The Dallas Mavericks have taken significant losses since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in a last-second heartbreaker on December 15.
A COVID-19 outbreak has forced four players and two assistant coaches out of action. The team continues to be without all-star guard Luka Doncic, who is still recovering from an injury.
In Sunday’s 111-105 loss on the road to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team’s second-best player Kristaps Porzingis went down with an injury and did not play in the second half.
In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves outscored the Mavericks 25-17 as Dallas’ shooting went cold. The Mavericks made just 7-of-19 (36.8%) shot attempts in the final period, including just 1-of-11 (9.1%) three-point attempts.
The loss wasted a season-high 23 points from Dorian Finney-Smith and a team-high 28 points from Tim Hardaway Jr., who was in the starting lineup in place of Reggie Bullock. Bullock was the first of the four players forced out due to COVID-19. Reserve player Josh Green also missed the game due to COVID-19 protocols.
Finney-Smith and Hardaway Jr. gave valiant performances for the shorthanded team, whose depth was tested when Porzingis left the game with five minutes remaining in the third quarter with a right foot injury. Porzingis had 13 points and two rebounds when he left the game.
With the team shorthanded due to COVID-19 issues and injuries, the team’s bench production suffered. Usual reserve players Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson were in the starting lineup, so the Maverick bench only scored 17 points, making only 6-of-23 shot attempts. Brunson finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Just two nights later, Dallas had a chance to avenge the Sunday loss with a rematch against the Timberwolves, this time at home. They would have to do it with an even smaller team, as the following two players forced out due to COVID-19 restrictions were announced; Hardaway Jr., along with forward Maxi Kleber, joined Bullock and Green.
Without Doncic, Porzingis, Hardaway Jr., Bullock, and Kleber, the Mavericks called up several players from the team’s G-League affiliate. Theo Pinson, Marquese Chriss, and JaQuori McGlaughlin were called up to the Maverick roster and contributed to a 114-102 victory.
With Dallas shorthanded again, Brunson and Finney-Smith stepped up. Brunson had a team-high 28 points, while Finney-Smith added 19 points.
The Mavericks led by as many as 17 points, but the Timberwolves rallied for a 92-90 lead with 8:31 left. Dallas responded with a 14-3 run that included two three-pointers by Finney-Smith and a dunk from Chriss that sealed the game.
Chriss was signed just five hours before the game and scored six points, and pulled down eight rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Pinson was signed Monday afternoon and added seven points, a career-high four steals and four rebounds in 22 minutes. McGlaughlin saw only three minutes of game time.
“We’ve got to accept this situation,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said postgame. “This isn’t going away. It’s going to be here for a while.”
The Mavericks record sits at .500 (15-15) after splitting the back-to-back games with the Timberwolves (15-16). Their next game will be Thursday night against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks (19-13).