Summer League Report: Crowder, James shine in Mavs' first loss
Earl K. Sneed reports from Las Vegas, where the Dallas Mavericks fell to 2-1 in the Summer League after suffering their first loss despite the play of rookie standouts Jae Crowder and Bernard James.
Summer League Report: Crowder, James shine in Mavs' first loss
LAS VEGAS -- For the first time this summer, the Dallas Mavericks tasted the bitterness of defeat.
After leading the Mavericks’ Summer League squad to two double-digit wins while averaging 26.5 points per game, third-year guard Dominique Jones returned to the hardwood Wednesday evening looking to pick up where he left off at against the Atlanta Hawks.
However, the Hawks (2-2) had other things in mind, sending the Mavs out of Cox Pavilion with their first loss after a 67-61 defeat.
The Mavericks (2-1) faced some early adversity after starting the game 2-of-10 from the field. But with first-round acquisition Jared Cunningham missing his third straight game due to a nagging hamstring injury, the team would hang close while relying on rookie Jae Crowder on the offensive end.
Still, after Hawks guard John Jenkins scored 11 of his eventual game-high 21 points, the Mavs faced a 20-13 deficit heading into the second stanza.
“I think we came out a little bit complacent to start the game,” Mavs defensive coordinator and summer league coach Monte Mathis explained. “Our defensive tenacity wasn’t there. We weren’t making shots. I mean, we were getting open shots, but not making shots. You’ve gotta make up for it on the defensive end -- keep scrambling and keep playing to create some offense.”
Despite a sluggish offensive first period, the Mavs came charging back in the second quarter as the team looked to speed up the tempo. And after an emphatic dunk-tip by Crowder highlighted the quarter to accompany his 13-point first half, the Mavs trailed by just one, 32-31, entering the intermission.
After going just 1-of-8 in the first half, Jones orchestrated a 9-0 run out of the break to give the Mavs the upper hand early in the third quarter. But the Hawks would rally right back behind Jenkins, taking a 55-44 advantage into the final period.
Desperately in need of a spark down the stretch, the Mavs wouldn’t erase their double-digit deficit despite the best efforts at both ends of the court of Crowder and fellow second-round acquisition Bernard James. And after back-to-back victories in convincing fashion, the Mavs fell short of remaining unbeaten.
Finishing with 20 points on 9-of-20 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds, Crowder had his best game of the summer. James also collected his second straight double-double, scoring 11 points and snatching down 10 boards.
“Bernard is doing what we’re asking him to do. He’s rebounding the ball, he’s setting great pick-and-rolls, he’s rolling hard to the basket, he’s catching the ball and he’s moving the ball. Jae had a good game. He had some open looks. I think he was 2-for-8 from three, but he had some good looks and he’ll knock them down next time. He’s a solid player,” Mathis said of the rookies after the game.
Meanwhile, Jones finished with 12 points on just 5-for-16 shooting, making up for the sub-par offensive night with five rebounds and five assists.
Led by Jones’ five turnovers, however, the Mavs committed 17 giveaways as a team, which led to 16 Atlanta points at the other end. The Hawks also overcame their own 23 turnovers by outshooting the Dallas team, 40.4 percent to 37.1 percent, in addition to a 36-34 rebounding edge.
“We were just on another page,” Jones said of the drop-off from the first two games. “It was a lot of confusion. They attacked us even on offense and you just have those days. We couldn’t make any shots and you have those days. We’ve just gotta bounce back from it.”
The Mavs will now return to the practice court on Thursday before competing against New Orleans on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. CT.
