Out of Gas: Luka Doncic Big Night Not Enough, Mavs Fall at Hornets

Despite the second-consecutive loss, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks still had a success five-game road trip.

Dalton Trigg | Mar 19, 2022

Coming off a tough 111-101 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Dallas Mavericks hoped to bounce back strong against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday to cap off a successful five-game road trip.

Following some strong words from coach Jason Kidd after that disappointing loss, the Mavs weren't able to jump back to the win column, as they got blown out by the Hornets, 129-108.

Dallas dropped to 43-28 overall and finished its road trip with a 3-2 record. The Mavs also dropped to 6-5 on the second night of back-to-backs.

USATSI_17933324 — © Brian Westerholt-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic vs. Terry Rozier

USATSI_17933289 — © Brian Westerholt-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Brunson leads a fast break.

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Doncic passes through the Hornets defense.

After having an uncharacteristic low-scoring night in Philly, MVP candidate Luka Doncic was about the only bright spot for the Mavs on a night where everything else seemed to go against them. Doncic finished with 37 points (13-of-20 shooting from the field), four rebounds and three assists in just 30 minutes though three quarters. He scored 22 points in the third quarter alone before the game got out of hand.

After a series of unforced errors that resulted in a loss the night before, the Mavs weren't able to tighten things, as they turned the ball over 13 times.

Dallas will be glad to get Spencer Dinwiddie (injury management) and Reggie Bullock (personal reasons) back in action – likely as soon as Monday.

The Hornets had a well-rounded scoring effort with seven players in double-digit points. Charlotte was led by Myles Bridges and P.J. Washington, who scored 23 and 21 points respectively. Rising superstar LaMelo Ball finished with 17 points and seven assists.

USATSI_17932628 — © Brian Westerholt-USA TODAY Sports

Dorian Finney-Smith challenges Miles Plumlee.

USATSI_17933308 — © Brian Westerholt-USA TODAY Sports

Dwight Powell went 0-for-4 from the field in 22 minutes.

USATSI_17933284 — © Brian Westerholt-USA TODAY Sports

Isaiah Thomas spent less than 24 hours with the Mavs earlier this season on a hardship contract.

Next up, the Mavs will travel back home to Dallas for a huge matchup with the red-hot Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. After another home game against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, the Mavs will then travel to Minnesota for another game against the Wolves.

Minnesota is just 1.5 games back of Dallas in the Western Conference playoff standings, so Dallas must take care of business if it wants to avoid potentially being in a Play-In Tournament situation.

Published Mar 19, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.