Jason Kidd Reveals Reason For Dallas Mavericks' Loss to Rockets

The Dallas Mavericks' road trip is over, and they can begin finding ways to improve as they next play on their home floor.

Dec 27, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks' four-game road trip is over. Given they played it without Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with his injury, it was quite an encouraging start with a win. Then the injuries got worse.

Battling more injuries, the Mavericks were shorthanded as they finished the four-game trip 1-3. Most recently, they were back in the Lone Star State as they took a 110-99 loss to the Houston Rockets. They were one point shy of their 100-point performance against the Sacramento Kings in the game prior.

As they fell to 20-14 on the season, the Mavericks didn't have much offensively. Quentin Grimes led the team with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, with both Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson adding 16 points themselves.

Both Irving and Thompson shot the ball with relatively low volume, given the absence of Doncic.

However, what killed the Mavericks offensively, according to head coach Jason Kidd, was their inability to play a clean game. They turned the ball over 20 times en route to the 11-point loss.

“Turnovers. We just turned the ball [over], we had 20 turnovers. If you’re not getting shots against Houston, it’s going to be tough,” Kidd said. “I thought we started the game off right, but then in that first half we sent them to the free throw line a lot. We fouled a lot, especially in that first quarter.”

The Rockets have a tough, defensive identity, which they've found under head coach Ime Udoka. They used that identity to force Dallas into plenty of turnovers without their lead scorer and ball handler.

The fouls didn't help the Mavericks' case either. It was a sloppy game all around, and Dallas hopes to return to the American Airlines Center and turn things around as they are riding a slippery slope with Doncic on the sidelines.

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READ MORE: 3 Takeaways From Mavericks' New Year's Loss to Rockets

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