The shorthanded Maverick’s gave a valiant effort in a scrappy game, squaring off against a good Cleveland Cavaliers team playing on a back-to-back. The Cavaliers stars showed up late and stole the game away, winning 100-99 in overtime. Even still, the Maverick’s made it a fun and hard fought game.
Here are 3 numbers that tell the story.
5: Players out
The Mavericks were without five rotation players, missing not only Luka Doncic, but Spencer Dinwiddie, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber and Josh Green.
Given those absences, different guys stepped up. Kemba Walker, in only his third game with the Mavericks, played 42 minutes, more than was likely intended as the game went into overtime.