Dallas native Julius Randle goes uncharacteristically quiet for Nets in home return

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 130-93 on Sunday, making Julius Randle’s return to his hometown a disappointing one. Randle usually performs strongly on visits to Dallas, but the defeat highlighted the Nets’ wider struggles: they failed to defend effectively and could not turn their offensive chances into enough points.

Randle scored 13 points, with four rebounds and three turnovers, and finished minus-33; his previous Dallas visits had averaged 23.5 points, nine rebounds and 4.8 assists. The Nets were missing guards Egor Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr, while Day’Ron Sharpe added six assists after recording 21 over his previous two games. Nolan Traore scored 14 points for a fifth consecutive game in double figures, and Noah Clowney fouled out after just 7:47.