The Dallas Mavericks fell to the New Orleans Pelicans by a score of 119-116 Wednesday night in New Orleans. Daniel Gafford led the way for Dallas with 27 points, while Dejounte Murray poured in 30 of his own for the Pelicans. Both teams were down three starters, as Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Herb Jones were all ruled out. In a battle of shorthanded units, New Orleans found the extra gear.

The Mavericks predictably began the game by feeding PJ Washington for four quick points. New Orleans responded by hitting four of its first six threes and that, coupled with some catastrophic Maverick turnovers, let the Pelicans build a small early lead. Dallas couldn’t get out of their own way, as they turned it over seven times in the first quarter and missed five free throws. If not for Jaden Hardy providing a spark with nine points off the bench, things could have been even worse. As it stood, the Mavericks trailed by six at 33-27 after one.

Things continued in a similar fashion in the early stages of the second period, as Dallas struggled to string together stops and take care of the ball. After the New Orleans lead ballooned to as many as 11, the Mavericks responded with an extended run to trim the deficit to as few as two. A few minutes later, a Hardy dunk in transition tied things up at 53. The two teams went back and forth to finish the half, and it looked like the score would be tied when Hardy hit a three with four seconds left. But Dallas let CJ McCollum go coast to coast and conceded a layup at the buzzer, giving New Orleans a 63-61 lead at the break.

The third quarter started poorly for Dallas, as lackluster defense allowed the Pelicans to extend their lead back to double digits within the first four minutes of the period. From there, Dallas and New Orleans traded baskets for a while, which didn’t help Dallas because they were down double digits. Suddenly, Spencer Dinwiddie caught fire, hitting back-to-back triples and giving the Mavericks some life. From there, Dallas finally kicked things into overdrive and grabbed the lead. The run to end the quarter was punctuated with a corner three from PJ Washington with one second left, helping the Mavericks take a 91-87 lead into the fourth.

Dallas couldn’t build its lead early in the fourth, and the Pelicans just kept hanging around. Naji Marshall and Daniel Gafford hooked up for a ferocious alley-oop, restoring a four-point Dallas lead and prompting a New Orleans timeout with 7:53 remaining. That play energized the Mavericks, and it looked like they were on their way to taking control and cruising to a win. But the Pelicans responded, going on an 11-2 run to retake the lead. Klay Thompson took over from there, scoring seven straight points for the Mavericks and restoring their advantage. The Pelicans kept answering, however, and a huge Javonte Green three gave them a 116-114 lead with 43.9 seconds left. With New Orleans up one with possession and 15 seconds left, the Mavericks actually forced a steal on the inbound. Dallas pushed the ball up the floor and Spencer Dinwiddie had a wide-open layup that was obviously goaltended. But the refs missed the call (which is not reviewable) and the Mavericks lost the game. It was one they needed to get and they didn’t get it. Here are three observations from this one.

Here’s your “ratings” issue

This game was unwatchable for the casual fan. All of the big-name players were out. The arena was empty. The Pelicans are the worst team in the West and the Mavericks have been in a bad way since losing their stars. The situation tonight was not unique. The rigors of an 82-game season that we’re routinely told doesn’t matter take their toll. Players get hurt and require load management. Teams take nights off and punt certain games. The result is a game like tonight, which was close and competitive but ultimately felt vapid and empty. And the fans that did tune in got to see the Mavericks lose because of an inexcusable officiating mistake, a miscue so bad it literally swung the game. And they couldn’t even go back and correct their error. Why? Because of arbitrary rules that casual fans don’t even understand. You can talk about teams shooting too many threes as much as you want, but this is why folks aren’t tuning in as often as you want them to.

Coaching malpractice down the stretch

The Mavericks built a lead in the third and fourth quarters by letting Gafford feast inside, moving the ball, and getting out in transition. After they achieved a seven-point lead in the fourth, they devolved into Spencer Dinwiddie iso-ball. Why? That let New Orleans back into the game. Then, Klay Thompson saves you by hitting three straight shots. And then you don’t do a single thing to try to keep him involved after that? You don’t run him off screens to bend the defense? No, you just go right back to Dinwiddie iso-ball. Where was Jaden Hardy? Where was Quentin Grimes? There are so many things I don’t understand about how Dallas closed this game.

Dinwiddie is not Luka Doncic. He’s not Kyrie Irving. Your crunch-time offense cannot be to “let him cook.” The game should not have come down to a missed call.

Where is the defensive pride?

I get it. Your superstars are out. So is your defensive anchor. But the New Orleans Pelicans are horrible. They came into tonight’s game 27th in offensive rating. And their top two scorers were out, as well. Allowing them to score 119 points is downright shameful no matter who is unavailable. I didn’t see any desperation from Dallas tonight. I saw a tired team that looked dejected and unmotivated because of the adversity they’ve faced recently. That starts with the coach, who has a track record as a front-runner at this point. Figure it out.

Daniel Gafford stepped up

During this sans-superstars, stretch, Gafford has been subject to a lot of ridicule from Mavericks fans. And much of it has been understandable, as his extended minutes and increased role have produced mostly negative results. Last night against Denver was the nadir of the Gafford experience, as he got bullied by the ghost of DeAndre Jordan. Gafford called himself out in the postgame presser, saying his effort needed to improve. Tonight, it did (on offense at least). His 27 points were a career-high, and he feasted on the poor New Orleans’ big rotation. Gafford has a habit of going off against subpar competition, so it was nice that he was able to do that tonight with Dallas needing offense.