The Dallas Mavericks have often been described as “lost” this season, even with more wins to their name than our Brooklyn Nets. Whether that’s a result of front office turnover, a mindless decision that catalyzed
that, or the classic excuse, injuries, there’s no arguing the Mavs have galloped off-course in the past 12 months.
Still, they were able to find their way to win tonight.
Dallas seized an early lead leveraging Brooklyn’s switch-heavy defense, often throwing screens until Porter Jr. faced the ball, who’s far a less troublesome matchup at the defense end.
Beside him, Drake Powell made his first career start with Dëmin resting to manage his left plantar fascia injury. His early minutes looked to be short lived after he picked up two fouls in the game’s first three minutes. However, Jordi Fernández opted to leave the 20-year-old in, and while he put together a few minutes of honest ball, his teammates couldn’t do the same. Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton also got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, picking up their second personals in the sixth and seventh minutes of the first period as well.
Those whistles put Dallas in bonus prior to the period’s halfway mark, and encouraged them to attack the Nets with even more aggression than they already were. Brooklyn shooting 1-10 from three in the period didn’t help either, but it didn’t take the Mavs long to establish a sizable lead after that, leading Brooklyn into the second by a 32-23 score.
That said, the period wasn’t without it’s defensive highlights…
Brooklyn also struggled early on the glass, that is, until Day’Ron Sharpe came at it with a Texas-sized appetite. For a second straight game, Sharpe looked like the best one out there in black and white. He corralled seven rebounds in the first quarter against Dallas, tied for the most he’s had in any quarter in his career. He notched a double double before the eight minute mark of the second after just 10 minutes and 27 seconds of burn. That’s the fastest double-double in the league this year and the fastest by a Net since Andre Drummond did it in 10:14 in April of 2022.
But despite Sharpe’s prompt efforts, the Nets remained behind. Their 1-9 start from three boiled into 1-16 after an 0-7 start to the second. Even when a few started to go down, they didn’t always count…
Dallas, who averages three made triples a game, meanwhile shot 8-14 from deep through the 5:10 mark of the second. Cooper Flagg also started to get going in the second frame, adding past due insult to an injury we suffered last May. Through two, he led all scorers with 19 points after shooting 7-10 from the field, grabbing a steal and a block in the process too.
Even with Nolan Traoré helping the Nets get one back, they trailed at the break by 56-45 score with putrid .340/.182 splits.
With their long range missile system disabled, the Nets had no choice but to start attacking the paint, which Claxton gladly led the charge in. He came out of the tunnel with some added aggression, scoring each of Brooklyn’s first two baskets to match his entire first half scoring in less than two minutes.
Drake Powell then commanded the second wave, going after Dallas’ drop defense from the mid-range and at the cylinder. He put in quick six points in the same amount of minutes in the third while shooting 3-4 from the field. He’d go on to finish with 10 point after shooting 5-10 from the field.
The Nets got it to three around the two minute mark of the third, but a few misses got the Mavs running in rhythm again, and back into a 6-9 point cushion.
Consequentially, Brooklyn entered the fourth feeling like they were down more than they were. Reality, however, gave us a game.
Not long into into the final period, Porter Jr. and Klay Thompson had themselves a high-noon shootout in our western setting. Dallas continued to move the ball well and find their man, especially with doubles consistently thrown at Flagg. Porter Jr. slowly but surely turned in a solid bounce back effort, eventually going for 28 points on 9-17 shooting for the game. The scoreboard lit up like saloon windows, and once the chaos stalled, the Nets were down just three with 6:05 to play.
But where Thompson left off, Naji Marshall picked up. Now attacking the paint after the high doubles thrown at Flagg, he flushed floated after floater, giving the Mavs back a nine point with around two to play. Powell hit a smooth fadeaway on the baseline to keep the pressure up next time down the floor. But Flagg, his old ACC opponent, out-did him one more time, nailing his second three of the game from the top of the key to put the game out of distance.
In a season meant to focus on growth and development, the Nets got perhaps their most boring, yet honest lesson of the year. Every now and then, you run into a game where neither your schemes nor effort matter. On some nights, you just don’t have it.
Final: Dallas Mavericks 113, Brooklyn Nets 105
Next Up
Another tank-off! The Nets are back in action Wednesday evening for a road game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Brooklyn took down the Pels already this year a little over a month ago. The word “defeated” doesn’t feel so appropriate given each team’s current trajectory and the need to stack losses which comes with it. This one tips off at 8:00 p.m. EST.
