The Dallas Mavericks looked like they had the Golden State Warriors on the ropes during Game 2 of the 2022 Western Conference Finals. Thanks to some scorching hot shooting, Dallas led by as many as 19 points and seemed primed to even up the series before it made it way down to Texas.
And then, the wheels came off altogether. The Mavericks offense completely fell apart in the game’s third quarter, as they scored 13 points and opened the door for Golden State to get back in the game — ultimately, the Warriors picked up a 126-117 win. And after the game, Dallas coach Jason Kidd expressed some gripes about how the team attacked Golden State’s defense in the third quarter.
“When you go 2-for-13 and you rely on the 3, you can die by the 3,” Kidd said, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “And we died in the third quarter by shooting that many 3s and coming up with only two.
“If you make [3s], that’s great, but you just have to understand, if you miss four in a row, you can’t take the fifth,” Kidd continued. “You’ve got to make it. That just puts too much stress on yourself and on your team because, if you’re not getting stops on the other end, it turns into a blowout.”
Dallas shot 3-for-6 on twos in the period, but repeatedly pulled up from deep and were punished by the home team. This happened despite the Mavericks having a generally very good night from behind the arc, as they made 21 of the 45 triples they attempted. The 21 makes were tied for the third-most in a losing effort in postseason history, and despite the loss, Jalen Brunson supported the team’s repeated attempts from deep.
“I mean, we were getting great looks,” Brunson said. “When we’re open, we’re going to shoot. We have a lot of guys capable of making shots, knocking shots down. So I think as long as we’re open and shooting the correct shots, making the extra pass, doing the things that we do, we have confidence in everybody, I have confidence in everybody to knock it down.”
Dallas will hope the ball is a bit more kind in Game 3 on Sunday night.