Neither team occupying space inside American Airlines Center wanted to win the game being played on Sunday night, so of course the Dallas Mavericks (26-56) did.
The Mavericks mopped the hardwood with the Chicago Bulls (31-51), 149-128, and Cooper Flagg left the game early in the second quarter with an apparent ankle injury, so all in all, the season finale was an unmitigated catastrophe. It was the final insult after yet another injury-plagued 2025-26 season.
The Mavericks embarked on an early 16-0
run in the first quarter behind two 3-pointers apiece from Khris Middleton and Max Christie. Later in the quarter, Klay Thompson moved into 100th on the all-time scorers’ list with his first 3-ball from the right corner, then canned another to hit 200 made 3-pointers for the 11th time in his career.
After it was all said and done, the Mavs led 45-34 going into the second. Dallas shot 15-of-23 (65.2%) from the field in the first and 7-of-13 (53.8%) from beyond the arc in the first.
Cooper Flagg appeared to roll his left ankle while fighting for a rebound early in the second quarter. He immediately walked back to the locker room with a team trainer with just over 10 minutes remaining before halftime. Flagg scored 10 points and pulled down four rebounds in the game’s first 14 minutes. Leslie McCaslin announced on the broadcast that Flagg would not return to the game with seven minutes left in the first half.
No matter — the anonymous Mavericks reserves remained scorching hot from 3-point land in Flagg’s absence. Tyler Smith made three of his first four from beyond the arc as the Mavericks’ lead ballooned to 21 points, 65-44, on Smith’s running dunk in transition with 6:47 left in the second. The Bulls remained absent for the remainder of the quarter, and Dallas took an 80-56 lead into the second half.
Things turned downright silly in the third, as undrafted rookie point guard Ryan Nembhard broke a 32-year-old Mavs’ team record, and John Poulakidas refused to miss from long range. Dallas took a gaudy 119-88 advantage into the final quarter of a long, long season.
The fourth quarter was simply not worth commentary.
Tank reverses course
Fans will point to the final game of the season against the Bulls as a costly one in terms of the Mavericks’ lottery odds. Dallas will likely end up with the eighth-best odds to get the first pick in June’s NBA Draft after beating the Bulls.
But a win on the final night of the season was always a possibility. It was conceivable as an outcome. Where the Mavs’ tank really stalled was in late-season wins at the New York Knicks, at the Cleveland Cavaliers and at the Portland Trail Blazers.
A month ago, fans were fantasizing about a top-five pick with an absolutely stacked draft class at the top awaiting. And make no mistake, the differences between the fifth pick and the eighth pick in this draft could be massive for a team that needs to get a hell of a lot better as soon as possible.
Two-way guys have some fun
Sunday’s game was incredibly forgettable for just about everyone involved. But one Maverick who will never forget this lopsided, unnecessary win is Tyler Smith. In his 12th game with the big club on a two-way deal, Smith exploded for 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the first half and grabbed six boards.
Smith made just one of his four second-half shot attempts, though, as another two-way player moved into Silly Season center stage.
Not to be outdone, John Poulakidas followed Smith’s hot first half with 22 points in the third quarter on 6-of-9 shooting from deep. He added a three-point play the hard way midway through the quarter, through the defense of Rob Dillingham.
Poulakidas led the Mavs with 28 points in the season-ending win. Moussa Cisse, the Mavs’ third two-way guy, broke out with 17 points and 19 rebounds in the win as well.
Nembhard’s finishing flurry at point
Ryan Nembhard, another of the Mavericks’ lesser-heralded youngsters, also wrapped up the season on a high note. In his last three games entering Sunday’s game, he racked up 21 combined assists, compared to just one turnover in 86 minutes on the floor.
He dished 12 assists in the first half on Sunday and turned the ball over just once in a starting role. His 13th dime came on the Mavs’ second possession of the second half, as he found John Poulakidas for his second 3-pointer of the game near the left wing. Nembhard found Poulakidas open again along the right wing two possessions later for assist number 14.
Nembhard broke head coach Jason Kidd’s single-game assist record by a Mavericks rookie with 4:35 still remaining in the third quarter, finding Moussa Cisse for a cutting dunk through a toothless Chicago defense. He finished with 15 points, 23 assists and nine rebounds.
It’s over, Mavs fans. It’s finally over. Lay your weary heads to rest. Don’t you cry no more.
