A loss never feels like a win. But sometimes, a win can feel a little like a loss.
Not to the point that you apologize for putting it in the “W” column. But it can be one of those times when you know you flirted with danger, but got away with it.
That’s what happened to the Mavericks as they eked out a 104-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night at American Airlines Center. They had a 22-point lead midway through the third quarter.
They then allowed the Thunder to score 54 points in the game’s last 18 minutes.
Inexcusable, as Jason Kidd said.
“They kept playing,” he said. “We didn’t.”
Chalk it up as a lesson learned – but at least they didn’t suffer what would have been an embarrassing loss in the process.
Here’s our takeaways from the closer-than-it-should-have-been win.
DON’T OVERTHINK IT: Luka Dončić was exasperated with himself for shooting 4-of-17 from the field. He needed a hot streak to get to that point after he started 2-of-12. “The greatest shooter in the world doesn’t make all the shots,” Kidd said. “You just keep playing and find a way to help your team win and that’s what he did tonight.” The poor shooting bugs Luka. When he finally got a layup to curl into the net after missing a couple earlier on open drives to the rim, he raised his palms skyward as if to say: it’s about time. The shooting remains erratic for Dončić, but he still had a triple-double, the 41st of his career. All the other Mavericks in franchise history also have combined for 40 triple-doubles. That incredible factoid didn’t impress Luka. “I need to shoot way better,” was his only response.
DON’T OVERTHINK IT, AGAIN: When Kristaps Porzingis came out of the game midway through the fourth quarter, he wasn’t happy after getting dunked on by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Porzingis did not return to the game. But coach Jason Kidd said it wasn’t any sort of message that he was trying to send. Part of the reasoning was that Kidd doesn’t want to play Porzingis more than 30 minutes per game and the 7-3 center already had played 28. But mostly, Kidd said: “I wanted to see some other people out there, wanted to see how Josh (Green) would react in a close ballgame.” Green, by the way, had a breakaway layup to put the Mavericks up by five points. He also missed two free throws with 3 seconds left that could have iced it.
CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: If you ever doubt the importance of rebounding, let this run in which the Mavericks have won nine of 10 games remind you that few stats are more telling. The Mavericks have outrebounded seven of their last 10 opponents and broken even on the boards another time. They have 37 more rebounds in the 10 games than their foes. That’s a lot of extra possessions. And after being a subpar rebounding team early in the season, the Mavericks have improved to the point that their season rebounding total is almost even with their opponents.
FRONTRUNNERS: The Mavericks have not trailed since the 6:42 mark of the third quarter on Friday at Memphis. They led for the entirety of the wins over Orlando and Oklahoma City.
SIZZLING FINNEY-SMITH: Dorian Finney-Smith is a free-agent after the season and he’s making it clear that he is in line for a major pay increase. He had one of his most efficient games of the season against the Thunder with 17 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals. He hit 4-of-7 3-pointers. It was the 11th double-double of his career and the Mavericks are 9-2 in those games. His 10.5-point scoring average is his career best.
Twitter: @ESefko
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