The Dallas Mavericks lost 108-102 to the Houston Rockets on Thursday evening in Dallas. Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 29 points, while Jalen Green led the Mavericks with 23. The Mavericks came out again and clawed their way to a big deficit.

The Mavericks were frustrated and in all sorts of serious trouble, even giving Dwight Powell a few minutes in an attempt to find an answer. Powell helped a little, but the Mavericks just didn’t do enough to win this game.

The Mavericks finally scored with some sharp shots from Klay Thompson and Doncic, but it proved to be too little too late to make up for the earlier problems. Jalen Green made a backbreaking, contested three late, negating a pair of similar shots from Doncic.

Here are the things you need to know.

Luka Doncic needs to play better

Doncic is already an all-time great player. He’s been so good that it would be a great start to the season for most players. His stats even look good. He hasn’t played as well as he can. He did better defensively, and in the long run his offense is the least concerning. Right now, that violation is an issue that has cost the team a lot of money.

The Mavericks need to fight more on the boards

The Mavericks were defeated 50-37. The Rockets had 18 offensive rebounds. Teams that have the same ambitions as the Mavericks simply aren’t that outmatched. The Mavericks’ centers both attack like they should. That’s the centerpiece of the Mavericks’ defense. If they are forced to help, the rest of the team must come together as a team and rule out. So far that has not happened.

PJ Washington continues to do everything but shoot

Washington looks like an NBA 2K player who has chosen to sacrifice slider points on his shooting to improve his defense. He had three steals and blocks today. He also had nine rebounds.

He was 0-for-2 on threes, which drops him to 6-for-24 for the season. He has too long a track record of shooting to give up his shot, but this is concerning because everything else he does means the Mavericks certainly can’t take him off the floor.

Overall, this was a bad loss. It’s too early to get too angry, but losses like this count just as much as the losses in May when they add up the standings at the end of the year.

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