Mavs falter in 109-104 loss to Nets

Brooklyn Nets' Sean Kilpatrick (6) strips the ball away from Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, in Dallas.
Brooklyn Nets' Sean Kilpatrick (6) strips the ball away from Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, in Dallas.

DALLAS-In the past dozen games, the Mavericks have played some of the NBA's best teams with relentless gusto.

They were either winners or pushed the opponent to the brink against Washington, Cleveland, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee and Boston.

Against another team that appears headed to the lottery? The Mavericks slipped back into some bad habits, particularly on the defensive end of the court and with their rebounding, and it was no surprise that they paid a steep price for their lax play against Brooklyn.

The Nets, with a cast of characters that aren't exactly household names, had a field day chopping up the Mavericks' defense and left town with a 109-104 victory, dropping the Mavericks to 5-17.

The Nets aren't exactly title contenders at 8-13, but the Mavericks made them look that way at times.

Spencer Dinwiddie, DeMarre Carroll and Trevor Booker made up the Nets' three-pronged attack that scored all of the Nets' points as they turned an 88-87 lead into a 103-95 advantage with 2 minutes to play.

And so, the Mavericks fell to a dismal 3-10 on their home floor and the bad news is that there are two more games coming on this stay in their own house.

The Mavericks' biggest problem-rebounding-bit them twice down the stretch and may have cost them this game.

When J.J. Barea scored five quick points, the Mavericks were within 106-102 and they forced a missed shot by Carroll with 43.3 seconds left. But the Mavericks could not clutch the rebound as it went out of bounds off Harrison Barnes.

Dinwiddie missed and the Mavericks had 22 seconds to try to get four points or more and force overtime or win it.

Devin Harris needed only 3.5 seconds to push in a layup and make it 106-104. Joe Harris hit the first of two free throws, but then had the second rim out. Again, the Mavericks could not garner the rebound.

When Dinwiddie was fouled, he missed both shots, and for the third time in the final two minutes, the Mavericks couldn't get a rebound.

This time, Dinwiddie made the shots and the game was done. The Mavericks had only themselves to blame for this one. They wasted good nights by Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber. But the Nets, who went 2-1 on their road trip to Memphis, Houston and Dallas, had an answer for everything.

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