Mavs Clowned by Twitter for Losing Back-to-Back Games to Hornets Despite Luka's 40

The vibes for the Dallas Mavericks are growing worse by the day.

Dallas suffered a 110-104 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Luka Dončić flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving chipped in with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Mavericks (36-39) allowed the Hornets (25-51) to shoot 41.3 percent from clip from beyond the arc (12 of 29).

The defeat came days after Dončić told reporters this has been one of the most frustrating seasons of his career. If Mavs fans were reaching for the panic button already, then they certainly were after reading his comments.

Sometimes a team can be galvanized when a star player is so blunt. The Mavs, on the other hand, responded by turning in a first quarter in which they trailed the hosts by 14 points. Dončić missed all six of his shot attempts in the opening 12 minutes.

It was impossible not to monitor the body language of Dallas' best player:

Dončić woke up in the second quarter, though the Mavs continued playing from behind. While they finally took the lead from the Hornets in the fourth quarter, they couldn't string together enough defensive stops to remain ahead.

In the end, the result wasn't as bad as it was shaping up to be early on, but a loss is still a loss.

Compounding matters, Dončić is poised to miss Monday's game against the Indiana Pacers after earning his 16th technical foul of the season. The NBA could grant him a reprieve by rescinding the tech.

Absent that, Dallas will have to forge ahead without the four-time All-Star at a time when basically every contest is a must-win situation the rest of the way.