Daniel Gafford posted a season-high 21 points on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting performance, but 19 Dallas Mavericks turnovers fueled a 21-4 Toronto fastbreak points advantage in a 122-92 blowout loss Sunday.
TORONTO — Daniel Gafford had a season-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, Cooper Flagg finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals, and the Dallas Mavericks lost their seventh consecutive game Sunday, falling 122-92 to the Toronto Raptors after committing 19 turnovers that Toronto converted into a 21-4 fastbreak points advantage.
Dallas dropped to 21-43 on the season and has lost 17 of its last 19 games.
The Mavericks actually led early, going up 5-2 behind a Flagg alley-oop dunk and a P.J. Washington three-pointer. Dallas kept it close through the first quarter and trailed just 36-29 after the frame. The second quarter unraveled everything. Toronto opened it on a 9-0 run, pushed the lead to 16 before intermission and went into halftime leading 57-44. The Mavericks shot 6-of-21 from the field in the quarter and committed five more turnovers. The Raptors never looked back, outscoring Dallas 31-22 in the third and 34-26 in the fourth to finish it off.
Kidd's postgame message centered on what it would take to move forward as a group.
"It's not just one shot or one possession that's going to get the lead back," he said. "Just talking about taking care of the ball. I stopped counting after nine there early. That's an area we have to get better at. When you have turnovers against a team that likes to get out on the break, that puts you in a bad position."
Gafford shot 10-of-10 from the field and grabbed six offensive rebounds, consistently converting putbacks and pick-and-roll finishes as Dallas's primary relief valve against Toronto's aggressive defensive scheme. Flagg took notice.
"Gaff's been great these last couple games," Flagg said. "He's really found his rhythm. He's been on the glass and finishing everything around the rim. We've got to keep him coming and keep him being consistent."
Kidd pointed to the same contributions as the engine behind Gafford's efficiency.
"Offensive rebounds were big for us — being able to get the miss and the putback," Kidd said. "And then also just the pick-and-roll. Our guys were able to find him. He had one of those Gaff nights where he was perfect."
Gafford attributed the performance to finally regaining his footing after a sprained right ankle limited him through the first half of the season.
"Honestly, just being patient," he said. "I feel like I finally got my wind back and got my body back in shape the way it was at the beginning of the season before I hurt myself. Just doing the things I'm used to doing."
Gafford appeared to tweak his left ankle late in the fourth quarter going hard to the offensive glass but downplayed the concern afterward, noting that the right ankle he played through earlier this season set a higher bar.
Flagg picked up the first technical foul of his career with 9:28 remaining in the fourth quarter after arguing a non-call on a drive to the basket. He said he did not receive a technical in his lone season at Duke. Kidd said he did not mind the outburst but drew a line between expressing frustration and losing composure.
"He has a right to express his feelings to the officials, and he did that. I don't mind that," Kidd said. "But I also understand we're on the road, and frustration can set in. You've got to keep your composure and continue to keep attacking until they blow the whistle. He received his first tech — it won't be his last."
Flagg was direct about what led to it.
"I've got to do better just slowing down a little bit," he said. "I've been playing a little too fast since I got back. I was frustrated and kind of let it out. I've just got to move on."
Klay Thompson and Max Christie, Dallas's primary perimeter threats, combined to shoot 1-of-14 from three-point range. Toronto top-locked Thompson throughout to prevent Dallas from comfortably running actions for him, while the Raptors pre-rotated early against Christie to collapse any available driving lane.
"Yeah, they top-locked him," Kidd said of Thompson. "We expected them to top-lock. I thought Klay did a great job of movement and being able to go backdoor. He got a couple good looks and a layup. His ability to move and his gravity is going to help others. Unfortunately, they didn't go down tonight."
Brandon Williams scored 16 off the bench for Dallas. RJ Barrett led all scorers with 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting for Toronto.
Sunday marked one of the first games this season with the Dallas roster approaching full health, with Marvin Bagley III returning from a five-game absence due to a neck sprain. Kidd said he plans to evaluate lineup combinations before Tuesday's game and indicated changes to the starting group are possible.
"We've got to look at some different combinations here as we go forward," Kidd said. "Maybe looking at the starting group, maybe different combinations there in that first quarter. We'll look at that. But again, we just didn't shoot the ball well and we didn't take care of the ball. It's hard to win at any point in this league if you don't do those two things well."
Flagg said the near-full roster only highlighted how little continuity the group has been able to build with Marvin Bagley III.
"We've been unfortunate throughout the year, dealing with a lot of injuries," he said. "Even with me and Khris and [Bagley], we really haven't played that many games together. We're still figuring out that continuity and learning how to play with each other."
Dallas continues its six-game road trip Tuesday night when it faces the Atlanta Hawks, with a chance to stop the losing streak before the trip wraps up in Memphis on Thursday.