As the score tilted more and more and more heavily in Memphis’ favor Friday night, Mavericks’ fans’ dejection level probably depended on their larger-picture perspective.
If you are rooting more for lottery ping-pong balls than Dallas victories, this actually was an extra-favorable result.
But if your expectation is for the Mavericks to at least be competitive, a 124-105 loss to Memphis certainly was not that. Nary a boo was heard in American Airlines Center, though, so perhaps that was a statement in itself.
Don’t be fooled by the “closeness” of the final score. It was Memphis 101-70 after three quarters.
Mavericks
“We finished on a high note with the fourth quarter,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “You could easily let go of the rope. That group kept fighting.”
This was Dallas’ seventh straight home loss, its most since the 1997-98 season, when it lost seven straight from November 8th to November 25th.
Long faces: See photos from Dallas Mavericks’ seventh straight home loss
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It certainly didn’t help that Dallas’ injury list once again was lengthy. Cooper Flagg, Marvin Bagley (neck sprain), Klay Thompson (rest) and P.J. Washington (left ankle sprain) didn’t play.
Flagg missed his sixth straight game because of a left midfoot sprain. And it will be a while longer before he returns. Kidd said Flagg will “probably not” be on the court by the time the Mavericks play at Charlotte next Tuesday.
With four new players still acclimating following their Feb. 5 trade deadline arrival, along with slew of injuries and lack of practice time, it’s showing in ragged play. Dallas had 20 turnovers on Friday to Memphis’ 11.
“The continuity is definitely not there right now with the injuries,” Kidd said.
“It’s pretty tough just trying to gel with each other in a short amount of time,” said Mavericks guard Brandon Williams, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. “It’s on us point guards to try to take on that responsbility.”
From a glass-half-full perspective, though, by losing Friday the 12th-in-the-West Mavericks (21-38) added some cushion behind 11th-place Memphis (22-36).
The Mavericks entered this game having shot 50% or better for three consecutive games, with a chance to do it four straight times for the first time in franchise history. That opportunity was doomed when Dallas fell behind 34-20 after one quarter and 64-44 at halftime, at which point it was shooting 33%.
Unfortunately — or fortunately? — the Mavericks’ home losing streak likely will rise to eight on Sunday when reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City comes to American Airlines Center.
If Dallas does indeed fall, its home losing streak will be the worst since a 12-gamer during the 1993-94 season. That was the infamous year in which the Mavericks were 2-39 at the halfway point, with both wins coming at Minnesota.
Yeah, things are that bad. Or good, depending on your perspective.
At least one recent Maverick had a pleasant evening.
It was a relatively triumphant return for former Maverick Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Prosper was acquired by Dallas on draft night of 2023, when he was selected 24th by Sacramento.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper (18) throws down a second half dunk against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, February 27, 2026. The Mavericks lost, 124-105.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
In three seasons as a Maverick, Prosper started five times and averaged 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 92 appearances.
Prosper’s recent uptick in playing time for Memphis is largely due to the Grizzlies’ rash of injuries. But Friday’s return was triumphant in the sense that the Mavericks essentially dumped him in August, and entering Friday, he was averaging 14.9 points on 58% shooting.
“I always knew I was capable of this,” Prosper told The News. “It’s just about getting the opportunity, and now taking advantage of it with this group of guys.”
Seemingly overstocked with frontcourt players in the offseason, Dallas used the NBA’s stretch provision to waive Prosper and stretch his $3 million cap hit over three years.
“The way it went down, obviously it was a surprise,” he said. “But honestly I’m a man of faith and I believe the Lord will direct me where I’m supposed to be. I saw it from ‘OK, my time in Dallas is done and I’ve got a new opportunity to continue my career somewhere else. And I saw it from that standpoint. So that’s the way you’ve got to look at it, and it has helped me so much throughout this season, and that’s why I am where I am right now.”
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