By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Entering a back-to-back with two straight wins, the Dallas Mavericks went from a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter to trailing and eventually lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Luka Doncic and his teammates were completely stopped for five minutes in the last period. “We played bad,” the Slovenian combo guard commented on his side’s performance in the fourth quarter, “It is on me. I missed a lot of good shots.”
“We got some good looks,” said head coach Jason Kidd after the seventh loss over 15 contests held in American Airlines Center this season, “We just did not make them. Luka had looks. Curry had looks. Everybody had looks. They just did not go down for us.”
Finishing with 39 points, Doncic made it over 30 points for the 14th time in the last 15 outings, including a recent stretch of ten games without sidekick Kyrie Irving (right heel). He added seven rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks in the losing effort against the shorthanded Cavs.
Completing a back-to-back and also starting a three-game road trip, the Mavs will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in Target Center on Thursday. “We got to rebound the ball better,” replied Doncic about additional necessary improvements required to jump back into the win column.
Down to 18-13, the Mavericks rank sixth in the Western Conference standings, five games away from leading Minnesota Timberwolves and only one game ahead of the Play-In zone.
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