Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Golden State Warriors 101 at Dallas Mavericks 110
A dose of winning basketball was just what the doctor ordered for the Dallas Mavericks.
For the first time all season, the Mavericks entered a game losers of three straight. Hoping to put an end to their recent skid, the Mavericks welcomed the Golden State Warriors to the American Airlines Center for a second time. The Warriors came into the game with the second-worst record in the Western Conference, but they did own a 111-103 road win over the Mavericks on Nov. 24. It was a loss the Mavericks hadn't forgotten, after just six players saw action that November night for the short-handed Warriors squad.
Shooting 54 percent while five players scored in double figures, the Mavericks got their revenge. Despite a career-high 46 points coming from Monta Ellis, the Mavericks got even with a 110-101 win. Though the Mavs watched an 18-point advantage evaporate over the course of the night, at the end of the day a win is a win, leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki said.
"It's a win. Especially after you lose three in a row, it doesn't matter how you stop the bleeding," Nowitzki said. "You've got to stop it somehow, so at least we got the win. And early in the season, we lost to them with six players. So, you can never take this team lightly.
"Monta Ellis seems to always get hot here. He loves this building and loves to see us. And he had another night going. So, at least we found a way to grind it out and get a win, so that was good."
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Dallas was playing without starting center Erick Dampier, as the 7-footer continued to battle a left knee effusion. In Dampier's place, Eduardo Najera got his first start for the Mavericks since returning for a second stint with the franchise after a Jan. 11 trade. The veteran big man's last start for the Mavericks was March 22, 2004 at Philadelphia. But after Najera found himself in foul trouble early in the first quarter, the Mavs were forced to bring Drew Gooden into the game sooner than expected. Gooden provided an offensive boost inside immediately, as he, Josh Howard and forward Shawn Marion lifted the Mavs to a 32-21 advantage after one.
"This was an opportunity, with a different opponent, to get him (Najera) some early minutes," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle explained the lineup decision. "It allowed us to match Drew up with their bench people, who are high-energy people. I thought Drew did a terrific job off the bench. He played extremely well in the first half and he was solid in the second. It worked out, particularly with Damp being unavailable. I felt that getting Eddie out there in the first group was a good opportunity to see what he could get us, so it was a short-minute situation."
The Mavs connected on 12-of-23 shots from the field in the opening period, stifling the Warriors to 7-of-20 shooting. The trio of Gooden, Marion and Howard combined to score 23 of Dallas' 32 in the quarter.
"We started off really well, I thought, in the first quarter," Nowitzki said. "But sometimes, I don't know if we relax, but we seem to not just get a blowout out of it. We seem to gradually get worse, and let the team get some confidence. Next thing you know, you have a ball game on your hands."
Methodically, the Dallas reserves increased the Mavericks' advantage to as much as 18 early in the second quarter. With Howard and Marion continuing to attack the basket, off the play-making of point guard Jason Kidd, the Mavericks took a 62-48 lead into the halftime break.
"Jason Kidd does such a great job of just getting everybody involved that you can just put the ball in his hands...Tonight, Jason was key because he got Josh into the game, when Josh came in, and he was serving up assists to Shawn and putting him in a good position to score, too."
Thanks to Kidd's 11 first half assists, the Mavericks shot a staggering 60 percent after 24 minutes of play. Meanwhile, the Dallas defense held the upstart Warriors to just 42 percent shooting at the other end. The Mavs held the double digit edge despite Ellis' 20 points, on 7-of-10 shooting, in the half.
The third quarter began with an aggressive Jason Terry looking to put his stamp on the game. While Terry took charge offensively for the Mavs, Ellis continued to terrorize the Dallas defense and keep his team hanging around. But the Mavericks' defense stepped up to the challenge early in the quarter, led by Najera, who took two offensive fouls square in his chest. The play picked up and so too did the physicality, as forward Dirk Nowitzki exited the game at the 2:53-mark with an apparent thumb injury. Meanwhile, Ellis and the Warriors sliced into the Mavericks' lead, cutting their deficit to just 81-75 heading into the fourth. Golden State outscored the Dallas squad 27-19 in the third period.
"If you let a team get hot, and let them get their confidence up, then you're in trouble for the rest of the night. It started there with a lack of defense in the third quarter. It got them back in the ball game," Nowitzki said.
After the Warriors cut the Dallas edge to as little as four early in the final period, the Mavericks' defense stepped up its intensity. Offensively, the Mavs got a spark from their lightening-quick rookie, Rodrigue Beaubois. Once Nowitzki returned, with his right thumb bandaged, the superstar put some distance between his team and the Warriors by getting to the free throw line.
"(The thumb) was a little sore, but it's going to stay sore for awhile. But I was able to tape it and play through it," Nowitzki said of the injury.
Defensively, the Mavericks began to throw multiple defenders Ellis' way, forcing the ball out of the sharpshooter's hands down the stretch.
"With a player like that, you try to get the ball out of his hands and make everybody else beat you," Terry said of the defensive strategy late.
While the defense attempted to quiet Ellis, Nowitzki came to life in the fourth. No. 41's back-to-back jumpers put the Mavericks ahead 101-92 with 3:18 remaining. But Ellis refused to go quietly, responding with a personal 5-0 run. As the Warriors clung to life, Kidd delivered a knock out punch with a 3-pointer to put his team up 106-97 with 1:25 remaining on the game clock. With clamping defense and clutch free throws, the Mavericks protected the lead the remainder of the way en route to claiming their 31st win of the season.
"We had some tough stretches, but down the stretch we were able to get a couple of big stops from rebounds and finish the game off. We needed to get a win so it was good," Carlisle said.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
While two other Warriors (Corey Maggette and C.J. Watson) scored in double figures, the focual point of Golden State's offense was clearly Ellis. In scoring his career-best output, Ellis finished the night hitting on 17-of-23 shots from the field. The scoring assassin also connected on 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point arch.
"He does it to everybody. That's why I'm not that discouraged. He lines you up one-on-one, jumps over you and shoots bombs. That happens, we adjusted, we went and trapped him. We switched defenders on him and trapped pick-and-rolls. He's just turned into a great offensive player. That's what you have to say and fortunately we survived it," the coach added.
The Mavericks' defensive traps did force Ellis into seven turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks had a much more balanced scoring attack, led by Terry's team-high 21 points and Nowitzki's 20-point night. Howard (19), Marion (18) and Gooden (16) made it five Mavericks in double figures. Everyone seemingly benefited from Kidd's 16 assists.
"With 16 assists, you can't argue the importance of him and what he brings to the team," Carlisle said of his floor general.
The future Hall-of-Famer, Kidd, also did the job defensively, collecting a season-high tying six steals.
Despite out-shooting Golden State, 54 percent to 49 percent, the Mavericks had to overcome much more than Ellis' big night. The Warriors out-rebounded the Mavericks, 40-31, and Golden State won the battle of second chance points (17-10).
The Dallas defense did force 21 turnovers, but uncharacteristically, the Mavericks committed 17 turnovers of their own. The Warriors capitalized at the other end.
"We ended up with a lot of turnovers," Carlisle said. "We gave up 20 points off 17 turnovers, which is very high for us. I thought that was an issue...You've got to take care of the ball against these guys. They are No. 1 in steals and forced turnovers. They are probably as fast as anybody in converting them into points."
Now the Mavericks look to prepare for the Western Conference's worst team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, before their Friday night matchup in Dallas. The Mavericks then head to Oakland on Monday night to once again contend with Ellis and this very same Warriors squad.
"The funny thing about it is we have to play them again on Monday," Terry added. "We'll try to come up with some kind of game plan. Hopefully (Ellis) will miss a couple of those that he made tonight.
"We got this game. We just needed a win and we got one, so on to the next one. Minnesota on Friday -- a tough, young team that plays hard. I don't expect anything different. We're just going to have to come out again and try to put together a good performance."
The Mavericks return to the court to host the Timberwolves on Friday, 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.
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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