Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Detroit Pistons 93 at Dallas Mavericks 98
There is no better refuge for an NBA team than the basketball court after a disappointing loss.
Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks returned to their haven to match up with the Detroit Pistons just two days after a 35-point defeat suffered at the hands of the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks faced a Pistons squad that was reeling on a nine-game losing streak, as Dallas tried to win the season series after snatching a 95-90 win in Detroit on Nov. 15. Though the first half wasn't pretty, behind sixth man Jason Terry and a strong second half effort, the Mavericks got back on track with a 98-93 win on the American Airlines Center floor.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
"We definitely didn't get off to a good start but at home, here in the new year, we wanted to make sure we got the win," Terry said. "Whatever it takes to get it done, that is what we did tonight. In the second half we stepped up and played great Maverick basketball."
The Mavericks outscored the Pistons 62-49 in the second half to move to 12-5 at home this season.
"Twenty-four good minutes and 24 lousy minutes," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said when breaking down the win. "Maybe 15, I don't know. We played some good stretches in the first half. But you've got to put two halves together to get where we want to be, to get where we want to go. That's the priority right now."
With the game against Detroit sandwiched in between the lost to L.A. and Friday's game against the division rival San Antonio Spurs, the Southwest Division-leading Mavericks know that though Tuesday was a win, they will have to play a full 48 minutes in their tests ahead.
"Frankly, we haven't played at the level we need to play at in terms of energy, disposition, all those things," Carlisle said. "We've got a couple days to try to get it resolved. We have a tough game at San Antonio. That's kind of where we are.
"If we play that way in the second half, we can probably play that way in the first half, too. I thought the second half was great."
For the second straight game the Mavericks were without their big man in the middle of the lineup, as center Erick Dampier sat once again with a left knee effusion. Stepping in to provide the rebounding and gritty play in the paint would be Drew Gooden.
"We've got a group of good players. It shouldn't matter who starts. We should have enough to win our share of games. Who starts isn't the biggest issue for us. The biggest issue is consistent, hard play. That's where we have to pick it up," the coach said.
The Pistons where playing without combo guard Will Bynum (ankle), who scored 27 points in the November meeting between the two teams. Without a key contributor on the floor for both teams, the play in the opening quarter was sporadic to say the least. With the Mavericks missing on a stretch of seven straight field goal attempts, while Pistons forward Chris Wilcox finished above the rim early and often, the Mavericks found themselves trailing by as much as nine before ending the period down 22-14. Both teams struggled with their shooting in the first, as Detroit's 8-for-21 from the field was just better than Dallas' 6-of-21.
"Early on we were missing bunnies at the basket...What can you do about that but continue to play hard and continue to get stops," Terry said.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
With Charlie Villanueva catching fire from deep early in the second quarter, the Pistons' lead grew to double digits. Meanwhile, Terry did his best to keep the Mavs close. Despite his best efforts, Terry and the Mavs entered the halftime break down 44-36.
"JET (Terry) really carried us offensively all night long," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "He came in with the energy off the bench. He kept making shots and kept making big plays for us. That was great."
With Villanueva and Tayshuan Prince each scoring 12 first half points, the Pistons connected on 42 percent of their shots and 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point arch. Terry's 11 points helped the Mavericks stay within arm's reach, though Dallas shot just 35 percent in the half.
"We can't expect our fans to get into the game just because they are here," Carlisle said of the play early in front of the home crowd. "We've got to make things happen. Our energy wasn't where it needed to be in the first half. Second half, it was a lot better."
Looking for quick scoring and a boost of energy in the second half, Carlisle inserted Terry into the lineup in J.J. Barea's place to start the third quarter.
"JET (Terry) had it going good in the first half and was really getting into the game, so we decided to start him (in the second half)," Carlisle said.
The combo guard was the spark plug for a Mavericks' comeback attempt, but Terry's fiery play earned him a technical foul for arguing a missed call at the 9:23-mark of the third. With Terry joining Jason Kidd to quicken the tempo, Nowitzki and Shawn Marion took over the scoring duties as Dallas surged ahead briefly before entering the fourth knotted at 68-all. Nowitzki, Marion and Terry combined to score 30 points as the Mavericks outscored the Pistons 32-24 in the third.
"The third quarter came and we pushed the tempo and that is the way we like to play," Terry said. "We like to free will and not so much set it up in the half court, we like to get out and run."
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Terry's assault on Detroit continued at the onset of the fourth, but the Pistons countered with an attacking Rodney Stuckey. That's when Kidd began to put his stamp on the game with his timely play-making, including his no-look bounce pass to Gooden to put Dallas up 85-78 with 5:30 remaining. The veteran lead guard then got Josh Howard into the act, as No. 5's 3-pointer put the Mavericks in charge with a 90-82 advantage with 3:43 showing on the game clock. But after Stuckey and Ben Gordon brought Detroit back to within one in the final minute with a 7-0 run, the Mavs turned to Nowitzki, and the team's leading-scorer kept the Pistons at bay with a pair of free throws with just 10.4 ticks left.
The Mavs then got a bit of luck, as a scrambling defense left Stuckey open for a game-tying 3-point attempt, which the guard missed.
"We got very lucky...Miscommunication and a guy gets a wide-open shot to tie the game," Carlisle said of the play. "That was dodging a bullet. I'm not exactly sure what happened...but sometimes you have to be lucky to win.
"The second half, we played hard enough to where the basketball Gods might give us that kind of a break, but it doesn't happen very often."
Marion grabbed the defensive rebound and, after a subsequent foul, calmly nailed a pair at the charity stripe with 6.5 seconds remaining. Stuckey's second long range miss in the final seconds found its way into Nowitzki's hands and the star dribbled the clock out.
Led by Terry's game-high 26 points and Nowitzki's 22-point, 12-rebound night, the Mavericks captured their 24th win of the season. Marion pitched in 18 points, while Howard added 12 points.
But it was Gooden that had his teammates and coaching staff raving, battling through a 4-for-16 shooting night in Dampier's stead to record 10 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. Though many of which came off of his own misses, the former Kansas standout grabbed a career-best nine offensive rebounds in the win.
"It is amazing what Drew Gooden can do for us and he is a valuable asset," Terry said of his teammate. Especially, without Erick Dampier out there, he is our only big man on the roster, so he has a tough task."
Richard Hamilton led five Pistons in double figures with 20 points, as Detroit finished the night shooting just under 48 percent. Dallas' 47-41 rebounding edge and 19-11 advantage in fast break points helped the Mavericks mask a 44 percent shooting night.
Now the Mavericks prepare to head to face the Spurs in San Antonio in the third of four meetings. The season series is tied 1-1, with each team winning on their home floor, including Dallas' 99-94 win on Nov. 18. The Mavericks-Spurs matchup will air locally on KTXA and KTXA HD on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Dallas returns to the American Airlines Center on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday, hosting the Utah Jazz, with the game airing 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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