic Claxton and D’Angelo Russell led to a 111-107 Nets lead with 47 seconds left. Thompson and Dinwiddie both missed go-ahead threes, ultimately sealing Dallas’ fate with a 113-109 loss.
Here are three takeaways from tonight’s loss:
Naji Marshall the playmaker
Naji Marshall finished with eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Marshall’s playmaking has been crucial for Dallas’ second unit with Brandon Williams being unavailable for the remainder of the season. It’s a fun watch, too. Dallas plays fast when he has control. He got into foul trouble in the third period, so we didn’t get to see him completely unleashed tonight. His ability to handle the ball at his size, combined with his ability to find open shooters on drive-and-kicks, makes him a very unique player, and I am interested to see if he takes anything from this role he’s acquired into next season, when the Mavericks are hopefully healthier.
Daniel Gafford’s big return
Daniel Gafford finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in 19 minutes in his return tonight. Gafford looked great in his return, despite appearing to reaggravate his injury in the closing minutes of the game. It’s concerning that Gafford wasn’t pulled off the floor when he was visibly grimacing and limping, but I tip my cap to him for the hustle and heart he displayed after hitting a one-legged shot.
Having Gafford back is huge for the Mavericks, who are leaning into an identity of outsizing their opponents. Having him and Davis together on the defensive end impacts how their opponents get to the basket, and I am curious to see how his rotations fall when Lively returns. He plays with an energy that Dallas has missed.
Brooklyn shooting too much to overcome despite points in paint and rebounding
The points in the paint and rebounding tell the story of how Dallas fought through this one. They outrebounded Brooklyn 49-40 and won the points in the paint battle 56-36. This points back to not only Gafford’s return, but also Brooklyn’s lack of size. It was pretty clear that the Nets knew they couldn’t score on Dallas’ bigs, leading to their 51 three-point attempts. Unfortunately, Brooklyn couldn’t miss, hitting 20 attempts. Dallas had no answer for their red-hot shooting, and when it came to clutch time, Dallas’ offense fell flat, putting an end to this matchup.
The Mavericks will be back in action when the Atlanta Hawks come to town Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff.
