Mavericks at Nets
The furious surge that brought the Brooklyn Nets into the playoff race in the Eastern Conference and pushed them above .500 is a thing of the past, leaving the team searching for answers. The Nets will try to snap a three-game slide and move back to .500 when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
Brooklyn, which won 20 of 26 through Jan. 29 to jump into the No. 6 spot in the East, fell to three teams behind them in the standings the last three games, capped by a 117-88 setback at Miami on Saturday. "Tonight, we were searching for everything - offense, defense, rebounding," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "Miami was unbelievable. They dominated us in every fashion. We obviously didn’t make shots. Somehow, we've got to get over the fact that, when we're not making shots, we've got to come back and defend. We didn't do either. Didn't make shots, didn't defend." The Mavericks are in a rut of their own with losses in six of the last seven, including a 111-81 home setback to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. "The NBA game isn't a game where you can come and ease into it," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "You've got to jump into it, and we just didn't do that."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (27-35): Saturday marked the team's lowest scoring total of the season as Dallas shot 30.6 percent from the floor, including 7-of-40 from 3-point range. "For whatever reason we didn't come out with the right mindset, and obviously we let our shot-making - or lack thereof - kind of dictate the game," reserve guard Devin Harris told the team's website. "They came out and played harder, they got the loose balls, they were attacking us, and we didn't respond too well." Rookie Luka Doncic led the way with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting but was 1-of-8 from 3-point range in the loss.
ABOUT THE NETS (32-33): Brooklyn dropped to 4-9 over its last 13 games with Saturday's embarrassing loss, leaving it two games ahead of No. 9 Charlotte in the East. The Nets shot 35.2 percent from the floor at Miami, including 9-of-42 from 3-point range, and bemoaned the lack of shot-making after the contest. "A lot of guys are struggling right now shooting the ball," Atkinson told reporters. "We keep trying different guys, different lineups. I think we tried every lineup possible tonight to get it going. It's just not working right now. Our runway is pretty short, so we have to figure it out pretty soon."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets SG Allen Crabbe is averaging 5.4 points on 29.4 percent shooting over the last five contests.
2. Mavericks rookie PG Jalen Brunson followed a season-high 24 points on Wednesday with two points on 1-of-10 shooting Saturday.
3. Dallas earned a 119-113 home win over Brooklyn on Nov. 21 behind 28 points from since-departed SF Harrison Barnes.