Regardless of the heartbreaking loss, the Dallas Mavericks were able to secure the 7th playoff seed.
It looks like Luka Doncic, and the rest of the Mavericks squad will be in the playoff picture once again since 2016, and retired Dirk Nowitzki celebrates from the Twitter sidelines.
Mavs are back in the playoffs!!! Can’t wait. Let’s go!!!
— Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41) August 3, 2020
Even though they get to secure a playoff spot, going up the ladder has become tougher for the Mavericks team as they have received their second loss for this restart with a 117-115 loss to the Suns.
The Mavericks lost a tough one against the Suns, but Luka Doncic played UNREAL. pic.twitter.com/Dk1JmHliO5
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) August 3, 2020
Along with this heartbreaking loss, the Memphis Grizzlies also fell short to the San Antonio Spurs losing 106-108, which will be tougher for Ja Morant to secure the 8th seed.
Dallas struggling with nail-biting games
As per ESPN, the Mavs dropped to 2-10 this season in games decided by three points or fewer. In an interview, Luka Doncic expressed his thoughts that they need to keep improving if they want a shot at the title as he added:
“That was the objective, to get to the playoffs this year […] It doesn’t matter who you play. If you want to win, you’ve got to beat everybody. We’ve just got to learn from these mistakes.”
Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle was able to pinpoint the problem why they lost was due to the third quarter slump, outscoring them 36-19.
Additionally, they also missed this opportunity to close out the game as Phoenix leading scorers DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker were out in the third quarter with five fouls.
The Dallas Mavericks still has time to keep the team chemistry flowing as they set off to face the Los Angeles Clippers, and it should be an interesting matchup preview as they will most likely face them in the playoffs assuming that Dallas will stay in the 7th seed.
Featured image courtesy of Dallas Mavericks/YouTube Screenshot