3 important takeaways from Dallas Mavericks loss to shorthanded Nuggets

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Denver Nuggets 98-97 on Sunday night as the two teams split their weekend set at the American Airlines Center. Superstar Luka Doncic had his 50th career triple-double on Friday night in a dominant win, but Dallas let one slip away on Nov. 20 as number 77 missed the game-winning buzzer-beater.

Spencer Dinwiddie, Christian Wood, and Tim Hardaway Jr. all struggled to find their jumpers in an inexcusable loss to the Nugget without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. Bertans had 15 points, including making four 3-pointers in his first significant action of the season, but it was not enough to make up for Dinwiddie, Wood, and THJ going seven of 27 and scoring just 18 points.

The Nuggets used a strategy that has worked for several teams to open the season as they forced the ball out of Luka’s hands and made the rest of the Mavericks defeat them. Dallas could not do it on Sunday night, and here are three important takeaways from the loss.

Takeaway from Dallas Mavericks loss to Nuggets: 3. Green shows his improvements

Josh Green struggled to get consistent playing time in his first two NBA seasons, but the 22-year-old spent the entire summer working on his game, and it is certainly paying off. The 6’5 wing remade his jumper, and he is playing with more confidence. Fans saw arguably his best performance as Maverick on Sunday night against Denver.

Green was knocking down shots and bringing his usual energy to the court. He could not miss on Sunday night, and fans can see his improved stroke below.

Green was mic’d up on Nov. 20, and the Mavs should let him do that every night as he finished with a career-high 23 points on eight of nine shooting from the field, including making six 3-pointers. He played 29 minutes, and Dallas outscored the Nuggets by 13 when he was on the floor.

It was arguably the best game of Josh Green’s career, but the rest of the Dallas Mavericks failed to deliver on Sunday night.