Dusty May after his first NBA game: ‘We let go of the rope’ in a 38-12 second quarter, and Kyrie showed ‘his true character’

Dusty May’s first NBA game came down to one quarter. His Dallas Mavericks led 26-24 after the first at Toyota Center on Wednesday, lost the second 38-12 and spent the rest of the night chasing the Houston Rockets, who won 128-110 after leading by as many as 37.

May said a couple of breaks went against Dallas after a good first quarter, and then “we just didn’t hold our composure, and we let go of the rope as a group.” He added: “But overall I thought we played and competed three out of four quarters. Just the second, when we just couldn’t figure out a way to right the ship.”

May, who won the national championship at Michigan last season, took over in Dallas in June with no NBA bench experience. His first postgame press conference was mostly about what went wrong in those 12 minutes, and what he wants fixed before Friday.

‘We let go of our principles’

May said the second-quarter slide started on offense. “Obviously it’s a make-or-miss game,” he said. “I thought a lot of our looks were guys that we wanted the shots for. Once they went on a run, I thought we started playing a little too quickly,” taking semi-open shots “instead of getting possession back, making them work a little bit, finding some connection.”

The bigger issue was the other way. Houston finished with 29 fast-break points to Dallas’ 17, and May said transition defense had been the thing his staff worked on most in camp. “First and foremost, the communication, half court and full court,” he said. “That was one of our priorities in training camp, was to fix the transition defense. We thought we had made strides, and tonight when things weren’t going well, we just let go of our principles, we lost our urgency, and that was ultimately when the game got away from us.”

Dusty May said communication was the problem with tonight’s transition defense. The Mavs gave up 17 fastbreak points.

“That was one of our priorities in training camp, was to fix the transition defense. We thought we made strides and tonight, when things weren’t going well, we… pic.twitter.com/nb2OarvM4Z

— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) October 22, 2026

He also pointed at the small things. The Mavericks turned it over 21 times, and Houston scored 32 points off those turnovers and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. “We made some errors, some mistakes, we dropped a couple loose basketballs,” May said. “We just don’t have the margin. We’ve got to get all those possessions.”

Flagg’s second half and Kyrie’s first game back

Cooper Flagg scored 32, 23 of them after halftime, and May said the change came from the team around him. “In the first half, I thought he was just being very intentional with getting his teammates shots,” May said. “In the second half, we did a better job of getting some off-ball movement. We played a little faster.” The pace, he said, “got a lot better in the second half.”

Flagg went 11-for-13 at the line, and May said getting there was a focus after the preseason. “That’s been a point of emphasis,” he said. “When we evaluated ourselves after four games, getting to the line wasn’t something we did well.” Flagg was the obvious answer. “I thought he was strong. I thought he made good decisions,” May said. “When we start knocking down some open shots, his assist numbers will increase.”

Kyrie Irving, in his first regular-season game since tearing his left ACL in March 2025, scored 15 on 6-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes. May said Houston’s plan was built around him. “He’s obviously the focal point,” he said. “They put two on the ball. I thought he made the right plays, right decisions. There’s going to be puzzles we have to figure out,” including what the other four do when Irving gets trapped. “We’ve got to do a better job and find some solutions there.”

What May liked most from Irving came after the game was out of reach. “I thought in the second half he showed his true character of being a leader when things weren’t going well,” May said. “I thought he set a great example. Our bench was phenomenal. They were cheering for each other.” Marcus Sasser scored 17 off the bench, and Dallas won the second half 72-58.

Indiana next

May said he would not try to fix everything at once before Friday’s game at Indiana. “Just look at the film, figure out what’s the lowest-hanging fruit,” he said, “so we’re not out here chasing every rabbit. Focus on a couple things and then just trust a little bit more from everybody.” If the team cleans up the extra possessions, he said, “I think we’ll make a significant jump.”

He was also asked when a team of his had last trailed by more than 30. “Ooh,” May said, and could not name one.

The Mavericks play the Pacers on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, which is 2 a.m. Saturday in Cairo. It is the second of two road games to open the season, and Tyrese Haliburton’s first home game in Indianapolis since his return.