DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks ended their five-game series against the Golden State Warriors with a 104-100 loss, but the team still posted an impressive 4-1 record during the span.
With two wins over the Sacramento Kings, the Mavs have been in a tight race for the No. 6 seed, but their chances of avoiding the play-in tournament have improved considerably.
“I think it was a great road trip, especially since I had to fly to Texas and get back to California,” Doncic said. “So it's the longest road trip I've ever been on. But I think it's a good road trip. You know, 4-1 is great.”
It required multiple trips back and forth from Texas to Northern California, making it difficult for both opponents and travellers. Kyrie Irving says how the impact was felt in the final game, even though the Mavs wanted to get their fifth win on the road to go 5-0, adding that there is a human element to these challenges. admitted that there was.
“So I'm a human being just like any of my teammates,” Irving said. “So, being on the road for 10 days, we definitely felt it in this last game. We wanted this to be really bad, but we didn't put in a good enough effort on the offensive end and the defensive end, and it showed tonight. .”
Against the Warriors, the Mavs continued to show their resiliency. The team trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but managed to rally back before the break and cut the deficit to just one point.
“We never give up,” Doncic said. “I think there were three great looks (during the game). PJ did a catch and shoot, Kai caught and shoot, I did a catch and shoot, an open catch and shoot three times.”
With Draymond Green returning to the lineup against the Mavs for the first time this season, Dallas saw another Warriors defense that has tightened up considerably of late entering this game. Being held to 100 points was the third-lowest total in a game with Doncic in the lineup this season and the lowest since Jan. 1. The Mavs were pleased with the quality of his shots and praised his tenacity despite not making any shots. .
“Offensively we looked great, but I think it's just the character of the group,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “If you look at this road trip, we've been sluggish and we haven't played well.
“We're all in this together and we understand there are two halves to the game,” Kidd continued. “We got off to a good start in the third quarter and they scored. But in that fourth quarter, our defense kept us in the half.” “
As the team's leader, Irving emphasized how focused he is on the team making incremental progress, rather than obsessing about falling short of perfection. It's a sentiment he's shared all season as a leader.
“It's been a great road trip. I'm trying my best to let my ego and perfectionism seep in here and say, 'Well, I wish we'd gone 5-0.' We're not looking for perfection. We're looking for gradual progress and being able to test in situations like this so we can prepare for the playoffs. That's the way I look at it.”
“So this road trip has definitely been great,” Irving continued. “We learned a lot about each other and I think we were able to make up for some of the other games where we let our guard down and got into the game on the last road trip.”
Managing to hold the Warriors to 104 points gave the Mavs confidence in where their defense stands amidst its recent continued improvement.
“I thought we fought hard,” Washington said. “It's very good to be able to keep a team like that up to 104 people in the building. Obviously, there are some things we can work on and learn from in this game.
“I'm happy that we kept fighting the whole game. I'm not disappointed and I don't feel like we ran out of gas in this game. But there are some things we could have cleaned up. I feel like if we did that, we definitely could have won this game.”
The Mavs will play three games in four nights at American Airlines Center, starting Thursday night against the Atlanta Hawks, followed by a rematch with the Warriors on Friday.
