Here are my 5 takeaways from the Dallas Mavericks’ 105-101 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center:
1. POWER SHORTAGE: After the Mavs electrified the sellout crowd by powering to a 23-4 lead with 4:33 remaining in the first quarter following a step-back 3-pointer by Wesley Matthews, it looked like Dallas was well on its way to carving out an easy victory. Especially since the Mavs still led, 47-28, with 7:54 left before halftime after Dorian Finney-Smith drained a 3-pointer. But the Mavs got short-circuited from there as they outscored 77-54 the remainder of the game and wound up with their fourth-lowest scoring game in the past 17 contests.
2. DONCIC TIES CURRY, CARMELO: Luka Doncic’s mercurial ride up the NBA charts continued Wednesday night when the rookie from Slovenia finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Thus, Doncic joins Stephen Curry and Carmelo Anthony as the only rookies to tally 25 or more points in five straight games. He also became the first member of the Mavs to score 25 or more points in five consecutive games since Dirk Nowitzki performed the feat from Mar. 13-21, 2012.
3. BARNES HAD AN OFF NIGHT: The basketball rims weren’t too kind to Harrison Barnes on Wednesday. Barnes wound up grabbing eight rebounds and scoring 11 points while shooting just 4-of-18 from the field. His 22.2 shooting percentage was his second-worst of the season in games where he attempted at least 10 shots. Barnes’ worst shooting night of the season with 10 or more field goal attempts was that unforgettable 3-of-14 game (21.4 percent) he had in Memphis back on Nov. 19.
4. MATTHEWS WENT FOR 600: Wesley Matthews knocked down three of the seven 3-pointers he attempted against the Spurs in becoming the sixth player in Mavs history to make at least 600 treys in a career. The only NBA player with at least 125 made 3-pointers in each of the last eight seasons, Matthews has made 86 shots from downtown so far this season. Matthews produced 10 of the 13 points he scored Wednesday in the first quarter. And his 3-pointer with 55.4 seconds left got the Mavs within two points of the Spurs.
5. NO FAST BREAK POINTS: Players love it when they can manufacture some fast break points during the course of a game, because – other than free throws — those are usually the easiest points to come by. Unfortunately for the Mavs, they were outscored in the fast break point department on Wednesday, 12-0. It marked the first time all season that the Mavs went an entire game without scoring any fast break points, eclipsing their previous low of four fast break points they scored against Oklahoma City on Dec. 30.
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