If you drew up the anatomy of the Mavericks’ loss to Sacramento Sunday night, you would have to start with a first half in which some strange hoops disease attacked their defense, leaving them in desperate need of resuscitation.
Then you’d have to look at an emotional night when Luka Doncic did not get to the free-throw line as often as he thought he should and ended up answering questions about how he deals with the referees.
And, finally, you’d need to examine an overall lack of energy and maybe even a nonchalance early.
It added up to a 110-106 upset win for the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center as they snapped the Mavericks’ five-game winning streak.
The Mavericks trailed by 24 in the third quarter and eventually got it as close as 108-106. But Doncic missed a shot in the paint with 7.7 seconds remaining and the Kings rebounded, sealing their win with a gimme layup at the end.
It was the sort of shot Doncic has made a thousand times in his career. But on this night, it was tough to get clean looks at the basket. And the second-year superstar only made five trips to the free throw line, even though physicality was the name of this game.
Doncic spent much of the evening jawing with the referees, picked up a technical foul late in the first quarter and basically had a running dialogue with the officiating crew all night long.
“I think he’s got a case, for a lot of it,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s a guy that gets hit a lot. People take a lot of liberties on him.
“I was here for 11 years with Dirk Nowitzki who people constantly took shots at (and) would try to get physical with him.
“Everyone else is trying to do it with Doncic, too. He’s tough. He can handle all of it. But when he comes over to the bench and he’s got scratches and blood marks on his arms and hands, I know there’s something there.”
Doncic may only be 20. But he’s a wily veteran when it comes to dealing with referees. He’s been doing it since he was 15 as a professional. He knows there is a time and place for everything.
But he also knows he has to control his emotions, which sometimes is easier said than done. When he did not get a whistle on the last play, it left him flustered.
“Obviously, the picture speaks for itself,” Doncic said of the last play. “But the official said they didn’t see it. I should get a better shot next time.”
Asked if he feels like he needs to do better dealing with referees, he said: “For sure. But my thing is I’m passionate for the game. I want to win. And I sometimes get out of control because I want to win the whole time. I’m competitive.
“You can ask my family. Even if it’s not basketball, anything, I’m still competitive. But yeah, I got to work on that, for sure.”
Of course, the Mavericks had to point to themselves before they pointed at the refs for why they lost this game – just their second setback in their last 12 outings.
They were awful in the first half, allowing the Kings to shoot 60 percent in the first half, when they led 66-46. Carlisle had lauded the Mavericks before the game for their upgraded defense in their hot streak. But it was undone quickly in the first half.
“Our first half was maybe the worst of the season,” Doncic said. “And starting with me. No energy. We came back in the second half doing much better stuff.”
But the damage, ultimately, had been done.
The Mavericks were gouged by Nemanja Bjelica, who had 30 points and seven rebounds, along with Buddy Hield, who torched the Mavericks for 26 points.
Wasted by the Mavericks was a 29-point night by Tim Hardaway Jr., who was basically their only offensive asset in the first half. He ended up hitting a career-best nine 3-pointers on 12 attempts.
Also lost in the loss was Doncic besting Michael Jordan’s post-NBA/ABA merger record for consecutive 20-point, 5-rebound, 5-assists games. Doncic had his 19th such game in a row with 27 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
He was summarily unimpressed by the feat.
“There’s a lot of stats going on,” Doncic said. “I think it’s a little bit too much stats. You can’t compare nobody to Michael Jordan. He’s one of a kind. Those are just stats.”
Of more importance was the last play when Doncic couldn’t get his push shot to fall. It was an excellent look at a potential overtime-forcing basket.
“Ball in his hands, paint attack, you bet I liked it,” Carlisle said.
As Hardaway added: “You feel great. He’s in the paint with a small defender on him. I’ll take my chances all day long.
“(But) they punched us in the mouth first,” Hardaway said. “You can’t let that happen at home and they deserved to win.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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