Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com (03/31/10)
Dirk sparks epic comeback, completes decade of success
Dallas Mavericks 106 at Memphis Grizzlies 102 F/OT
The history books won't have to wait any longer to include the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA's annals for regular season success over the last decade.
The Mavericks sat just one victory shy of their 10th straight 50-win season entering Wednesday night's matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies. With a win, the squad would join the 1979-91 Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, who are currently looking for their 11th season at the 50-win plateau, as the only franchises to accomplish the feat for at least 10 straight seasons since the NBA switched to 82-game schedules in 1967.
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Fittingly, the Mavericks celebrated a decade of regular season dominance with a vintage performance by the franchise's marquee name for the past 10 seasons. After struggling for the better part of three quarters, Dirk Nowitzki ignited a Mavericks' comeback in the final five minutes of regulation, eventually leading his squad to a 106-102 overtime win in the building that has tormented the team for two years. Not a bad followup for No. 41 after recording his second career triple-double in the team's last game.
"(The decade of 50-win seasons) is a tribute to ownership -- the commitment that Mark Cuban has made to have good players, create a good environment and get a full building...It's very meaningful from that standpoint," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "You have to have guys that get it done on the floor. Not only playing, being able to finish games and deal with nights like tonight. It's easy to pack it in, down 12 in the fourth.
"Getting into overtime and being able to win, and getting your 50th (win of the season) on a night like tonight is meaningful, because 50 wins are hard to get and this has been a very hard place for us to win games."
Something had to give. The Mavericks came into the contest on a three-game losing streak in FedExForum. Still, the Mavericks were in high spirits, coming off of back-to-back wins including the squad's 109-93 home win over Denver on Monday night. The Mavs also looked to begin a back-to-back by handing the Grizzlies their third straight loss.
Fortunately for the Mavs, they had their full compliment of players available for the Southwest Division matchup. Caron Butler was in his customary starting shooting guard spot after missing the team's morning shootaround with stomach trouble. But in the early minutes of the opening quarter, the Mavericks' offense flowed through center Brendan Haywood. Despite dunk after dunk from the 7-footer in the early minutes, the Mavs found themselves in a quick hole, as Memphis big man Zach Randolph did work from inside and out. After seeing their team fall behind by double digits, a pair of 3-pointers from point guard Jason Kidd and another triple from Eduardo Najera shot the Mavericks back into the game. Then it was Butler's turn, banking in a three to beat the buzzer and cut the Mavericks' deficit to 27-22 at the end of one.
The Dallas defense stepped up at the start of the second quarter. Meanwhile, the threes kept falling. Rookie Rodrigue Beaubois gave the Mavs their first lead of the night at 29-27 with another bomb from long range, as the ball club from Big D scored the first seven points of the period. The Mavs' miscues and turnovers allowed the home team to hang around. At the same time, the Grizzlies weren't allowing Nowitzki to get into the mix, throwing multiple double teams his way. But Kidd and sixth man Jason Terry righted the ship, as the two teams headed into the break knotted at 50-all.
"It was a frustrating game for 44 minutes," Carlisle said. "We were getting a lot of good looks. We were working hard, even though we weren't playing particularly well. In the first half, our undoing was turnovers and missed shots."
Terry led the Mavs with his 15 points of the bench in the first half, but Memphis' Mike Conley's 16 lead all scorers at the midway point. In addition to Dallas' 13 turnovers in the first 24 minutes of play, Memphis also out-shot the Mavericks 53 percent to 44 percent in the half. The Mavs did connect on 7-of-14 from three-point land.
Things looked bleak for the Mavericks at the start of the third quarter, as the Grizzlies began the second half on a 17-4 run. Coming out of the locker room, the Mavs also missed nine of their first 10 shots. With Nowitzki struggling and Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo heating up, Memphis built up a 13-point advantage. But Terry continued to muster up offense for Dallas. No. 31 did the job at both ends of the court, pulling his squad to within 73-67 entering the fourth quarter. Nowitzki was 3-of-14 through three quarters.
With J.J. Barea dressed but sidelined again due to his sore left ankle, Beaubois began the fourth in the backup point role. The first-year pro's penetration and perimeter defense was much needed, but the Grizzlies continued to hold a controlling edge. Once his team went down 12, Carlisle switched to a three-guard lineup of Kidd, Beaubois and Terry playing next to Nowitzki and Haywood. The unit was able to play at a quicker speed, putting a dent in Dallas' deficit by attacking the rim and getting to the foul line. After struggling all night, Nowitzki stepped up with back-to-back threes to knot the game at 88-all, completing a stretch of 13 unanswered Dallas points."Everybody kept battling and Dirk hit those two threes to tie it up. It really energized us and made it tough on them," the coach explained.
"I am just glad that I got going," Nowitzki said. "We really had nothing going for a long time in the fourth. JET (Terry) was really the only guy that kept us in the game. Then they made a run...At that point, it is either go for it or you take the (loss). We went for it."
After Conley and Nowitzki exchanged a pair of scores, the intensity picked up. The game then laid in the balance when Darrell Arthur won a jump ball over Kidd and Memphis called a timeout with 17.5 ticks reading on the clock. But Kidd got his revenge, forcing Mayo into a shot short of the rim as time expired, sending the game into the extra period. The Mavericks finished regulation on a 15-2 run, with the last eight points coming from Nowitzki.
"Energy was great, but we needed a little spark offensively. I was able to get going, so that was great," No. 41 added.
"This team doesn't have any quit in us," Haywood said. "We aren't going to give in. As long as we have a shot, we are going to continue to fight and play hard."
Defensive stops and fast-breaking offense was the story early in the extra five minutes for the Mavericks. Nowitzki became a willing facilitator as Terry continued his assault on the Grizzlies' defense. Still, Mayo would not allow his team to go away quietly, swishing in a three to keep Dallas' edge at one point. But Nowitzki may have put the Grizzlies to bed for the night, raining in a high-arching, fadeaway jumper with 24.0 seconds remaining to put the Mavericks up 101-98. After a pair of free throws from Randolph once again cut the lead to one, Nowitzki answered with a 2-for-2 trip of his own with 11.0 seconds still on the clock.
The Mavericks then intentionally fouled Randolph, keeping Memphis from tying the game with a three but earning Haywood his sixth and final foul of the night. Once again, the first-time All-Star hit both at the charity stripe. And once again, Nowitzki extended the lead with a pair of his own. With just 8.9 seconds remaining, Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins designed a play for Mayo to tie the game after inbounding the ball. The second-year pro got a good look, but bricked it off the iron. Forward Shawn Marion grabbed the rebound and finished the game off at the line, scoring his only two points of the night.
"We hung in. I don't know if stealing it is the right term or not. It would have been easy to cave. The guys were determined," Carlisle said.
In the fourth period and overtime, Nowitzki scored 19 of his 28 points. His team outscored the Grizzlies 39-29 during that stretch. After his early deficiencies, Nowitzki finished the night shooting 9-for-23 from the field and 3-for-6 from behind the arch.
"As a shooter, all you need is to see one go through. Sometimes it might be a free throw. Sometimes it might be a layup that gets you going. I was just happy that one went through and that I stuck with it. My teammates always support me and tell me to keep shooting. Obviously, I needed to step up and be there for my teammates," Nowitzki said.
"Dirk hit a lot of big shots down the stretch. He brought us home," Haywood said.
Terry finished with a game-high 29 points off the bench, connecting on 11-of-24 shots but just 1-for-8 from deep. Kidd, meanwhile, finished just shy of his 105th career triple-double, with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Butler battled through his stomach illness to record his first double-double as a Mav, grabbing 13 rebounds to go with his 11 points. Haywood (11) and Beaubois (10) made it six Mavericks to score in double figures.
The Mavs needed everything from those six double-figure scorers, as Mayo scored 27, Conley added 25 and Randolph finished with 24.
Dallas did out-shoot Memphis 43 percent to 41 percent. The Mavs also held a 27-16 advantage in fast break points, overcoming 18 total turnovers and capitalizing off of Memphis' 17 giveaways. The Grizzlies finished with a slight edge on the glass, out-rebounding the Mavericks 49-47.
Now, on a quick turnaround, the Mavs return to Dallas to play host to the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic on Thursday night at the American Airlines Center. The Mavs escaped with a 95-85 win in Orlando on Feb. 19 in the first meeting between the teams. That game will air nationally on TNT at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
"It's a great win, but we have to get out of here quick and get ready for the next one," Carlisle concluded.
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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