Whenever Luka Doncic is the focal point of the Mavericks’ lineup, as he was again Monday night against the Raptors, there’s always a chance for a statistical rarity.
The Mavericks’ 116-93 loss, however, presented one Doncic and Dallas won’t celebrate.
Following defeats Friday to Milwaukee and Sunday to Chicago, the Mavericks have dropped three straight games for the first time since March 18-21, 2019.
Dallas was the only team in the NBA last season not to suffer a losing streak of at least three games, and the Mavericks had avoided one after consecutive losses to start this season, too.
In the Raptors’ temporary Tampa, Fla., home due to Canadian border closures during the pandemic, the still-depleted Mavericks remained in search of some positive mojo to power through the remaining three games in what coach Rick Carlisle called a “murderous week.”
“I don’t like losing. It’s terrible. You just feel bad,” Doncic said. “When we were on the four-game winning streak, everybody felt great. The locker room felt happy, so we’ve got to go back to that and just enjoy playing basketball.”
Since the Mavericks’ COVID-19 outbreak among players started Jan. 8, Carlisle has faced frequent questions about players’ availability and piecemeal rotations.
That didn’t change Monday.
Jalen Brunson (13 points in 28 minutes) returned from his quarantine due to contact tracing. After missing Sunday’s loss to the Bulls with a left groin strain, Tim Hardaway Jr. (0 of 12 from the field) was also back in the starting lineup.
Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell remained out in the NBA’s health and safety protocol.
Carlisle’s absence became noteworthy, too.
He was ejected from the game with 58.4 seconds remaining in the first quarter after Toronto scored in transition to take a 21-16 lead and he drew two technical fouls during a timeout. Lead assistant Jamahl Mosley served as the Mavericks’ acting head coach for the remaining three-plus quarters.
What transpired under Mosley’s watch: The Mavericks’ 56-55 lead with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter soon disappeared during a 16-2 Raptors run. Toronto led by double digits for the last 10:33 of the game.
A night after his historic 36-point, 16-rebound, 15-assist triple-double — after which he chastised himself for being “selfish” — Doncic tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and nine assists and shot 4 of 11 from the field, often met with multiple defenders in the paint.
Kristaps Porzingis rarely played in back to backs last season with the Mavericks cautious in his first season back from February 2018 left knee surgery.
With the 25-year-old center eager to continue reacclimating just four games after returning from October right knee surgery, trainers gave Porzingis no limitations against the Raptors and he led the Mavericks with 23 points (8 of 14 from the field) and added nine rebounds and two blocks in 32 minutes.
“I think you can see with every game,” Porzingis said, “I’m feeling more and more comfortable out there and trying to find my groove as well as us as a group. We’re still getting there.”
The Raptors’ second-half push wasn’t close to the force and heartbreak they inflicted on the Mavericks in December 2019, when they erased a 30-point Dallas lead in the second half to turn what would’ve been an impressive, Doncic-less Mavericks win into a loss that tied the biggest blown lead in Dallas’ history.
While less extreme Monday, Toronto outscored Dallas 56-38 in the paint and 55-36 off the bench to doom the Mavericks to an extended losing streak for the first time in 22 months.
If one day of the NBA season could offer perspective during a slide, though, the NBA’s annual day-long showcase on Martin Luther King Jr. Day likely helped the Mavericks.
Before arriving at Amalie Arena on Monday afternoon, Carlisle spent time streaming a few of King’s famous speeches.
After working with local and national organizations on racial justice initiatives since this summer’s nationwide reckoning, Carlisle said “it [was] so inspirational to hear his words, to hear the passion, to hear the commitment.”
“The world has gotten to be a better place over the past 50 or 60 years, but we’re nowhere near where we need to be,” Carlisle said. “It’s hard to put into words, but it’s a privilege to play on MLK Day. It’s no accident that there’s a very full schedule of NBA games and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
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January 19, 2021 at 11:10AM
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Loss to Raptors leaves depleted Mavericks in need of positive mojo to power through ‘murderous week’ - The Dallas Morning News
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