The Dallas Mavericks‘ tepid start to the season has officially gotten worse as the reigning NBA Finalists sit with a 5-5 record after suffering a 120-122 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Ball Arena, Denver tonight.
The Nuggets were led by another incredible triple-double from Nikola Jokic, who put up a monstrous statline of 37 points (13-21 FG), 18 rebounds, and 15 assists in this win. Jamal Murray had 18 points (8-17 FG) while sophomore Peyton Watson had an impressive 16 points (6-9 FG). Michael Porter Jr. scored 17 points (6-11 FG) with seven rebounds, nailing the game-winning floater to seal the W for Denver.
The Mavericks saw Kyrie Irving have one of the best performances in Dallas’ colors with 43 points (17-22 FG), five rebounds, and five assists. Luka Doncic had a decent performance but not good enough for the win, ending the night with 24 points (9-19 FG), nine rebounds, and nine assists. Daniel Gafford had 16 points (7-9 FG) and seven rebounds while Naji Marshall had 11 points (5-9 FG) and eight rebounds.
Here are the three major factors at play behind this loss for the Mavericks.
3-Point Shooting Sunk The Mavericks
The Mavericks signed Klay Thompson in the summer to be an antidote to their shooting woes from last season. Despite being perceived as an elite offensive team, the Mavericks have struggled to consistently make shots from beyond the arc even when Doncic is creating wide-open looks. Tonight was another game where the Mavericks’ shot eluded them, going 10-33 from three (30.3%).
The Mavs have shown they can be a potent offense from inside or outside, as they used their scoring on the inside (38-67, 56.1 FG%) to stay in the game when their outside shots weren’t falling. In contrast, the Nuggets went 14-29 (48.3 3P%) from beyond the arc, making the 12-point swing on threes one of the biggest differentiators in the win.
The margins in all other categories were razor-thin, as Denver outrebounded the Mavs 45-42 while they also out-assisted them 35-29. The fact that it was just a two-point game with under 10 seconds left shows how competitive the Mavs stayed throughout this game, and that even one extra made three-pointer could have sealed the win for them tonight.
Injury Struggles In Dallas
The Mavericks came into this game limited in the number of options on their roster. Despite praising the team’s depth in the offseason, head coach Jason Kidd blasted the backups on the roster after their last loss due to their poor energy and effort. He didn’t get much from anyone on the bench again, so he has to be waiting to get some of his key players back from injury to make the franchise competitive again.
The Mavericks played this game without P.J. Washington (knee), Dante Exum (wrist), and perhaps most importantly Dereck Lively II (shoulder). Lively is averaging 9.3 points and 8.2 rebounds off the bench this season, with many arguing he should be a starter before he was hurt. Despite Daniel Gafford’s presence, the Mavs are dearly missing Lively’s more versatile defensive skill set as an option to stop players like Jokic.
Washington is a starter and has been a Swiss Army knife two-way player for the Mavs since joining. His absence is felt amongst the starters, while Dante Exum hit countless clutch shots for Dallas last season as a multi-positional player off the bench.
Maxi Kleber (hamstring) was cleared to play tonight but was left on the bench, which indicates Dallas needs four key rotational players to get healthy. Luka Doncic was on the injury report with a groin strain but ended up playing.
There’s No Stopping Nikola Jokic
This win ultimately came down to one man and one man alone, Nikola Jokic. Jokic’s monstrous 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 15 assists shouldn’t go unappreciated as the Mavericks would have likely blown Denver out if Jokic didn’t put up 23 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists in the second half alone. His impact on the game was profound and he’s reinforcing the belief that he’s the best player in the world.
Jokic’s averages this season have improved to 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 11.7 assists after this performance, with the Serbian center putting the Nuggets back on a winning path after the team struggled to win games to start the season. Denver is now 7-3 on the season, distancing themselves from teams in the middle of the West like the Mavericks, who fell to 5-5 because of Jokic’s masterclass tonight.
There are many things that’ll go under the radar from Jokic’s performance, like the fact he grabbed eight offensive rebounds or was a +13 in a two-point win, but fans will remember what matters most. Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player in the world right now, and no other player even comes close to challenging his status as the best at the moment.
