DALLAS _ One beer at the American Airlines Center costs $10; one ticket to Tuesday night's Dallas Mavericks game inside the arena was $6.
The beer was the better purchase.
The NBA's two worst teams played the other on Tuesday night to comprise the worst game of the NBA season, and yet the Mavs "filled" the place.
People paid real money _ not bitcoin _ to watch Kings at Mavericks. On Fat Tuesday. Such generosity has to be worth something when lobbying to enter heaven, right?
Coming into the game, the two teams combined for 35 wins. The Spurs had 35 wins, good for third in the NBA's Western Conference.
This game was so bad degenerate gamblers took a pass. The game was an insult to teams that tank.
But, somehow, a sellout crowd of 19,801 showed up on a cold, Tuesday evening.
The chance to watch the two of the three oldest players in the NBA _ Sacramento's Vince Carter and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki _ drew the masses from all corners.
Of the many records and numbers accumulated in this NBA season, the Mavs' continued home sellout streak is the most impressive, harmless, insulting and unbelievable.
The last time the Mavs were over .500 was the final game of the 2015-16 season, and we're to believe they're still selling out. Every game. Including a game against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings haven't sold a game out in four decades.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban simply does not want to publicly declare what we all know, and see: His team plays before thousands of empties every night.
What was once a legitimate point of pride for the franchise is now a punchline.
In the Mavs' final game before the All-Star break, a sellout streak that began in 2001 continued but the home team was popped by the Kings 114-109.
Longtime Mavs observers all agreed _ this was one of the worst games they've ever seen. The addition and thrill of new addition Doug McDermott has already worn off.
No matter, the streak is now at 667 games, and 733 if you include the playoffs. The Portland Trail Blazers own the NBA record with 814 consecutive sellouts from 1977-1995.
This feat of fantastical improbability has been a load for years, and today is the right time to end it. No longer can we believe it.
The Mavs are one of the two or three worst teams in the NBA, yet they rank fifth in the NBA in home attendance, averaging 19,755 fans per game. Exactly how dumb are we?
Midway through the first quarter, two fans sat in section 314 and answered that question.
"Sellout? This place ain't sold out," said Tori Jones, who attended the game with her cousin, Tia.
The pair was given their two tickets through their work.
"I almost didn't come even though the tickets were free," Tori Jones said.
They were eventually joined by 16 other people in that section. From this vantage point, the number of vacant seats were even more evident than from the television.
Other rows sat vacant for the evening, not to mention several suites that were dormant, too.
To his credit, Cuban has dramatically reduced ticket prices. A large section of seats were reduced to $19.
On StubHub, you can routinely find deals to dog midweek games. You can crush him, and should, for not drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo (seriously ... how does that happen?), but he's normally mindful of ticket-paying customers.
Cuban is also giving away tickets in an effort just to bring people to the games.
Such a measure violates the business practice of not wanting to ever give away your product for free, but Cuban is not that dumb.
He knows his team isn't worth paying much to watch.
And people like Tori and Tia Jones are spending some money, even if their tickets are free. The two said they estimated they spent approximately $30 each on the evening.
The Mavs' team stinks, but the franchise's effort is there to provide some measure of entertainment and give the fans some thought that maybe coming back is worth their time, and money. For Tuesday's game, the team put a free Mavs T-shirt on every seat.
For some perspective, the Dallas Stars went through a similar prolonged denial stretch when they announced a sellout streak of their own that spanned several seasons, covering multiple Stanley Cup playoff runs at the start of the century.
Like the Mavs, however, by the end the Stars gave away seats to keep their streak intact. Eventually, after it became a bit too obvious, team president Jim Lites decided to end the Stars' sellout streak with the intent to start a new one.
Didn't take.
The Mavs are not approaching their record-setting bad days of garbage at Reunion Arena, but this current team ain't much.
Rookie Dennis Smith Jr. is a reason to watch. Dirk is another, although it can be a tad sad to see this once pillar of greatness struggle on a bad team. But ... he's still Dirk.
You watch greatness, and a great guy, when you can.
When the season is mercifully over, the Mavs will have earned the lottery pick they will be handed in May.
The Mavs have not made the playoffs since 2016. They will finish with a sub-.500 record for a second consecutive season.
And we're to believe the place is packed. Every night. Even against the Kings. On a Tuesday night. In cold weather.
After a few more of those $10 beers, we may even believe it.
