Anthony Davis and his Mavericks teammates were eager to move on to the next game following Friday’s 21-point loss at Oklahoma City, writes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. Davis missed his first eight shots from the field and was held to two points by one of the NBA’s elite defenses. His only points came with 8:08 left in the fourth quarter, shortly before he checked out of the game for good.
“I hold myself accountable for the play,” Davis said. “When I catch the ball, (they) have guys loaded up … there’s not much room to operate. But we don’t have time to dwell on it.”
As Christian Clark of the Athletic describes, the Thunder used Jaylin Williams as the primary defender on Davis, with Chet Holmgren lurking to provide help. That combination prevented Davis from getting many good looks at the basket.
“That was their game plan,” Davis said. “That’s most teams’ game plan. When I catch the ball, have guys loaded up. Specifically, when I have it in the post. … And they didn’t have Chet on me. Chet was kind of the help on the baseline.”
There’s more on the Mavericks:
- Ryan Nembhard continued to be impressive despite the lopsided loss, Afseth states in a separate story. Coach Jason Kidd said the rookie point guard, who made 4-of-8 shots from the floor and committed just one turnover, held up well under heavy pressure from OKC’s defense. “I thought he did great,” Kidd said. “Being able to find his teammates. … I thought he did a good job of getting guys shots. I thought he attacked.”
- Klay Thompson will miss Saturday’s game against Houston with left knee soreness, while Daniel Gafford is out due to right ankle injury management, Afseth relays in another piece. P.J. Washington, who was a game-time decision because of a sprained right ankle, has been cleared to play (Twitter link).
- As the team previously announced, center Dereck Lively II will seek additional medical opinions on the cause of the swelling and soreness in his right foot. Lively has only been available for seven games this season and hasn’t played since November 21. “For a 21-year-old, it’s tough,” Kidd told reporters, per Afseth. “He wants to play. Unfortunately, he can’t play right now. So hopefully as he goes through this process of finding other opinions on what he should do, it brings resolve and he can get back to playing because we miss him. He misses playing.”