Mavericks Lose Big Again to Curry, Warriors

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The Dallas Mavericks dropped their fourth straight road game, 104-89 to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. They’ve lost four of their last five games overall, their one victory over the New Orleans Pelicans sandwiched between two losses on either side.

Dallas lost by 15, but it might as well have been 30. They were never really in the game anytime after the first quarter. Think about this, especially if you were able to watch the game. The Mavericks as a team had 15 steals, led by Al-Farouq Aminu with five, and Golden State committed 22 turnovers, twice as many as Dallas.

Still the Warriors controlled the game for damn near its entirety. Did at any point after the first quarter did it seem like a winnable game for Dallas? Even with the Warriors coughing up the rock time and time again? No. And it just goes to show how far ahead in the race Golden State is.

Here are some other figures from the disappointing contest.

  • 23%: The Mavericks’ two leading scorers shot 7-31 from the field, or 23%. Dirk Nowitzki was 5-16, and Monta Ellis was 2-14. Nowitzki doesn’t look like himself at all, but Ellis has been worse. In his last five games Ellis is shooting 34% from the floor, 11% from long-range, and averaging just 13.8 points.
  • 36.8%: The Mavericks shot 32-87 from the field against the Warriors, or 36.8%. It was their third-worst shooting night of the season. Two of their five worst shooting performances percentage-wise have come in their last two games. They shot 37.5% against the Portland Trailblazers on Thursday.
  • 11: One of the reasons Golden State was able to overcome all those turnovers was their proficiency from behind the arc. They made 11 three-pointers on 23 attempts. The Mavericks improved on their 2-16 long-range accuracy against the Blazers, but still shot poorly at 6-20.
  • 28: The Warriors had 28 assists on 38 made field goals. All but two who played recorded at least one. Ahh, it takes me back to November, when the Mavericks were scorching through their schedule by moving the ball and knocking down the open shots that came from it…

Now for the good news: Chandler Parsons is reportedly ready to return from the ankle injury that has sidelined him for the past seven games. His presence should help the offense regain some of its potency. In the seven games he’s missed Dallas has topped the century mark only once and has averaged 91.1 points. That’s, um, horrible.

Dallas also gets the Los Angeles Lakers next, and if they decide to show up, the matchup against a lottery-bound team might get Dallas back on track. There are 18 games left on the schedule. If the Mavericks are going to get it together now would be the time.

Next: Loss to Blazers by the Numbers

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