Dallas Mavericks 98 Houston Rockets 94
With the regular season opener just four days away, the Dallas Mavericks entered Houston with the goal of playing the preseason finale with regular season intensity.
Against the Southwest Division rival Houston Rockets, the Mavericks also wanted to send a clear message to a team that Dallas will see four times during the season. The message: The 2009-10 Mavericks are more athletic and a better defensive team than seasons past.
The message was sent and received, as the Mavericks escaped Houston with a 98-94 victory with toughness and clutch plays in the fourth quarter. With the win, Dallas finished the preseason with a 5-2 record.
"We are trying to establish a style and a disposition," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "We will take this effort and in three days the ball goes up for real."
(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
Though the athleticism was on display in the first half, the defensive intensity was lacking.
With Erick Dampier away from the team (personal reasons), the Mavericks started a lineup of Drew Gooden, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Quinton Ross and Jason Kidd. Marion returned to the lineup after missing 10 days with a mild strain to his right calf.
Behind 10 early points from Nowitzki, the Mavs jumped out to a 15-12 lead midway through the opening quarter. After Houston battled back to overtake Dallas for the lead, Marion's transition score plus the foul off the feed of Jason Terry gave Dallas a 27-24 advantage at the end of the first.
Nowitzki finished the quarter a perfect 6-for-6 for 14 points.
The second quarter started with a Kidd-to-Marion alley-oop connection. It was a sign of things to come.
"It was good to see Shawn back on the court," Kidd said. "He will make it easy and a lot of fun for us this season. I'm really glad to have him with us."
Marion's baseline drive and dunk with 6:42 remaining in the half gave the Mavs a 35-31 edge. The two teams then exchanged blows and the lead, with Houston taking a 45-43 advantage on a Trevor Ariza 3-pointer at the 3:13-mark.
After Nowitzki knotted the game at 45-all, the Rockets closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 56-48 lead at the break.
Houston outshot Dallas 50 to 42 percent in the half, though the Mavericks owned the rebounding edge 26-18. Nowitzki and Marion kept the Mavs in the game with 32 combined first half points.
Resting and icing his nagging calf injury, Marion sat out the second half as J.J. Barea joined the four starters. With Barea in the game, the Mavs started the third quarter on a 10-2 run, tying the game at 58-all.
Gooden's bank shot with 7:47 remaining in the quarter gave the Mavs the lead, followed by a three-point play in transition from Nowitzki, and a technical foul conversion giving Dallas a 64-58 advantage.
By the end of the third quarter, it was clear that Dallas' defense had caught up with the offense, as the Mavs outscored the Rockets 33-20 in the period to take an 81-76 lead into the fourth quarter.
"In the second half our intensity was teriffic. In the first half our intensity was spotty. Houston took it to use in the second quarter and we got with it in the third quarter but we weren't where we want to be," Carlisle said.
In the final period the game looked like a rivalry, as things got testy when Gooden and the Rockets' Pops Mensah-Bonsu got into an altercation earning a double technical foul call with Dallas up 81-80 and 8:19 remaining in the game.
Gooden was originally told by the replacement referees officiating the game that he had been ejected. That decision was later reversed, around the same time that the news broke that the regular NBA referees had ended their month-long holdout, likely returning in time for the season opener.
"That was the first time that has ever happened to me," Gooden said of the incident. "I heard the music and was told I was gone and headed to the locker room. The refs must have figured they had missed something. I'm happy our refs reached an agreement. I wondered when I came back on the court if the fans would cheer me but they booed me instead."
The quarrel lit a fire in Dallas.
"It was good to see the intensity we played with. We had kind of missed shots and turned the ball over but it didn't affect our defense and that was a big key," Kidd said.
Kidd's bank shot with 4:21 remaining gave the Mavs an 88-85 lead. On the next possession Nowitzki's night ended early when the star picked up back-to-back technicals for arguing a foul call.
(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
Nowitzki scored a game-high 32 points before an ejection in the 4th
Nursing an 88-87 lead, Carlisle called a 20-second timeout with 1:21 left. Out of the timeout, Kidd banked a long two-point shot with 1:01 remaining, leading to a Houston timeout.
Kris Humphries' 17-footer with 39.0 seconds remaining put the finishing touches on the win. After Carl Landry brought Houston to within three, Kidd secured the victory at the free throw line.
Dallas finished the game shooting 42 percent, holding Houston under 41 percent at the other end. The Mavs owned the glass as well, with a 50 to 40 rebounding edge. Both teams committed 18 turnovers.
Nowitzki finished with a game-high 32 points in 32 minutes before his ejection. Marion added 14 points in his first half action, and Kidd looked to be in midseason form with 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Gooden added a double-double in the paint with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Landry led Houston with 22 points.
"We really wanted to come out and win this game," Terry said. "We wanted to end the preseason on a positive note and get our confidence as high as possible for the start of the season. Houston played hard but we wanted to stay on top of them."
With the preseason now in the rearview, the Mavs turn their attention to the season opener on Oct. 27. Dallas opens the season at home against the Washington Wizards and tickets remain available. For ticket information call (214) 747-MAVS. The game will air on FSN Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Dallas has also introduced the “MavsU” program, designed to offer college and university students an opportunity to attend Mavs games at a discounted rate. The Mavericks and Genghis Grill have teamed to offer discounted tickets to students for many upcoming games.
To purchase any MavsU ticket and receive a coupon for a free bowl at Genghis simply call 214-747-MAVS or visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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