Golden State Warriors 111 at Dallas Mavericks 103
The Dallas Mavericks have made a living out of winning hard-fought games in the fourth quarter with effort and energy.
The stage was set up for a repeat clutch performance in the fourth quarter Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors, but on this night it would be the Warriors who were the more energetic squad late, as Golden State staged a late-game comeback to end the Mavericks' five-game winning streak on Dallas' home floor, as the Mavs fell 111-103.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Monte Ellis' 37 points, mostly at the rim, downed the Mavs
"If you leave teams hanging around all the time, it's going to come around and hurt you one of these games," Dirk Nowitzki said. "We were fortunate a couple of times to win some games probably earlier that we should have lost and this was the other way around."
Despite matching up against a Warriors team that played only six players, while missing Coach Don Nelson (pneumonia), and regardless of Dallas' nine-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Mavs were outscored 33-21 in the decisive period.
"It's just very disappointing to work so hard to get a lead and then lose it, especially at home," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's a very tough loss. I think we'll look back and point to a lack of attention to detail in terms of our effort."
"There were too many breakdowns. It was as simple as that -- mental and physical. We've had too many of these games at home, where we have lost focus. We've been able to win the majority of them but tonight we left too much to chance in the last six minutes."
With members of the armed forces lining the American Airlines Center on Military Appreciation Night, the Mavericks came in ready to do battle with the Warriors. And a battle is certainly what they received.
With the Warriors short-handed, the Mavs were hoping to knock the wounded Golden State squad on the ropes early. But Dallas had health issues of its own, as Erick Dampier (illness), Josh Howard (surgically-repaired left ankle) and Shawn Marion (sprained left ankle) sat and watched in street clothes from the sideline. Marion, who was listed as a game-time decision before the tip, didn't participate in pregame warm-ups.
Once again starting a lineup of Jason Kidd, Rodrigue Beaubois, Quinton Ross, Nowitzki and Drew Gooden, the Mavs sprinted out to a quick 10-3 advantage. Golden State hung tough behind Monte Ellis' quick trigger, as Dallas' sloppy play in the first quarter gave Golden State life. Using a three-guard lineup of Kidd (later subbed by J.J. Barea), Beaubois and Jason Terry, the Mavs took a 27-25 lead at the end of one.
"We knew they had dangerous weapons, and Monte Ellis is probably one of the best slasher-drivers we have in this league right now," Nowitzki said. "He got to the basket whenever he wanted, it seemed like."
The Mavericks had a hard time keeping up with and defending the Warriors' fast-pace offense early in the second, as Golden State surged ahead. Not even Kris Humphries' block on Anthony Randolph's finger-roll, sending the shot into the first row seats, was enough to energize a stagnant Mavs squad.
As expected, when Nowitzki came to life, so too did the Mavs offense. Nowitzki's 17 first half points (12 in the second quarter) powered Dallas to a 54-50 lead heading into the break.
"Maybe we got a little carried away and ran with them a little bit too much in the first half and didn't have enough down the stretch," Nowitzki said.
Despite being out-shot 44 to 42 percent in the first half, Dallas forced 12 Golden State turnovers, scoring 11 points off of those giveaways to gain the slight advantage.
The second half began with Terry inserted in the lineup, after the Mavs lost Ross for the night due to soreness in his lower back. With the defensive specialist out, one of the league's best shooters, Anthony Morrow, torched the smaller Dallas lineup by shooting over shorter guards from behind the 3-point arch. But what they missed in stature, the Mavs made up with determination and gritty play, as Terry and Nowitzki spearheaded a 16-5 run (14 unanswered) starting at the 5:30-mark and running through the end of the third quarter to lift Dallas to an 82-78 advantage heading into the fourth period.
The Mavs led by as much as nine early in the fourth, but the Warriors didn't fade away, using a 7-2 run to draw to within two (98-96) with 5:06 remaining. The rookie Stephen Curry then put Golden State on his back, tying the game at 98-all with a jumper. With the game knotted at 100-100, the rookie took a veteran shot, nailing a 3-pointer from the wing to put the Warriors up three with 2:21 left on the game clock. The Mavs returned fire with Terry, who drained a three of his own, before Curry came right back with a running bank shot at the other end. The Mavs then found themselves in an even deeper hole after Ellis' layup with 28.9 seconds left put the Golden State lead at 109-103. Curry then secured the Warriors' win at the foul line.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
"Down the stretch we looked a little lost. We didn't run back, and they do a good job -- they keep coming, they keep pushing, make or miss," Nowitzki said.
"We've got to play better defense," Gooden said. "We're giving up too many easy baskets. It's all fine and dandy to give up baskets like that, but in the fourth quarter when we've got a lead like that, we must get defensive stops and if we don't get the stops we're not going to pull out the game."
The Warriors outscored the Mavs 24-7 the last 7:18 of game time, from when Dallas held a 96-87 lead.
"They are never out of a game," Carlisle said. "They can be down double-digits and be back in the game within a minute and a half, just by running it up on you and hitting threes and driving it."
"It was a tough loss for us and it's kind of what has been happening to us lately by having the lead and then having a nail-biter, and tonight it finally came back and bit us," Gooden said.
Nowitzki led Dallas with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Terry pitched in 21 points off the bench. Gooden tallied up his fourth double-double since entering the starting lineup, with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Ellis finished with a season-high 37 points to lead all scorers, while Morrow added a season-high 27 points by connecting on a career-best six 3-pointers. Curry scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors dominated the Mavs in the paint, outscoring Dallas 54-36 in the interior. While Golden State's 48 percent shooting was just better than Dallas' 46 percent, the Warriors 10-of-21 shooting from behind the 3-point arch proved to be deadly when compared to the Mavs' 4-of-15 from long range.
Things don't get any easier for the Mavs, as they head to Houston to play the Southwest Division rival Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back. The game will air on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 7:30 p.m. CT. It is the first game of a three-game road trip for the Mavs.
Dallas returns to the American Airlines Center on Nov. 30, when they play host to the Philadelphia 76ers. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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