‘We Still Need To Come Out With A Level Of Urgency’: Max Christie On What Dallas Mavericks Take From Houston Into Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — The Dallas Mavericks need a level of urgency even this early in the season, Max Christie said Friday, two days after a 128-110 season-opening loss to the Houston Rockets. Dallas plays at the Indiana Pacers on Friday at 6 p.m. CT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Mavericks trailed Houston 70-38 at halftime and by as many as 37 in the third quarter. They won the third quarter 38-30 and the fourth 34-28.

Dallas took positives from the fight it showed in the second half, Christie said at the Mavericks’ shootaround. He does not want the Mavericks chalking up losses to the calendar.

“I think honestly, although we lost, there’s a lot of positive we took away from it. I think the fight that we had, obviously our second quarter was the worst part of the game and so we won the last two quarters, we won the third and the fourth quarter, so that’s a positive for us. And so we’re just trying to build on that,” Christie said. “We understand, obviously, it’s early, but we still need to come out with a level of urgency. We don’t want to lose a bunch of games and chalk it up to early in the season. So we want to try and win these games.”

Christie started alongside Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford in Houston. He finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 28:32, going 2-of-8 from the field and 1-of-7 from 3-point range.

Max Christie On The Second Quarter In Houston

Houston won the second quarter 38-12. Dallas went 4-of-19 from the field and 0-of-14 from 3-point range in the period, committed 8 turnovers, and allowed 9 fast-break points.

Transition defense was most of what went wrong, Christie said, and the offense went stagnant at the same time. Indiana plays really fast, so it has to be fixed, he said.

“I think a lot of it was our transition defense for the most part. We got a lot of easy baskets. And then I think offensively got a little bit stagnant as well. I think we only scored 12 or 14 points in the second quarter. So they are 36 or whatever it was,” Christie explained. “There’s kind of both ends for us. Kind of the wheels just kind of fell off. And so the transition defense for us, we’ve got to fix.”

“Just getting back, especially against this team, Indiana plays really fast,” Christie continued. “And so it’ll be a good challenge for us to see if we can apply the film to this game.”

Dallas went 11-of-37 from 3-point range in the opener, including 6-of-27 in the first half. Many of those threes came quick and early in the possession, Christie said, and defenses are going under screens against the Mavericks.

“Well, I think obviously we took a lot of threes, but I think a lot of our threes were kind of quick and early in the possession. It was kind of like the first available shot we took every time. And sometimes that’s good. Obviously other times it’s bad,” Christie said. “And so I think for us we’ve got to be able to get to multiple sides, get to multiple different actions, and then we’ll get even better looks off those actions. And so I think for us we’ve got to be patient as well.”

“Like you said, the defense is going under on us. They’re not treating us with respect in regards to our shooting, and that’s fine,” Christie added. “We’re going to shoot with confidence, but we’ve got to continue to move the ball, play on both sides, and then get better shots.”

Christie On Playing Off Kyrie Irving And Cooper Flagg

The opener was Irving’s first regular-season game in 597 days, and Christie is still finding his spots around him. He is using the film to learn when to attack and when to get others involved, he said.

“Yeah, it’s a balance. I think last game for me, obviously, was me just kind of getting my feet wet and understanding how I’m going to be able to play. Obviously, with Kyrie back, we’ve got some new guys around, and so I’m just trying to understand where I can find my spots,” Christie said. “And so watching film on that, understanding when I can be aggressive, when I can get others involved and when I can take the right shots. For me, last game was kind of just a learning process early in the season. Just looking to build on that for this game.”

Houston blitzed Irving in the pick-and-roll, Christie said. When a smaller guard defended Christie, he tried to screen that player onto Irving, and the Rockets sent help.

“Yeah, well, I think Houston last game did a lot of blitzing on Kyrie in the pick and roll. Especially with me, when I had Reed Sheppard or whoever on me, I would go up and try and set a screen to get him on Kyrie, and they would kind of blitz or show, as we call it,” Christie explained. “And so for me, being able to play in that kind of short-roll area to get other guys open, kind of playing that four-on-three game.”

“Same thing with Coop. They were pressing up on him. They were giving him pressure. He obviously handled it really well,” Christie continued. “I think it’s key for us, for me, PJ, Naji, Zach, the guys that are on the perimeter, the role players of this team, understanding how we can play off of them, how we can play off of their pressure, how much attention they draw.”

Flagg scored 23 of his 32 points after halftime, the most points by a teenager in a season opener in NBA history. He flipped the switch, Christie said, and the whole group came out with renewed energy.

“Yeah, he flipped the switch on, and I think all of us, especially in that first half, that second quarter, we just kind of needed a moment to reset,” Christie said. “And obviously, again, like I said earlier, we lost, but we can take away positives of winning the third and fourth quarter. I think we all came out with a sense of renewed energy, a sense of fight. And so that’s a positive for us and for this team.”

Christie On Tyrese Haliburton, The Rookies, And Staying Level-Headed

Tyrese Haliburton returned Wednesday from a season-long absence with 23 points and 12 assists in Indiana’s 123-120 win at the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pacers scored 27 fast-break points and forced 15 turnovers in that game.

Haliburton looks like he has not missed a beat, according to Christie, who called him the engine for Indiana.

“Yeah, he’s a special player regardless of how long he missed. He came back last game and played New Orleans and played really, really well. So it sounds like and looks like he hasn’t missed a beat,” Christie said. “So we’ve got to treat him the same as he would pre-injury. So he’s a great player. He’s the engine for this team, and we’ve got to do a good job on him tonight.”

Rookie Morez Johnson Jr. scored 6 points in his NBA debut, including two turnaround shots with Alperen Şengün on the floor. Sergio de Larrea played 6:51. Both have looked confident since the preseason, Christie said.

“Yeah, Morez looked really confident, especially in the post. He had a couple one-on-one matchups where he was breaking off plays to score on Şengün. He did a good job of that. He looked very poised,” Christie said. “The same thing with Sergio de Larrea, obviously. They’re both doing a really good job in the preseason and so far in the first game. They both are confident. They look aggressive. And so it’s good to see out of rookies.”

Six of the NBA’s 11 games Wednesday were decided by 20 points or more. It is easy to overreact to the first one or two games, Christie said, and Dallas is trying to stay level-headed.

“It’s the first game of the season. Like again, I think it’s unrealistic to expect every team to play at their best in the first game of the season. You might see games like that where teams are still figuring themselves out. Other teams might have it figured out already. It might be more gelled together. Again, it’s early in the season,” Christie explained. “I think it’s very easy as players, coaches, fans, media, to overreact to one or two, the first two games.”

“So I think for us as a team, especially trying to stay level-headed, understanding that it’s the first game of the season, second game of the season tonight. Just trying to take one step in the right direction this night, not overreacting to score, not overreacting to personal stats or whatever,” Christie continued. “And so that’s kind of the mindset we’re in.”

Dallas hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in its home opener, the second night of a back-to-back. Christie called it a fun game ahead but said the focus is on Indiana.