Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Los Angeles 96 at Dallas Mavericks 101
Wednesday night's machup with the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers was built as the Dallas Mavericks' most important game of the season. It didn't disappoint.
After making a seven-player trade with the Washington Wizards on Feb. 13, the Mavericks had the fourth and final regular season game with the Lakers circled on their calender. But after bringing in Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson for the purpose of contending with L.A., the Mavs were unable to unveil their new-look squad in front of a national audience. That's because the Dallas squad was without Butler.
The two-time All-Star was out of the lineup after a bad reaction from medication. Sill, the Mavericks didn't use Butler's absence as an excuse to take the night off. Instead, the squad played inspired basketball, capping the night off with a 101-96 win on the American Airlines Center floor.
"This team has never used excuses," point guard Jason Kidd said after his team performed despite Butler's absence. "We're a veteran ball club and we understand what it takes to win.
"It's a big win. We weren't looking at it as a measuring stick game. It's just we've been playing some really good basketball of late and we wanted to keep it going."
The Mavs certainly did keep the momentum going, claiming their fifth consecutive win and equalling their best streak since Dec. 16. Dallas also knotted the season series with L.A. 2-2.
"It's a great win. Too much will be made of it probably, but we just continue to build on things," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
In Butler's stead, Stevenson got the nod from Carlisle at the starting shooting guard slot. Stevenson more than held his own with the first unit, keeping Kobe Bryant quiet in the opening quarter.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
"I thought the key guy in the game was probably Stevenson, with the way he started the game for us. He gave us great defense on Bryant. Anytime he was in there, he held his position strong. He played within what we were doing," the coach added.
But the first quarter belonged to Andrew Bynum and the Lakers. Bynum's presence in the post was too much for the Mavs early on, scoring eight points and snagging seven rebounds to lift the Lakers to a 23-20 advantage after one.
The Mavericks found life in the play of sixth man Jason Terry in the second quarter. The hometown crowd also got a rise from rookie Rodrigue Beaubois' stuffing block on Jordan Farmar's driving shot attempt. Dirk Nowitzki even got into the act in the second. But after a late charge by Bryant sparked ten unanswered points by the Lakers, the Mavs used a 10-2 run to close to within 50-49 in L.A.'s favor at the end of the first half.
"When they got up nine in the second quarter, that was the danger time for us and we had used our timeouts," Carlisle said. "We had to keep playing. We went on a 10-2 run to end the half, which gave us great momentum going into halftime."
Terry's 18 points led all scores at the half.
"I wasn't necessarily in a zone, but I got into a good rhythm. Coming out and being aggressive early is the key for me," Terry said.
But the Lakers out-shot the Mavs 51 percent to 44 percent in the first 24 minutes of play. Dallas overcame 10 first half turnovers with a 26-16 rebounding edge. But the most telling stat in the half was L.A.'s 34-16 advantage in points in the paint.
The Mavericks appeared to be on their way to a big quarter at the start of the third, building up a lead as large as five. Haywood began to put the defensive clamps down on Bynum on the inside. But after beginning the game quietly, Bryant came out of the halftime break looking for his own shot. In a quarter with nine lead changes and two ties, it was Kidd's buzzer-beating three that gave the Mavs a 74-72 edge heading into the final period.
"That (shot) was huge. We were down one, it's a low-clock situation and they're a great defensive team. (Kidd) being able to find an opening, JET (Terry) being able to find him...He knocks in a 28-footer, and coming into that huddle it really helped the spirit," Carlisle said. The fourth quarter was like the 12th round of a heavyweight title fight. The Mavericks played the role of the counter puncher, answering every Laker jab with an uppercut. As usual, the fourth quarter was Nowitzki and Terry time, and No. 41 and No. 31 were ready for the primetime moment.
"You know us. In close ball games, we're going to do what he have to do and get the ball in the right people's hands," Terry said.
The nine-time All-Star, Nowitzki, gave Dallas an 87-82 lead with 5:52 remaining on a hanging jumper in the lane, plus the foul on Bryant. With Shawn Marion locking up Bryant in the fourth, the Dallas defense stiffened while Nowitzki and Terry poured in the points.
"I just made it hard for him," Marion said of his defense in the fourth on Bryant. "I just didn't want him to catch a groove...I made him take tough shots with my length."
With defensive stops translating into transition offense off of Kidd's direction, the Dallas lead reached eight. But the Bryant-led Lakers had one more run left in them. Bryant's driving score with 57.9 ticks left cut the Dallas lead to 97-94. But the reigning Finals' MVP missed on a game-tying three just 32 seconds later. After a Pau Gasol foul, Terry put a little more distance between the two teams with a pair of clutch free throws with 15.9 seconds left. But Bryant answered with a pair of his own. Nursing a three-point lead, Nowitzki iced the game with a 2-for-2 trip at the charity stripe with 1.8 seconds remaining.
The Mavs finished the night victorious despite being out-shot by the Lakers, 49 percent to 44 percent. With both squads committing 17 turnovers on the night, Dallas' 41-36 edge in rebounding and 23-15 advantage in fast break points became vital.
"We wanted to make it a higher possession game than they like," Carlisle said. "The way to do that is to get stops and get the ball in Kidd's hands and get him running. We had a significant number -- 23 fast break points is a lot against them. They do a good job of getting back. Usually they are taking good shots and getting chances to get the ball back. I thought we pushed it well."
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Led by Nowitzki's game-high 31 points and Terry's 30, the Mavericks more than made up for Butler's missing output. The last time two Mavericks scored 30-plus points in a game was March 7, 2009 against Washington, when Nowitzki went for 34 and Terry provided 33.
Meanwhile, Kidd recorded his 18th double-double of the season, posting 14 points and dishing out 13 assists. Haywood's 11 points and Marion's 10 made it five Mavs in double figures.
"We had a lot of guys contribute. Dirk and JET delivered big time with 30-point nights. And that's what you need, especially when you are down a guy like Butler," Carlisle said while praising his squad.
Off the bench Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Bryant finished with 20, hitting on just 9-of-23 from the field. After his huge first quarter, Bynum was quiet the rest of the way thanks to Haywood's defense. The Lakers' big man finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"In the second half, I was definitely more aggressive," Haywood said of his defensive energy. "My biggest thing is, I was focused on getting through the first quarter with no fouls, because I knew from that point on I had set myself up to finish the game. I think was a little too passive early on, but in the second half I definitely picked up the intensity."
Now, with a workman-like mentality, the Mavericks move on to the next game on their schedule.
"On to the next one," Haywood said.
"We can match up with pretty much anybody," Nowitzki added. "We've still got some work to do...We'll just keep on working."
The next one is a road meeting with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. The Hawks captured an 80-75 road win on the American Airlines Center floor on Dec. 5, the only meeting between the two squads thus far this season. The Mavs will be out for revenge. The game will air nationally on ESPN and locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 6 p.m. CT.
"We want to put on a good show," Terry said of the upcoming matchup.
The Mavericks return home and play host to the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night, with the game airing nationally on ESPN and locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 8:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The season series is tied 1-1.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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