Hawks vs Mavericks final score: Starters rest as Atlanta drops 98-88 decision in Dallas

The Atlanta Hawks wrapped up their preseason slate Wednesday night with a 98-88 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. As has been the case for much of the preseason there was some good and some bad to take from the game.

The Hawks went into the game shorthanded as they elected to rest the members of the starting five that weren't already nursing minor injuries. Atlanta's reserves however gave a spirited performance behind solid nights from rookie Dennis Schroder and second-year forward Mike Scott.

Schroder ended up leading all scorers with 21 points to go along with four assists on 8-12 shooting. He was aggressive and gave many of the Mavericks' point guards trouble with his speed. Schroder was also tagged with seven turnovers in the game so there is still a lot of room for improvement. Mike Scott started the game at power forward and helped set the tone early. He finished with 19 points on 8-15 shooting. I wish he'd rebound more but that can't cloud what has been a solid preseason for Scott.

Jared Cunningham chipped in 14 points off the bench going 3-for-6 from the field and 2-3 from three-point range. Cunningham got to the free throw line 11 times but was only able to convert on six. John Jenkins played 31 minutes in just his second preseson game and struggled with his shot going 4-for-12 overall including 0-for-6 from deep.

The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki's 17 points.  Monta Ellis added 15 and five assists while Shawn Marion and Vince Carter contributed 12 each. Georgia native Jae Crowder chipped in 10 points off the bench.

The Hawks wrap up the preseason with a 1-6 record and having lost their final five games. They will now have a week to heal up and fine tune before returning to Dallas for the season opener on October 30. Atlanta still has 17 players on its active roster and must trim that number down to at least 15 by next Tuesday.