The Dallas Mavericks dropped an embarrassing game to the Utah Jazz on Thursday night, 115-113, making it their fourth straight loss, all in the clutch. They faced a deficit as large as 16 points but still took the lead late before falling apart once again in the final minute to lose.

It was a frustrating game that was all too familiar for Mavs fans. The same issues that plagued the team all season came back to bite them in this game. They need to figure out some issues quickly because the Western Conference is a bloodbath.

Mavericks' Late-Game Breakdown

The Mavericks had a chance to win this game. They were down by 16 points in the 4th quarter, but they came back to tie the game at 113 with 27.1 seconds left. The Mavericks had a chance to win the game, but they gave up a wide-open dunk to John Collins with 6.4 seconds left in the game.

This loss was a microcosm of the Mavericks' season so far. They've been very inconsistent, and they haven't been able to close out games. The Mavericks are now 5-7 on the season, and they're in danger of falling further behind in the Western Conference.

Doncic's Defensive Struggles

Doncic has had some problems on defense. He was caught ball-watching and looking at Mavericks assistant coach Sean Sweeney instead of being engaged defensively. Doncic was getting blown by routinely all evening, and even had a play earlier in the fourth quarter where he simply neglected to guard Sexton on a routine mid-range pull-up.

Doncic's effort on defense has fluctuated throughout most regular season games he's played with Dallas, and we've seen him turn his effort down a few notches in instances where Dallas is playing lesser opponents. On the flip side, Doncic has proven the ability to anchor down and play some elite defense in big-time matchups, such as Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs against the LA Clippers last postseason.

Thursday night was definitely a case of the former, and Doncic hasn't had a game this season that has been eye-popping when it comes to his defense. It's been long known by Mavericks fans that Doncic expends a heavy workload on the offensive end, but the Mavericks can't afford for him to have games where he is a complete liability defensively like this, especially since he's been average on that end for most of the season so far.

Mavericks fans have long awaited for the time that Doncic crosses the territory of becoming an above-average defender, and it looked like he was trending in that direction toward the end of last season. However, this seems like a case of Doncic taking one step forward and two steps back, as the Mavericks have now fallen to 5-7 in large part due to his horrendous defense against the Jazz.

The Mavericks Need to Figure Things Out Quickly

The Mavericks are in a tough spot right now. They're not playing well, and they're not getting the results they want. They need to figure out some things quickly. They have a lot of talent on this team, but they need to play better together.

The Mavericks have a long season ahead of them, and they need to find a way to get back on track. They need to figure out how to close out games and they need to improve their defense. This is going to be a tough season for the Mavericks. The Western Conference is very competitive. The Mavericks need to step up their game if they want to make the playoffs.

Looking Ahead

The Mavericks have a chance to bounce back on Saturday night when they host the San Antonio Spurs. This is a game that the Mavericks should win, but they need to be careful. The Spurs are a tough opponent, and the Mavericks can't afford to take them lightly.

If the Mavericks can win this game, they can get back on track and build some momentum. But if they lose, they'll be in a real hole.

The Mavericks are in a tough spot right now, but they have the talent to turn things around. They need to get back to playing together and they need to improve their defense. If they can do that, they can make a run for the playoffs. But they need to figure things out quickly.

It’s a Process.

The Mavericks have had a difficult time in the clutch this season. This game is no exception. The Mavericks could not shake the Jazz in the first half, when the Mavericks’ lead was a scant three points at halftime, 64-61. The Jazz, who played without two of their best big men, Walker Kessler and Taylor Hendricks, got a lot of mileage out of Collins, a longtime thorn in the Mavericks’ side when he was with Atlanta. Collins finished making 10-of-20 shots and chipped in a game-best nine rebounds.

Both teams shot 50.6 percent from the field, but a big difference came from beyond the three-point arc. The Mavericks were just 12-of-39 (30.8 percent). The Jazz hit 13-of-34 for 38.2 percent.

The Mavericks played without Kyrie Irving, but when you are playing the team that entered the game at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, everybody else has to step up. The Mavericks played with a lot of effort, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough to beat the Jazz. The Mavericks have to be able to find ways to win these close games.

Kidd said that going through this growth process now is basically a necessary evil. Would the Mavericks prefer positive results on the bottom line? Of course. But Utah is not a top-flight team at the moment.

And learning from narrow losses against top-flight teams can be a useful learning tool. With a new group, that could be an issue early on, but there’s no better way to go through it than being able to play close games and learn from your mistakes and also learn from being able to win games. It’s the small details. If we can clean up some of these little details on these plays, that puts us in a better seat.”