Lost Lead Reminds Mavericks Fans of 2006 Collapse

There is another growing worry for the Mavericks on top of their star guard’s uncertain health: Doncic’s free-throw shooting. He shot 0 for 5 from the line in Sunday’s loss, taking him to an indefensible 40.6 percent (13 for 32) for the series.

“I don’t think that matters right now,” Doncic said of his injury. “I played terrible.”

The Mavericks of 2005-6, who orbited around Dirk Nowitzki, avenged their finals collapse by beating Miami in the 2011 N.B.A. finals after the Heat had signed LeBron James and Chris Bosh to flank Dwyane Wade. Dallas, though, has not won a single playoff series since. These Mavericks came home after stunning the host Clippers twice, believing they had a shot at a sweep to end that drought, given the Clippers’ recent history of folding, and promptly lost all the momentum.

N.B.A. teams that lose the first two games at home in a best-of-seven series have rallied to win only four times in 31 tries. The Mavericks know how unlikely the feat is, because they pulled it off in the Nowitzki era in 2005, falling into a 2-0 hole before completing the comeback with a 40-point humiliation of the Houston Rockets in Game 7. Alas, in that series, Dallas had the luxury of playing the deciding game on its own floor after its dreadful start.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/sports/basketball/mavericks-clippers-playoffs-doncic.html