The Dallas Mavericks, now sitting at 1-2 in the preseason, spent most of Wednesday night playing catch-up against the New Orleans Pelicans, ultimately falling short 101-97. Despite a late rally from the deep reserves, they just couldn’t erase an incredibly ugly offensive start that doomed them from the jump.
Stumbling Out of the Gates
With Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, and a few other key players sitting this one out, Dallas rolled with a starting five of Naji Marshall, Max Christie, Zaccharie Risacher, P.J. Washington, and Moussa Cisse. Right away, the offense looked completely disjointed. Washington turned the ball over *twice* in the first two minutes! Risacher missed an early three, and honestly, generating anything consistent in the half-court felt like pulling teeth. Mar Hall did try to give them some life, dropping seven first-quarter points, including a pull-up three and a slick floater. But even with that spark, New Orleans still built a solid 26-18 lead after one. That’s a rough way to kick things off.
Momentum Lost, Hopes Dashed
Surprisingly, Dallas actually put together some of their best basketball in the middle of the second quarter. John Poulakidas caught fire, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, and Seth Lundy knocked down another. Sergio de Larrea was out there creating some easy looks for the bigs, with Cisse scoring twice at the rim, even a cutting dunk off a de Larrea assist that pulled Dallas within three at 47-44. You’d think they’d carry that energy into halftime, right? Nope. Completely lost it. New Orleans slammed the door shut with a 9-1 run, capped by Bennedict Mathurin scoring through contact with just one second left. Just like that, Dallas was down big, 56-45, at the break. The third quarter didn’t bring the big run they needed either. Tobi Lawal kept finding openings as a cutter, and Risacher finally got on the board with a pair of layups. But the Mavs just kept throwing away possessions and bricking open threes. New Orleans, fueled by Jeremiah Fears, Zion Williamson, and Yves Missi, pushed their lead to 75-63 heading into the fourth.
Too Little, Too Late
Most of the main rotation guys were done by the fourth, but that end-of-bench crew gave us one last push. Lawal just kept attacking the rim, Poulakidas kept making shots, and Lundy got super aggressive late. They cut a 95-86 deficit with just over three minutes left down to 98-95 after a Tarik Biberovic three, four straight Lundy free throws, and even a Lundy steal and dunk! Poulakidas hit a pull-up jumper with nine seconds left to make it 100-97. But man, they just ran out of time. That comeback couldn’t quite get all the way there. And for Zaccharie Risacher? It was a rough night, finishing with six points and four rebounds. That’s a performance Dallas will definitely want to clean up before the games start counting.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Mavs Moneyball.
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