{"id":679586,"date":"2026-03-26T06:10:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T06:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/679586\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T06:10:06","slug":"mavs-miserable-season-fittingly-hits-50th-loss-in-yet-another-close-defeat-vs-nuggets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/679586\/","title":{"rendered":"Mavs\u2019 miserable season fittingly hits 50th loss in yet another close defeat vs. Nuggets"},"content":{"rendered":"

DENVER \u2014 It was something of a badge of honor when the Mavericks<\/a> opened the 2000s with 11 straight seasons of 50 or more victories.<\/p>\n

In all they\u2019ve achieved 14 such seasons this century, two of them under fifth-year coach Jason Kidd. <\/p>\n

In the NBA and life there invariably are valleys, so it\u2019s our duty to inform MFFLs that the Mavericks\u2019 142-135 loss to Denver here in Ball Arena on Wednesday night was defeat No. 50 in this mercifully waning season.<\/p>\n

Perhaps appropriately, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray also eclipsed 50 \u2013 as in points, with 53.<\/p>\n

Mavericks<\/p>\n

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Glass-half-empty Mavericks perspective: Fifty defeats is lamentable any season, but especially in this case, given that the franchise viewed itself as a potential Western Conference contender before the season.<\/p>\n

Half-full: This is Dallas\u2019 first 50-loss season since 2017-18 \u2013 and only the second time it has reached 50 or more defeats in the last 28 seasons. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think when you look at the record, sometimes the record isn\u2019t the truth,\u201d said Kidd, whose team committed just four turnovers \u2014 none in the first half \u2014 but suffered yet another clutch-game loss. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is. It\u2019s what our record is. We have that many wins and that many losses. That\u2019s why you keep score. For us, we\u2019ve been in a lot of close games, but unfortunately just haven\u2019t won. Something for us to learn from.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Nikola Jokic (23 points, 21 rebounds, 19 assists) and the Nuggets (46-28) coming off a late-night win in Phoenix, the Mavericks (23-50) kept it close throughout. Overcoming a 111-100 deficit entering the fourth quarter, they pulled within 127-126 on a Max Christie 3-pointer with 4:20 left.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets scored the next six points, however, as the Mavericks suffered a turnover and two missed Brandon Williams free-throws. A pair of Murray 3-pointers extended Denver\u2019s lead to 138-128 with 1:41 left.<\/p>\n

And so despite 26 points by Cooper Flagg, 22 Naji Marshall and 19 points and 15 rebounds by P.J. Washington, Dallas played and lost another clutch game, its NBA-high 42nd of the season. Close games and defeats seem inevitable for a Dallas team that has lost five straight; 14 of its last 16; and 24 of its last 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will just be a great experience for us overall,\u201d said Flagg, when asked what the Mavericks might ultimately get from playing so many close games. \u201cA lot of these games are coming down to the wire.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust getting this experience, personally I think will be great for me to develop and get comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mavericks were coming off consecutive overtime home losses, 138-131<\/a> and 137-131<\/a> to the Clippers and Warriors. <\/p>\n

Dallas is 15-27 in clutch games, defined as games in which the margin is five points or fewer in the last five minutes of regulation. Kidd was asked whether playing so many close games can have a positive impact on next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think there is a carryover,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to go through it in any sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kidd then referenced a local team, the Broncos, whose coach, Sean Payton, sat courtside on Wednesday night. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Broncos [in 2024] played a lot of one possession games and lost,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cThis year they were extremely good in the one-score games.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so you have to go through it. We\u2019re going through it right now, and as you go into next season, you have seen different patterns in the sense of being able to have Cooper with the ball, he\u2019s found his teammates open for shots. They just didn\u2019t go down. That\u2019s just the nature of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we believe next year that those shots will go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lately, more of teammates\u2019 shots are falling. That\u2019s why, since returning 12 games ago from a left midfoot sprain<\/a>, Flagg is averaging 6.9 assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think it\u2019s decision-making,\u201d Kidd said of Flagg. \u201cBut also on the other side, his teammates are making shots. Early on in the season, we weren\u2019t shooting the ball straight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest problem is the Mavericks\u2019 defense has become a sieve. Since mid-January, Dallas is allowing 121.8 points per game.<\/p>\n

Afterward, 19-year-old Flagg stared at the box score almost in disbelief, not only about Murray\u2019s 53 points but Jokic\u2019s near 20-20-20 triple-double.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was incredible, just the way he was looking to impact the game,\u201d he said of Jokic. \u201cAnd at some points it feels like he\u2019s not even trying out there and to get 20-20-20. It\u2019s crazy to be part of that out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mavericks add staff as arena, entertainment district plans ramp up<\/a>Vegas, Seattle closer to getting NBA teams as league owners approve expansion exploration<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DENVER \u2014 It was something of a badge of honor when the Mavericks opened the 2000s with 11…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3793],"tags":[7,225,686,149,4057,3716,166,6,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-679586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-mavericks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-mavericks","12":"tag-dallasmavericks","13":"tag-jason-kidd","14":"tag-mavericks","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116293994796127744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}