Mavericks survive against lowly Hornets without LaMelo Ball, 103-96

The Dallas Mavericks returned home to face the Charlotte Hornets, who made NBA history by losing three straight games by 35+ points. Dallas had no excuse to lose this game, even with injuries to P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Caleb Martin. Charlotte was missing a full rotation of players, missing LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Jusuf Nurkic, and more.

With all of those players out, Dallas started Kyrie Irving, Max Christie, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Moses Brown, the 30th different starting lineup of the season. Charlotte started KJ Simpson, Nick Smith Jr., Josh Green, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams.

The offense was slow to start, but the Hornets lost their size advantage early once Mark Williams picked up two fouls in the first few minutes. Moses Brown had the first two buckets for Dallas before Klay Thompson had an and-one, and Max Christie had a few buckets. Nick Smith Jr. got the Hornets on the board and was followed by a three-pointer from former Maverick Josh Green. Dallas gave him a tribute video at the first timeout.

The Mavs quickly got on top of the Hornets, 18-7, but once Dallas went deeper into the bench, the lead started to vanish. A 7-0 run by the Hornets got them back within four before Kyrie Irving hit a shot over Seth Curry. But the Hornets kept working and had the lead down to three in the final minute of the quarter; then Miles Bridges brought it down to one. That's what the difference would be after the first frame, as Dallas led 25-24.

KJ Simpson and Nick Smith Jr. started the quarter with back-to-back threes to give the Hornets a 5-point lead, finishing off an 11-0 run dating back to the first quarter. Spencer Dinwiddie tried to get the Mavericks back into it by flopping on three-pointers and attempting to get foul calls, and it only led to success for the Hornets.

Dallas' starters came back in, and Kyrie Irving, Moses Brown, and Klay Thompson helped them re-establish a lead. Brown specifically had a few nice finishes down low, including one off the dribble from the left wing on a broken play. Dante Exum helped expand on that lead by hitting a three and picking a pass off in transition and getting to the basket. But Mark Williams fought the Hornets back in it, hitting consecutive buckets to tie the game with a few minutes remaining in the quarter. Spencer Dinwiddie would hit a three and both teams hit two as the Mavs took a slim 50-49 lead into halftime.

Charlotte found a lot of success offensively with the high screen with Mark Williams and giving it to him on the roll, as Moses Brown didn't have a great answer for him. That allowed them to retake the lead as Dallas struggled on offense again, starting just 3/9 from the floor. Kyrie Irving got the Mavs back in front with a three before Nick Smith Jr. answered with one right back. But Irving was in go-mode, hitting another few baskets to give him four in a row for the Mavs as they got back in front.

The offenses dried up again down the stretch of the third, but it would be a 73-67 lead for the Mavs heading into the fourth.

The Hornets started the fourth with two straight buckets, but Moses Brown was the ignition for Dallas to start pulling away. He had two dunks and got his hands in the passing lane to start a fastbreak, leading to a three for Klay Thompson on a 7-0 run. But the Hornets kept on fighting, as Miles Bridges hit two threes near the midway point of the quarter to tie the game again as part of an 8-0 run.

Then, 4th Quarter Kai activated. He was responsible for nine straight points for the Mavs, scoring three buckets and assisting on another. But he missed a three to cut the lead to 10, and the Hornets came right back to make it a one-possession game with Miles Bridges. With just over two minutes to play, the Hornets had the ball down by three.

But Irving stole the ball, and Klay Thompson hit a corner three to extend the lead to six, then they got a stop, and Irving finished in the lane on the other end to get the lead to eight. Moses Brown capped the game with a dunk to get the lead to 10, and that would about be all she wrote. Dallas would win 103-96.

This game was much closer than it needed to be because the Mavericks shot just 41.2% from the floor, 30.6% from three, and only shot 16 free throws with the Hornets playing the foul game at the end.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Moses Brown had a great game with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Klay Thompson (18 points) and Dante Exum (12 points, 4 steals) were also in double figures.

Mark Williams had a monster game for Charlotte, ending with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Miles Bridges joined him with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Smith Jr. (12 points) and KJ Simpson (11 points) also had 10+ points. Josh Green had just seven points in his first return to Dallas.

The Mavericks will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

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