The Dallas Mavericks are going through perhaps the worst one and a half month stretch any team has gone through in the history of the NBA. And on Wednesday night, their woes were compounded by another brutal loss, this time being on the receiving end of a 135-131 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers despite being up by double digits at one point in the ballgame.
The Mavericks already did a good job overcoming a 16-point deficit, receiving excellent performances from PJ Washington, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Naji Marshall, among others. But they faltered late in the game; despite seemingly being in control of the contest, leading 130-128 with only 26 seconds left, Max Christie turned the ball over — setting up another Pacers game-winner, this time a triple from Andrew Nembhard.
Wild sequence leads to an Andrew Nembhard 3 for the lead!@Pacers hold on for the W
pic.twitter.com/Nhvva0dG3r
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2025
The Mavericks held a seven-point lead with 1:07 remaining in the game and appeared to be on their way to stopping the bleeding. The Pacers then outscored them, 14-3, to end the game, rubbing even more salt on the Mavs’ wounds that have been torn open again and again over the past month or so.
At this point, Mavericks fans can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. As if things can get any bleaker in the aftermath of the controversial Luka Doncic trade, the Mavs dig deeper and deeper of a hole for themselves, much to the chagrin of their passionate fanbase.
“Mavericks can’t do s**t right,” X user @FlacoTacoFlaco wrote.
“I used to not understand when people would say ‘I follow my favorite player and not any teams.’ But I kinda get it now. I get no joy watching basketball anymore. 
Thanks Nico and Patrick,” @chillywilly214 added.
“I’m rooting for whatever gets Nico Harrison outta my life as fast as possible at this point. If it’s the Mavs losing every game and the Lakers winning every game then so be it,” @517to214 furthered.
Mavericks falter as Luka Doncic’s Lakers grow stronger
The Mavericks seem to have invited a ton of bad juju onto the franchise with their decision to trade away Luka Doncic. Kyrie Irving went down with a season-ending ACL injury, Anthony Davis sustained a groin injury that is keeping him out for multiple weeks now after suiting up in just one game for the team, and there was even a chance earlier this week that they would run out of healthy players.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers are holding the fort amid LeBron James’ absence, thanks in large part to the presence of Doncic, who carved up the Denver Nuggets’ defense on Wednesday night.
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