Jason Kidd bashes Klay Thompson after Mavericks' loss to Bucks

The vibes might be at an all-time low in Dallas.

Mar 1, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) reacts against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks suffered a 132-117 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, as Milwaukee shot 51% from the floor and 31/35 from the free-throw line. It was not the defensive effort the Mavericks wanted or needed to beat a Milwaukee squad that has now won six of the last seven games.

Klay Thompson had an odd game. He had 16 points on 5/14 shooting from the floor and 4/9 from three and five assists. And of the 28 minutes he played, only two came in the third quarter. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was asked about Thompson's minimal playing time in the third quarter, and he took the opportunity to seemingly bash Thompson.

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Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

"Well, we were trying to get stops," Kidd said in his postgame interview. "You have to figure out how to stop the leak. They’re scoring, we’re having trouble stopping them, so we brought him and P.J. [Washington] out, and that’s when P.J. was done for the night. So just looking at our defense, guarding the 3-point line, we just did not do a good job tonight."

Washington was pulled due to a recurring ankle injury after he only had four points on 2/8 shooting. But Thompson is one of Dallas' better perimeter defenders. Even if the Mavericks were outscored by eight in those opening minutes of the third quarter, that's a small sample size. Spencer Dinwiddie was his replacement for the third quarter, and he didn't do much better. Damian Lillard had 11 points in the quarter, but none of those came with Thompson as the primary defender.

And for Jason Kidd to single out the three-point defense in the third quarter as the reason he pulled Thompson is wrong. The Bucks were 2/10 from three in the third quarter. The bigger issue was offense, where the Mavericks scored just 16 points on 6/19 shooting. A player like Thompson could've helped with that if he wasn't glued to the bench.

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