It had been a solid two games since the Mavericks had an injury scare, so naturally, they were due for more health issues on Sunday afternoon.
Late in the third quarter of their 125-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Mavericks watched Dwight Powell and Kessler Edwards – their last big men standing – run into each other head to head. Both went to the locker room and required stitches although Edwards would return with 6:05 left in the fourth quarter.
Moments later, point guard Brandon Williams, who was having another impressive floor game, pulled up just before the third-quarter buzzer and went to the bench. He would not return because of left hamstring soreness.
And so, the narrative of this season continued. The Mavericks played most of the fourth quarter with only five players available because of either injuries or time restrictions (on Dante Exum).
“Never seen this,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Never been in a game that we could not take someone out to rest them because we had no one to put in. They were either in clothes or in the back getting stitches. It is what it is. We got to keep pushing forward.”
With another game coming Monday night in San Antonio, the prospects for help are not good. The Mavericks cannot sign anybody else because of financial constraints.
“They’re out,” Kidd said of the eight players who were ruled out ahead of time for Sunday’s game. “We’ll probably have seven, eight at the most (in San Antonio). I think if you have five, you got to play.
“We lost three players, one was able to come back and finish. We had no subs because of the time restrictions on two (of them). We’ll try to figure it out as we go. We can’t sign anybody and Duds (assistant coach Jared Dudley) costs too much.”
After that last comment, Kidd added: “You got to laugh because if you don’t, this will drive you crazy.”
The Mavericks played a substantial amount of the fourth quarter with nobody bigger than 6-7 Naji Marshall, who nevertheless was putting together another monster game.
Predictably, Phoenix feasted in the paint and the Mavericks simply did not have enough bulk to put up any resistance. They Suns outscored the Mavs 68-48 in the paint.
And yet, it was 108-100 early in the fourth quarter after a Max Christie three-pointer. That’s when the Suns turned on the jets and their lead grew to 118-102 with 4:35 to go.
“I thought the guys fought,” Kidd said. “We got it down to six or eight. We just couldn’t get stops. They took advantage of the height. But also they have guys who know how to play at a very high level. We lost two players on one play going for a rebound. Just happy to see Kessler get back after getting stitches.”
And Williams’ situation didn’t help matters, either.
“Hopefully he feels better tomorrow,” Kidd said. “He was getting in the paint and I think he hurt it on a layup in front of our bench. He was playing extremely well for us and it’s unfortunate. Hopefully he’s a quick healer and can come back if not tomorrow sometime during the week.”
The Mavericks are clinging to the 10th spot in the Western Conference, which is the last spot that will qualify for the play-in tournament.
The Suns, now 30-34, are closing in on the 32-33 Mavs, who fell below .500 for the first time since they were 6-7 in mid-November.
The Mavericks were led by Marshall with 34 points, the second game in a row he’s established a career high after pouring in 29 points Friday against Memphis. Marshall also had 10 assists and nine rebounds. Klay Thompson added 26 points. Devin Booker had 24 points and Kevin Durant had 21 for Phoenix.
“Things are just going well for me right now,” Marshall said of his hot stretch. “Sometimes you make threes, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you’re efficient and sometimes you’re not. Things are just going well for me right now.”
Unfortunately, successful outcomes are not accompanying his solid play. And the injury hits just keep coming.
“Same story kind of the whole season,” Marshall said. “Hopefully they’ll be back for the next game. Those two guys are big for us.”
Asked if he’s allowed himself to wonder what the Mavericks would be like if Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II and all the other key pieces were available, Marshall said: “I don’t know, it didn’t happen. But hopefully when we get healthy and it all comes back together, we can be a championship team.”
The Mavericks now will hit the road for two games in San Antonio and then one in Houston. But until they get some sort of good news on the injury front, it may not matter who is in front of them. Winning is going to be a severe challenge.
And the loss to Phoenix also gave the Suns the tiebreaker of the Mavericks this season by virtue of them winning three of four meetings.
“Definitely important,” Marshall said. “It’s hard to win in the NBA. Every game matters. We’re just trying to stay afloat and hopefully get some guys back and win some games.”
X: @ESefko
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