They say the NBA is about weathering storms.
If that’s the case, consider that the Mavericks are currently in the middle of a rough patch.
Returning after a disappointing trip, the Mavericks fell behind by 18 points approaching the middle of the fourth quarter and were unable to recover, losing a 120-116 decision to the Philadelphia 76ers, who were playing without arguably the best player in the NBA. Joel Embiid.
The Mavericks mounted a furious rally down the stretch, but simply had too much ground to make up. They looked like a team playing their fourth game in 5 1/2 days as the Sixers cruised to victory at the American Airlines Center.
It was easy for coach Jason Kidd to identify what was wrong, as the Mavericks fought from behind virtually all night after the momentum of a fast start after the jump ball had them abandoned.
“Our offense is our defense,” Kidd said. “When we score, we will be one of the best teams in this league.
“When we don’t score, we’re one of the worst teams. And so, when we have trouble scoring, we tend to do nothing on the defensive end. And we’re trying to find a way to score. We get some great looks. They just don’t fall in love with us.
The Mavericks trailed 103-85 with 7:30 to play. They still trailed by 14 points with 5 minutes remaining when Luka Dončić started the rally with two free throws and a three-pointer. They cut the lead to seven, then Kyrie Irving scored in the paint and the Mavericks were up 110-105 with 1:34 left.
The Sixers, however, had an answer as Tobia Harris, who led them with 28 points, hit a corner three-pointer with 1:11 left for a 113-105 advantage.
The Mavericks were in the middle of a scrum and got back to 115-110 and thought they had a backcourt violation with 26.7 seconds left before the Sixers called a timeout.
They finally got two free throws with 25.1 seconds left to seal the score. Kyrie Irving made two three-pointers, but the Mavericks had to foul and the Sixers made their free throws.
The positive point ? Luka became only the fourth player in NBA history with three consecutive 30-point triple-doubles (joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and Russell Westbrook). He finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Irving had 28 points and Derrick Jones Jr. had 21 off the bench.
All of this was little comfort as the Mavericks have now lost four of five games since their seven-game winning streak and slipped to 34-27 in the very tight Western Conference standings.
The Sixers improved to 35-25.
Irving said it will be up to him and Dončić to get the Mavericks out of the doldrums in the two remaining home games (Indiana Tuesday, Miami Thursday).
How do they do this?
“By sharing wisdom from experiences that you’ve had in the past and also affirming that we’re going to be okay,” Irving said. “And it’s for everyone watching.” Everything will be fine for us. We have to trust that we will be able to do the work necessary to achieve these victories. We have already shown this. We’ve dipped a bit in the last few games, 1-3 away.
“(Then we) come back home and not take care of the land, it’s ours. We have to take responsibility for it as players. We have to bring energy. No more excuses. We have around twenty matches left. We know the position we are in now.
And, just as importantly, he said the Mavericks know the pressure of reaching the playoffs.
“We know what happened last year when we didn’t get it done, what an abject failure it seems to be,” Irving said. “And we know what it feels like to have external pressure, our fan base. It’s also new to some guys who have never dealt with a target on their back.
The Mavericks suffered 17 turnovers against the Sixers and struggled with their shooting eyes. Tim Hardaway was just 1 of 8 and PJ Washington was 3 of 10. After making their first three three-pointers, they went 7 of 26 for the rest of the three quarters before heating up on their comeback.
The Mavericks looked like a tired team at times. But Luka didn’t take this into account.
“There are 29 other teams that probably have the same schedule,” he said. “That’s not an excuse.”
However, he said the Mavericks are likely suffering from some mental and physical fatigue.
“I think it’s a little bit of both,” he said. “You have to have energy from the first minute of the match. I can do better, that’s for sure. People follow me, so I have to do better.
As for Hardaway’s struggles (he’s been 15 for 53 in the last nine games), Luka said: “Keep staying positive. We all know he’s going to get back to his old self. It’s tough. Losing games is hard.”
Especially when you look like the sharper team at the start of the match. In the first quarter, the Mavericks were 5 of 10 from three-point range. They were 2 of 10 on shots inside the arc.
That wasn’t the only oddity of the first 12 minutes. The Mavericks took an 11-0 advantage. They were then outscored 32-11 over the final nine minutes.
Racing game, clearly. And the Mavericks couldn’t put another one together before it was too late.
X: @ESefko
