Can a six-game losing streak be fun? The Dallas Mavericks (19-32) are hard at work testing psychological boundaries on the basketball court.
Losing basketball in the short term means better chances for Draft Lottery wins ahead, and a new era started in earnest on Thursday with the tank rolling through the tulips in the Mavs’ 135-123 loss to the San Antonio Spurs (35-16) at American Airlines Center.
Whether bad basketball means good vibes for the Mavericks (19-32) for the rest of the 2025-26 season remains to be seen, but as losses like Thursday’s begin to pile up for Dallas, it should result in a good draft pick in June. Thursday’s loss was the Mavericks’ sixth and a row, but it was anything but bad basketball, as Dallas shot 47-of-95 (48.5%) from the field and 12-of-31 (38.7%) from 3-point range against the Spurs. Dallas’ losing streak could be prolonged with another matchup at the Spurs on Saturday, followed by road dates at the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Imbued with the juice of an eventful Trade Deadline, the Mavs had a certain bounce to their step to open the game against San Antonio. Daniel Gafford, Naji Marshall and Max Christie all stepped up for Dallas, combining for 26 of the Mavericks’ 35 first-quarter points. Marshall played 11 of the game’s opening 12 minutes and led all scorers with 11 points after one. San Antonio was led by Victor Wembanyama, who scored 10 in the frame as the Spurs took a 38-35 lead going into the second quarter.
Marshall scored a tear-drop floater over Wembanyama’s outstretched arm on the first possession of the second, before Gafford finished an alley-oop from Ryan Nembhard the next time down to cut the Spurs’ lead to 41-39. Nembhard wormed his way to the cup for a scooping score with 10:45 left in the second to tie the game, 41-41, before Caleb Martin turned a baseline drive into a fadeaway jumper for his second bucket of the game to pull the Mavericks in front.
The Mavs were playing like they had something to prove, as Nembhard launched a long 3-pointer from five feet beyond the top of the key to keep Dallas in front, 46-44. Cooper Flagg bailed himself out with a series of pump fakes and a turnaround jumper the next time down to extend Dallas’ lead to 48-44. The Mavericks were shooting 19-0f-31 at that point.
But San Antonio built a quick 7-0 run on two steals from Stephon Castle to take the lead back and take it for good. Castle made four of his first five field goat attempts on Thursday, including a jam midway through the second as the Mavs’ defense parted before him, before Wembanyama canned his fourth straight 3-ball to open the game the next time down to give San Antonio back a 58-52 lead. His fifth was of the step-back variety from 26 feet away, extending the Spurs’ run to 19-4 and forcing another Mavericks’ timeout.
Marshall did everything he could to keep the Mavericks in it in the first half, knocking down his second 3-pointer of the game with a minute left in the first half to keep Dallas connected, down 71-63. Dallas went into the locker room down 74-63 after Harrison Barned answered with a 3-pointer of his own on the other end.
Flagg, who scored 10 of his own in the first half, knocked down his first 3-ball of the game in rhythm from the top of the key in a late-clock scenario on the Mavericks’ first possession of the third. He dipped through the defense for a turnaround in the lane the next time down for a bucket that brought the Mavs to within 77-70. Flagg found Marshall for an open 3-pointer, Marshall’s third of the game, midway through the third to pull the Mavs to within single digits, down 87-78.
Marshall’s fourth straight longball to start the game came with five minutes left in the third and after a San Antonio timeout, to bring Dallas to within 90-86. Flagg drove for an authoritative dunk three minutes later to trim San Antonio’s lead to two, 93-91. Flagg and Marshall combined for 47 points through three quarters in an impressive offensive display against one of the league’s best teams. Dallas trailed 99-96 heading into the fourth.
Coopering his Flagg
The legend continues to grow. No rookie since Allen Iverson in 1996 has ever scored more points in a four-game span than Flagg has in his last four. Two free throws early in the fourth quarter put Flagg at 146 in the Mavs’ last four losses, passing Trae Young’s mark of 144 set in 2018. They also brought the Mavericks to within one point of the lead, down 106-105 with 9:12 left in the game.
Although the outmatched Mavericks couldn’t get over the hump down the stretch, this team is playing with a breath of fresh air at its back, even as the losses pile up. After the dark cloud of Nico Harrison’s presence was lifted earlier this season, it’s been incredible to watch Flagg elevate his game to an elite level in the last week or so. And now that Anthony Davis’ elephant of a contract has left the room, the Mavericks are fun again all of a sudden.
Flagg soared for another teardrop finish over Wembanyama with five minutes left to play to put him at the 30-point mark for the fourth straight game. He finished with 32 points on 14-of-27 shooting and six rebounds in the loss and perfected his newly patented “Wemby Killer” in the process. If the NBA is looking for a new face of the league, maybe, just maybe, Flagg could shave that mustache and fill the role.
Exhale, Naji
Marshall scored 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the first half, matching Wembanyama for the game-high mark through two quarters. His name was at the tip of every NBA analyst’s tongue as the Trade Deadline came and went, due to his team-friendly contract and his brilliant stretch of play that started last year and continued this season, whether playing with the starting five or coming off the bench.
He made both of his first-half 3-point attempts and abused a Spurs’ defense that was clearly focused on slowing Flagg down as its first priority. Marshall has expressed his desire in recent days to stay with the Mavericks, and that’s what Mavericks fans wanted, too. Dallas held firm to its requirement of a first-round draft pick if the team was going to move off of Marshall at the deadline, and it may be a blessing that no teams bellied up to the bar with one in any offers over the past week.
Marshall drove through De’Aaron Fox for a bucket in the mid-range with 4:08 to play that once again brought the Mavericks to within one, down just 120-119 and give him 30 points to go along with Flagg’s 30-piece. He finished with 32 and six, matching his young buddy Flagg every step of the way.
Marshall’s game fits so many different styles of play. He’s so skilled at bullying his way to the bucket, but the thing that sets Marshall apart is that he’s able to remain in control and avoid turning the ball over while doing it. As co-general manager Matt Riccardi said in a pre-game press conference, Marshall’s game fits “perfectly” with Flagg’s as a core part of the new era of Mavericks basketball.
No new friends, yet
The Mavericks started the game with an increasingly familiar starting lineup of Christie, Marshall, Gafford, Martin and Cooper Flagg. The four new roster members acquired in NBA Trade Deadline deals on Wednesday and Thursday were not with the team. The Mavs had just 10 players available against the Spurs, but Kidd leaned on his starters for heavier minutes against the Spurs rather than relying on the second unit, which featured all three of the Mavs’ two-way guys.
Nembhard made a couple of nice plays in the second quarter, but Cisse found himself in foul trouble when he picked up his third with 7:30 left in the frame. Brandon Williams (leg) was out for Thursday’s game against San Antonio, as was P.J. Washington (concussion).
The first chance that Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson and Tyus Jones will have to play with their new team will come on Saturday in San Antonio. Their first home game in Dallas won’t come until Feb. 26, as the Mavs’ next six games are on the road, with the All-Star break in the middle of that road trip.
Wemby quiet down the stretch
Wembanyama started the game by making his first five 3-point attempts and racked up 20 points and six rebounds by halftime. He finally missed one from deep with 2:35 left in the second. Wembanyama raised up and zipped a pass to a wide open Dylan Harper underneath the next time down for Wembanyama’s second assist of the game. That bucket kept the Spurs in front, 69-58, late in the second after the strong start by the Mavs.
He has absolutely torched the Mavs’ top-10 rated defense in the teams’ first two meetings of the year. Wembanyama scored 40 points in the Spurs’ 125-92 thrashing of the Mavericks to open the 2025-26 season.
Wembanyama scored just four points in the third quarter, which helped the Mavs climb back into the game, as Marshall and Flagg chipped away at the lead. He was inexplicably shut out in the fourth until he hit two free throws with three minutes left to play, as his Spurs nursed a four-point lead. His team-high 29 points and 11 boards came on a night when seven Spurs scored in double-figures.
