Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Indiana Pacers 82 at Dallas Mavericks 91
It's been over two months since the Dallas Mavericks put together a four-game winning streak. That all changed Monday night with the Mavericks' 91-82 home win over the Indiana Pacers.
But the Dallas squad has mixed emotions after the victory.
Matching up against a Pacers team playing without leading scorer Danny Granger (personal reasons), the Mavericks tried to keep their focus on the Central Division's last place team. But with Wednesday's matchup against the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on the horizon, the Mavs didn't play their best 48 minutes. Though the Mavericks secured another notch in the win column, in wire-to-wire fashion, an unsatisfying taste still lingers in their mouths.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
"I didn't like the way we played," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said while critiquing his team. "I don't think our players would disagree with that. We played a sloppy game....Obviously, we have to play better Wednesday. You like getting a win. I just didn't like the way we played overall. It wasn't the same kind of basketball we played over the last three games."
"That one wasn't pretty," forward Dirk Nowitzki said of the win. "We didn't play well tonight. Obviously, we'll take the four-game win streak...We don't want to overrate a win over Indiana, without Granger. He's their go-to guy, and we definitely got lucky he wasn't here."
From the opening tip, the Mavericks were ahead on the scoreboard. After Nowitzki began the night scoring the first five points of the game, the Mavericks were off and running. With Brendan Haywood grabbing virtually every ball that came off the glass in the opening quarter, while Nowitzki and Caron Butler handled the scoring responsibilities, the Mavericks quickly jumped out to a double digit advantage. The first quarter was full of highlight reel plays for the Mavericks, including Eduardo Najera's circus left-handed tip to beat the shot clock. By quarter's end, the Mavericks owned a 29-20 advantage, despite 9-for-24 shooting. The reason for the early edge was the Dallas defense, holding the Pacers to just 6-of-23 at the other end.
The Pacers crept back into the game early in the second quarter against the Mavs' second-stringers.
"We didn't make any shots," Carlisle said about the play early on. "If you don't make shots, they'll get out on the break...We didn't make shots, it was the bottom line."
After Indiana cut the Dallas lead to as little as three, Carlisle quickly went back to a mixture of the starters and role players. The move was a wise one, as newcomer DeShawn Stevenson heated up while playing next to the first unit. A late charge lifted the Mavs to a 49-41 halftime lead.
"Our ball movement wasn't crisp, we settled for shots that weren't the best shots. Defensively, we had too many breakdowns," the coach added.
Both squads continued their poor shooting through the end of the first half, as Dallas' 40 percent just bettered Indiana's 36 percent. The Mavericks' low shooting percent and nine first half turnovers allowed the Pacers to hang around. But Indiana's 2-for-13 shooting from behind the 3-point line worked right into the Mavericks' hands through the first 24 minutes of play.
Off the bench, Pacers guard T.J. Ford led all scorers with 10 first half points. Meanwhile, Butler's eight points and Haywood's 7-point, 11-rebound half powered the Mavericks.
"(Haywood) had a lot of rebounds. He gave us a strong presence on the inside. He fits well with our team. He fits well with our personnel. He was a major factor in the game. We're going to need him to keep playing like this," Carlisle said.
Jason Kidd's fadeaway, shot clock-beating jumper early in the third quarter rejuvenated the stagnant Maverick squad in the second half. An 11-3 Dallas run pushed the Mavericks' lead back to double figures midway through the quarter. With the offense going through Nowitzki and sixth man Jason Terry, the Mavericks' advantage went to as much as 16 in the period. But Dallas' sloppy play and inefficiency on the offensive end allowed the Pacers to cut their deficit to 72-61 heading into the fourth.
With Kidd getting some much-needed rest, rookie Rodrigue Beaubois' play-making gave the Mavs a spark early in the fourth quarter.
"It helps tremendously (for Kidd to be able to rest)," Carlisle said. "Jason has really been willing our team to some of these victories. He has driven himself hard. He's driving our team hard. And every minute he plays is at a higher octane than most guys. It's great that he could sit the fourth quarter. It starts to get him recharged for Wednesday.
"I thought (Beaubois) was good...His energy was there. His length and athleticism played a factor. He made things happen when he got (in the game) in the fourth. I like what he did."
While Beaubois dished it off, Nowitzki found a way to put the ball in the net. Nowitzki continued his scoring assault, as the Dallas defense forced the Pacers into seven straight misses. The result was a 15-4 run for the Mavericks. The scoreboard then began to reflect the energy that the Dallas squad was exerting, as the Mavericks ran out to a lead as large as 22. With Haywood protecting the paint on a career rebounding night, the Mavs finished the game off with a stifling defense. Both teams emptied their benches in the final two minutes, as the Pacer reserves made the final score more respectable.
"You don't want to look too closely at a win, but still we've got to play better. We know that," Nowitzki summed up the night.
Despite the rough shooting night and the Pacers' 40-28 edge in points in the paint, the Mavericks still utilized transition offense to hold a 24-13 advantage in fast break points. The Mavericks finished the night out-shooting the Pacers 39 percent to 37 percent. Both teams struggled from the outside, though the Mavericks' 4-for-14 from behind the arch was still better in comparison to Indy's 3-for-23.
With so many misguided shots, there was an abundance of rebounds to go around. Though most found their way into Haywood's paws.In addition to his 13 points, the 7-footer finished with a career-high tying 20 rebounds, helping Dallas claim a 53-46 edge on the boards. It is Haywood's second consecutive double-double.
"Both teams didn't shoot very well, so I had a great opportunity to get a lot of rebounds," Haywood reflected. "At the end of the day, it was just attacking the boards, being aggressive and it worked out well for me tonight."
Nowitzki led the way with 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Terry (14), Haywood and Kidd (10) all scored in double figures.
Off the bench, Ford led the Pacers with 14 points on 3-of-11 from the field.
After the game, the Maverick players could not wait to put the lackluster showing out of their minds so they could focus on the upcoming bout with the Lakers.
"All I know is, going forward, we're focusing in on these Lakers," Terry said. "It's just going to be a great test."
But before facing the defending champs, the new-look Mavericks look forward to Tuesday and going through their first practice as a complete team. The squad hasn't practiced since the All-Star Saturday trade that landed Butler, Haywood and Stevenson in Dallas. With no practice time, the team has played five games, going 4-1.
"We've got to practice," Butler said. "We've got to get a good, hard practice in, develop some rhythm and obviously just continue to ride this momentum."
Dallas then plays host to the defending champion Lakers on Wednesday night. The Lakers lead the season series 2-1, including a 100-95 win on the American Airlines Center floor on Jan. 13. The Mavericks and Lakers will close their regular season series, with the game airing nationally on ESPN and locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
"It's definitely a measuring stick. You want to see where you're at. Hopefully we'll be able to go out there and play consistent and get a win. If not, you see what you need to work on to get to that point, because there's still a lot of season left," Butler said.
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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