Dallas Mavericks 117 at New Jersey Nets 101
Not all records are earned through achievement.
The Dallas Mavericks entered the IZOD Center with the New Jersey Nets hoping to avoid setting a dubious record for the worst start in NBA history. At New Jersey's expense, the Southwest Division-leading Mavericks claimed their second straight win and had no problem sending the Nets to an 0-18 start to the season, the worst in NBA history.
On a record-setting night for the Mavericks, recording franchise marks for points in the second quarter and shooting percentage in a half, the Mavs put an inescapable gap between themselves and the Nets en route to a 117-101 road win, inking New Jersey in the history books for the most dreadful of distinctions.
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Mavs send Nets to NBA-worst 0-18 start
"Everybody was talking about their record. I don't think about this game or any game in terms of milestones, except for that this game is another game on the schedule," Mavs point guard and former Net Jason Kidd said. "We just took it like that and we wanted to find a way to get a win."
The Mavericks sent an early message to the Nets on the offensive end, as rookie Rodrigue Beaubois' play-making and above-the-rim finishes off of Kidd's alley-oop lob passes paced Dallas to a 19-11 lead midway through the first quarter. The Nets then surged ahead with an 11-0 run, before the two teams finished knotted at 28-all after one.
"The Nets are really aggressive and got after us and got some deflections," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "They made some stuff happen. The Nets are struggling but they are playing hard, I give them that."
Dallas shot an outstanding 12-of-17 in the first quarter, but foul trouble and six early turnovers helped the Nets hang around.
The hot shooting didn't cool off in the second quarter and it didn't take long for the Mavs to seize control, as Dallas pushed the tempo out to a double-digit edge. Eliminating their early turnover woes, the Mavericks outscored the Nets 49-22 in the period, taking a commanding 77-50 lead into the halftime intermission. The 49-point second quarter, on 17-of-19 shooting, was the best output by a Maverick team in the period.
"We had a nice little lead out there in the first quarter. We gave up a lot of turnovers and we weren't alert defensively," Dirk Nowitzki said. "Second quarter, we picked it up and found some defensive stops. When we get out on the fast break, we're pretty tough to stop. We just got some great shots that helped us open up the game."
"Our offense in the second quarter was great, the rest of the game it was good and bad, at times," Carlisle said.
Dallas shot a franchise record 80.6 percent in the first half, including 7-of-8 from 3-point range. The last team in the NBA to shoot at least 80 percent from the field in a half was Denver on April 4, 2006 against the Los Angeles Clippers, when the Nuggets shot 81.6 percent. The Mavericks got everyone into the act, shelling out 22 assists as five Mavs scored in double-figures after the first 24 minutes of play.
After leading by as much as 31, the Mavs gave up a little ground early in the third quarter with the Nets getting as close as 19. But the two squads played to a 28-28 stalemate in the period, with Dallas taking a 105-78 advantage into the fourth.
(Photo by Jeyhoun Allebaugh/NBAE via Getty Images)
As the Nets continued to play competitively, climbing to within 16 against the Dallas reserves, Carlisle went back to his main contributors, Nowitzki and Kidd, to keep the Nets at bay. The Dallas bench returned just minutes later, after the two future Hall-of-Famers put the Nets to bed for the night. Despite being outscored 23-12 in the fourth, the Mavericks already had their 14th win of the season in their pocket.
"You play the opponent, but you're also going up against the expectations you have for yourself. Again the fourth quarter, we had a stretch where I didn't want to put Dirk Nowitzki or Jason Kidd back in, but the Nets went on an eight or nine point run and we had to do it. You do what you have to do. For the most part we played well and played the way we needed to play," Carlisle said.
Dallas finished shooting just short of 59 percent, while holding New Jersey to 44 percent shooting. The Mavs also held a decisive edge on the glass, out-rebounding the Nets 42-28.
Six Mavericks scored in double-figures, led by Nowitzki who shared game-high scoring honors with New Jersey's Chris Douglas-Roberts with 24 points. No. 41 also added seven rebounds and eight assists. In his second game back on the court, Erick Dampier posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Kidd finished just shy of a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Off the bench, sixth man Jason Terry scored 18 points off of 7-of-10 shooting.
"Personnel-wise they're young, they have some young talent over there and the future is bright for them. The big thing is we got a win to start this road trip," Kidd said.
The Mavs now continue on the road, touching down in Memphis on Friday night to play in the Grizzlies in a divisional matchup and the first game of a back-to-back. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7 p.m. CT.
Dallas returns to the American Airlines Center on Saturday night, when they play host to the Atlanta Hawks. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 8 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.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment