Kyrie Irving hit five threes on seven attempts Friday, then finished with only one make from four free throws. The difficult shots kept dropping. The simpler ones kept getting away in Dallas’s 135-111 preseason loss to Atlanta.
The free-throw margin was severe. Atlanta made 34 of 45 attempts; Dallas made 18 of 26. That gave the Hawks 16 more points at the line and 19 more free-throw attempts. Dallas also missed eight foul shots as a team, including three by Irving. Those lost points mattered, particularly in a game that became lopsided before halftime.
They did not, however, explain all 24 points. Atlanta made 21 3-pointers to Dallas’ 13, a 24-point difference from beyond the arc. Those numbers describe different scoring routes and show the shape of the defeat: Dallas occasionally found difficult offense while failing to turn simpler chances into points.
Irving’s outside shooting was genuinely valuable. He scored 18 points in 25 minutes, handed out five assists and committed no turnovers. Yet his second-quarter sequence also captured the Mavericks’ inability to finish possessions. At 10:16 of the second quarter, Irving missed both free throws after Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s shooting foul. Atlanta rebounded the second miss. Dallas had received two attempts without converting either one.
At 7:18 of the period, Irving returned to the line after another Atlanta shooting foul. He made the first attempt and missed the second. Johnson Jr. recovered the second miss, but Irving’s ensuing layup missed and Atlanta rebounded.
Irving’s missed 25-foot pull-up came on a later Dallas trip, after an Atlanta turnover. The sequence contained useful pressure on the rim and a later perimeter attempt, yet produced one point. In a preseason game, that is hardly a verdict on Irving’s form; as a snapshot of Dallas’ night, it was uncomfortably complete.
The game’s decisive separation arrived around that same stretch. Irving’s 15-foot pull-up cut the deficit to 49-40 at 9:46 of the second quarter. Atlanta then scored 14 of the next 15 points, reaching 63-41 when Jalen Johnson converted a dunk with 5:01 remaining.
Aaron Wiggins hit a 3 at 8:59, Dyson Daniels scored on a dunk at 7:01, and the Hawks repeatedly turned their possessions into points while Dallas managed only Irving’s free throw.
Dallas did respond before the half. Irving made a 24-foot 3 with 56 seconds left, trimming Atlanta’s lead to 72-54. Jalen Johnson answered with one made free throw with 39.2 seconds remaining, making the halftime score 73-54. It gave Dallas one more scoring response, but the Mavericks had already gone 8-for-24 from the field and 1-for-10 from 3 in the quarter.
Atlanta deserves credit for the separation. The Hawks finished with 17 offensive rebounds and 55 total rebounds, compared with Dallas’ 12 offensive boards and 42 boards. In transition, the scoring favored Atlanta 19-6. A team that creates more second efforts and runs more effectively makes every missed free throw feel heavier, because the opponent is adding points while Dallas is leaving them on the rim.