Three Takeaways From Mavericks' Fourth Quarter Failure Against Nuggets

Dallas held a ten-point lead entering the fourth and still lost by double digits

Jan 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) grabs a rebound in front of Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks lost 112-101 to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon despite entering the fourth quarter with an 89-79 lead. They had led for most of the game, but the offense went dry when they needed it most, and the Nuggets found an offensive formula that worked down the stretch.

Dallas will have an opportunity for revenge on Tuesday night, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to keep it as competitive as they did on Sunday. Any hope of winning will start with a better game from the frontcourt, which is where we start the three takeaways.

READ MORE: Klay Thompson Reaches Significant Career Milestone in Mavericks-Nuggets

1. Dallas's Frontcourt Could Not Get a Defensive Rebound

The Mavericks' center rotation of Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Maxi Kleber combined for five defensive rebounds in 61 minutes. Nikola Jokic had 14 defensive rebounds and four offensive rebounds by himself for the Nuggets. Part of this was the game plan of having the centers stuck to Jokic on the perimeter, but they couldn't get more than five defensive rebounds? Denver coming down with 14 offensive rebounds was a big reason they were able to win this game.

2. Fourth Quarter Differential

The Nuggets outscored the Mavericks 33-12 in the fourth quarter, shooting 14/24 from the floor with no turnovers compared to 5/21 from the floor, 0/11 from three, and two turnovers for Dallas. The 0/11 from three was especially egregious, as they were 12/23 from deep entering the quarter, and then they just ran out of shots. Denver also found a formula late, screening with Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic as Dereck Lively's fifth foul forced Jason Kidd to have him guard Westbrook. Lively would double-team off the screen, Westbrook would be wide open under the basket, and Jokic would find anyone that's open. Dallas will need a better adjustment for this.

3. Losing the non-Nikola Jokic Minutes

Denver's bench has been pretty bad this season, as the conversation around non-Jokic minutes has been prevalent since the first game. But Denver's entire starting unit had a negative plus/minus, while Julian Strawther was +16, DeAndre Jordan was +13, Aaron Gordon was +23, and Peyton Watson was a ridiculous +30. That's unacceptable for Dallas to lose the minutes when Jokic is on the bench this significantly.

READ MORE: Bad Fourth Quarter Costs Mavericks Against Nuggets, Nikola Jokic, 112-101

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024-25 Season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

• Late Rally Pushes Mavericks Over Trail Blazers, 117-111

• Mavericks' Kyrie Irving Expected to Miss 1-2 Weeks With Latest Injury

• Luka Doncic Leaves Mavericks-Timberwolves Christmas Game With Non-Contact Injury

• "It Sucks"... LeBron James Sounds Off On Mavericks Win Over Lakers