Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
New Orleans Hornets 90 at Dallas Mavericks 94
On a night centered around stopping one lightening-quick point guard, the Dallas Mavericks got a career night from one of the quickest players, and definitely the smallest, on their roster.
With leading-scorer Dirk Nowitzki having a rare off night, J.J. Barea became the focal point of the Mavericks' offense, posting a season-high 23 points and outshining New Orleans Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul to lift Dallas to a 94-90 victory. Getting his third straight start, Barea proved to be the biggest star on the court, at least for one night.
"Coach put me in there to get a better start," Barea said after the win. "I think we've been doing that. It worked out."
"(Barea) was great. They really didn't pay much attention to him off of the scene-and-rolls, they stuck with me and didn't really leave me much. So he was able to walk in there and had some great finishes. He was big, getting us off to a great start and really keeping us going offensively," Nowitzki said of his teammate.
The Mavericks came into their matchup with the Hornets on Monday night looking to avenge the 114-107 overtime loss in New Orleans on Nov. 4, after the Mavericks failed to close that game out at the foul line at the end of regulation. Winners of three straight, the Mavs knew if they were going to run that streak to four it would be by limiting Paul's role in the game.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle looked to take away Paul's dribble-penetration from the opening tip and make the cat-quick lead guard a jump shooter. The strategy worked early, as Paul got off to a 2-for-5 start for just four points in the opening quarter. But the first period was all about Barea and his penetration off of pick-and-roll offense with Nowitzki drawing double teams. The smallest man on the court was not only the Mavs' go-to scorer on offense early but also a pest to Paul on the defensive end. Barea's 13 first quarter points paced the Mavs to a 35-18 advantage after one, as Dallas finished the period on a 22-5 run.
"I thought Barea was the guy that got us off to such a good start," Carlisle said. "His penetration caused a problem, he hit shots and during the first quarter I don't think I called one play. Kidd ran the show."
In the second-highest scoring first quarter for Dallas this season, the Mavs outscored the Hornets 18-0 in the paint.
"It was probably the best offensive quarter we've played all year with ball movement, screening and flow," Carlisle said.
After the Dallas lead swelled to as much as 21, the Hornets got right back into the game in the second quarter with a 13-0 run. Once again the Mavs turned to Barea to stop the bleeding. Still the Mavs couldn't overcome nine second quarter turnovers, outscored by the Hornets 25-14 in the period, cutting the Dallas lead to 49-43 at the half.
"We really blew a great start to the game. We were in a really strong position and then let it get completely away with turnovers, bad decisions and those things led to other problems," Carlisle said.
Barea's 19 first half points were already a season-high for the Puerto Rico native at that point, as he led all scorers after the first 24 minutes of play. Paul led the Hornets with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting in the half. Dallas' 57 percent shooting couldn't combat their 10 turnovers in the half, but a strong defensive effort held the Hornets to just 42 percent at the other end.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Paul came out of the intermission aggressively looking to get into the lane, finding Emeka Okafor for above-the-rim finishes in the process. As a result, the Mavericks found themselves in a dogfight in the third. Dallas countered with a heavy dose of Shawn Marion and Josh Howard, who returned after sitting out a game to rest his surgically-repaired left ankle. The two swingmen led Dallas to a 71-66 edge headed into the fourth quarter.
With Nowitzki having a sluggish night, the Mavericks continued to look towards Barea for offense in the fourth. Working both as a scorer and play-maker, Barea handled the load with ease until his teammates began to match his production. Starting with strong defensive intensity headed by Howard, Dallas began to turn stops at one end into buckets at the other. Still Paul would not allow the Hornets to go quietly into the night, crossing over and getting into the lane for a layup with 3:02 remaining to cut the Dallas lead to 86-81. Despite the stagnant night from No. 41, Nowitzki thrived when he was needed with a rain-making jumper to lift the Mavs to a 90-83 advantage with 58.9 ticks on the clock.
"I really couldn't get much going today, so it was good that I at least made a couple and was about to get to the line once to finish the game off," Nowitzki said.
But James Posey answered right back with a 3-pointer, as 49.9 seconds remained. The Hornets then cut the deficit to 90-88 on a run-out score by Darius Songaila with just 22.9 seconds remaining. After a Carlisle timeout, the Mavs kept the Hornets at bay with a Kidd inbound pass to Nowitzki just beating a five-second violation for a lay-in over Posey with just 20.3 seconds left.
"Kidd made a sensational play passing the ball to Dirk for the layup at the very end," Carlisle said. "Three guys converged on Jet (Terry) and there was really no other outlet. That basically was the game-saving play. Not many point guards that have ever played the game make that play. Our guy's special and that's why we love him."
"I didn't panic," Kidd said. "I had a count in my head to almost four when I saw him break to the basket, and I think he did a great job by laying it up. A lot times players will catch it and try to kill the clock and it becomes a free throw game."
After Paul air-balled a three right into Songaila's hands for an easy deuce, Jason Terry found himself in the same position as the Nov. 4 meeting, at the line to close the game out. This time Terry came through, nailing a pair calmly to secure the Mavs' fourth straight win.
In addition to Barea's 23-point night, just three points below his career-high, Dallas showed just how deep they are as five other Mavs scored in double figures. Putting up numbers to rival Paul, Kidd finished with 13 points and a team-high 13 assists for his sixth double-double of the season. Off the bench, Howard supplied 14 points and eight rebounds while Terry added 12. Nowitzki and Marion posted 10 apiece.
"Sometimes, the big fellow (Nowitzki) isn't going to be there," Kidd said. "We just have to play off of him, let him set picks and get guys open, and we did that."
Meanwhile, Paul needed 22 shots, nine made, to collect his 20 points while dishing out 16 assists. The star was also a menace defensively, forcing five steals.
The Mavericks' 55 percent shooting was overshadowed by the 30 points New Orleans scored off of 23 Dallas turnovers, which allowed the Hornets to stay in the game despite shooting just 44 percent on the night.
"When you turn it over 23 times for 30 points, that's just not good enough for a team that has our aspirations. I'm really happy we won. It easily could have gone the other way if a couple of plays had gone the other way," Carlisle said.
With the turnover woes plaguing the Dallas offense, the Mavs attempted 20 less field goal attempts.
"We gave it away a lot tonight and that's why we had 69 shots to their 89. That kept them in the ball game," Kidd said.
Dallas goes for its fifth straight win when the Mavs head north on I-35 to battle the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest, and nationally on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT.
The Mavs return home to the American Airlines Center for the start of a four-game home stand on Friday night, when they host the Southwest Division rival Houston Rockets. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. That game will air locally on TXA 21 and TXA HD at 7:30 p.m. CT.
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.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment