Mavs Donuts: Untimely Dallas Losing Streak, Doncic Supporting Cast Catches Heat

DallasBasketball.com lists 12 of the biggest NBA storylines in addition to relevant Dallas Mavericks news and analysis.

After igniting a three-game winning streak, the Dallas Mavericks followed those winning ways by losing two contests in a row. The performance against the Charlotte Hornets caused head coach Jason Kidd to criticize Luka Doncic's supporting cast. 

Mavs Donuts also touches on LeBron James' reaction to a huge NFL trade and much more.

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Donut 1: Kidd Criticizes Doncic's Supporting Cast

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Jason Kidd encourages his team.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Kidd had stern words for Doncic’s supporting cast after two-straight losses.

© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Mavs are 1.5 behind the Jazz for fifth in the West.

Luka Doncic came up big in the Dallas Mavericks' 129-108 loss at the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, but his supporting cast struggled to produce.

Doncic racked up 37 points, four rebounds, and three assists while knocking down eight 3s. The rest of the Mavs scored 71 on 26-69 (37.6 percent) shooting from the floor and 6-26 (23.1 percent) from 3-point range.

Kidd took the Mavs to task during postgame media availability. 

“In (Doncic’s) book, it could be an off night, which is sometimes just a great night for average players. We hold him at a very high level, and again he came to play tonight. Unfortunately, no one else did.”

Donut 2: Mavs Fall to Sixers

The streaking Dallas Mavericks rode into Friday night's matchup at the star-studded Philadelphia 76ers having won 14 of their last 17 games, including back-to-back thrillers at the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.

But momentum comes to an end at some point, as the Mavs could not pull off another huge fourth-quarter comeback in a 111-101 loss at Wells Fargo Center. Dallas falls to 3-1 on their current five-game road trip and 43-27 overall.

Donut 3: Two Mavs Return vs. Timberwolves 

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Reggie Bullock guards Eric Gordon.

© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Spencer Dinwiddie and Mark Cuban celebrate a win vs. the Nets.

© Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Dinwiddie will make his return from a one-game absence vs. Minnesota on Monday.

The Mavs will play a pivotal game on Monday from a playoff-seeding perspective when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavs will be looking to bounce back from a 129-108 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

On the NBA's official injury report, the Mavericks no longer have Reggie Bullock nor Spencer Dinwiddie listed — meaning they will be available to play in Monday's matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Donut 4: Play-In Danger

Towns posting up Finney-Smith.

Brunson attacks the Timberwolves’ defense.

Towns drives past Powell.

As much talk as there’s been about the Mavs potentially overtaking the Jazz for home-court advantage or even catching the Warriors for third-place in the West with Steph Curry out for multiple weeks, an untimely two-game losing streak has them uncomfortably close to the Play-In Tournament as well.

With just 11 games remaining, Dallas is 43-28, which is still good for fifth-place in the West. The Mavs are just 1.5 games back of the Jazz for fourth-place; They’re also just 1.5 games ahead of the seventh-place Timberwolves, who have won four in a row and nine of their last 10 games coming into American Airlines Center on Monday night.

Donut 5: MVP Ladder

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Doncic nails a floater vs. Warriors.

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Doncic sizes up Al Horford.

© Brian Westerholt-USA TODAY Sports

Doncic’s 37 points weren’t enough against a hot Hornets team fighting for a Play-In spot.

The MVP conversation has been heating up lately with many of the top candidates facing off in head-to-head matchups. One player continuing to forge his way into consideration is Mavs superstar Luka Doncic.

On NBA.com's latest MVP ladder, the usual names remain in the top five including Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Ja Morant. However, Luka Doncic has passed Jayson Tatum to stake his claim at the top of the conversation. 

Donut 6: All Doncic wants is an NBA Championship

Although individual awards mean a lot more to media and fans alike, Doncic has a much bigger goal on his mind after already notching two All-NBA First Team appearances before he turned 23 years old. This week, Doncic joined former Maverick J.J. Redick’s The Old Man and The Three podcast to talk about that goal and a variety of other interesting topics.

“NBA championship,” said Doncic. “That’s my next jump. That’s all I want. If I get the MVP, it would be awesome, but I always put the NBA championship before.”

Donut 7: On This Day

Let's take it back to simpler times on this edition of "On This Day" for Monday's Mavs Donuts, before Twitter became a hotbed of hate for Kevin Durant following a free agency decision. On March 21, 2014, Durant scored 51 points in a 119-118 victory over the Toronto Raptors. 

Donut 8: LeBron James' Take on the Deshaun Watson Trade

LeBron James and Deshaun Watson

Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James and Jason Kidd

Doncic guards his childhood idol, LeBron James.

The Cleveland Brown traded for Deshaun Watson on Friday. Typically, a man of many words, NBA superstar LeBron James instead opted to express his thoughts on the trade via emojis mainly. 

🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾. YESSIR!!!!! #LFG 🐶🐶🐶 https://t.co/DXirS6DZ6f

— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 18, 2022

Donut 9: Jalen Brunson's Alma Mater Advances to Sweet 16

March Madness is well underway. Amazingly, there has been an insane amount of upsets so far. Fortunately for Jalen Brunson, his alma mater hasn't missed a beat. Villanova beat Ohio State to advance to the Sweet 16. 

Donut 10: Nurkic Throws Fan's Phone 

We are in a delicate place in the fans vs. players era. Players are, at least in most cases, fed up and no longer taking the verbal assaults from the crowd. Look no further than Portland Trailblazers Jusuf Nurkic tossing a young Indiana Pacers fan's phone.  

Nurkic stares down a fan and tosses his phone after the Blazers-Pacers game 😳

(via Sheebswrld/IG) pic.twitter.com/zevnDvjbda

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 21, 2022

Donut 11: Porter Jr. Causes Scene

Houston, you have a problem. Aside from losing to the Memphis Grizzlies 122-98, the Houston Rockets have a dilemma in Kevin Porter Jr. in light of his numerous actions this season. Sunday's contest saw a couple of red flags in what has been a shaky career for the young guard.

Kevin Porter Jr. just got subbed out of the game and he walked off the floor completely. pic.twitter.com/75NOtXMRdM

— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 20, 2022

 Donut 12: What's Next for Mavs

The Mavs look to swing momentum after losing consecutive games for the first time in nearly two months when they host the streaking Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. The two-game losing streak has Dallas uncomfortably close to the NBA Playoffs Play-In Tournament — meaning the outcome will have major implications on the Western Conference standings.

With just 11 games remaining, Dallas is 43-28, which is still good for fifth-place in the West but the Mavs are just 1.5 games ahead of the seventh-place Timberwolves. Minnesota has won four in a row and nine of their last 10 games coming into American Airlines Center.