‘Probably Me’: Daniel Gafford Takes Some Blame For Communication In Dallas Mavericks’ Loss To Sacramento Kings

DALLAS — Daniel Gafford scored a season-high 20 points Monday night, and he still put part of the Dallas Mavericks’ 115-100 loss to the Sacramento Kings on himself.

Gafford made 9 of his 10 shots, grabbed 7 rebounds, and blocked a shot in 26 minutes, 21 seconds at American Airlines Center. Sacramento came in without a win in six games.

There were stretches when the Mavericks let go of the rope after shots stopped falling, Gafford said.

“We can’t let the record fool us at the end of the day,” Gafford said. “They were coming in with a fire lit up under their tail, so it’s like we have to be ready for anything. And that’s exactly, I feel like we kind of, there was times where shots didn’t fall. I feel like we kind of let go of the rope in those situations. So it’s just, we just have to stick with it.”

“Communication could have been better from probably me in certain areas, communicating to the guys that we’re feeling like shots weren’t falling, so it’s like, what else can I do?” Gafford continued. “But talking to the guys when that stuff happens, it’s just ways we can find ways to keep making impacts for the game. If your shot’s not falling, we can get a stop on defense. If you come down, you can make a layup or something. So it’s just, we just have to get over that slump.”

“I have the same thing. A shot doesn’t fall for me. I mess up on a play. When it comes to the offensive side, defensive side, sometimes we get in our own head,” Gafford added. “But self-doubt is one of the most contagious things when it comes to any team in the league. One shot doesn’t fall. One guy has his head down, the next shot doesn’t fall, another guy does it. So it’s just like we have to find ways to get past that. And I feel like we’re going to, we responded the right way time and time again when it came to games that we’ve lost. So I feel like we’re going to be okay.”

Daniel Gafford Says Shots Got Into The Dallas Mavericks’ Heads

Dallas opened the game 0-of-10 from three and finished 7-of-33. Outside of Walter Clayton Jr., who made four, the Mavericks went 3-of-28 from deep.

Gafford pointed first to the shooting.

“Shots weren’t falling. I think it kind of got in our head, honestly,” Gafford explained. “I think that was one of the main things. They played harder than us throughout the whole game.”

Three Kings guards scored more than 20 points. Sacramento put everybody in the actions it wanted, Gafford said, and some of the work of getting Dallas’ guards over screens fell to the big men.

“Like I said, just they were comfortable. They were getting pretty much whatever they wanted. They were getting downhill,” Gafford said. “Our guards were getting killed on some of the screens. So some of the communication kind of fell on our shoulders, like the big shoulders, trying to get them over those screens.”

“But they were just comfortable, all in all. They got whatever they wanted. They took the shots that they wanted,” Gafford detailed. “They got the matchups that they wanted. They put everybody in the action that they seen to where they can go score on them.”

Gafford Points To Mavericks’ Response Against San Antonio Spurs

Before Monday, Dallas had won three straight over Miami, Oklahoma City, and Houston. Gafford has also blocked at least one shot in each of the Mavericks’ first seven games, the first time he has opened a season that way.

The Mavericks know the things they need to do to get better, according to Gafford.

“We let this hurt until midnight, and we focus on the next one,” Gafford said. “Keep it pushing. We’ve got a big game coming up in two days. Playing a good Spurs team. Can’t really dwell on this too much. We know the things that we need to do to get better. And I feel like our response to this one is going to dictate how this season is going to go for us, for sure.”

Throughout Monday’s game, Gafford kept talking to Cooper Flagg and his other teammates because he trusts them to return the favor.

“I got all the confidence in the world,” Gafford said. “I was trying to make sure I talked to him, pretty much any guys, throughout the majority of the game, because I know they’ll do the same for me. Trying to build confidence and just speaking life into people. That’s one of the things that will help us down the stretch of the games that we have. There will be games where shots don’t fall. But at the end of the day, we still got to play defense, too.”

The San Antonio Spurs beat Dallas 122-106 at American Airlines Center on Oct. 24. The rematch is Wednesday at Frost Bank Center, with tip-off at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.