DALLAS, TX–Wednesday night was much of the same for the Dallas Mavericks (4-17) against the Sacramento Kings (8-13).The effort was there, but they just couldn’t put together a full 48 minutes of good basketball. On this night, it was a 3rd quarter that did the Mavs in, as they were outscored 29-12 in the period. The lopsided quarter turned a 4-point halftime deficit into a 21-point blowout heading into the final period. Big swings like that are very hard to overcome, and you could tell how dejected the guys were towards the end of the game.

 
How ironic it is, that the Mavs committed a season-high 23 turnovers on a night where they promoted “Poo~Pourri,” a blend of oils that you spray to stop bathroom odors:

 

#Mavs sponsorship thing with @PooPourri … I guess. Let's have our fun. … I guess. pic.twitter.com/DLCnZUcld0

— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) December 8, 2016

 

 
Foul odors are a good way to describe how this season has gone so far for the Mavs, as they now sit on a 4-17 record. Only the Philadelphia 76ers are worse at this point with a 4-18 record. Most of this is a product of being unlucky. The injury bug has plagued the Mavs all season, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better anytime soon with Dirk Nowitzki out indefinitely with a sore Achilles.

 

 

Top Performances
Deron Williams – 20 points, 6 assists

Wesley Matthews – 16 points, 4 rebounds

Justin Anderson – 13 points, 3 rebounds

 

Note: Harrison Barnes had a rare night where he just couldn’t seem to get it going, as he scored only 11 points on 5 of 16 shooting from the field.
Highlight of the Game

 

Nicolas Brussino had a nice looking “and-1” basket in the 2nd half that I was tempted to go with here, but upon further review, I couldn’t pass up Justin Anderson’s vicious transition dunk:
 

Simba with the JAM! This steal then dunk is tonight's #MavsMOment of the game! @PlainsCapital pic.twitter.com/Ef1DOPUb7k

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 8, 2016

Words of Encouragement

 

As stated earlier, Dallas has been really unfortunate when it comes to injuries. The bright side is that none of the injuries are season-ending, which means the guys will eventually be back together and healthy again. If it’s too late by then to salvage this season, it’ll be good for the Mavs to get a top-5 pick in this year’s draft, maybe even the No. 1 overall pick. A season turnaround at this point is unlikely, given the circumstances, but brighter days could come sooner than later, being that the Mavs have finally fallen off the treadmill of mediocrity.
 

C'mon, guys… I know it feels that bad, but.. #DALvsSAC pic.twitter.com/dftCs5B5qE

— DallasSportsFanatic (@Dallas_Fanatic) December 8, 2016

Up Next

 

The Mavs take on the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at 7:30 pm CST in the AAC. The last time these two teams met was on Opening Night, when the Pacers won in an overtime thriller, 130-121.