CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Dallas Mavericks by a final score of 110-105 on Monday. It was a frustrating defeat for the Mavs, who fell to 23-20 with the loss. Meanwhile, the Hornets earned the upset at home and now hold an 11-28 record. Turnovers told the story for the Mavs, as they finished the game with an alarming 14 turnovers.
“For us, here of late we've had some turnovers,” Kidd told reporters after the game. “Some entry-passes that have been tough so we gotta go back and work on that… They (Hornets' defense) definitely put some pressure on you. So it's just a matter of going back and understanding what passes need to be made at different times and we will get better at that.”
Kyrie Irving scored 33 points to lead the Mavericks. Daniel Gafford enjoyed a big game, finishing with a career-high 31 points to go along with 15 rebounds, seven blocks, three assists and one steal. Gafford has played well in recent action, but the Mavs still endured a difficult defeat on Monday.
Injuries continue to be a concern for Dallas. The Mavericks have struggled without Luka Doncic. Additionally, Dereck Lively II is among the Mavericks who remains out due to injury.
Nevertheless, the Mavs understand that taking care of the basketball is something they need to do regardless of the injuries.
“It was just a couple of mental mistakes that we had,” Gafford said of the Mavericks' turnovers. “They took that to their advantage, just made sure that they scored on the other end in transition. They're one of, I would say, the best transition teams in the league especially when they make guys turn the ball over. So that was one of the things that we talked about in our gameplan.”
The Mavericks will attempt to jump back into the win column at home on Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.