Mavericks-Suns Recap

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Phoenix Suns 101 at Dallas Mavericks 102

Riding a two-game skid, the Dallas Mavericks needed both a boost of energy and someone to create more scoring opportunities coming into their matchup with the Phoenix Suns.

The return of swingman Josh Howard supplied both, as No. 5 played in just his fourth game of the season and his first since Nov. 11, after battling a nagging surgically-repaired left ankle. Scoring 16 of his season-high 20 points in the second half while playing 26 minutes in a reserve role, Howard helped the Mavericks survive a 48-minute heavyweight bout, ending with Dallas claiming a 102-101 home win by the slimmest of margins.

"First game back in a month and coming off the bench, you have to get your rhythm back," Howard said of his return. "Just keep working at it. (The left ankle) is going to be sore the rest of the year. It's something I'm going to have to deal with and just keep playing. Hopefully one day it will go away, but for the most part, I feel great."

"He (Howard) is a remarkable athlete," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's put in an unbelievable amount of work the last month to prepare for this. His rhythm was off a little bit early, you could tell, but he was able to get to the free throw line a couple times and created contact and made some free throws and got into the game that way. Then in the second half, we hit a spell there where he was the only offense we had going. He really kept us afloat. It shows you how important he is to our team and he just showed a lot of guts tonight, too."

Howard began the night on the sidelines, as J.J. Barea got the start for the first time this season next to Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

It has always been Howard's custom to handle the first quarter scoring for the Mavericks, but with the former All-Star on the bench, Barea had that covered early. When Howard entered the game at the 5:07-mark of the first period, he proved that he had plenty of lift in that left ankle with an above-the-rim block on Grant Hill. Still the Mavericks couldn't match the output coming from Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and the Suns' perimeter scorers, as Phoenix took a 29-23 lead after one.

"J.J. played extremely well and this was a matchup-driven decision to start him. He has matched up and has played well against this team and he kept us going again early when we were struggling. I thought that he battled hard, Nash is an extremely difficult guy to guard, obviously. But his combination of offense and energy helped us," Carlisle said.

The Mavericks shot just 7-of-23 (30 percent) in the first quarter, while the Suns hit on just under 58 percent of their shots.

Dallas came charging back in the second quarter behind Barea and Nowitzki, using a 7-0 run to take a 43-42 edge with 4:15 remaining in the first half. Despite outscoring Phoenix 26-21 in the second quarter, Dallas entered the intermission down 50-49.

Nowitzki led all scorers at the half with 16 points, while Barea added 14, but the Mavs' 38 percent shooting and 11 turnovers were their downfall in the first 24 minutes of play. At the other end, the Suns shot 45 percent and had only three giveaways.

"We're making it a little bit tougher than we need, but the one thing that's consistent right now is we're playing defense," Kidd said. "If we weren't playing defense, we wouldn't have a chance to win."

Like two prize fighters, the two squads exchanged blows and the lead early in the third quarter. With Howard coming to life and Nowitzki pouring in 13 points in the period, Dallas went ahead with a 9-2 run the last 1:46 of game time to take a 77-70 advantage into the fourth.

The Mavericks' lead grew to 10, 82-72, on a corner 3-pointer from Howard with 9:35 remaining in the game. Once the Suns crept to within five, Howard once again responded by finding the open cutting lanes during a stretch in which No. 5 scored nine consecutive Dallas points.

(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)

"I just found the open shot and knocked it down. It was stuff that I had been working on when I was trying to get back to myself. That was about it," Howard said.

"He (Howard) brings a certain type of force to our game," Carlisle said. "He is the best cutter that we have. He is a great runner and he is probably our best driver. He is a dead-eye shooter from mid-range and he makes spot up threes. So, he is invaluable, because all those things come into play over the course of our games somehow or another."

Up 92-87, the Mavs made a statement on the defensive end as Kidd took a charge square in the chest to stop Richardson's one-man fastbreak with 2:28 on the game clock.

"I was just trying to guess which way he was going to go and I guessed right. We were struggling there and we couldn't make a shot, and our defense has helped us win some ball games here early in the season. To get that charge and for them not be able to get the basket was big," Kidd said.

The Suns didn't fade into the night, as Nash brought Phoenix to within 96-93 with a 3-pointer over Nowitzki's outstretched arm with 47.4 seconds remaining. The Mavs answered right back at the other end, as Nowitzki found Kidd on the wing out of a double-team for a long two-pointer with 26.9 seconds left. The saga continued to unfold as Richardson nailed a three of his own with 21.8 ticks remaining and Dallas up 98-96. The two teams then played the free throw game, as Jason Terry went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe, before Nash continued to keep the Suns alive with yet another three with just 7.9 seconds left. After a Phoenix foul, Terry once again calmly knocked down two at the foul line.

"Our guys did a great job in the last minute," Carlisle said while praising his team. "I mean, they hit three extremely difficult shots. Richardson’s three, he makes it look relatively easy, but I'm telling you that is a brutally hard shot and then Nash hit two that he makes look routine. You know, that team has got some of the best shot-makers you will ever see in this game, and there execution was great, so we had to make sure we were making free throws and doing the right things defensively from a strategic standpoint."

With Nash connecting on two more free throws to cut the Dallas advantage to 102-101, the Suns once again sent Terry to the line. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year missed on the first of two foul shots and intentionally missed on the second with 2.4 seconds on the clock, leaving Amar'e Stoudemire to force up a desperation 65-foot heave which came up short of the rim to secure the one-point Dallas win.

"Jet’s (Terry’s) intentional miss at the free throw line was a huge play because he grazed the rim in such a way where Stoudemire had to kind of double-hitch and then put it on the floor, and that probably burned a half a second or a quarter of a second, which in that situation when you are flinging up a 65-foot shot it makes a difference. So, we had to be precise to win the game tonight," Carlisle said.

After the rough start, the Mavericks finished the night shooting 45 percent, while the Suns hit on 44 percent at the other end. Dallas also out-rebounded Phoenix 42-40.

Nash led the Suns with 27 points, while Richardson added 25 and Stoudemire posted 20.

Posting a game-high 33 points, Nowitzki eclipsed the 30-point plateau for the seventh time this season. Terry (15), Barea (14) and Marion (10) joined Nowitzki and Howard in double-figures, though after the game all anyone could talk about was the play of No. 5.

"It really helped tonight to have Josh back out on the floor and his ability to take guys off the dribble, which he did a good job of tonight," Nowitzki said. "He hit some big shots for us tonight and had some big plays, so it was definitely good to see him back. Once he gets a good rhythm going, we'll be a really tough team to beat."

"Josh played great," Kidd said. "You know, 20 points is much needed for our offense. I thought he played great defensively, too, so it's good to have No. 5 back."



The Mavericks now prepare for a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday night, in which Howard is expected to play 1-of-2. Dallas travels to Miami to battle the Heat on Friday night, with the game airing on Fox Sports Southwest at 6:30 p.m. CT.

The Mavs then return home to host the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday, with that game airing on Fox Sports Southwest 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.

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