Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 94 at Washington Wizards 93
The Dallas Mavericks have been preaching a defense-first philosophy since Training Camp. Thanks to perhaps the best individual defensive play by a Maverick player this season, Dallas snuck away from the Verizon Center with a 94-93 win over the Washington Wizards.
With the game in the balance, Mavs forward Shawn Marion matched up mano-a-mano with Caron Butler. The player appropriately nicknamed "The Matrix" won the battle, ending a hard fought contest with a clinching block.
"It came down to our best defender against their best offensive player," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "At the end, Marion made a great individual defensive play. What he did was like hitting the game-winning shot. It's a great win against a great team. Our guys knew that this was going to be a tough game, and it was."
Looking to ride the momentum of a 99-90 road win over the Boston Celtics, Dallas entered the nation's capital with hopes of winning the middle matchup of a five-game road trip. The Mavericks were also looking to prove that they are a much better team than the one that dropped a 102-91 home loss on Opening Night to the Wizards. But just like the season opening loss, Dallas would once again be forced to match up with the Wizards without swingman Josh Howard, as the former All-Star was sidelined with a stomach virus. Even without Howard, the Mavericks moved to 2-1 on their current expedition away from the Lone Star State, due in large part to the Dallas defense.
"Winning on a defensive possession –- you wouldn't say that in the past about the Mavericks," point guard Jason Kidd said. "It would be us trying to get a basket on the other end. This year we've focused on playing defense. That's what we're focused on right now and Shawn made a great play on Caron at the end.
"Washington is playing extremely well and this was a big win –- bigger than the one in Boston because we backed it up and validated it. Any time you win on the road in the NBA you're doing something right."
(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
With the Wizards continuing to play without the indefinitely suspended Gilbert Arenas (allegedly brought guns to the arena), the Mavericks entered the game with the best road record in the Western Conference. With the void in the Dallas starting lineup, Carlisle inserted sixth man Jason Terry into the first unit. Terry, getting his second start of the season, energized the Dallas squad in the opening quarter with his unique ability to score from the outside and at the bucket in transition. Meanwhile, the Dallas defense was stifling at the rim in the first quarter, collecting three blocked shots in the period. But after leading by as much as 12, a 7-0 Wizards' run shrunk the Mavericks' lead to 25-20 at the end of one. Terry and forward Dirk Nowitzki combined to score 18 of Dallas' 25 points in the quarter.
Led by big men Drew Gooden and James Singleton, the Dallas reserves did their job to begin the second quarter. Before the starters had a chance to return to the court, the Mavericks' bench increased the margin to a 14-point advantage in Dallas' favor. For Washington, Randy Foye continued to provide hope with his ability to score and play-make for others. Getting help from Butler, Foye and the Wizards cut the deficit to just 50-47 headed into the halftime break.
"A lot of times they will run something, it's just an action to get (Foye, Butler or Antawn Jamison) open and you're not sure. Those plays are really tough to guard," Carlisle said of trying to slow down the Wizards' offensive attack.
Nowitzki led all scorers at the half with his 18 points, while Foye kept the Wizards close with 16. While the offensive efficiency slipped in the second quarter, the Dallas defense held strong the entire first half, forcing nine Wizards' giveaways and sending back six shots via blocks in the first 24 minutes of play.
The Mavericks were forced to turn to their bench early in the second half, as center Erick Dampier picked up his fourth foul at the 10:46-mark of the third quarter bringing Gooden back onto the court. And just like he had in the first half, Gooden stepped up to the challenge, establishing a go-to scorer in the low post. With Kidd finding Gooden and Marion for easy buckets near the basket, the Dallas offense got back on track. But at the other end the Dallas defense couldn't contain the Wizards' offense, as Washington closed to within three, 70-67, heading into the final period.
"(The Wizards) have a good complement of guys and you can tell that they like playing together by watching the games," the coach said. "I personally think that they are going to hang around in the playoff race."
(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
It didn't take long for the Wizards to surge in front in the fourth, using a 6-0 run to take a 75-74 lead with 9:11 remaining. It was Washington's first lead since the game's initial basket. But the Mavericks countered with a healthy dose of Nowitzki and Terry, off of Kidd's uptempo play. Back-to-back scores from the two veteran sharpshooters gave Dallas an 84-80 edge with 5:13 left. The Mavericks then sent a resonating message with an alley-oop lob pass from Kidd to Dampier for a one-handed finish. Kidd and the Mavs appeared to make all the right plays down the stretch, as the pass-first lead guard found a cutting Terry for a layup to put Dallas up 92-87 with 1:59 on the game clock.
But the Wizards stayed alive from behind the 3-point arch, cutting the Dallas lead to just 94-93 with back-to-back threes from Foye and Mike Miller with just 27.1 ticks remaining.
"I was really disappointed with the two threes that we gave up. It came down to us executing and getting a good shot. We also had to get a stop," Carlisle said of the final minute.
The Wizards' heartbeat continued to tick after Nowitzki committed an offensive foul on a drive with 6.7 seconds left. After a Washington timeout, the game came down to the one-on-one matchup between Butler and Marion, and the Mavericks' best defender did not shy away from the challenge.
(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
As Butler pulled up for the shot, Marion met the star in the air, blocking the shot and sending away the Wizards' hopes of a victory. The ball found its way to Kidd as time expired, with Dallas claiming the one-point win. It is the Mavericks' ninth straight win in games decided by one point.
"I knew (Butler) was going to get it so I just wanted to play good defense," Marion said. "I don't think he really had a path to take it to the basket. I was just in a great position to guard whatever he did. All you have to do sometimes is get a good contest and I was able to block the shot. We knew it was going to be Butler.
"It fires you up when a game is competitive. You go out there and take what's given to you and you take advantage of the situation. I got a beat on it and was able to get a good defensive stop."
The game-winning block was one of nine Mavericks' rejections on the night, though none were as big as Marion's in the final seconds.
"Shawn has been our best defender all season long. He's a smart defender, he's long, he's athletic, and he can still move his feet and challenge shots and stay in front of guys," Nowitzki said of his teammate. "He made a great defensive play, sliding his feet, and still was able to contest and get a hand on the ball. It really saved us because I got the charge. It was a big win for us."
The Dallas defense also collected nine steals and forced 16 turnovers.
Off of Kidd's game-high 15 assists, the Mavericks dished out 27 dimes helping four Mavericks score in double figures. Nowitzki's game-high 28 points led the way, while Terry (21), Gooden (14) and Marion (12) all reached double digits in scoring.
"(Kidd) is leading the team as well as he ever has," Carlisle said. "He's got a real pulse on the team and a good hand on the controls. It's really key. He's done a lot of directing of things defensively too, and he gives the rest of the guys a lot of confidence. So, we need him to continue to do what he's doing, obviously."
Foye led the Wizards with 26 points, getting help from Butler's 20 points (on 7-of-20 shooting).
Despite connecting on just 4-for-20 from 3-point range, the Mavericks still out-shot the Wizards from the field, 46 percent to 44 percent. The two teams played to a 41-all stalemate in the rebounding battle.
Next up, Dallas travels to Philadelphia to tangle with the 76ers in the fourth game of a five-matchup road trip. The Mavericks-76ers game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 6 p.m. CT. Dallas escaped with a 104-102 home win on Nov. 30 in the first game between the two squads this season.
The Mavericks return home to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 26. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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