Mavericks snap Nuggets’ three-game win streak in turnover-filled defeat

DALLAS – The mistakes were self-inflicted, each turnover much debilitating than the last.

Ultimately, the Nuggets couldn’t get retired of their ain way, falling 103-89 to the Mavericks successful frustrating, atypical fashion. No fig was much telling than Denver’s 26 turnovers, the superior culprit successful snapping Denver’s three-game winning streak.

And nary starter, Nikola Jokic included, was guilt-free. Jokic had 3 turnovers, on with 27 points and 16 rebounds. Will Barton turned it implicit 7 times, and each different starter had astatine slightest 2 miscues.

“I thought we dribbled excessively much,” acting Nuggets caput manager Popeye Jones said. “Obviously excessively overmuch one-on-one. I tried to archer them astatine halftime, a bully antiaircraft team, they’re ever going to defender your archetypal action, possibly your 2nd action. You gotta get to your 3rd enactment … You gotta effort to support vigor successful the ball.”

The Mavericks converted those mistakes into 28 points, undermining immoderate changeable Denver had of stealing 1 connected the road. Aaron Gordon, with 15 points and 7 rebounds, was 1 of the fewer agleam spots.

So was Bones Hyland, who added 7 points and six rebounds disconnected the seat successful his instrumentality from the NBA’s wellness and information protocols. But helium was besides spot by the turnover bug.

“I thought helium knew much of the playbook possibly than what helium knew,” Jones said.

Hyland didn’t hold with that assessment, explaining helium knew it, but was much comfy erstwhile playing 1 of the defender positions. On Monday, helium was forced to play immoderate three.

As for the turnovers, Hyland chalked them up to laziness.

“I don’t deliberation we followed the crippled plan,” Hyland said, successful speechmaking and reacting to Dallas’ double-teams connected Jokic.

Dallas sensation Luka Doncic dominated with 21 points and 15 assists, adjacent though his shooting numbers were uncharacteristically off.

The archetypal turnover came lone moments earlier tip-off, erstwhile the Mavericks announced manager Michael Malone, and not the fill-in Jones, arsenic Denver’s caput coach. It lone went downhill from there.

Jokic carried Denver’s stagnant discourtesy successful the 3rd quarter. With brushed interaction shots astir the rim balanced with a assured 3-point game, Jokic chiseled distant astatine Dallas’ lead. He had 11 points successful the 4th alone. Both Barton and Facu Campazzo aided the origin with supplementary 3-pointers. After Campazzo’s country triple, Doncic tossed a fewer words successful the absorption of his erstwhile Real Madrid teammate.

Though the Nuggets did an admirable occupation individually connected Doncic, helium picked isolated Denver with his vision. Doncic’s brilliance gave the Mavericks a 69-63 pb heading into the fourth.

Making their comeback effort adjacent harder, Vlatko Cancar was carried disconnected the tribunal precocious successful the 3rd with an evident close ft injury.

Denver’s lone reinforcement arrived hardly 2 hours earlier Monday’s crippled aft Hyland cleared protocols. It was a invited show for a squad whose backcourt had been dwindling.

“We’ll play him successful three- to four-minute stints and spot however helium feels, but the happening astir Bones, arsenic you guys know, he’s a assured kid,” Jones said. “He’s like, ‘I’m acceptable coach. However agelong you privation maine to play.’”

Following Saturday’s triumph implicit the Rockets, Jones was bullish astir his team’s prospects.

“We’re conscionable present to win,” Jones said. “I deliberation the biggest happening close now, the MVP’s truly locked in. We person him. He had a heck of a workout yesterday. Probably worked harder than anybody.”

Jokic carried that vigor into the archetypal half, wherever helium registered a team-high 12 points and 8 rebounds, but it didn’t trickle down the roster. The Nuggets played a sloppy marque of basketball, undermined by 14 turnovers. As a result, the Mavericks carried a 46-37 pb into the break.

Gordon provided a boost with carnal and assertive play, bullying his mode to 10 first-half points. But Denver’s violative cadence was disrupted with the turnovers, galore of which were their ain doing.

Whether it was dribbling into postulation oregon forcing the shot into choky windows, the Nuggets made Monday’s effort against a prime hostile adjacent harder connected themselves.