Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks (42-21) at Chicago Bulls (31-30)
Seemingly everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the Dallas Mavericks, yet the team is still winning.
Friday the team learned that they would be without reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry for 10-14 days after the guard underwent surgery to repair facial injuries. In the first half of the team's 108-100 home victory over the Sacramento Kings, the team also lost center Brendan Haywood (lower back tightness), and this is after Mavs coach Rick Carlisle was ejected for the second time this season. But somehow, some way, the Mavericks collected their 10th straight win.
"We found a way to win," Carlisle said. "There was some frustration, but it was all about holding it together, keeping the composure and bringing up the level of defensive energy...When you are thin like that, you just have to collectively find a way."
Haywood's status going forward is still unclear.
"I would think (Haywood) would be day-to-day. But, he had some stiffness (Friday) morning and then he tweaked it on the jump ball, of all times," Carlisle said.
(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
Now the Mavericks try to find a way to continue the NBA's longest current win streak and the team's best stretch in two years. That starts with embarking on a two-game road trip, beginning with the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. The Mavs are well aware that the Bulls will be upset-driven.
"When you go on a streak like this,everyone is gunning for you," Carlisle added. "Everybody wants to be the team to take you down. So, you are going to get everybody's best game...The streak is alive. We just have to keep this going as long as we can."
The Mavericks are also hopeful that rookie Rodrigue Beaubois keeps his recent tare going. Beaubois followed up a 17-point outing against Minnesota with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting in the win over the Kings. The first-year pro will continue to be counted upon to fill the void left by Terry's absence.
"(Beaubois) needs to be in the rotation," forward Shawn Marion said. "The only way he's going to get better is to play. He's showing that he needs to be out on the floor. We need that extra energy he brings to the floor."
The rookie will get another chance to impress against an athletic Bulls squad, likely seeing some time against last season's Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose. Behind Rose's court leadership, the Bulls are contending for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is certainly a formidable foe, despite dropping their last three games.
"Hopefully we can go out there and get a good win. They've been struggling a little bit, they had a couple of injuries on their team. But they still play hard at home. They're a tough, young, spunky Chicago team," Marion said.
If the Mavericks are going to collect their 11th consecutive victory, then Carlisle says they must get off to a quick start.
"We've had some slow starts, but it is something we have been able to overcome many times. We are working on starting better. But hey, it is a 48-minute game for a reason," the coach said.
The Mavericks try to put together a strong 48 minutes of basketball when they head into Chicago on Saturday night. Meeting for the first time this season, the Mavs and Bulls will tip off at 7 p.m. CT. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
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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