The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Memphis Grizzlies at home on Saturday night, 102-96. Santi Aldama paced the Grizzlies with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. Klay Thompson was the high point man for the Mavericks in defeat with 22.

Birthday guy Brandon Williams paced the Mavericks early, hitting a pair of free throws, two threes, and a driving basket to put Memphis on their heels. But as has become tradition, the Mavericks let a non-paint scoring team carve them up inside. Memphis kept pace, scoring 14 inside during the period. But neither team was able to score much, and Dallas closed out the first up 22-21.

Klay Thompson looked solid for Dallas to start the second but no one else did. This game continued to be an offensive slog that was offensive to watch. The Grizzlies couldn’t hit the broad side of barn in the half but did get the ball back 12 times and put up eight more shots than the Mavericks. Dallas was just a touch more efficient despite fewer opportunities and went into halftime up 47-43.

The Grizzlies found their groove in the third, pounding the ball in the paint and stifling the Mavericks on offense. The Memphis lead grew to as many as nine, then a wild Naji Marshall three saved the Mavericks from the brink. A Cooper Flagg transition dunk, then free throws following a dirty play from Santi Aldama, cut the Memphis lead to two in just over a minute. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope settled the Grizzlies with a made three, Caleb Martin stopped the momentum in it’s tracks with one of his horrible shots, and Memphis was back up by seven in no time. A Klay Thompson buzzer beating three pulled the Mavs within three to end the frame. Dallas trailed 76-73.

Dallas finally took the lead back for the first time since early in the third on a great make by Williams over Edey. But the Grizzlies just kept coming and with Dallas unable to get Zach Edey out of the game on their own teams, Memphis continued to win the battle in the paint. Memphis grew the lead back to five and then PJ Washington left the game favoring his side. A pair of Williams free throws and Cooper Flagg’s first made three since Monday tied the game at 89 with under five minutes to go.

The shot making in the final minutes from both teams was just incredible. The teams traded clutch basket after clutch basket with Jason Kidd calling a timeout after Aldama made a wild floating lay up to make it 98-96 with under a minute remaining. The Mavericks didn’t score again following the timeout and Memphis left Dallas with a 102-96 win.

Second chance points and points in the paint doomed Dallas

The Memphis Grizzlies average about 44 points per game in the paint, a bottom 5 number in the NBA. The Mavericks allow 55 points per game in the NBA, also a bottom-five number. One of those two things had to win out tonight, and the Grizzlies hit 44 points in the paint by the end of the third quarter. It would eventually doom Dallas because pairing that stat with the second-chance points, and the Mavericks were teetering on the edge of losing big all night. Memphis scored 29 points on extra opportunities given to them by Dallas’s sloppy rebounding effort.

Just enough made threes from Dallas kept this game closer than it should have been as Memphis had the Mavericks on the ropes over and over, only to let go of the string.

The young man isn’t going to be great every night and tonight he missed a few good looks at the rim early then proceeded to settle. Of course, he nailed that huge three to tie the game at 89, his first made three since Monday, but he had a poor shooting game and didn’t affect the game much elsewhere, and he’s usually a tornado. He’s allowed to be tired, but Dallas also relies on him.

Dallas has, at best, one game between now and Christmas where they will be favored

This was the last game the Mavericks have for a long time where they stood at least a coinflip chance of winning. They play the Clippers the Saturday after Thanksgiving but Kawhi Leonard is coming back so I don’t want to say that’s a good chance. Then they have the Kings and Portland to close out the year AFTER Christmas.

This stands to get very ugly very fast and I have no idea what Dallas does to stem the tide.