Life without Luka Doncic, at least for the Dallas Mavericks, is difficult.

In the two games since Dallas' star went down with an ankle and knee injury the Mavericks are winless, and both losses featured a fourth quarter that had more flash than substance. And Friday night's lackadaisical fourth quarter produced the latest 112-104 result — far from what Jason Kidd and company expected out of their trip to the desert.

"We are doing it for three quarters and we got to figure it out," Kidd said. "Luka is not playing, Maxi [Kleber] is not playing, it's the guys in the uniform. We have to grow and learn from this, and we will."

Similar to Wednesday's loss, Dallas (9-6) was nursing a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Phoenix utilized a 24-6 run at the start of the frame to grab control. And with the team headlined by Chris Paul and Devin Booker, fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals and holding on to a 10-game win streak, it never looked back.

"That's on me," Jalen Brunson said of the fourth quarter run Phoenix went on while he was on the floor. "That's on me, plain and simple."

He finished with 18 points in Friday's contest.

Though Kidd didn't attribute the run to Brunson, he offered a critique of the small-ball lineup that was on the floor when Phoenix took control. He sighted a lack of shot-making, as well as a dip in the defensive effort, as the main culprits. Two sins that, with Doncic playing, aren't as pervasive.

"It's just a matter of runs and minimizing runs," Kidd said. "We went small to try to give them a different look, and they [Phoenix] went on a run when we went small. So that is just something that we got to look at when we go with that small group. They don't have a lot of minutes under their belt, but we got to get better at the small ball."

Fourth-quarter Mavericks miss Doncic:

In the second fourth-quarter breakdown against Phoenix in three days, Dallas' offensive limitations were glaring. As a team, Dallas shot 28 percent from the floor and 33 percent from three in the final frame.

The pick-and-roll into a post-up that worked for the first three-quarters of the contest no longer had the same potency. Phoenix cut off passing lanes, played physical and limited Kristaps Porzingis in the process. He only scored three of his 23 total points in the fourth quarter.

"When the pressure was up, we weren't as clean on our execution on offense," Porzingis said. "Without Luka, we have to get better at late-game execution… A lot of times, we are running the same thing over and over again — just the pick-and-roll and trying to figure it out from there.

"That's not good enough for a team like this."

Part of that blame belongs to Kidd. And part of that blame boils down to roster construction. With no elite secondary playmaker, and without Doncic, Kidd's simplistic pick-and-roll-based scheme does not scare opponents. As easy as Dallas found baskets in the first quarter, those shots ceased to exist by the fourth. Great teams need secondary options.

Dallas won't be a great team until it has that viable second option who can guide the offense for stretches at a time.

The glass half full perspective looks at this game and sees that Dallas was close without its best player, and that's fair. However, a Phoenix loss never felt like it would actually happen. It was only a matter of time until Dallas' offense ran out of gas. And without Doncic, it's as if Dallas was 10 seconds behind in a nine-second sprint.

"We can all play better," Porzingis said. "The result will come."

Looking ahead: 

With two losses to Phoenix behind Dallas, focus shifts to taking down the LA Clippers on Sunday. How long life will persist without Doncic is still unknown. But what is known is, as a team, everyone should and could play better — regardless of who is on the floor.

"We are not too far off," Porzingis said. "We will learn from this."

Dallas will have to do so if it aims to find success during life without Doncic.

Related Dallas Mavericks reading: 

"Dallas hangs with the best." 

"Porzingis and Jokic battle and Dallas finally ends up on top." 

Feature image via Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports.