We’ve often described the Dallas Mavericks as “lost” this season, even with more wins to their name than our boys from the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush. Whether that’s due to front office turnover, the mindless trade that warranted it, or the classic excuse, injuries, there’s no arguing these silver stallions have galloped off-course in the past 12 months.
Still, they were able to find their way to win tonight in the lone star state. Neither Egor Dëmin nor Cam Thomas suited up in this latter half of a back-to-back for the Nets. Brooklyn could’ve used them, or perhaps just a re-do button.
Dallas seized an early lead by leveraging Brooklyn’s switch-heavy defense, often throwing screens until Porter Jr., who’s far a less troublesome matchup at the defense end, faced the ball. Then, they attacked accordingly.
Beside him, Drake Powell made his first career start with Dëmin resting to manage his left plantar fascia injury. His early minutes looked to be short lived after he picked up two fouls in the game’s first three minutes.
“It’s a lot different from college,” Powell admitted postgame. “You got to show your hands a lot, and that’s something that I’ll continue to grow at, to be a good defender in this league. I think, just like with the more film that I watch, more games that I play, it’ll just build over time.”
However, Jordi Fernández opted to leave the 20-year-old in, and while he put together a few minutes of honest ball, his teammates couldn’t do the same. Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton also got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, picking up their second personals in the sixth and seventh minutes of the first period as well.
Those whistles put Dallas in bonus prior to the period’s halfway mark, and encouraged them to attack the Nets with even more aggression than they already were. Brooklyn shooting 1-10 from three in the period didn’t help either, but it didn’t take the Mavs long to establish a sizable lead after that, leading Brooklyn into the second by a 32-23 score.
“We didn’t start the game very well,” an earnest Fernández said postgame. “We allowed them to drive, and we fouled. We were like half step slow, and there’s no excuses here. That’s the NBA, and as you know, the schedule is going to keep being tough. So, not complaining about the fouls at all. We did foul. We put ourselves in a tough situation in the penalty, and that’s not the way you want to start the game.”
Be that as it may, the period wasn’t without it’s defensive highlights…
Brooklyn also struggled early on the glass, that is, until Day’Ron Sharpe came at it with a Texas-sized appetite. For a second straight game, Sharpe looked like the best one out there in black and white. He corralled seven rebounds in the first quarter against Dallas, tied for the most he’s had in any quarter in his career. He notched a double double before the eight minute mark of the second after just 10 minutes and 27 seconds of burn. That’s the fastest double-double in the league this year and the fastest by a Net since Andre Drummond did it in 10:14 in April of 2022. Sharpe’s agent joined in on the applause for him mid-game too…
“He was physical. He set good screens. It’s not just the points and rebounds. He did a lot of things for his teammates,” Fernández added. “He ran from the front of the rim to the front of the rim, set really good screens, rolled, all those things that are very meaningful for what we’re trying to do. And I’m happy for him. I hope we would have won the game because, you know, it means a little more, but happy for him.”
But despite Sharpe’s prompt efforts, the Nets remained behind. Their 1-9 start from three boiled into 1-16 after an 0-7 start to the second. Even when a few started to go down, they didn’t always count…
“We got to keep shooting them, and sometimes you’re not going to make them,” Fernández said. “The reality is, I usually tell the guys 14 turnovers are mine, and the rest, we’ve got to be better, so most likely, we should have shot three more at least…If the shots are necessarily going in or not, I don’t really care. You got to take good shots and you’ve got to shoot them with conviction. We’ve got to create them with conviction. And then when you’re in position, go and attack the glass, because we have guys like Day’Day, Mike, Nic, and Noah, they can go fight for seconds, and that’s a mentality we need to have.”
Dallas, who averages roughly 10 made triples a game, meanwhile shot 8-14 from deep through the 5:10 mark of the second. Cooper Flagg also started to get going in the second frame, adding past due insult to an injury we suffered last May. Through two, he led all scorers with 19 points after shooting 7-10 from the field, grabbing a steal and a block in the process too.
Even with Nolan Traoré helping the Nets get one back, they trailed at the break by 56-45 score with putrid .340/.182 splits.
With their long range missile system disabled, the Nets had no choice but to start attacking the paint, which Claxton gladly led the charge in. He came out of the tunnel with some added aggression, scoring each of Brooklyn’s first two baskets to match his entire first half scoring in less than two minutes.
Drake Powell then commanded the second wave, going after Dallas’ drop defense from the mid-range and at the cylinder. He put in quick six points in the same amount of minutes in the third while shooting 3-4 from the field. He’d go on to finish with 10 point after shooting 5-10 from the field.
“Just wanted to stay aggressive on both ends of the floor,” Powell said. “That’s what Jordi told me to do leading up to the game. And yeah, just ultimately, trust myself and trust my teammates.”
The Nets got it to three around the two minute mark of the third, but a few misses got the Mavs running in rhythm again, and back into a 6-9 point cushion.
Consequentially, Brooklyn entered the fourth feeling like they were down more than they were. Reality, however, gave us a game.
Not long into into the final period, Porter Jr. and Klay Thompson had themselves a high-noon shootout in our western setting. Dallas continued to move the ball well and find their man, especially with doubles consistently thrown at Flagg. Porter Jr. slowly but surely turned in a solid bounce back effort, eventually going for 28 points on 9-17 shooting for the game. The scoreboard lit up like saloon windows, and once the chaos stalled, the Nets were down just three with 6:05 to play.
But where Thompson left off, Naji Marshall picked up. Now attacking the paint after the high doubles thrown at Flagg, he flushed floated after floater, giving the Mavs back a nine point with around two to play.
“Yeah, I think it worked until it did in,” Fernández said of the doubles. “If it works, you give yourself a chance, at some point though, we’re putting two to the ball, but we’re not rotating fast enough, and once you do that, and the ball moves, you gotta move fast. You got to create indecision with your activity…Obviously, you got to give him credit. He played very well, and that’s what he does. He’s a physical player, he’s a driver. He drives left, the same as Cooper Flagg, and we knew it, and they did it all game. So, credit to them.”
Powell hit a smooth fadeaway on the baseline to keep the pressure up next time down the floor. But Flagg, his old ACC opponent, out-did him one more time, nailing his second three of the game from the top of the key to put the game out of distance.
In a season meant to focus on growth and development, the Nets got perhaps their least exciting, yet honest lesson of the year. Every now and then, you run into a game where neither your schemes nor effort matter. On some nights, shots don’t fall, you’re timing’s not there, and your opponents give you no room to catch up. On some night, you just don’t have it.
Final: Dallas Mavericks 113, Brooklyn Nets 105
Ziaire Williams also missed tonight’s game with an illness. It’s the second game he’s been out with that designation this week. This time, however, he’ll get an extra day to rest up with Brooklyn not playing again until Wednesday.
Day’Ron Sharpe’s seven rebounds in the first quarter against Dallas are tied for the most in any quarter in his career. It is the 12th time he has done so and his second time in the first quarter of a game (Q1 at SAS, 2/21/22). His six offensive rebounds also tie his career high. It is the fourth time he has done so and first in the first half.This was the second career instance where Sharpe had a double-double in a single half (11 PTS and 10 REB on 11/14/23 vs. ORL, which was the last time a Net accomplished the feat in a first half).The last player in the NBA to reach a double-double in under 11 minutes before Sharpe did so tonight was Anthony Davis on 1/27/25, LAL at CHA
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Another tank-off! The Nets are back in action Wednesday evening for a road game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Brooklyn took down the Pels already this year a little over a month ago. The word “defeated” doesn’t feel so appropriate given each team’s current trajectory and the need to stack losses which comes with it. This one tips off at 8:00 p.m. EST.