Dwight Powell's 'Great Accomplishment' in Mavs' Game 5 Loss to Warriors

Dwight Powell grabbed his share of critiques during the postseason run, but the Mavs center also reached an impressive milestone in the Mavs' final game.

DALLAS - Facing elimination in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals at Chase Center on Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks weren't able to overcome a poor first half, losing 120-110 to the Golden State Warriors. The Mavs’ first season under head coach Jason Kidd comes to an end as an important offseason awaits.

"We accomplished a lot with the two words we've talked about: Accountability and chemistry," said Kidd. "Now, it's about what's our appetite come next season? Next season, are we going to be hungry? And then, are we going to train this summer to understand what it means to play until May and June?"

Luka Doncic led the Mavs in Game 5 with 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists. However, after a sluggish start, Doncic evaluated his game as "terrible" and Charles Barkley added that Doncic "wasn't competing."

Dwight Powell grabbed his share of critiques during the postseason run but the Mavs center also reached an impressive milestone in the Mavs final game of the 2021-22 season. 

Powell played his 100th game of this season, becoming the only member of the Mavs to play in every regular season and postseason game this season. 

“That’s huge. Shows how he’s taking care mentally and physically, and then just what he does to prepare for work," coach Jason Kidd said. "To be able to count on him or pin him in as a starter or someone who is available to play every night, that helps as a coach but also as a teammate to be consistent. That’s a great accomplishment for Dwight and hopefully we can get more guys to do that.”

After suffering a season-ending achilles injury in 2019-20, Powell was also one of five players in the NBA to appear in all 82 games in 2021-22. In his 7th season with Dallas, Powell shot a career-high 67.1 percent (269-401) from the field, the second-highest single-season percentage in Mavericks history. 

Powell will join Luka Doncic (Slovenia) in playing for their respective countries this summer. He has committed to played for the Canadian national team for the next three years through the 2024 Olympics, joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and RJ Barrett under head coach Nick Nurse.

Boban Marjanovic (Serbia) and and Frank Ntilikina (France) are also expected to play in EuroBasket 2022 this September. 

Powell and the Mavs were 7-point underdogs vs. Golden State in Game 5 and were unable to win one game vs. the Warriors in San Francisco. The Warriors are headed to their sixth NBA Finals in eight years while the Mavs will lament on the poor end to a great season.