Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 99 at Sacramento Kings 91
If the first game of 2010 is any indication, then the Dallas Mavericks have a lot to look forward to in the new year.
With a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers looming, the Mavericks entered the state of California focused not on the defending NBA champions but on beginning the new decade with a win against the upstart Sacramento Kings. Despite a late charge from the Kings, Dallas kept its focus on the task at hand and played the brand of basketball that has made the Mavericks one of the league's best road teams, downing Sacramento 99-91 in the middle game of a three-game road trip.
Having narrowly escaped with a 104-102 home win against the Kings on Nov. 20, Saturday night the Mavericks entered Arco Arena with full understanding that they could not look past a gritty Sacramento team in anticipation for Sunday's game against the Lakers. Dallas also looked to rebound from a disappointing end to 2009, falling 97-94 on New Year's Eve to Houston on the road. But it was just business as usual as the Mavericks snatched their 12th win away from home this season.
"The first half we had a lot of turnovers and then the second half we did a great job until the last couple of minutes," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle summed up the win. "Fortunately, we had built up a lead that stood up. It's a great win because these guys have been playing great and this is always a tough place to come.
"Every win in this league is a fight. There's no easy games. So any time you can get one, it's great."
Forward Shawn Marion may have expressed the sentiments for the Mavericks' veteran leadership the best.
"I'm a veteran player, I never look ahead to the next game. You can get beat by anybody, this is the NBA…You have to be ready to play every night and lace them up. You never overlook a team," Marion said.
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Mavs looked to put the Houston loss out of their minds immediately. Despite getting a strong effort from combo guard J.J. Barea in the first quarter, the Mavericks found themselves in a back-and-forth game out of the gates with the Kings emerging at the end of the period with a 27-25 edge.
"(Barea) has been solid for us, really since he's been in the starting lineup. He got it going early for us and then as the game went on he made some plays to get other guys involved, too. Having that additional play-maker really helps," Carlisle said.
Battling through an early case of the turnover bug, the Mavericks capitalized off of hot shooting in the early minutes of the second quarter. Meanwhile Dallas' defensive intensity picked up, turning defensive stops into seamless transition offense.
"Teams that play defense, if you look in the past, they all won championships," point guard Jason Kidd said. "That's what we're trying to achieve...If we were going to have any chance to win tonight, we had to play defense and we did that."
With Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki resting on the sidelines, Jason Terry and the Mavs' second unit used fast-breaking offense to sprint out to a 13-0 run and a 42-31 lead at the 6:08-mark of the period. But after Kidd and Nowitzki returned and the Dallas lead grew to as much as 13, rookie sensation Tyreke Evans led the Kings to seven unanswered points. Evans' scoring and play-making cut into the Mavs' advantage, but Nowitzki lived at the foul line in the final minutes of the half to lift Dallas to a 55-48 lead at the intermission.
Dallas outscored Sacramento 30-21 in the second quarter, with the final eight Maverick points coming from Nowitzki.
Led by Barea's 13 first half points, the Mavericks used 57 percent shooting to overcome 10 turnovers in the first 24 minutes of play. At the other end of the court, Dallas forced the Kings into 13 giveaways while holding Sacramento to 45 percent shooting.
Early in the third period the Mavericks picked up where they left off at the end of the first half, calling Nowitzki's number relentlessly as Dallas built a 13-point lead. But after the Mavs' attack slowed, timely scoring from Kidd and big man Drew Gooden continued to keep Evans and the Kings at bay as Dallas took a 77-67 advantage into the fourth.
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
An aggressive Josh Howard got the Mavericks started in the fourth quarter by attacking the rim. Dallas' lead began to balloon when Terry's layup put the Mavs up 87-73 with 5:37 remaining in the game. Nowitzki then began to assert himself, putting the Mavericks up 93-76 with a jumper before heading to the bench to rest the final three minutes of game time in preparation for the second night of the back-to-back.
With the Kings continuing to battle in the final minutes, using an 11-0 run to cut the Dallas lead to 93-87, Carlisle called a timeout with 30.1 ticks remaining to defuse Sacramento's momentum. Forced to put Nowitzki back in the game to preserve the win, Carlisle took a big sigh of relief when Howard nailed a pair of free throws with 28.9 seconds remaining and Dallas up eight. The Kings drew to within six on a jumper from Sergio Rodriguez, before the Mavericks continued to keep Sacramento's hopes alive when Howard's lob pass intended for Gooden sailed out of bounds with 8.7 seconds left. After forcing a turnover at the other end, Nowitzki calmly finished of the game at the charity stripe to lift Dallas to their 12th road win of the season.
"We knew they were going to play hard. They give themselves a chance to win every night, and we got a good win," Marion said.
Nowitzki finished with a game-high 25 points, while grabbing seven rebounds. Barea (17), Howard (16), Kidd (14) and Terry (11) all scored in double figures, as Gooden finished just short of a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Omri Casspi led the Kings with 22 points. After he scored 29 points and dished out 10 assists in the November meeting between the two squads, the Mavericks held Evans to 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting as the rookie returned after missing a game with a right ankle injury.
"It's just going to be a matter of time, if (Evans) can get some minutes under his belt, until he's an elite player in this league," Kidd said of the first-year lead guard.
Out-shooting the Kings 49 percent to 40 percent, the Mavericks dictated the pace of the game with a 24-9 edge in fast break points. The faster tempo allowed the Mavericks to capture the win despite committing 17 turnovers and losing the battle on the boards, as the Kings won the rebounding edge 42-36. Sacramento also outscored Dallas 44-38 in the paint.
"I thought we were really aggressive defensively and smart," Carlisle said. "You hold these guys to 40 percent, that's pretty good because they've been shooting the ball well and they average 108 points in this building. I liked our defensive effort, we rebounded it pretty well, so we're happy to get a win."
Now the Mavericks turn their focus to the Lakers, as the teams with the two best records in the Western Conference meet head-to-head for the second time this season.
"L.A.'s a great team. So, we'll turn our attention to them now," Carlisle said.
Sunday night the Mavericks head into L.A. to play the Lakers after defeating the defending champions 94-80 at the Staples Center on Oct. 30 in the only meeting between the two teams. That matchup will air on KTXA and KTXA HD at 8:30 p.m. CT. It is just another trip into an unfriendly environment for the Mavs, a setting where they've thrive at all season long.
"We've played really well on the road. It seems the more hostile the crowd is the better we play. I guess it kind of fuels us a little bit," Marion said.
Dallas returns to the American Airlines Center on Jan. 5 to host the Detroit Pistons. That game will air locally 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.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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