[Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports]
Mavericks 112
Wizards 107
March 16, 2017 – Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
The Wizards lost their second game in a row last night, but it can't be blamed on poor offensive play. It was a normal night in that regard. Shots were falling, fast breaks were plentiful, and John Wall was assisting. The story here is defense. There isn't much to say about it. It was just hideous. Dirk Nowitzki and Harrison Barnes scored at will, and that is the end of the story.
1st quarter
The first quarter was much like the recent road games for the Wizards. Scoring was never an issue, but poor defense and easy layups kept the game close. That being said, the Wizards offense was Spurs-esque. Ball movement, rebounding, and knock down shooting from behind the arc led to the Wiz scoring 39 points in the quarter.
Wall finished the quarter with 7 points 5 assists, while Beal led the Wizards with 12 points, shooting 2-3 from deep. All of the Wizards did what is expected of them. Wall dropped dimes, Beal made shots, Otto ran the floor, Keef and Gortat got their rebounds. The end-of-quarter unit of Wall, Jennings, Bogie, Smith, and Mahinmi played good basketball all around and the Wizards came out with a 39-32 lead going into the second.
2nd quarter
It was more of the same in the second. The only defense against the Mavericks was them missing layups. Thank God the Wizards can score. The bench held it down in the first part of the quarter, Jennings getting 3 dimes and Bogie keeping the scoring alive. Beal came in and contributed 5 points, John did his thing and got a couple of assists. All in all a ho-hum quarter for the Wizards. At the half the Wizards held a 4 point lead 57-54.
And then this frightening moment. John Wall spraining his foot on a layup attempt.
3rd quarter
Wall headed to the locker room after that fall but made his return and proved he was okay at first glance. A strip steal on Nowitzki led to a two-handed jam at the other end. The defense picked up a bit and the Wiz extended their lead to nine at one point. The only thing keeping them from expanding that lead was Harrison Barnes. Barnes was simply scoring at ease, and dropped 6 points in the first 6 minutes, finishing the quarter with 13.
Wall finished the third with 11 assists. He also got to the line for the first time in the game so that was exciting. All while playing as though nothing happened to his foot. What you won’t see in the box score is tenacious defense. Brandon Jennings was a total nuisance to Yogi Farrel. OH, and Jennings hit his first three as a Wizard. He is now 1-14, so that’s cool. The Wizards led 80-73 heading into the 4th.
4th quarter
Dirk Nowitzki and Harrison Barnes did it all for Dallas. Both scoring in the 20’s for the game and scoring in crunch time gave the Mavs the lead and kept it there. Meanwhile, it was a tail of turnovers for the Wizards. Double-digit turnovers in the fourth is not how you win games. Morris continued his dismal play, not contributing on the offensive end. Dallas went on a run and got their lead up to 10. Luckily the Wiz have Bogie who ended a huge run by the Mavs with, of course, a three ball. The Wizards shot 1-5 from the line, which does not help much either.
The Wizards played the foul game at the end and cut the lead to three with 5.2 seconds left. Only to be ousted by the wits of undrafted rookie Yogi Ferrell, who fouled Wall. Wall missed the first (unintentionally), then missed the second (intentionally) which was rebounded by Nerlens Noel. Noel was fouled, went to the line, and the rest is history. Final score: Wizards lose 112-107.
#WizMavs in a Tweet
The Game’s Top Performer(s)
Per usual, the House of Guards put on a show. Wall finished with 26 points 11 assists and 3 steals, while Beal had 24 points and 5 assists. The two are undoubtedly a dynamic duo and the best back court in this league. They play with style and finesse, keeping defenders wishing for a way to stop them. Wall can get to the bucket at will at the end of games; Beal is a flat-out scorer, and there is nothing you can do about it.
A forgettable night for…
The Defense. Again.
Poor communication was the name of the game according to John Wall:
“It is simple. All five guys have to be on the same page. You cannot have three guys or four guys or two guys on a page. It just has to be all five guys all on one page, and when you do that it works, and when you do not, you see we showed resemblance in certain times in games when we really need to get a stop, we showed it in those comebacks victories on the road, but we have to learn how to do it for 48 eight minutes if we want to get somewhere special.”
Late in the fourth quarter, switches off screens led to a couple buckets in a row for the Mavs. It was what the Wiz wanted though. With Keef in at the 5, their game plan was to switch everything and stop shots. However, that backfired with a dangerous Ferrel/Nowitzki pick and pop play.
Key Stat of the Night
In the last 10 games, Wall has upped his assist average to 11. Look for Wall to keep this up and maybe sneak into the top 2 in assist leaders by the end of the season. Not too bad for a point guard that can’t pass right?
What’s next?
The Wizards host Chicago at the Phone Booth on Friday. Coming off of two straight losses, this will be a much needed win. With the Celtics picking up a win, the gap grows between the second and third seed. I predict a Wizards win, and a strong showing for Wall after not only a loss, but a minor injury as well.