INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Anthony Davis missed his 23rd game as a member of the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The LA Clippers crushed Dallas 114-91 in his absence.
Davis returned to the court the next night, but the result of the game wasn’t much different from what transpired 24 hours earlier. The Mavericks fell behind by double digits in the first quarter and got pummeled on the interior by a Clippers team that has won 14 of 17 games. The Clippers dominated the Mavericks 135-104 and outscored them 80-44 in points in the paint.
Saturday’s loss ensured that the Mavericks won’t finish this season with a winning record. They are 38-41 with three games to go.
The Mavericks are now 5-2 with Davis in the lineup. But take a peek under the hood, and that record starts to look less impressive. Four of those five wins came against sub-.500 Eastern Conference opponents in the Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks. One of those losses came last Monday — at home against a Nets team that entered American Airlines Center with only three wins total in the month of March.
Dallas’ consecutive losses to LA — and its third loss in four games last week — also tightened the race for ninth place in the Western Conference’s Play-In Tournament spots. The Mavericks, Sacramento Kings (37-40) and Phoenix Suns (35-42) are battling to see which team will miss out on the postseason entirely.
“The biggest message is we have to stay hungry,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “With all the injuries and restricted minutes, we have kept ourselves in the Play-In race. We had a big win at home against Atlanta. Unfortunately, we didn’t play up to par in these two games against the Clippers.”
On Wednesday, Davis made three clutch plays that clinched a home win against the Hawks. Davis’ role in forcing a late turnover, his go-ahead floater with 3.4 seconds remaining and his defense on Trae Young on the game’s final possession allowed the Mavericks to leave with a victory.
In the two-plus months since the trade between the Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, Kidd and other Dallas players have put out reminders that Davis was one of the players honored on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team three years ago. He is averaging 20.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 blocks in his seven games played with the Mavericks. He had 27 points and nine rebounds Saturday against the Clippers.
“He’s not flashy,” Kidd said about Davis on Friday. “He might not be sexy, but he’s one of the best players in the world.”
16 PTS for AD at the half 🪣 pic.twitter.com/8uvZsOZpxG
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 6, 2025
When Davis is in the lineup, he is undeniably great. But the Mavericks, as currently constructed, are not. The Clippers raced out to a 33-21 lead in the first quarter Saturday night. They led by as many as 32 points and cruised to an easy win. James Harden scored 29 points and handed out 14 assists. Clippers center Ivica Zubac went toe-to-toe with Davis inside, scoring 25 points on a perfect 11-of-11 shooting.
For the first time all season, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was available on the second night of a back-to-back. Leonard scored 20 points in 24 minutes on Friday. He felt good enough to play again Saturday and torched the Mavericks with his midrange marksmanship, scoring 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting.
“They are healthy,” Davis said. “They’ve got Kawhi (Leonard), James (Harden) and Norm (Powell); their big three was able to get going. (Ivica) Zubac got going. Tough to beat any team when they score that many points in the paint. They are playing great basketball right now. They came out and took care of business.”
The Mavericks beat the second-place team in the West, the Houston Rockets, on Feb. 8 in Davis’ first game with the team. Since then, the Mavericks are 2-10 against teams with winning records. Kidd’s squad has shown impressive resolve amid crippling injury issues, including losing Kyrie Irving to an ACL injury. But without Irving in the lineup, Dallas hasn’t had enough to compete against the NBA’s best.
“We have to play faster,” Kidd said Saturday. “We want A.D. to touch it, but we can’t just wait every time down and play through him every possession. We have other guys who can score.”
Of Dallas’ three games remaining on its schedule, two are against quality opponents. The Mavericks host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday and the Toronto Raptors on Friday. They finish the regular season on the road next Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Wednesday’s game between the Mavericks and Lakers will be emotionally charged. Luka Dončić will return to Dallas for the first time since he was traded. Davis was unable to play in the teams’ Feb. 25 meeting in Los Angeles because of a left adductor strain.
Asked about the emotions of facing his former team for the first time this week, Davis gave a terse response.
“No emotions,” he said.
It’s been common to see Dallas fans wearing Dončić’s No. 77 jerseys — both Mavericks and Lakers — inside the American Airlines Center over the past two months. Dončić remains beloved by the Mavericks fan base.
Kidd knows his team will be stepping into a unique atmosphere.
“It should be electric,” Kidd said. “I think the fans will be excited to see Luka. We will be excited to figure out how to protect home court.”
(Photo of Spencer Dinwiddie and Norman Powell: Kiyoshi Mio / Imagn Images)