Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 100 at Oklahoma City Thunder 86
Winners of four straight games, the Dallas Mavericks headed north up I-35 to battle the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night with a 9-4 road record.
In the first of four meetings, the Mavs hoped to earn their fifth straight win and tenth road win at the young Thunder's expense in a hostile environment. After taking the Thunder's best combination of blows and punches for three quarters, the Mavericks landed a 12th-round haymaker to score a knockout in the fourth quarter on their way to a 100-86 win.
"We knew what we were getting into," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after the win. "We knew this was a very big game for (the Thunder), and it's a big game for us too, because they all count. We know they’re a strong-willed team and very, very much that way for a younger team. They're mature beyond their years competitively."
"You have to play them the right way and you have to play well. You have to hit some tough shots, because they're long and they get into you defensively."
(Photo by Larry W. Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
Starting a lineup that had led Dallas to four consecutive victories (Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier), Carlisle saw his team fall behind by nine within the first five minutes of the opening quarter. After a Carlisle timeout calmed the team down after early jitters, the Mavericks switched to a zone on the defensive end to negate the Thunder's athletic ability. The strategy worked, as Dallas slowed the Oklahoma City attack and capitalized on offense with Marion getting to the rim for easy buckets to help the Mavs knot the game at 24-all after one.
With Dallas missing on shots that are normally sure things, the Mavs had to battle through a so-so second quarter. Meanwhile, the Thunder weren't giving the Mavericks the night off, as Oklahoma City utilized its quickness with dribble-penetration to outscore Dallas 24-19 in the period, eventually taking a 48-43 edge into the halftime break.
Nowitzki and Marion kept the Mavs alive through the first 24 minutes of play, combining to score 21 of Dallas' 43 first half points. Nowitzki was particularly aggressive after a sub-par shooting performance, by his standards, in the Mavs' last game.
"I thought I never really found my rhythm two days ago," Nowitzki said. "Today I just wanted to start off good."
The job that Marion and Josh Howard did defensively may have been the most impressive aspect of the half, taking the league's third leading-scorer, Kevin Durant, out of the equation early.
"Shawn Marion and Josh Howard really took the challenge with (Durant) tonight, and we brought some help at times but played him straight up most of the time. Those guys just really worked hard to make it tough for him, not only to score but to catch the ball," Carlisle said.
But Oklahoma City out-shot Dallas 49 to 43 percent in the half, and the Thunder out-rebounded the Mavericks 24-19. Both teams had a case of the turnover bug, as Dallas committed seven giveaways in the half while forcing Oklahoma City into eight errors.
(Photo by Larry W. Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
The third quarter was much more kind to the Mavericks, as Kidd caught fire from the outside while Nowitzki and Dampier took charge of the paint at both ends. A much needed boost off the Dallas bench came from Josh Howard, as the swingman helped Dallas build a 69-62 advantage before the Thunder closed to within 71-68 headed into the fourth.
"We have always been a defensive-minded team," Dampier said after the defense was on display in the third. "I think our defense leads to offense. We block shots and we are getting rebounds. We have weapons on both ends of the floor and we have guys that can get baskets."
But the Mavericks struggled to get baskets early in the fourth, going scoreless for the first four minutes of the quarter as the Thunder went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead. Dallas responded with six unanswered to go back ahead 77-75 after a Barea jumper at the 7:04-mark. With Kidd shutting down the Thunder's Russell Westbrook, Nowitzki and Howard both began to assert themselves at the offensive end while Dampier continued to dominate the painted area. Howard's 3-pointer, followed by a Nowitzki feed to Dampier for a layup gave the Mavs an 87-80 lead with 2:18 on the game clock. After a three from Nowitzki, Howard's layup on Kidd's ninth assist gave Dallas a 92-80 advantage with just 1:20 remaining. Dallas never looked back, clutching the game at the foul line to claim the 14-point win.
"I thought the difference in the game was in the fourth quarter -- the ball moved and multiple guys got involved," Carlisle said. "Dampier was making things happen at the rim. Josh Howard was able to drive it and get loose for open shots and make some plays. And he made some excellent passes."
"The things that sets it up is being able to guard them, and we were able to do that well enough in the second half."
The Mavericks outscored the Thunder 57-38 in the second half.
(Photo by Larry W. Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
Coming off of a season-low 10 points against New Orleans, Nowitzki bounced back with a 35-point, 11-rebound night. No. 41 was 13-of-18 from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
"I'm his teammate but also, while I'm playing with him, I'm a fan," Barea said of Nowitzki. "He comes out every night and performs. He struggled like the last two games, but he's so consistent. I think he's like the only consistent player like that in the NBA."
"Sometimes you can't always have it in 82 games," Nowitzki said of his struggles before Wednesday night. "Sometimes you feel like every shot goes in -- a leaner, a runner. Some nights you have a wide-open layup, you can't even make a layup or a free throw. It just happens in 82 games. But the challenge is in that game, if you don't feel well, you still have to perform and help your team."
Off the bench, Howard added 15 points (13 in the second half) while Marion's 12 and Dampier's 10 gave Dallas four scorers in double figures, helping the Mavs shoot 49 percent.
Despite losing the rebounding edge 45-40, the Dallas defense suffocated the Thunder in the second half, holding Oklahoma City to just 42 percent shooting on the night. Marion and Howard never let Durant get going, forcing the young star into 4-of-18 shooting for just 12 points. The former Texas standout committed four turnovers on the night as well. Westbrook led the Thunder with 16 points, though he did so while shooting 6-of-19.
Looking for their sixth straight win, the Mavs return home to the American Airlines Center for the start of a four-game home stand on Friday night, as the Southwest Division rival Houston Rockets enter Dallas for a second time this season. Dallas claimed a 121-103 win in the first meeting between the two squads on Nov. 10. 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.
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