Thompson ignites long-range magic, but costly turnovers threaten Mavericks' comeback hopes before facing the Clippers.
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are hoping one encouraging trend can outweigh another far more damaging one when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
After weeks of frigid perimeter shooting, the Mavericks finally showed signs of life from deep in Wednesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns. But their turnover issues — particularly in late-game moments — once again proved costly, turning a spirited fourth-quarter rally into another step back during a difficult early-season stretch.
The focus for the Mavericks on Thursday reflected that mixed picture. Coaches and players spent a practice-heavy afternoon dissecting their mounting turnover problems and searching for ways to replicate their improved shooting without sabotaging possessions in the process.
In describing the film session, coach Jason Kidd said it left no ambiguity about where improvement must begin.
Kidd set that tone in a separate moment, when he explained why the Mavericks continue to fall short in tight fourth quarters.
“In the fourth quarters, we’re 28th in turnovers,” he said. “So we’re turning the ball over way too many times. And if we’re down, that puts a lot of pressure on our defense.”
Kidd said the hope is that Thursday’s drills translate quickly.
“We talked about how can we be patient,” he said. “We don’t have to force anything. Hopefully we can learn from watching tape, we did some clean-up stuff and we can be better tomorrow. If we can hang on to the ball, I think the shooting is starting to turn for us.”
That shift from outside was the clearest positive in Wednesday’s 123-114 loss. The Mavericks went 13 of 20 from the field in the fourth quarter and hit half of their three-point attempts, marking their strongest long-range output of the season.
The improvement started with Klay Thompson, who delivered his best statistical showing in a Mavericks uniform — 19 points, 6 made threes, and 16 attempts from deep — after entering the night shooting just 26.7% from beyond the arc.
Kidd said the team felt the impact immediately.
“When he’s making them, it’s big because it gives space for everybody else,” he said. “We need him to make shots and we need that. He’s shooting the ball better as time has gone. He took 16 of them, and we need him to make them.”
Thompson’s resurgence was a welcome change for a team hit hard by injuries. The Mavericks were without Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and Dereck Lively II against Phoenix and lost P.J. Washington to a shoulder strain six minutes into the game. Their depth issues contributed to 21 turnovers that turned into 31 Suns points.
The limitations reshaped responsibilities across the roster — including rookie Cooper Flagg, whose early productivity has exceeded expectations. Flagg has scored in double figures in 11 of his first 12 NBA games and is averaging 17.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks over his last five.
Brandon Williams, who has taken on more lead guard duties during the injury wave, pointed to how quickly the teenager has adapted.
“The other night, he was guarding Giannis,” Williams said. “He’s done great.”
Kidd said the coaching staff expected growing pains as Flagg adjusted to NBA responsibilities — but his all-around impact has been unmistakable.
“We all make mistakes, right?” Kidd said. “Cooper’s 18 years old, playing the game at a high level for us. He’s going to make mistakes, as anybody else will. Those are just teaching moments. We’re teaching him with film, we’re teaching him on the floor, and then he’s going to learn in-game.”
Kidd added that keeping a true point guard on the floor for most of the game — usually Williams or D’Angelo Russell — has helped lighten Flagg’s load.
“Maybe it saved a little bit of the energy for him to be aggressive to attack,” Kidd said. “Having him be a point guard (for the first few games), he’ll always respect how hard it is to play that position.”
The Mavericks are hoping to get reinforcements Friday. Washington (shoulder), Davis (calf) and Lively (knee) are all listed as questionable. Williams said any return would be meaningful for a group that has been leaning heavily on youth and depth pieces.
“Those guys are getting healthy and we can’t wait ‘til they come back,” he said.
Friday also marks Dallas’ second NBA Cup game after falling to Memphis last week. The Clippers, meanwhile, arrive with significant health setbacks of their own. Bradley Beal is out for the season with a hip injury, and Kawhi Leonard remains sidelined indefinitely with a right foot sprain. Their most recent outing was a 130-116 loss to Denver, punctuated by Nikola Jokic’s 55-point outburst.
Kidd said slowing down James Harden will be the defensive priority.
“They have some injuries,” he said. “But when you talk about Harden, he’s one of the best at being able to find teammates, but also score. We got to keep him out of the paint and make it tough on him.”
The Clippers begin a seven-game road trip Friday before heading east for five straight games.
Dallas enters at 3-9, still searching for traction. Improved shooting would help. Fewer turnovers would help more. The Mavericks believe they made progress on one of those fronts — but Friday will show whether they’re finally beginning to solve the other.