Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Houston Rockets 116 at Dallas Mavericks 108 F/OT
Riding a five-game winning streak, the Dallas Mavericks welcomed the Houston Rockets, whom they had beaten twice already this season, with open arms to begin a four-game home stand on Friday night.
But by the middle of the night, that open embrace would turn into hatred. With Dallas' undisputed leader, Dirk Nowitzki, playing just ten minutes before going down with a deep laceration to his right elbow, the Mavericks fought and scrapped but walked away from their home floor bruised and battered. Even with six Mavs stepping up with double-figure scoring with Nowitzki out, Dallas' winning streak came to a screeching halt, falling in overtime 116-108.
In a game with seven technicals (six on Dallas), one flagrant, two ejections, and the absence of Nowitzki for the better part of three quarters, the Mavs' fight without their captain told the story. Dallas staged a late-game comeback even without their leading-scorer, just to force the game into an extra five-minute period. Still, the Mavs didn't have enough firepower on the court in the extra period.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
"It was a very physical game out there," forward Shawn Marion said. "A lot of things going on and it was a heated game. It was a game that we could have won, but hey, with the techs and all the scuffles, injuries, we went out fighting. That's all you can ask for."
"Their team battled," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after the loss. "We got it to overtime. The odds were certainly stacked against us with a couple of minutes to go. I thought we battled to get to overtime. I didn't think we played well. Finding a way to get to overtime over pretty steep odds is positive. But the way we played from start to finish really wasn't what we were wanting to do. That's disappointing."
Already claiming two wins over the Rockets in blowout fashion, the Mavericks came into the third of four meetings knowing that they must improve on their play in the first half. In each of the first two games the Mavericks found themselves down by a double-digit deficit in the first 24 minutes of play.
Behind stellar team defense and the scoring of J.J. Barea, the inserted combo guard in the starting lineup that had sparked the winning streak, the Mavericks were the ones jumping out to a quick advantage. Dallas took a 24-19 lead after one, despite hitting just 10-of-29 shots.
"I think we started the game off pretty good, though. I think we came out very aggressive, but the game was just in a half-court grind," Marion said.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
In the second quarter, both teams received a scare as star players were injured on the same play. At the 9:28-mark, Dirk Nowitzki's right elbow met Carl Landry's mouth, causing the Mavs star to rush to the locker room to treat a laceration while the Rockets' key contributor left the game with three broken teeth. Before leaving the game with five points, Nowitzki hit 1-of-2 at the foul line, shooting left-handed.
"We didn't know if he was coming back or not. We just had to play," Marion said. "Things happen during the course of the game and you just have to adjust, and for the most part we did."
Meanwhile, with the Mavs' leading-scorer out, the Rockets surged ahead with an 18-5 run to take a 44-33 lead. Dallas closed to within 49-41 to end the half. Houston outscored Dallas 30-17 in the second quarter.
Led by Kyle Lowry's 13 first half points on 5-of-7 shooting, the Rockets out-shot the Mavs in the first half by hitting on 48 percent of their shots while holding Dallas to 32 percent shooting. Barea kept the Mavericks close with 10 point in the half.
With their leader still in the locker room receiving three stitches to start the second half, the Mavericks turned to Barea and Jason Kidd to spark a comeback in the third quarter. Kidd's play-making and Barea's scoring became the theme early in the period, while Erick Dampier's interior defense stabilized the team. But after clawing to within one, the Mavs hit a wall, and the Rockets pushed their lead back up to 73-65 headed into the fourth. At the same time, Nowitzki was officially being ruled out for the remainder of the game, though x-rays were negative.
"When a big star like Dirk is out everybody has to step up," Barea said. "I think we did a good job of that, we just had bad luck."
The fourth quarter began with an aggressive Josh Howard looking to pick up the slack in Nowitzki's stead. A 10-2 run brought Dallas to within one, 80-79, with 8:48 remaining in the game. Howard then got help from sixth man Jason Terry, as the Mavs briefly went in front before Aaron Brooks quieted the Dallas run with a 3-pointer. But the tide changed when Terry was called for a clear path foul on Lowry at the 7:37-mark. The tempers on the court began to boil as well, as Jason Kidd and David Andersen got into a scrum on the court, drawing a technical foul on Carlisle and a double-technical on Kidd and Andersen. Meanwhile, the points continued to rack up for the Rockets, even during a stretch were Dallas hit on eight consecutive field goal attempts.
But the Mavericks' relentlessness finally caught up with their offensive production down the stretch, as Dallas trimmed an eight-point deficit with 2:17 left to just two with one minute of game time remaining. After Brooks split a pair at the foul line, the Mavs found themselves down 100-97 with 19.1 ticks on the clock. After Carlisle's timeout, the ball found its way to Tim Thomas for a game-tying 3-pointer off of a Terry feed with just 10.5 seconds remaining in regulation.
"It was a great play that coach drew up," Thomas said. "Jet (Terry) and I have been talking about that two-man action since I got here. He draws a lot of attention, so it was a great play."
The Dallas defense then forced a turnover, as a driving Brooks fumbled the ball out of bounds. After a long officials' conference, they determined that the clock should read just 0.4 and the possession would be with the Mavericks. It is a decision that the Mavericks will have the league offices in New York review.
With Kidd inbounding, the play went to Shawn Marion, but the forward's desperation tip-shot attempt over Lowry came up short of the rim to send the game into the extra period. The Mavs outscored the Rockets 35-27 in the fourth.
"We were down and we were fighting," Kidd said. "We didn't give in. We had a great look there, at the end of the fourth quarter."
Marion made up for the missed late-game heroics at the defensive end in the overtime, sending a Shane Battier shot back into his face with a block early in the extra five minutes. But the Mavs got down six, on Brooks' jumper with 1:19 on the clock, and never recovered. Just 18 seconds later, a flagrant one was called on Brooks for a blow to Dampier's head. After another officials' review, the Mavs center was ejected for picking up his second technical foul after the crew determined that Dampier threw an elbow in retaliation.
"(The officials) indicated some things, but so it doesn't lead to further confusion, I won't repeat what they said. They'll get it right in New York."
"If they were wrong calls, the technicals will be rescinded. Whatever happens will happen."
Lowry's driving layup with 27.7 ticks left clinched the game for Houston and earned Carlisle his second technical of the night, giving the Mavs coach an exit as well. The Rockets padded their lead at the charity stripe to end the night.
"In overtime, we couldn't get the ball in the basket and they hit some difficult shots. It's a tough loss. We needed to have four or five guys to really play well tonight to get it done, and we never could quite get over the hump. It's disappointing," Carlisle said.
"We want to get stops, get in transition and flow as much as possible. We've got stuff that I thought we executed well and other stuff, not so well. We fought and put ourselves in position to make it a five-minute game and just couldn't win."
With multiple controversial calls handed down late, the Mavericks are planning to protest the loss, citing "multiple misapplications of the rules by the officials."
Still, now the Mavs have their eighth loss on the board and their star player on the mend.
Lowry finished with a game-high 26 points, while Brooks added 25.
Despite a near triple double-from Kidd (eight points, season-high 11 rebounds and 10 assists), 23 points from Barea and double figures from Marion (17), Howard (17), Terry (14) and Thomas (10), the Mavericks clearly missed their go-to scorer.
"We have so many weapons -- this team is deep," Kidd said. "We had our opportunities and we just couldn't get over the hump tonight."
Carlisle may have summed up the game best.
"We're a team, so if one guy goes out, everybody else has got to step forward," Carlisle said. "We made a good effort but the bottom line, when you shoot 42 percent and give up 46 percent shooting, 30 assists and eight 3-pointers -- those numbers add up to a loss. We needed to be better. Simple as that."
Nowitzki's status will be updated at a later date and he is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Cleveland.
"Knowing him, he'll be back sooner than later," Terry said.
Things don't get any easier for Dallas, as the Mavs continue on their four-game home stand when the Cleveland Cavaliers come to the American Airlines Center on Sunday evening. The game will air locally on TXA 21 and TXA HD, and nationally on NBA TV at 6:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
"It's not a one-man team," Kidd said. "That's the beauty of this team -- we have some many guys that put the ball in the basket and play. This is a great opportunity for everybody to pick up the slack or pick up what Dirk normally gives us."
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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