The Dallas Mavericks unleashed a record 30-0 run in their last contest and didn’t even win the game.
The Mavericks will aim to take a more consistent approach on Wednesday night when they host the Utah Jazz.
Dallas has lost two straight games and five of its past seven, but the most bewildering setback during the stretch is Saturday’s 126-120 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Mavericks were trailing 111-87 with less than 11 minutes to play when they erupted with the 30 straight points in a span of 6:07. Dallas made six 3-pointers and six 2-pointers while playing flawless defense to take a 117-111 lead with 4:18 remaining in the game.
From that point on, the Thunder regained their form with a game-ending 15-3 burst to post the victory.
Still, Dallas coach Jason Kidd was much happier than he was after Friday’s 108-94 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Star guard Luka Doncic missed the Memphis game due to the birth of his baby daughter one day earlier.
“It’s impressive, very impressive,” Kidd said of the 30-0 surge. “Guys just stayed together. And our leader, Luka, was out there telling guys we have a chance, we can win this. But it all started with Luka’s confidence talking to the guys on the floor.
“Unfortunately it didn’t go the way we wanted, but it was better than 24 hours beforehand against Memphis. There was fight and energy. And that’s what we talked about.”
Doncic scored 36 points and recorded season bests of 18 assists and 15 rebounds. The triple-double was his 59th, tying him with legendary Larry Bird for ninth-place on the all-time list.
Doncic is averaging 34.3 points over his past four games, scoring at least 30 in each.
Shooting guard Kyrie Irving (foot) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (back) are listed as questionable to play against Utah. Irving missed the Oklahoma City game after tweaking the foot against Memphis and Hardaway has missed the past two games.
Forward Grant Williams (knee) is questionable. Wing Josh Green (elbow) will sit out his second straight game.
Utah has won three of its past five games, including a 118-113 overtime victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. The Jazz defeated the Trail Blazers without their top two scorers, Lauri Markkanen (23.7 points per game) and Jordan Clarkson (17.8).
Markkanen and Clarkson were ruled out for Wednesday’s game.
Collin Sexton scored a season-high 25 points off the bench and rookie Keyonte George was solid all-around with a career-best 21 points to go with six rebounds and six assists. Both players flourished with Clarkson (thigh) missing his second straight game.
George, a first-round pick (No. 16 overall) from Baylor, has scored 15 or more points in six of the past 10 games.
George was more impressed with the performance of big man Omer Yurtseven than his own contributions.
Markkanen (hamstring) sat out for the fifth straight game, and Yurtseven picked up part of the slack and scored nine points and collected a season-best 15 rebounds. It was his second double-digit outing on the boards in the past four games.
“I think Omer is vital for us,” George told reporters. “He stepped up to the plate. We all see it in practice. We all see how hard he works. We all see how vocal he is at times and how physical he is. He goes about his work in the right way each and every day.”
The Mavericks have won five of the teams’ past six regular-season meetings.
–Field Level Media
