The Dallas Mavericks*11-7) were shorthanded against the visiting shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies(5-13) on Friday. They were without Luka Doncic, who celebrated the birth of his daughter, Tim Hardaway Jr.(back), and Maxi Kleber(toe), and it showed.
Dallas trailed by as many as 21 points to Memphis and fell to the Grizzlies 108-94.
With the win, Memphis gets its first two-game winning streak of the season.
The Mavericks’ second-best player, Kyrie Irving, struggled with his shot on Friday night; he was 3/15 from the floor and finished with only 10 points. Irving was 0/7 in the first half.
Memphis did a good job of trying to keep the ball out of Irving’s hands, which Mavs coach Jason Kidd believes frustrated the eight-time All-Star.
“I think just understanding he might have gotten a little frustrated with being face-guarded,” Kidd said. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball and knowing how to play when something like that’s happening. I’ll take the blame for that in the sense that we didn’t put him in a good situation to be successful.”
Irving said he hurt his foot in the first quarter, which he believes limited his performance against Memphis.
“I had a bit of a tweak to my foot at the end of the first quarter,” Irving said. “So, [I was] just trying to get my balance underneath me. It was hard to settle back in when you feel a tweak like that, especially in my feet. So, I am just doing my best to stay mentally prepared for anything that could happen out there. The competitive side of me says no excuses, just fight through it and be in the right positions offensively and defensively.
“I just think as a team we weren’t doing that, including myself. Just not picking up the ball as much and as often, and just missing some plays that gave them that lead and confidence going into halftime. We knew that we had the talent tonight to be able to perform well and beat this team, but we just didn’t do that, and it starts with me as one of the leaders on the team. [I] just [did] not play my ultimate best, and not bringing the energy that my team needs. Definitely one of those games I look back on, and there’s a level of frustration. But we have another one in the next 24 hours.”
The Mavericks will now battle the Thunder on Saturday night in Dallas, and they probably won’t be without Doncic, and they may not have Irving’s services, making winning that game very difficult. Irving discussed what OKC brings to the table.
“They’re a good team, they’re showing it night in and night out,” Irving said about OKC. “Their record is what it is, but they’re going to be a team that’s going to be reckoned with in the Western conference. [I’m] just looking forward to seeing them up close, not only Chet [Holmgren] but also SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander). A few of those guys played in the summertime in the FIBA world games. They’re in great shape, they’ve got a great camaraderie around them, they play defense really hard. Offensively, you can tell they’re a juggernaut, so we’ll have our hands full tomorrow.”
Notes:
Memphis’ Desmond Bane had a game-high 30 points.
Derrick Jones Jr. tied for a team-high 16 points (6-14 FG, 4-7 3FG) as well as adding four rebounds, one assist and one steal. His 16 points marked the first time he has led the Mavericks in scoring in a single game, the fourth time in his career leading a team-high for any team
Grant Williams tied for a team-high 16 points (4-12 FG, 3-9 3FG, 5-6 FT) while adding a team-high eight rebounds, three assists, one block and a steal tonight. His eight rebounds is a season-high and ties for the eighth-most rebounds he has recorded in a game in his career.
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