The Mavericks, who will end the season in 11th place in the Western Conference, threw in the towel before the opening game against the Bulls when they left Irving, Christian Wood, Tim Hardaway Jr. and other important players out of the game.
Luka Doncic himself was taken off the court at the beginning of the second quarter with just 13 minutes left, in which he had 13 points and 5 rebounds.
The Mavericks chose not to lose more positions in the face of the next Draft lottery given the few options they had to snatch the tenth place in the West from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the last one that gives access to the playoffs.
To do this, Dallas had to win its last two regular season games and hope that the Thunder would fall on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
“It’s not about waving the white flag,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd later said. “These are decisions that are sometimes difficult in this business. We are trying to build a champion team. This is perhaps a step back but we hope it will push us forward.”
This elimination of the Mavericks, who last season reached the Western Finals, is a resounding fiasco after the big bet they made in February to recruit the controversial Kyrie Irving with the expectation that he would form a devastating duo with Doncic.
Dallas was fifth in the West when it signed Irving, a former All-Star starter who will now become a free agent and can sign with any franchise.
With this loss for Dallas against the Bulls, who had also given their figures Zach Lavine and DeMar DeRozan the night off, the young Thunder guaranteed themselves tenth place in the West and an unexpected ticket to the playoffs.
Lakers are still in the fight
In the fight in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers complied by defeating the Phoenix Suns 121-107 without Kevin Durant and Chris Paul and still have hopes of obtaining a direct ticket to the playoffs.
The team led by LeBron James, who scored 16 points, and Anthony Davis, who had 14 points and 21 rebounds, is seventh in the West, just 0.5 victories behind their neighbors Clippers, who still have two games this last weekend of the phase regular.
In the East, the Nets were screwed in sixth place, securing the last direct ticket to the playoffs, defeating the Orlando Magic 101-94 with 22 points from forward Mikal Bridges.
The Nets’ opponent in the first round will be the Philadelphia 76ers, who rested Joel Embiid and James Harden on Friday and lost 136-131 after overtime at the Atlanta Hawks’ home court.
Point guard Trae Young led the Hawks with 27 points and added an NBA career-high 20 assists.
– Results of Friday in the NBA:
Charlotte Hornets – Houston Rockets 109-112
Indiana Pacers – Detroit Pistons 115-122
Washington Wizards – Miami Heat 114-108
Atlanta Hawks – Philadelphia 76ers 131-136 (OT)
Boston Celtics – Toronto Raptors 121-102
Brooklyn Nets – Orlando Magic 101-84
Milwaukee Bucks – Memphis Grizzlies 114-137
New Orleans Pelicans – NY Knicks 113-105
Dallas Mavericks – Chicago Bulls 112-115
Sacramento Kings – Golden State Warriors 97-119
LA Lakers – Phoenix Suns 121-107
