WASHINGTON – Late in the Mavericks' Martin Luther King Jr. Day debacle against Washington, a couple of fans held up a sign that read: Howdy, y'all. We're from Dallas.

At least somebody from North Texas showed up at the Verizon Center.

The Mavericks were missing in action, particularly in the second half of an uninspired 102-84 loss to the Wizards on Monday. They thought they were getting the hang of these afternoon games, having won a couple earlier this season.

But this showing – their second road loss in a row to drop to 9-10 away from home – had all the gumption of a shrug followed by a sigh.

The Mavericks were nonchalant with the basketball, giving it away 16 times, and were burned by 11 3-point shots from the Wizards, who tossed in shots from all over, often with the shot clock dwindling down.

The Wizards completed their first season sweep of the Mavericks since 1996-97. They won by 12 in Dallas in November.

"We just didn't have it collectively," coach Avery Johnson said. "We were decent in the first half, but they made all the tough shots and got all the loose balls. In the first half, 23 of their 46 points were on offensive rebounds or our turnovers.

"So we just didn't have one of our best performances. We were searching in the second half and nothing we tried worked."

The Mavericks fell out of it at the end of the third quarter, when the Wizards finished with an 11-2 kick and went up 73-60.

Josh Howard tried his best to wake up the Mavericks for the afternoon game. He had the kind of game that he'd been missing for the last couple of weeks. He had gone eight consecutive games without making 50 percent of his shots.

Against the Wizards, he was 11-of-16 and had 32 points to go with seven rebounds.

He just couldn't get much help.

"Josh was aggressive on both ends," Johnson said. "We need that from him every night. He had a tough week last week flying cross-country and dealing with a death in the family. He seems to be getting back on track now."

Not so for everybody else, although Dirk Nowitzki was solid with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

But the reserves were punchless, shooting a combined 6-of-25 from the field.

"We were never able to take control of the game," Jerry Stackhouse said. "It seemed like anytime we got the lead down to one point, we'd have a bad possession."

AP

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (right) had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

Added Devin Harris: "Our turnovers didn't help the situation. They got some points in transition, and with a team like that, that's what they thrive on."

The Mavericks' 16 turnovers led to 25 Washington points.

Still, the Mavericks had the deficit down to nine points twice in the fourth quarter, but they could not apply any real pressure on the Wizards with a key stop or bucket.

"It was a 10-point game in the fourth, that's always doable," Nowitzki said. "You're never really out of it. But every time we made a run, they made some incredible shot, deep 3s with the shot clock winding down, and we just couldn't get over that hump."

One of those came by DeShawn Stevenson with 4:10 remaining from right in front of Johnson's spot on the sideline, increasing the lead to 89-76.

"We had them deep in the shot clock and Stevenson launches those 3s on us," Johnson said. "Even when our defense was good, they made us pay."