In an NBA season, there are highs and lows, ups and downs, and right now, the Dallas Mavericks are down. Dallas(8-13) has now lost six straight after losing to the Suns(11-8) at home 109-108 on Monday night.
Phoenix defeated the Mavericks on Saturday night and swept the two-game set against Dallas.
Dallas led late but fell victim to Devin Booker’s greatness, who hit a three with 1.5 seconds left to give Phoenix the victory. Dallas had one last chance, but Luka Doncic missed a three at the buzzer.
The Mavericks are looking to get back on track, but according to their coach Rick Carlisle, the team is making progress. However, they have more work to do.
“We’re not back on track,” Carlisle said. “We’re still making mistakes, but we’re making progress with chemistry. We’re going to be positive. When we show stuff to guys, generally, my rule is we’re showing two-thirds positive and one-third correction. That’s the way I like to do it. I like to be more on the positive side. I’m not saying there’s any moral victories here or any of that nonsense —there’s not, there’s not. This is a binary thing; it’s wins and losses. We’ve got to do better.”
For the first time this season, Dallas had a full roster as Maxi Kleber returned after being out due to health and safety protocols, so that’s a positive for this team. Luka Doncic, who led the team with 25 points, believes Dallas has to stick together.
“It is tough, but there is always another game coming,” Doncic said. “We have to stay positive. There is where we can see who we are in these tough moments. We are staying together. I think in the last two games, we were way better than before, and this is where good teams come together.”
While Dallas has been hit hard by health and safety protocols, Kirstaps Porzingism, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Suns on Tuesday night, believes Dallas can’t blame their struggles on that situation.
“We are not the only team that has had some guys out, so we can’t really blame it on that,” Porzingis said. “Of course, we would like to have everybody from the first game, but the situation is what it is. I can’t really put a number on it and say after this many games; we are going to be playing well; it is a day-to-day thing. We are looking forward to getting better, and once you get a win, it eases up, and things happen more naturally, so that is what we are looking forward to.”
Dallas has the talent and played well in these two games against the Suns, but they could not get it done down the stretch. After they travel to Atlanta to play the Hawks on Wednesday, Dallas has a seven-game homestand. While they won’t have fans, they won’t have to travel, so maybe this will be their chance to turn it around.
Notes:
• Booker hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining to give Phoenix the win. Booker finished with 24 points and shot 4-8 from deep. Booker made his return on Monday after missing four games due to a left hamstring strain.
• Chris Paul led Phoenix with 34 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists on 14-20 shooting in 38 minutes tonight. His 34 points are the most by Paul in a regular season game since the 2017-18 season, when he scored 38 at New Orleans on 1/26/18. His 9 boards ties a season-high, marking the third time this season he has collected 9 rebounds.
