Kevin Durant misses rare free throw as Nets' rally falls short in Dallas
Nets forward Kevin Durant attempts a layup as Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber defends during the first half of an NBA game on Monday in Dallas. Credit: AP/Brandon Wade
DALLAS — Kevin Durant, who had hit a franchise-record 62 straight free throws, missed one with 5.6 seconds left to doom the Nets in a 96-94 loss to the Mavericks on Monday night at American Airlines Center.
The Nets were trailing 96-93 when Durant was fouled as he went into his shooting motion behind the three-point line. Three made free throws would have tied it, but Durant missed the second one accidentally and the third one on purpose. The Nets’ Royce O’Neale got the rebound, but he turned the ball over in traffic without getting off a shot and the Mavericks ran out the clock.
“I’ve got to make that,” Durant said. “I’ve got to make that. That’s the game.”
Durant had 26 points as the Nets (4-7) saw their winning streak end at two games. They fell to 2-2 under acting coach Jacque Vaughn and 2-1 without the suspended Kyrie Irving.
Luka Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, finished with 36 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Mavericks.
Doncic became only the second NBA player with nine consecutive games of at least 30 points to begin the season. Wilt Chamberlain did it in the first 23 games of 1962-63.
The Nets led 78-74 after Durant hit a jumper with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks scored the next 14 points, taking the lead for good on a dunk by Josh Green.
Durant was called for a technical foul during the sequence after he was whistled for a conventional foul for leveling Green on a screen.
The Nets got as close as 92-91 on a three-pointer by Cam Thomas (19 points) with 25.3 seconds left. Durant then fouled Doncic, who hit two free throws.
Rather than let the Nets attempt a tying three-pointer, Dallas fouled Durant with 11 seconds left, and he hit both free throws. Dorian Finney-Smith (18 points) sank two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to push Dallas’ lead to 96-93.
The Mavericks again tried to foul Durant in the final sequence, but they made a mistake by doing it after he had gone into his shooting motion.
Nic Claxton had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets. Ben Simmons returned after missing four games with a swollen left knee and scored two points in 15:56.
Wondering why the game started at 9:45 Eastern (8:45 local time)? The NBA decided to have all 30 teams play on Monday and to stagger the start times by 15 minutes beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern, with all the games being offered for free on the NBA app. It’s part of the league’s decision to not play any games on Election Day so people can focus on voting.
It’s like “a late playoff game start,” Vaughn said.
It got late early for the Mavericks as the Nets sprinted to a 25-11 lead. Late in the first quarter, Nets fan favorite Yuta Watanabe banked in an extra-long three-pointer as the shot clock ran down. Watanabe smiled and shrugged a la Michael Jordan.
But Watanabe suffered a sprained left ankle in the second quarter and had to be helped off the court. He did not return.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
