Before Monday, Anthony Davis’ record as a Dallas Maverick was unblemished. In the four games in which he’d suited up, the Mavericks had earned wins over the Houston Rockets (Feb. 8), Brooklyn Nets (March 24), Orlando Magic (March 27) and Chicago Bulls (March 29).
Saturday, Davis scored 18 points in his native city of Chicago, a morale boost for a Mavericks team that finished its four-game trip with a 3-1 record. Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets was an excellent opportunity to keep the positive momentum and add to Dallas’ cushion in the Play-In Tournament race. Instead, the Mavericks squandered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to a Nets team that will be hoping for the right combination of ping-pong balls at the NBA Draft Lottery later this spring.
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“Fouls. Questionable shots. We were bad from the line,” Davis said after Dallas’ 113-109 home loss. “They hit 20 3s. It’s tough to beat a team when you’re giving them wide-open 3s. Fast breaks. Turning the ball over in crucial situations. They got out and got some easy ones.”
For much of March, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd got through games with a skeleton crew. His team was so injury-depleted that forwards Naji Marshall and Kessler Edwards took turns guarding other teams’ centers. The good news for Dallas is that Kidd should have all of his regulars in the frontcourt available soon.
Daniel Gafford returned to the lineup Monday after missing the previous 21 games with a right knee sprain. He showed few signs of being rusty, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 19 minutes.
Gafford scored his first basket of the game early in the second quarter. Davis threw him a lob over the top of the defense, which Gafford dunked.
“A.D., in my opinion, is one of the best playmakers at the position he plays in,” Gafford said. “He already knows where to throw it. I just go get it.”
Second-year center Dereck Lively II could be added to the mix this week. Lively has been out since Jan. 14 with a stress fracture in his right ankle.
Davis and Gafford got to play one game together on Feb. 8 before injuries knocked them out for extended stretches. That afternoon, the Mavericks looked like a dominant defensive team, blocking a franchise-record 18 shots.
At the 8:04 mark in the fourth quarter, Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy’s driving layup pushed Dallas ahead 98-88. The rest of the way, however, the Nets outscored the Mavericks 25-11. The Mavericks (37-39) also missed five free throws in the last eight minutes.
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Despite their sloppiness, they still had two go-ahead chances in the final 10 seconds. Klay Thompson missed a 3 from the right corner. Thompson then corralled his miss and found a wide-open Spencer Dinwiddie, whose shot rattled in and out.
“We know the position we are in,” Davis said. “Definitely (a) winnable game for us. We should have won, but hats off to (the Nets). They shot the ball really well. We just have to do a better job on the defensive end.”
Although the Mavericks’ transition and 3-point defense left a lot to be desired, Gafford was optimistic about being paired alongside Davis.
“The thing that excites me is when it comes to certain parts of the game defensively, we are going to go through the roof,” Gafford said. “Offensively, I need to be in the right spot at the right time. It makes my job easier. I just have to get better at guarding guys on the perimeter.”
If Lively can play Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks, it will be the first time Davis, Gafford and Lively are all available for Dallas at the same time.
“We are getting guys back,” Davis said. “It was my first time playing with the two-big lineup for the entire game. It’s something we’ll get used to. But we also have to know we don’t have much time. We are gearing up for Play-In, playoffs. We’ll watch film, go practice and just get better.”
(Photo of Daniel Gafford and Anthony Davis: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
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