Twenty-four hours after pulling off a gutsy victory with a depleted roster, the Dallas Mavericks (with an even more depleted roster) were back on the court to face the Portland Trail Blazers for the third time this month. After winning the first two meetings between the two teams, the Mavs failed to make the trifecta and lost 126-122.

Without the services of Luka Doncic, Dante Exum and Dereck Lively II due to injury and without Naji Marshall and PJ Washington due to suspension, the Mavs and coach Jason Kidd would be playing with unique lineups on the court all evening. Case in point: Maxi Kleber was given the starting eleven after playing his best game of the season yesterday. The remaining starting five included Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford.

The Mavs appeared to be sleeping in the first eight minutes of the contest as Jason Kidd made several substitutions to find a competitive combination. A 9-2 run by the Mavs at the end of the first quarter helped cut the deficit from 18 points to 11. The second quarter was similar to the first, with the Mavs falling further behind but finishing relatively strong. In the third case, things went haywire. In a game that felt winnable throughout despite poor rebounding, poor three-point defense and a general lack of cohesion (which was to be expected), the Mavs couldn’t hit a shot for far too long in the third period. Still, they wouldn’t disappear. Led by a completely insane Kyrie Irving, the Mavs had a chance until the end, but couldn’t pull off an epic comeback. Let’s get to the notes!

Kyrie Irving: A+

46 points / 2 rebounds / 2 assists / 2 steals / 1 block / 4 turnovers (39 minutes)

I don’t want to shortchange you here, dear reader, but as with great books that don’t quite make great movies, there aren’t enough words in the space of this article to do Kyrie justice here. He was nothing short of amazing, spectacular, downright unbelievable… Yes, you can argue that every major statistical category except points could and should have been higher (except turnovers, which could have been lower), but what he did tonight what he did was just something special and the Mavs wouldn’t have gotten within double figures of the Blazers without him.

Spencer Dinwiddie: B+

17 points / 8 rebounds / 4 assists / 0 steals / 1 blocks / 1 turnovers (35 minutes)

Dinwiddie’s shot just hasn’t been quite right lately, but he continues to do smart things to get around it and remains fearless in big moments. He hit a huge three-pointer in the fourth quarter (2-for-6 on the night) and was more likely to break ties (5-for-5 free throws) than force jumps. He rebounded very well and controlled the ball, but just a few more attempts would have been huge. He also had an uncharacteristic five fouls. To his credit, Dinwiddie is an important part of this team and I think he sometimes takes more criticism than he deserves. He makes good decisions, doesn’t force anything and provides much-needed ball control and leadership.

Klay Thompson: C-

12 points / 1 rebound / 1 assist / 0 steals / 1 block / 1 turnover (34 minutes)

On a night where Kyrie really could have used a “two” on the proverbial “double whammy,” Thompson just couldn’t deliver. He shot poorly (5 of 17, 2 of 8 from three) and capped the evening with a completely unacceptable loss of the ball in the last minute. He also often failed in the fourth quarter, when stops were crucial. Hopefully he can rinse this one out and bring it out next time, because it’s best forgotten.

Maxi glue: C-

0 points / 8 rebounds / 5 assists / 0 steals / 2 blocks / 1 turnovers (33 minutes)

Despite setting a season-high in rebounds, Maxi couldn’t quite produce the magic he brought last night. His boards and assists (especially the latter) were close to great, as were his blocks. However, just two shot attempts in 33 minutes in a game with so many players is not enough. His biggest offense was not even looking at the rim despite being open in the final minute of the game, when every second counted. Instead, he wasted time, made a poor pass to Klay Thompson, who then turned it over, and essentially slammed the door even though the Mavs still had a slim chance of tying or winning in the closing moments.

Daniel Gafford: A-

15 points / 9 rebounds / 0 assists / 1 steals / 5 blocks / 3 turnovers (28 minutes)

I had a hard time not going A here at first, especially because of the crazy block total, but honestly Gafford could have had a few more rebounds and probably shouldn’t have had as many turnovers as he did. On a night where fourth and fifth places were close, Gafford did an admirable job for the most part, but you can’t help but feel like he really could have dominated.

Quentin Grimes: B+

15 points / 6 rebounds / 3 assists / 1 steal / 1 block / 0 turnovers (28 minutes)

One of the few bright spots of the evening, Grimes put together a competent game. Of course an outstanding game would have been better, but that’s neither here nor there. Grimes shot well, continued to recover very well and made few to no errors. His on-ball defense was great at times and his low assist total isn’t enough to boost his grade as he was less of a primary ball handler in this game compared to other games.

Jaden Hardy: C+

11 points / 4 rebounds / 1 assist / 0 steals / 0 blocks / 1 turnover (17 minutes)

On the surface, Hardy’s grade may seem a bit low, at least compared to his box score performance and the fact that he only recently returned from injury, but watching the game revealed some blunders that really shouldn’t have happened. The dim light nullified an ill-advised three, only to immediately result in an and-one at the other end. Overall, he has shown that he can be an impactful player who can bring about positive change, but in this game, where he had the opportunity to shine with so many players, it just didn’t work out for him.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper: C+

4 points / 2 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 steal / 0 blocks / 1 turnover (13 minutes)

Prosper hasn’t achieved much in meaningful playing time, so it’s a bit difficult to rate him. Overall he was fine, although a rebound or two and maybe another steal would have been huge. His free throw was terrible in a game where every point was needed, and that was one he could have enjoyed after attempting six while only hitting two.