DALLAS _ All the hype coming in was about the 19-year-old rookie Dennis Smith Jr., joining forces with Dirk Nowitzki, who is 20 years older than the new point guard.
It made for a nice plotline, even if the Atlanta Hawks blew it to bits.
Playing against an opponent that is in clear rebuilding mode, the Mavericks were outgunned by the Hawks, who nicked the Mavericks, 117-111, to start Nowitzki's 20th season.
Smith made an electric debut, running a curl around the Atlanta defense on the Mavericks' first possession and taking a lob pass from Wesley Matthews for a two-handed dunk.
Nowitzki? He was effective in spots, but ended the game in a strange spot _ on the bench while Dwight Powell and Nerlens Noel were the big men who finished the game.
Smith finished with 16 points, 10 assists and three rebounds, but it's worth nothing that Atlanta's Dennis Schroder had 28 points and seven assists while going mostly against Smith and/or Yogi Ferrell.
And, as has been there bane for years, the Mavericks couldn't get a rebound when they needed to.
When Schroder _ easily the best German on the court this night _ slithered in for a layup, the Hawks were up 111-108 with under 2 minutes left. Harrison Barnes hit a free throw and a layup to tie it.
Dewayne Dedmon scored for the Hawks and the Mavericks couldn't get a rebound when they forced an Atlanta miss.
It ended up being a disappointing start to what the Mavericks expect to be a promising season.
In the fourth, they had a new look. Smith was on the floor to win or lose the game, along with Ferrell. Nowitzki was on the bench. Powell instead was making 3-pointers and operating as the finisher at center.
The juxtaposition between Nowitzki and Smith is remarkable.
Smith is the youngest player ever to start for the Mavericks at 19 years, 327 days. Nowitzki was well past his 20th birthday, thanks to the season not starting until after Christmas because of the lockout. There are 6,830 days between starts for Smith and Nowitzki _ or 18 years, eight months and 18 days.
And in the first half, the difference in them was amazing for a different reason.
Nowitzki was just 2 for 10 and in the 14 minutes he was on the floor, the Mavericks were outscored by 18 points. They trailed by 11 at halftime despite the play of Noel, who looked on opening night like a player going after a major raise next season _ which of course, he is.
Noel had nine points and nine rebounds in less than 10 first-half minutes.
He would finish with 16 points (6 of 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line) and 11 rebounds.
