Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The game may not have mattered, but these stats do! The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Detroit Pistons by a score of 107-89. Their five-game win streak was broken. With the five seed all but a certainty for Dallas at this juncture, the Mavericks had little interest in trying to win this basketball game. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving did not suit up. The starters only played in the first half. And the end-of-bench/two-way guys got significant run for the first time in a long while Add all of this up and you get a loss to the worst team in the NBA. The Mavericks’ third-stringers played hard, and there were some fun moments, but this was a pretty forgettable game, with an outcome that didn’t affect anything. Still, it was a game that was played; here are three numbers that tell the story of it. 41: Combined points for Jaden Hardey and Olivier Maxence-Prosper Hardy led the team with 25 points, while O-Max chipped in 16 of his own. Both young players should either figure into the Mavericks’ future plans or function as trade chips; it’s nice to see them both turn in good scoring games. Hardy did well as the nominal backup point guard, creating his own shot and finishing with a respectable 9-of-19 shooting line. O-Max threw down a nasty poster dunk and shot an encouraging 2-of-4 from three. It was especially cool for Prosper to get some run after not appearing in meaningful game action for months. It’s clear that both players have a ton of talent, and games like tonight are a perfect opportunity to seize on some developmental minutes. 20: Turnovers for Dallas tonight With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving out, it makes sense that the Mavericks struggled to take care of the ball. Unless you count Dante Exum, the Mavericks did not employ a true point guard tonight. Those 20 turnovers led to 19 Detroit points, not a crazy amount, but enough to sink an offensively challenged Maverick team. Though Doncic leads the league in turnovers, tonight is a reminder that he usually does a great job of limiting giveaways when you consider how often he controls the basketball. 4: Assists for Dwight Powell The reserve big man led the team in assists tonight. If Dwight Powell is leading the team in assists, things are likely not going well on offense. Again, this underscores how much playmaking was on the shelf for Dallas in this game. But credit to Powell, who does have a knack for finding teammates out of the short roll. There probably aren’t many games in his career where he’s led a team in helpers. So, that’s cool for him, I suppose! Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/4/12 ... he-pistons