Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks (43-21) at Minnesota Timberwolves (14-49)
The state of Minnesota has been like a second home to the Dallas Mavericks. They've been able to kick their feet up in "The North Star State," claiming seven straight wins over the hometown Timberwolves on their home floor.
Monday night's road matchup with the Wolves could be just what the doctor ordered for the banged up, yet streaking Mavs. The Mavericks have won 11 consecutive games, including last Wednesday's 112-109 home win over Minnesota, making them the hottest team in the NBA. Recently the Mavericks have had to play through injuries that are seemingly piling up, losing center Erick Dampier (dislocated right middle finger), sixth man Jason Terry (facial surgery) and big man Brendan Haywood (lower back) over the course of the 12 games the team has played since the All-Star break. Still, the missing three didn't keep the Mavericks from leaving Chicago with a 122-116 victory on Saturday night, despite only having nine players in uniform.
"We're not really worried about other teams right now," point guard Jason Kidd said after the team's latest win. "We're just trying to focus on us getting better. The biggest they is for us to get healthy. We won short-handed (Saturday night), but that just shows how deep we are. Everybody is focused on one thing, that's winning."
And winning is what the Mavericks continue to do. While the Wolves have been slumping, dropping five straight games, the Mavericks haven't used anything as an excuse to keep from moving in an upward direction. Things will be interesting when the Southwest Division leaders meet the Western Conference's worst team.
(Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Riding the league's longest active winning streak, the Mavericks are hoping that faces return to the lineup over time. Haywood is expected to be a game-time decision, after missing the last 1 1/2 games with tightness in his lower back. The Mavs could also have Terry and Dampier back in the next two weeks. Until then, players like rookie Rodrigue Beaubois and forward Eduardo Najera will have to continue to step up.
Beaubois has matched or set new career marks for scoring in the last three games. The Guadeloupe native is coming off of a career-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the win over Chicago. Beaubois went for 18 of his 24 in the third quarter of the victory.
"Jason Kidd pushed me saying, 'Just play, just play.' It was going in, so I kept pushing and it was good," Beaubois said of after the best performance of his young career.
"(Beaubois) is a talent," Kidd added. "He's going to be a special player in this league. He's a great student. He has all the tools to be successful. He's working extremely hard...He's a guy that people really don't know, but he can shoot, he has long arms to defend and you can't teach speed."
While Beaubois has filled Terry's void on the perimeter, Najera has helped the Mavericks both inside and out. Though he has been undersized compared to the bigs he's faced inside, Najera's tenacious defense in the interior has made up for the absence of two 7-footers. Offensively, the former Oklahoma standout is coming off of an 11-point night off the bench, with 3-of-6 shooting from behind the 3-point arch.
"I thought our guys off the bench played extremely important roles. Najera came in and hit some threes and was solid defensively," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
Najera will be counted upon again with Minnesota's Al Jefferson returning from a team suspension.
But now with Terry sidelined, ironically suffering facial injuries after an elbow from Wolves swingman Corey Brewer on Wednesday, the offense will flow through Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and newcomer Caron Butler when the game is on the line.
Kidd just tallied his 22nd double-double of the season, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists. He's the only player in the league to post 10-plus rebounds and double digit assists in a game this season. He's done it four times in 2009-10."I didn't have to score. My guys were knocking down shots," Kidd said.
Kidd's teammates were knocking down shots, indeed. Nowitzki racked up 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting. Butler's 24-point effort was his best scoring night since joining the Mavericks.
"Everything starts on this team with Kidd and Nowitzki," the coach explained. "It's going to go through Nowitzki, Butler and Kidd."
Now, leading the season series 2-1 over the Wolves, the Mavericks try to extend their win streak to a dozen. The Mavs and Wolves will meet for the fourth and final time, with the game airing locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7 p.m. CT.
The team then returns to Dallas for the start of a four-game home stand, hosting the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. The home stretch continues with games against New York, Chicago and Boston. Tickets for all four games 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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