The Dallas Mavericks (6-2) fall short to the Toronto Raptors (4-4) 127-116 on Wednesday night.
The first half was all Mavericks, they went up 16-8 early and forced a Toronto timeout. Luka Doncic got off to a good start early picking up 12 points in the first quarter. The Mavs won the quarter 33-27.
The Raptors came back and took a lead, winning the quarter 35-25, giving them a 62-58 lead at the half. Doncic went into the locker room with 16 points, Derrick Jones Jr. had 15 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 11.
Dallas struggled with turnovers in the first half racking up 10. They also got outworked in the paint only scoring 16 points in the paint while their opponent scored 38.
The positives at the half is that the Mavs shot well from all angles. They were above 50 percent in all categories, 51 percent from field goal, 50 percent from downtown, and 71 percent from the free throw line.
The turnovers continued into the third quarter, Dallas racked up four more and it showed in the score. Toronto room their biggest lead of the game going up by seven forcing the Mavs to take a timeout. Dallas went into the fourth quarter down nine.
The biggest issue in this game was the missing key component of Derrick Lively. It was obvious tonight that he plays a key roll on this team. The Mavs gave up 70 points in the paint and got out rebounded by 20. Head Coach Jason Kidd stated after the game that it was obvious they needed Lively and his absence hurt them. He said they need to do a better job at protecting the paint and crashing the boards.
Luka Doncic led with 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Kyrie Irving had 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Derrick Jones Jr. had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assists.
Dallas will be back in American Airlines Center on Friday to host the LA Clippers at 7:30 pm.
