SAN FRANCISCO – Lost amid the love fest bestowed on Klay Thompson Tuesday night was the fact that the Mavericks lost another game in the final minute.
This is like a flashback, and not a good one, to the end of the 2022-23 season, when Kyrie Irving was brand new to the organization and the Mavericks couldn’t were like an engine with no oil at crunch time.
They couldn’t win close games.
Last season, they were among the best in the NBA at closing out games.
And they very likely will get back to that level again. But it may take some time. The 120-117 loss to Golden State was Exhibit A that the Mavericks are still feeling their way along with Thompson in the starting lineup alongside Irving and Luka Dončić.
“I think it could be way better,” Dončić said of the Mavericks’ late-game execution against the Warriors.
With under a minute to go and the Mavericks down 115-114, Dončić had the ball and the shot clock was winding down. He tried a turnaround fadeaway from the free-throw line and missed.
Steph Curry nailed a three-pointer with 27.5 seconds left and that was the end of the discussion.
The Mavericks missed five of their last six shots and had one possession end in a turnover.
“The clock was running down, so I tried to get to my spot and I tried to look if somebody was open,” he said. “But there were only four seconds so I had to get it up.
“I’m still adjusting a little bit. Obviously, it’s way different this year. We got a lot of depth on the team. I’m still adjusting, but it’s getting better and better.”
The adjusting is coming from Dončić playing off the ball more this season, so far, than he has in the past. He’s still a primary facilitator in the half-court offense. But others like Naji Marshall or Irving are often bringing the ball up the court.
Being the player he is, Luka will figure this out. And coach Jason Kidd will no doubt keep his finger on the pulse of how strategies are working. Or not.
“We just have to be better as a team and we will,” Kidd said of the loss to Golden State. “This was a great test. We got better tonight, even though we lost. There were a lot of positive things.
“We were in the bonus (at the end) and we were getting in the paint and we had good looks that didn’t go down.”
Growing pains. What the Mavericks are going through is nothing more than that.
Here’s a few other takeaways from the loss to the Warriors.
Steph’s still got it: He might be 36 years old, but he’s still Steph Curry. He dropped 37 points, nine assists and six rebounds on the Mavericks and scored the Warriors’ final 12 points, outscoring the Mavericks 12-5 for the win. “Steph, his ability to play off the dribble, being able to get to the spots he wants, he’s going to get you dancing and when he gets you dancing, he’s going to get that three off,” Kidd said. “So you got to try to send him to the basket, but that’s not easy. He’s not just going to give in. You saw his calmness and he responded with a big three.” In clutch time, he’s still as good as any shotmaker in the NBA.
Kerr’s strategy vs. Luka? Golden State coach Steve Kerr was asked before the game about the preferred methods to guard Dončić, which many teams feel this year is to guard him one-on-one. Kerr said he’s tried that in the past – along with just about everything else – with mixed results. “His three-point percentage has never been super high,” Kerr said. “There have been many games over the years where we’ve gone in and said: let’s guard him one on one and challenge the step-back but don’t bite on the pump-fake. He’s a 34 percent (three-point shooter). And then he goes seven for nine. At the end of that game, you’re like: when does he go 0-for-11 to balance this out. Never against us.” Not a lot worked on Tuesday, either, although Luka shot just 2-for-10 from three-point land. He still finished with 31 points. Afterward, he was walking gingerly, but simply said “I’m fine” when asked what’s ailing him.
Final thoughts: Quentin Grimes went from not playing at Denver to 29 effective minutes against the Warriors. “He was good,” Kidd said. “His energy and effort and defensively, he did a real good job for us.” Grimes had six points, six rebounds and no turnovers . . . The centers were back to normal. Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II tag-teamed the entire game. One was always on the court. Next up for the tandem is to work on the glass. Golden State had 18 offensive rebounds and had 13 second-chance points (to seven for the Mavericks.” . . . The Warriors are rolling. They have found a defensive-minded starting unit featuring Trayce Jackson-Davis and De’Anthony Melton, along with Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Curry. That leaves Buddy Hield coming off the bench. If he stays in that role all season, he’ll be hard to beat for the sixth man of the year award.
X: @ESefko
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