DALLAS — The Washington Wizards’ visit to Dallas for Tuesday night’s game against the Mavericks sparked tangible memories and discussion of their big-swing trade a year ago — even if Kristaps Porzingis watched from the sideline in a gray suit and black button-down while nursing a left ankle sprain.
Oh, how Mavericks fans are hollering for another.
Dallas lost, 127-126, despite Luka Doncic tallying 41 points without hitting a 3-pointer in 38 minutes against a lottery-bound, trade-deadline-selling Wizards squad.
The Mavericks’ defense allowed at least 127 points for the fourth time in the last seven games and failed to stop the Wizards from matching several key buckets in the final minutes.
After Spencer Dinwiddie hit a left corner 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining, putting the Mavericks ahead 123-121, the Wizards scored five consecutive points. Though Doncic hit a jumper with 36.4 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 1 point (126-125) and then poked a steal to force Washington to foul him under the basket in transition, he missed the second of his two free throws that would’ve given the Mavericks a lead with 12.5 seconds remaining.
He pulled his jersey over his head, ripping the front in frustration.
No better feelings moments later, when the Mavericks deployed a double-team defense on Washington forward Kyle Kuzma and Doncic fouled him out of bounds with five seconds remaining, a call officials upheld after coach Jason Kidd’s challenge.
After Kuzma hit the second of his two foul shots, former Mavericks Delon Wright twice thwarted the Mavericks’ attempt to get Doncic the final shot of regulation — first tipping the ball out of bounds after Dinwiddie’s inbound and then stealing Doncic’s bounce-pass to Dinwiddie on the left wing after Wizards double-teamed him at his left-wing sweet spot.
Dallas has now lost seven of its last nine games and eight of its last 11 since their seven-game winning streak ended Jan. 5.
What a welcome back for Porzingis.
The Mavericks played a video tribute to their former Doncic co-star between the second and third quarters, showcasing 3-pointers, dunks, community service and silly promotional clips from his three years in Dallas.
He received applause from the American Airlines Center crowd, and returned it while standing at the Wizards’ bench, wearing a gray suit with a black button-down underneath, the formal bench attire many Mavericks fans remembered from his injury-riddled stretches on the other side.
Porizngis’ absence marked an ironic twist in his healthiest and most productive season since 2017-18, before he tore his ACL with the Knicks and moved to Dallas a year later.
Though he missed just five of the Wizards’ first 46 games before Tuesday, Porzingis still missed both contests against the Mavericks this season — also sitting Dallas’ Nov. 10 loss in Washington with a left groin strain.
No consolation for fans who hoped to see a true reunion game back in Dallas after free-agent-departee Jalen Brunson suffered a hip injury the outing before the Knicks played in AAC in late December.
Aside from one moment in the first quarter, when Porzingis laughed in disbelief at Doncic’s high-looping baseline jumper, he commanded little focus throughout the game.
That’s because the Mavericks had more pressing matters to address as a pair of slides continued.
One: They’ve lost four consecutive games to the Wizards since November 2021 despite Washington’s perennial draft lottery status, and the Mavericks’ lofty playoff aspirations.
Two: Dallas hasn’t won two games in a three-game stretch in over two weeks, since Jan. 2-7 in beating the West-worst Houston Rockets and severely short-handed Pelicans with a blowout loss to the Celtics sandwiched between.
Frustration showed throughout, as Doncic drew his 11th technical foul of the season — five from the NBA’s one-game suspension threshold — early in the third quarter, and Kidd garnered another late in the fourth.
The Mavericks’ upcoming stretch appears even tougher.
Ten of their next 11 games — up to the mid-February All-Star break — come against teams currently in the top 10 of the uber-close Western Conference. Six of those opponents — the Suns, Jazz (twice), Pelicans, Warriors, Clippers and Timberwolves — entered Tuesday within 1.5 games of Dallas’ fifth-place standing.
In between that: the NBA’s Feb. 9 trade deadline and a whole lot of speculation and, from fans’ perspective, commiseration about if and how the Mavericks can work another upgrade like the one that prompted tangible reminders throughout Tuesday’s slog.
