Defense Optional: Mavs Fall to Wizards Late Despite Luka Doncic's 41-Point Effort

The Dallas Mavericks took on the Washington Wizards at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night to finish up a four-game homestand. Luka Doncic led the way for Dallas in a game where defense was a struggle for both teams.

Although the Dallas Mavericks are sitting in seventh-place in the Western Conference standings as the dust settled from Tuesday night’s NBA slate. Just as the saying "ball don't lie" is usually correct, so is the saying "record don't lie." The Mavs, simply put, are a mediocre basketball team, and that’s a shame given the level Luka Doncic is playing at.

The Mavs had lost seven of their last 10 games coming into Tuesday night's matchup against the Washington Wizards, and that losing continued as they ultimately lost the game on the final play, 127-126. Dallas fell to 25-24 on the season and Washington improved to 21-26.

Doncic did everything he could on the offensive end of the court, as he finished with 41 points on 16-29 shooting to go with 15 rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes. Down one point with 10 seconds remaining, Doncic was fouled and went to the line with a chance to give the Mavs the lead. Unfortunately for Dallas, he missed the second freebie, which ended up being the difference in a loss and the game potentially going into overtime.

Defense was apparently optional for both teams in this one for most of the night, but it was former Maverick Delon Wright who ended up making the game-winning steal with three seconds left when the Mavs had a chance to win the game on the final possession.

Dwight Powell was the Mavs' second-leading scorer with 22 points on 8-12 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie finished with 20 points and eight assists on just 6-15 shooting. Dinwiddie was a team-best +16 on the night.

Josh Green, who is still fresh off his extended injury absence due to a sprained elbow, put up 16 points off the bench while shooting 7-9 from the field in 32 minutes.

After carving up the Mavs in a November meeting, Kyle Kuzma did so again on Tuesday night, as he finished with a team-high 30 points on 12-23 shooting for the Wizards, including the game-winning free throw with three seconds remaining.

Having completed their four-game homestand, the Mavs will now hit the road for eight of their next 11 games, starting with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on Thursday night. The Suns have struggled this season, but they're going to be riding a four-game winning streak heading into their game against the Mavs.

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