Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Charlotte Bobcats 97 at Dallas Mavericks 98 F/OT
There was a patriotic midst in the air at the American Airlines Center on Saturday night.
Over 150 soldiers from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and Fort Hood Army Base filled the arena floor seats and lower level, after season ticket holders gave up their chairs for the sixth annual "Seats for Soldiers" night.
The Mavericks didn't have to look far for inspiration for their third straight win, as the military heroes sitting courtside looked on to witness Dirk Nowitzki save his best theatrics for clutch time. With swingman Josh Howard sitting the game out to rest his surgically-repaired left ankle, the Mavs' 7-foot caped crusader saved the day and willed his team to a victory on a game-winning fadeaway jumper with 1.8 seconds left in a 98-97 overtime thriller against the Charlotte Bobcats.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
"The definition of a franchise player is one who wants the responsibility for winning or losing," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "(Nowitzki) wants the ball in his hands when the game is being decided and the only thing he's thinking about when he gets the ball is finding a way to win the game.""That's why Dirk is going to be one of the all-time greatest."
The Bobcats entered Dallas without ever beating the Mavericks in the franchise's short existence. Dallas came out the gates quickly in the first quarter to ensure that trend didn't change. After jumping out to an early 12-point lead, the Mavericks took a 26-20 edge at the end of one after a Drew Gooden tip-in with .7 seconds left in the quarter. Led by J.J. Barea and Erick Dampier, Dallas shot lights-out in the period, hitting on 12-of-23 shots from the field. The Bobcats countered with isolation plays for Stephen Jackson, who scored nine first quarter points to keep Charlotte close.
In a rugged second quarter, all of the loose balls seemed to find their way into the Bobcats' hands. After Charlotte's furious comeback and a 13-4 run, the Mavericks found themselves down 39-30 midway through the second. Outscoring Dallas 26-17 in the period, Charlotte took a 46-43 advantage into the halftime break. The Mavs shot just 7-of-18 in the second quarter.
"(The Bobcats) came in and put up a good fight," forward Shawn Marion said. "They're a team that never stops."
Despite shooting 46 percent and holding Charlotte to just 43 percent in the first half, Dallas could do little to stop Jackson, Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace, all of which scored in double figures in the half. Barea and Dampier each posted 10 points to led the Mavs in scoring at the intermission.
"I told the guys at halftime, this is a persistent team we're playing," Carlisle said. "They're playing well and it's going to be a gut-check game."
And the Mavs definitely took the Bobcats' best punch square in the gut in the second half.
Dallas never got on track in the third quarter, falling behind by as much as 11 in the period. With the Mavs struggling to connect from the outside and the Bobcats' defense shutting down the lane, Nowitzki single-handily kept Dallas close with 10 points in the quarter. Still Charlotte took a 70-62 lead into the fourth quarter, with Jackson scoring the final 11 points for the Bobcats in the third.
"It was an ugly, ugly night," Nowitzki said. "We couldn't really get anything going."
The Port Arthur, Texas native's assault continued as he banked in a 3-pointer early in the fourth, giving him 14 straight Charlotte points. It was nothing new for Carlisle, who coached Jackson in Indiana.
"(Jackson) is from Texas. He plays well in this state. Believe me, I know, I coached and worked with him. When he gets near home, the ball goes in the basket. He's just a major impact player," Carlisle said.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks attempted to muster up a comeback at the charity stripe, milking their arrival in the bonus with trips to the foul line. Down six inside the last two minutes, the Mavs' comeback train didn't make any stops on the way to the finish line, going to Nowitzki and No. 41's height advantage over a defending Jackson.
Climbing to within two, 85-83, with 25.2 seconds remaining, Carlisle drew up a play for Nowitzki to work over Boris Diaw one-on-one. No. 41's hanging fadeaway from outside the lane got the shooter's roll with 10.9 seconds remaining. The 7-footer then forced a steal as time expired at the other end, sending the game into overtime knotted at 85-all.
It was only a prelude to the events that would transpire next.
"It came down to, really, just a back-and-forth game at the end of regulation and overtime. And the team that dug a little deeper was going to find a way, and that's exactly what happened," Carlisle said.
A dunk-tip from Dampier at the 2:43-mark of the extra period put Dallas ahead 89-88, followed by another rain-making jumper from Nowitzki. After Jason Terry was handed a technical foul in a scrum with Felton, the Bobcats reeled off three straight points to tie the game at 91-91. Felton's jumper over Terry then gave the Bobcats a 93-92 edge with 56.7 seconds remaining. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year then came right back with a jumper of his own with 48.9 ticks on the game clock to put Dallas back ahead by one. A Marion foul then sent Wallace to the line, where the versatile forward calmly knocked down a pair to put Charlotte back in front.
As he did at the end of regulation, Nowitzki poured in another fallaway jumper over Diaw's outstretched arm to put Dallas back ahead, 96-95, before Wallace once again nailed a pair of free throws. But No. 41 would have the last laugh on this night, nailing a 10-footer once again over Diaw with 1.8 seconds left.
"I just looked at the clock, took a couple of dribbles and pulled up," Nowitzki said of the final play.
"(Diaw) is a stronger guy, and I probably should have taken him off the dribble a little bit more. But I settled for some jumpers, and a couple of them went in."
Charlotte went to Jackson on the subsequent possession, but his desperation 3-pointer came up short of the rim, as the Mavs left their home floor with the one-point win.
"We had three guys converge on Jackson, and we made him take a tough shot. And we get out of here alive," Carlisle said.
As Dallas has shown an ability to do this season, the Mavs won while shooting just under 40 percent. The Mavericks' 50-44 rebounding edge helped with their shooting struggles.
While Nowitzki's game-winner and game-high 36 points on 14-of-34 shooting will grab the headlines, the dirty work that Dampier and Marion provided powered the Mavs to the win.
After his 20-point, 17-rebound night against the Heat, Dampier's follow-up performance was just as dominate, as the big man posted 14 points while grabbing 18 rebounds.
"Dampier put together two monster games and I thought it was just critical that he did, knowing how this team was going to play," Carlisle said.
Marion's 15 points and 15 rebounds where equally as impressive.
"(Marion) is finding a way to play a major role without scoring a lot of points," Carlisle added. "He's not used to that, and I've got a lot of respect for the fact that he's just doing it because he wants to win."
"For the most part, we're just trying to find our niches and that's what we have to do," Marion said. "Everybody has to contribute. It's not one person, it's a team effort out there, and everybody has to do their part. We did that tonight."
Terry (11) and Barea (10) made it five Mavericks in double figures. Jackson's 28 points led Charlotte, while Wallace added 23 points and 16 boards. Felton finished with 20 points in the loss.
Dallas goes for its fourth straight win on Monday night, when the New Orleans Hornets visit the American Airlines Center. The game will air locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD, and nationally on NBA TV at 7:30 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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