The Dallas Mavericks (38-41) committed flagrant and wanton atrocities against the game of basketball in their second of two straight losses to the Los Angeles Clippers (46-22) on Saturday at the Intuit Dome. The brand of basketball the Mavericks put on display against the Clippers was so lifeless, so hapless, so joyless that it can only be characterized as an affront unto the Lord.
Do not pass “Go.” Do not collect $200. Straight to jail.
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard scored 19 apiece for the Clippers and got most of the fourth quarter off, and Ivica Zubac added 25 on a perfect 11-of-11 shooting night in the win. Anthony Davis put up 27 for the Mavericks in the loss. Here are four more stats encapsulating some of the worst basketball you’ll ever watch.
15-1: Clippers’ first-quarter run
Dallas battled to an 8-8 tie in the game’s early moments behind savvy play from the newly minted point forward Anthony Davis. The Clippers responded with a 15-1 run to take control of the game in a span of just over two minutes. James Harden pulled up for a 3-pointer from near the top of the key after Davis split a pair of free throws, then Kawhi Leonard drove for a couple of tough buckets after Davis split another pair.
Harden drove in for a 3-point play over Davis to make it 20-9 midway through the first as part of the run; then Spencer Dinwiddie threw away a bad pass, leading to a Norman Powell 3-pointer from the right wing to cap the run and force Mavs head coach Jason Kidd to call his first timeout of the game with Dallas trailing 23-9.
Los Angeles led 33-21 after one, just one night after the Mavericks managed just 16 points in the first quarter of Friday’s game against the Clippers. Harden drove through four Maverick defenders on his way to a buzzer-beating lay-in at the end of the frame.
37: First-half scoring from Kawhi Leonard and James Harden
Leonard and Harden dominated the Mavericks in the first half on Saturday. The Clippers duo scored 37 combined points on 15-of-25 shooting from the field. Harden led all scorers at the break with 19 and frustrated the Mavs defense with six of his seven field goals in the paint. His giant-killing tear-drop floater was on full display as the Clippers played with their food, letting the Mavs hang around.
The Clippers took a 61-52 lead into halftime. Harden and Leonard coasted in the second half to a game-high 29 points apiece in the win.
11-of-47: Mavs’ combined 3-point shooting in last two games
The Mavericks shot a pathetic, anemic 11-of-47 (23.4%) from beyond the 3-point line in their last two losses, both at the hands of the Clippers. After going 4-of-20 on Friday night, Dallas followed it up with a 7-of-25 outing from beyond the arc on Saturday, enough to build both Brick City and Brick City West.
It was uglier than ugly. It was a horror show. It was downright unwatchable, but we’re gluttons for punishment. Dinwiddie and Davis combined to shoot 2-for-10 from distance on Saturday, a new achievement in futility unlocked.
80-44: Clippers paint points advantage
For a team that fielded Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and PJ Washington in its starting lineup to be outscored 80-44 in the paint is just another bullet point in the never-ending scroll of unspeakably heinous crimes against basketball Mavs fans have borne witness to in the last 48 hours.
We are living through a waking nightmare, but the good news is that basketball season is almost over. The abominations will soon cease.
