Toronto Raptors 101 at Dallas Mavericks 129
Injuries can derail a season for any NBA team. Due to injury, a gaping hole was missing early this season from the Dallas lineup thanks to the void left by the absence of Josh Howard.
Though they are still not at full strength, the Dallas Mavericks took a step in the right direction Saturday night with Howard's return. With No. 5 back in the starting lineup, Dallas showed just how potent they can be when healthy, scoring a season-high number of points in their 129-101 runaway win over the Toronto Raptors.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Howard looked like the Howard of old in the blowout win
"It felt pretty good, you know getting back in the swing of things," Howard said after his first game. "Trying to be out there for my team today, that was it. I had a good time out there."
"Of course I'm fatigued and I have to work through the process of getting back to 100 percent, which I am not. But, I'm just glad to get out there and play with my team and give them some kind of effort and I am working on that."
After battling back from a nagging ankle injury, which he had off-season surgery on, No. 5 finally hit the hardwood in a game situation. Howard's entrance into the lineup came at the perfect time, with Quinton Ross (bruised lower back) playing limited minutes and Drew Gooden (strained rib cage) out while he rehabs.
Now with Howard back on the court, the next step began for the star as he made the transition from small forward to shooting guard.
"Those (smaller) defenders have to learn how to guard a three-man (small forward). It's not me changing up my game," Howard said.
Howard stepped into the starting lineup immediately, joining Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier. Wearing the team's alternate royal blue uniforms, the Kidd-to-Howard connection looked rusty early as the point guard missed on an opening alley-oop lob pass to the returning former All-Star on the first possession.
On the team's third possession, Howard earned his first point of the season at the free throw line (1-of-2). Howard continued to be aggressive early in the period, and the team continued to call No. 5's number as he matched up with Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozen.
"Josh was aggressive, which he is, its his nature," Carlisle said. "I thought the best thing to do was to start him. He’s going to be one of our stars and one of our best players. I thought the guys playing with him did a good job of understanding the situation, of looking to get him opportunities to attack and do some things and get to the free throw line."
With Howard on track, the team began to get Nowitzki and Marion into the flow, but their inability to slow down Dallas native Chris Bosh in the paint prompted Carlisle to call a timeout at the 5:20-mark in the first quarter with Dallas down 17-13. Bosh had just moved into double figures with 10 of Toronto's 17 points.
Out of the timeout, the Mavs went to a "small ball" lineup, bringing in sixth man Jason Terry to play along with Kidd, Howard, Marion and Nowitzki, but the Raptors' success from behind the 3-point arch answered every Maverick score.
With the period coming to a close, Dallas made a run. Howard's jumper in transition off of Terry's outlet pass, followed by Nowitzki's spin and score in the lane, put Dallas up 26-25 at the end of one.
"It was good to have Josh back out there tonight and he helped us
out tremendously," Terry said. "He gives us another scoring option and you get to look at the lineup that everyone wants to see -- myself, J. Kidd, J-Ho (Howard), Shawn Marion at the four and Dirk as the five. That is a dangerous lineup for us."
Howard and Nowitzki combined for 15 of Dallas' 26 points in the period. In a virtually even quarter, Dallas connected on 10-of-22 while Toronto hit on 10-of-23 from the floor.
"I don't want to lose that job (as the go-to scorer in the first quarter)," Howard said. "I know one person beside myself that does as great job in the first quarter and that's LeBron James. To be considered in that category as one of the best, I have to keep working at it and keep doing what I've been doing."
The Mavericks' defense picked up early in the second quarter, as Dampier sent Amir Johnson's shot into the seats with a block shot. Dampier then sent away Bosh's dunk attempt later in the period.
Dallas' offense then began to follow suit, as Marion's baseline drive and feed to James Singleton for a corner 3-pointer gave the Mavericks life. Back-to-back-to-back Nowitzki scores gave the Mavs a 41-37 advantage with 7:12 remaining in the half.
The Dallas faithful then got a glimpse of vintage Howard, as he spun baseline for a finger-roll layup to give the Mavs a 47-42 lead with 3:13 on the clock. The run-and-gun Mavs then dazzled the crowd on a fastbreak score started by a spinning no-look Kidd pass to Howard and ending with a Terry jumper.
After Terry's layup rimmed out, Dallas took a 55-48 lead into halftime. The Mavs outscored the Raptors 29-23 in the second quarter.
Nowitzki led all scorers at the half with 16 points, while Howard shook of the rust for 13 first half points. Bosh led Toronto with 15 points, but Dallas out-shot Toronto 52 percent to 38 percent.
The second half started the same way the game began, with Dallas looking for Howard in the half-court offense, as his jumper gave Dallas a nine-point advantage early in the third. The lead later grew to 12 as Kidd found Nowitzki for a 3-pointer.
Consecutive scores from Marion pushed the lead up to 15, forcing Toronto to take a timeout with 7:48 left in the third. The Mavericks then went into the penalty just 10 seconds later, which would have allowed the Mavericks to pad their lead at the charity stripe.
But Marion and Nowitzki extended the Mavs' lead the old fashion way, as the two powered Dallas to an advantage as large as 20 in the quarter. While Marion scored at will in the paint and on a thunderous transition throw-down, Nowitzki's 3-point barrage widened the gap.
After missing his first two shots of the night, Marion connected on a stretch of nine in a row, mainly on easy buckets in the third.
"Shawn’s game was terrific. He’s starting to really get his conditioning now after missing those 10 days toward the middle part of training camp. That was something that set him back a little bit. He’s playing a little bit different style of play, especially with that first group, and I think he’s starting to adapt to it a little bit better. We’re just going to keep working on that stuff," Carlisle said.
"We called some plays and got me going down there," Marion said. "He saw something that we really liked and took advantage of it. It opened everything else up as well."
Meanwhile, Nowitzki posted 13 points in the third quarter, as Dallas outscored Toronto 30-22 in the period to take an 85-70 lead into the fourth.
While the Raptors went with their starters at the beginning of the fourth period, Nowitzki played next to the Mavs' reserves and helped lift the team to an 100-78 lead after Terry nailed a corner 3-pointer off of J.J. Barea's sixth assist with 8:09 remaining in the game.
Both teams emptied their benches soon after, as Dallas had the blowout well in hand. But the win wasn't complete until Barea found rookie Rodrigue Beaubois above the rim for a two-handed flush, putting the cap on the night.
"That's the first game I think everyone was clicking on the same cylinder. It looked good and felt good. We have to keep it going, keep improving and everything else will take care of itself," Marion said.
Nowitzki finished with a game-high 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Marion added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Howard debuted with 16 points in 25 minutes. Off the Mavs’ bench Terry scored 19 points and Singleton added 10 of his own. Barea finished with a game-high 12 assists.
Bosh led the Raptors with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrea Bargnani added 22 points.
The Mavericks shot a staggering 62 percent, while holding the Raptors to 44 percent at the other end. The Mavs shot 74 percent for the entire second half, efficiently scoring 74 points in the second half. Dallas also out-rebounded Toronto 42-39.
"We played well and shot the ball well. We have not had this kind of a shooting night yet, and so the thing that we have to be cautious of is feeling like since we shot 62 percent and won by a big margin that all is hunky-dory heading into next week, where we play five in eight days," Carlisle said.
The Mavs return to action Tuesday night when the Houston Rockets travel up to the American Airlines Center, with tickets still available. For ticket information call (214) 747-MAVS. The game will air on KTXA 21 and KTXA 21 HD at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Mavericks then play four straight on the road beginning with the rival San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
"Houston right now is probably playing harder than any team in the league," Carlisle said. "We know that, and so we're going to have to prepare the right way. Not only from a strategic standpoint but mentally because that's going to be an 'in the trenches' type game."
The Mavs have 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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