Daniel Gafford returned on Monday night and while his pairing with Anthony Davis was enough to whet the Mavericks’ appetite, it was not enough to fill them up with a victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Despite a flurry of clutch plays by Gafford when the game was hanging in the balance, the Mavericks couldn’t get enough stops at the end to avoid a 113-109 loss to the Nets, a team they had beaten by 19 points last week in Brooklyn.
The Mavericks slipped to 37-39 and their hold on a play-in tournament spot was dinged by the loss as they continue to fight it out with Sacramento and Phoenix for the final two spots.
The Nets made 20 three-pointers (on 51 tries) and the Mavericks also were beaten badly in transition (21-8 on fast-break points).
“Good looks, wide-open looks,” coach Jason Kidd said of the Nets’ shooting. “They knocked them down. We got to be better.”
But an inability to get to shooters on the three-point line wasn’t the only culprit for the Mavericks.
“This was just a low-energy game,” Kidd said. “That’s the two things we talk about – our effort and energy. Our energy was low. And it happens off of a long road trip coming back home. Our energy, we got to pick that back up. We’ll talk about it (Wednesday) and we’ll be ready to go Wednesday.”
The Mavericks, who went 3-1 on a trip against Eastern Conference competition last week, went back and forth with the Nets and were trailing 108-107 with 1:16 left when D’Angelo Russell completed a three-point play.
Davis missed a push shot from the paint and the Nets ran a nice play for a layup and three-point play for Nic Claxton to make it 111-107 with 47.6 remaining.
After a timeout and misfires by each team, the Mavericks got two free throws from P.J. Washington and then stopped the Nets, getting the rebound with 9.1 seconds to work with after a timeout.
They got the ball to Klay Thompson first, whose three-pointer was short. The rebound went to the Mavs and the ball found Spencer Dinwiddie, whose three-pointer from the left wing rattled halfway down the basket before popping out and hitting the shot clock above the backboard.
The Nets took over possession and were able to make two late free throws to ice it.
The Mavericks had limited Brooklyn to 81 points last week in a 19-point win, but this was a more determined bunch of Nets, who were down only 98-95 midway through the fourth quarter and had four chances to tie it.
With that many opportunities, they finally got a three pointer from Tyrese Martin, then a dunk from Keon Johnson and the Mavericks were down 100-98 with 4:31 to go.
They had given the Nets, a team that is already plotting strategy for the draft lottery, life.
Earlier, the Gafford showing was the whole story. He and Davis had their moments, including when they dusted off their big-man-to-big-man lob pass.
Davis played the role of quarterback and he hit Gafford with a beautiful lob that he threw down with authority to open the second quarter and put the Mavericks in front 31-25.
Gafford had 17 points to lead the Mavericks along with seven rebounds. Without his five fourth-quarter points before he reached his minutes restriction (19), the Mavericks would not have had a chance to steal the win late.
“He was good at both ends,” Kidd said of Gafford. “I just hope he comes out of it (healthy).”
Gafford was wincing at times in the fourth quarter, but said he just hit his knee in the wrong spot and had walked it off after the game. He was returning from a right knee injury that kept him out since just before the All-Star break.
“It was great,” Gafford said of how he felt in his return. “There were a bunch of mess-ups for me early on. But through the course of the game, it felt natural again. It was good. It was something that for sure will be the best thing for us.
“AD in my opinion is one of the best playmakers at the position he plays. When it comes to the lob, he already knows where to throw it. I just got to go get it.”
Said Davis of the lob pass possibilities with Gafford: “It’s an advantage we have, having two bigs. They’re going to switch or blitz and with his ability to jump and put pressure on the rim, it’s going to be open.”
However, the Maverick learned that even a 25-51 Nets team can be dangerous if they allow the three-point flingers to run free.
“We got to do a better job of taking away the three-point line,” Davis said. “It’s something we’ll get used to. But we also got to know we don’t have much time.”
The Mavericks were able to start Gafford at center with Davis at power forward and P.J. Washington at small forward for the first time.
And the Mavericks could get more help in the paint with Dereck Lively II close to returning from a stress fracture in his right ankle. Coach Jason Kidd said it could be later this week when Lively suits up for the first time since Jan. 14.
Gafford had seven points, three rebounds and two assists in the first half when the Mavericks eased ahead 63-58.
This was the same Nets team that they had beaten 120-101 last week in Brooklyn. But the Nets had D’Angelo Russell back from injury for this one and that clearly improved their offense. They eclipsed the 81 points they scored last week by the end of the third quarter, when the Mavericks were clinging to an 87-84 lead and braced for a treacherous fourth quarter.
X: @ESefko
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