West All-Stars rave about Dirk, Nowitzki happy to host

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
NBA All-Star Weekend 2010

As Dallas becomes the center of the basketball world this weekend, the NBA's best arrived to the metroplex with love and respect for their host, Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki, who is making his ninth appearance in the All-Star Game, was told Friday morning by coach George Karl that he would be in the Western Conference's starting lineup, due to the injury to Kobe Bryant (ankle).

"I think for this opportunity, the situation, the circumstances of Dallas, I think he should be on the court in the beginning of the game," Karl said.

Karl wasn't the only one with high regards for Nowitzki. So, too were his peers.

But with the load of hosting the midseason festivities, Nowitzki's fellow All-Stars are just hopeful that No. 41 still takes out the time to enjoy himself.

"It's great for him," Bryant said of Nowitzki getting the chance to play before his Dallas fans. "It's important for him to just go out there and play his game -- just do what he does for the Mavericks. It's no different. It's not a pressure siutation. He just needs to embrace it and go out there and put on a show for his hometown crowd."

Nowitzki also got word on Thursday night that his floor general, Mavs point guard Jason Kidd, would also take the court in the game. Kidd was named as a replacement for Bryant. The announcement was one that brought a smile to Nowitzki's face.

"I'm happy for him (Kidd)," Nowitzki said. "This gives him 10 now, so I'm excited for him."

NBA All-Star Weekend 2010: Friday (02/12)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
NBA All-Star Weekend 2010

Our coverage of the NBA All-Star Weekend begins with the T-Mobile Rookie/Sophomore Challenge. While their are no first-year Dallas Mavericks in the game, ties are still there. Assistant coaches and staff from the Mavericks' ranks have joined in to assist with both teams.

The rookies feature the talented Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings. But the second-year stars come in riding a seven-game winning streak in the event. Rookie James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder says that streak will not run to eight tonight.

"We just have to push the ball, go out there and have some fun," Harden said. "I think we'll actually play good defense, too.

"Push the ball and create for each other, we don't have any selfish players on this team. And just have fun out there...Compete. All of these guys are competitive."

The T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam will take place Friday night at the American Airlines Center at 8 p.m. CT, and will air nationally on TNT.

Mavericks-Nuggets Recap

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 91 at Denver Nuggets 127

It's been an up and down journey for the Dallas Mavericks in the first portion of the 2009-10 season. Heading into the All-Star break, the Mavericks hit another bump on the roller coaster that is an 82-game NBA season.

Fittingly, the Mavericks played their last game before All-Star Weekend in the same building where last season ended, traveling to the Pepsi Center to tangle with the Denver Nuggets. As they did in their Dec. 27 meeting in Denver, a 104-96 road win, the Mavs tried to send the Nuggets the message that this is a much-improved Dallas squad. Instead the Nuggets were the ones making a statement, sending the Mavs into the midseason festivities on a losing note. Denver's wire-to-wire 127-91 win handed Dallas their largest margin of defeat this season.

"Disappointing, but fortunately it only counts as one loss," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Night's like this it can feel like more."

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Mavericks tried to claim consecutive wins on their two-game road trip, after a 127-117 win against Golden State on Monday night. The Mavericks were playing without center Erick Dampier for the second straight game, due to a left knee effusion. Dallas was also without Shawn Marion, as the forward sat with lower back soreness. The Nuggets were fortunate to have the NBA's second-leading scorer Carmelo Anthony back in the lineup, after the All-Star missed eight games with an ankle injury.

"Disappointed, but it was a tough turnaround and a difficult situation," Carlisle said of the tall order of playing on consecutive nights and matching up with Denver shorthanded.

With two of his starters out, Carlisle began the game with a lineup of Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki and Eduardo Najera. But the opening period was very unkind to the Mavericks. After beginning the game missing five of their first six shots and falling behind by nine early, the Mavericks used an 8-0 run midway through the quarter to get back into the game. The Nuggets then finished the first on a 14-4 run to open up a 32-21 advantage at the end of one. Dallas shot just 6-of-18 in the first, while the Nuggets connected on 13-of-22 at the other end.

"We just looked a little flat, and things just kind of snowballed from there," Nowitzki said of the play early. "(The Nuggets) were all over the place, they had energy and they kind of got hot at the right moment -- just made shots from everywhere."

The cold-shooting night continued for the Mavericks in the second quarter. Meanwhile, J.R. Smith and Ty Lawson powered the Denver reserves and elevated the Nuggets' lead to as much as 21 in the second stanza. While Nowitzki asserted himself on the offensive end to stage a comeback attempt, Denver countered with Nenê inside. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Chauncey Billups lifted the Nuggets to a 65-39 lead at the half.

"That's what a good team does, they put you away," Terry said. "With Chauncey out there, he smelt it. You get up 14, you're either going to make it go down to five and give us some hope, or it's going to go up to 20 and kind of seal the deal. And that's what they were able to do."

Nenê led all scorers with 17 first half points, while Nowitzki led the Mavericks with his 15 points in the first 24 minutes of play. Perhaps playing with tired legs on the back end of two games in as many nights, the Mavs shot just 32 percent in the half. As poorly as the Mavericks were shooting, the Nuggets were equally as impressive while connecting on 58 percent of their shots. Clearly missing Dampier and Marion on the glass, the Mavericks were out-rebounded 27-12 in the first half.

Big man Drew Gooden began the second half on the court in place of Najera, but even Gooden had his problems with Nenê. Meanwhile, the Nuggets caught fire from 3-point range in the third quarter. With Anthony coming to life in the period, Denver took a 103-70 lead into the final quarter.

After emptying their benches late in the third quarter, both squads played their reserves for the entire fourth. The Mavericks fell behind by as much as 39 in the period before falling by 36.

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Nuggets finished the night out-shooting the Mavs 61 percent to 38 percent, due in large part to Denver's 44-16 dominance in points in the paint. The Nuggets also connected on 11-of-18 from 3-point range, compared to the Mavericks' 7-for-21 from beyond the arch. But the telling statistic was Denver's 47-28 advantage in the rebounding category.

Nenê finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Anthony added 19 points, as seven Nuggets scored in double figures.

Nowitzki finished with a team-best 17 points, but it came on 5-for-17 from the field. Terry (16), Howard (14) and James Singleton (11) all scored in double digits.

The Mavericks get their chance for retribution when the Nuggets visit Dallas on March 29. It will be the rubber match for the right to claim the season series.

When the Mavericks return from the All-Star break, the squad will begin a stretch of four games in five days. Dallas will first head to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder on Feb. 16. The Mavericks lead the season series 2-0. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7 p.m. CT.

"You recharge your battery over the break, come back and make a push," Terry said. "If you look at the Western Conference, it's the same as last year -- a lot of teams vying for a playoff position. So, every game is going to mean something."

The next night, the Mavs will host the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center. That game will air nationally on ESPN and locally on KTXA and KTXA HD at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The two teams have split the first two games of the season series.

"Hopefully, everybody can get away a little bit and get some rest, because even starting after the break we've got four in five nights and tough games too," Nowitzki said. "It's a tough stretch coming up for us.

"Once the All-Star game is over, you've got to go for it. There's not a whole lot of time before the playoffs. So, hopefully we can get back on track after the break."

For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Nuggets Preview

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks (32-19) at Denver Nuggets (34-17)

The Dallas Mavericks have already returned to the site of last season's demise, and they won. Tuesday night, they try to do it again.

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Mavericks journey to Denver to play the Nuggets, the squad that ended Dallas' 2008-09 season with a 4-1 series win in the Western Conference Semifinals. But the Mavs are a confident bunch, having already erased those haunting playoff memories with a 104-96 road win on Dec. 27.

After a disappointing effort in last season's playoff series, the Dallas players dedicated their December victory to Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. Although the win came against a Nuggets squad playing without lead guard Chauncey Billups (strained left groin), the Mavericks certainly did not dismiss the fact that they played well in the Pepsi Center, an arena that tormented Dallas last season.

"I think it was bigger for coach then it was for us," guard Jason Terry said of the win after Carlisle circled the date. "As players, we wanted to come in here and get a win, but for him. We had four close games in here last year that easily could have went the other way. So, he put a big emphasis on the game...It had been marked down on our calender but it's one game. They didn't have Billups, but we came out of (the Pepsi Center) with a win. We had to win that game and we got it done."

Now the Nuggets have Billups back, and the versatile guard has played at an All-Star level. But this time around the Nuggets may be without fellow All-Star Carmelo Anthony. Anthony has missed eight straight games with an ankle injury, but the star says he is probable for Tuesday night's matchup between the Southwest and Northwest Division leaders.

But even if Anthony is on the court, the Mavericks may have the perfect formula for taking the NBA's second-leading scorer (29.7 ppg) out of the game plan. Anthony was sidelined with foul trouble and shot just 5-for-19 in the first meeting between the two teams, finishing with just 16 points.

(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

"We were doing different things (defensively on Anthony)," Carlisle said. "At times we'd guard him straight up, at times we ran somebody at him. But what helped was he was in some foul trouble, so he was in and out of the game.

"He never got into one of those rhythms where he can go out there and get 20 in a quarter. That was fortunate, but we had something to do with him picking up the fouls, too."

After professing that the Nuggets were the more physical team last season, the Mavericks learned in that first matchup that they must match the Nuggets' physicality and energy.

"You know when you come into this building they're going to play a physical game," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "If you want to have a chance, you have to adjust and play that type of style, rebound the ball and really go after the ball...You have to know coming in that you have to be physical here and I think we did a decent job."

Tuesday night, in Dallas' final contest before the All-Star break, they will try to prove the first game was no fluke.

The Mavs will also look for another offensive explosion. Dallas is coming off of a 127-117 road win over Golden State on Monday night, after the Mavericks outscored the Warriors 37-19 in the fourth quarter.

The Dallas squad also received season-high scoring nights from Terry (36), Josh Howard (25) and Drew Gooden (24). Meanwhile, point guard Jason Kidd recorded his 15th double-double of the season, scoring 17 and dishing out 12 assists.

"Drew gave us a lot of energy off the bench, so he was fantastic. JET (Terry) was outstanding all night long. Josh was fun to watch, attacking and getting to the line. Kidd was open, he was making shots. So, it was a great team effort," Nowitzki said after finishing with 15 points (13 in the second half) in the win.

Now the Mavericks try to seize a 2-0 season series lead over the Nuggets, with the game airing locally Tuesday night on KTXA and KTXA HD at 8 p.m. CT. Dallas will be looking for back-to-back wins heading into the All-Star break.

"It is going to be tough, but we can do it," Gooden said. "We already won once there...We can do it."

For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Warriors Recap

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 127 at Golden State Warriors 117

The Dallas Mavericks entered Oracle Arena with the most road wins in the Western Conference. They left with one more notch in the win column.

The Mavericks were not shying away from calling their third matchup with the Golden State Warriors a "must-win" game, and down the stretch they played as if it truly was a necessity. Though it didn't look to be Dallas' night for the better part of three quarters, the Mavericks claimed a 127-117 victory by overcoming a double digit deficit with a dominate fourth quarter en route to their 32nd win of the season.

"Golden State is a difficult team in here. They score. They have great skill players. They shot the three, they stretch you out and it can get frustrating and it can deflate you a little bit. But that never happened tonight. We kept battling and we kept hanging in," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of the win.

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Mavs were in desperate need of a win, after dropping four of their previous five games. That lone win was a 110-101 home victory over the Warriors last Wednesday, as the Mavericks overcame a 46-point night from Monta Ellis. This time around the Mavs were looking to give Ellis their full attention. More importantly, Dallas needed a win on the front end of a back-to-back before concluding play heading into the All-Star break.

"It's been a tough 10-day stretch. We've had struggles, but it's a long year and this was a bit of a gut-check for us. It was a game we desperately needed, and we fought hard for it. We fought like it was a decisive game in a playoff series to get it," the coach added.

"We needed this a lot," big man Drew Gooden said of the win. "We ain't been playing Dallas Mavericks basketball as of late."

With center Erick Dampier once again inactive due to a left knee effusion, Carlisle began the game with Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Eduardo Najera. The same unit started the game in Dallas' previous win over the Warriors. But with the Mavericks missing on their first six shots of the night, the Dallas squad quickly trailed 12-3 out of the gates. After falling behind by as much as 14 in the opening quarter, the Mavericks rallied with stifling defense, Terry's quick-trigger offense and an ability to get to the foul line. J.J. Barea's three to close the period cut Dallas' deficit to 34-29 at the end of one. Ellis' 15 first quarter points paced the Warriors to the early advantage.

Just 30 seconds into the second quarter, Nowitzki headed to the bench with his third foul. Without their go-to scorer on the court, the Mavericks' offense was severely hampered and the turnovers mounted. Meanwhile, the Warriors sped up the tempo, taking their lead back to double digits. Dallas then relied on the play of its bench in the second stanza, as Josh Howard and Gooden came on strong with scores at the rim. Terry's 5-0 personal run then cut the deficit to 52-47 just under the midway point of the quarter. He was quickly answered by back-to-back scores from rookie Stephen Curry and Ellis, as the Golden State backcourt mates continued to shoot lights-out. But Ellis' foul on Terry's 3-point attempt with just .6 seconds on the game clock, and Terry's subsequent 2-for-3 at the charity stripe, trimmed the Warriors' lead to 70-61 heading into the halftime intermission.

"We have to find a way to be better in the first half," Nowitzki said. "Today we gave up a 70-point half, and that's just not going to be good enough."

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Ellis appeared headed for another big night, pouring in 22 points to lead all scorers at the half. Terry kept the Mavericks close with his 19 first half points, as both teams shot over 56 percent in the first 24 minutes of play. Despite shooting 12 less shot attempts, the Mavericks were able to hang around by connecting on 19-of-23 at the foul line. Still, the Mavericks wanted more from their defense.

"This is a hard game to judge your defense on because of the way they play," Terry said. "The best thing you can do is put pressure on them and don't settle. If they beat you and out-hustle you, they are going to win the game."

Dallas attempted to put pressure on the Golden State squad to began the second half by playing "small ball," with Nowitzki moving to the center spot while Howard joined Kidd, Terry and Marion on the court. But the Warriors' rugged style of play continued to prevail on the scoreboard. After the Warriors' defense surrounded Nowitzki during his limited time on the floor in the first half, the 7-footer nailed his first field goal of the night at the 7:09-mark of the third quarter. Nowitzki continued to keep his team in contention, but Anthony Morrow's barrage of 3-point shots kept the Mavericks at bay. Despite outscoring the Warriors 29-28 and holding Ellis to just a single point in the third, the Mavericks headed into the final quarter down 98-90.

"The third quarter was a tough quarter, but we won it by a point. Our guys just stuck with it," Carlisle said. "They really wanted to win this game and put an awful lot of effort and collective will into it."

The Dallas defense came alive in the fourth quarter, while the offense ran in transition at the other end. The result was an 11-2 run, cutting the deficit to 102-101 on Terry's 3-pointer with 7:51 remaining. Howard then took over the Mavericks' scoring before Nowitzki put Dallas in front for the first time all night, 108-106, with a three-point play. After briefly losing the lead and later regaining their advantage, the Mavericks were the ones pushing the tempo in the ladder stage of the fourth. Dallas capitalized off of Golden State's miscues, turning giveaways into points at the other end. Warrior fans then held their collective breath when Ellis went down hard after scoring on a driving layup with 3:48 remaining. Once the sharpshooter was helped to the sidelines, the Mavericks went back to work, sprinting out to a double digit lead. Kidd's three with 1:18 remaining iced the game and gave the Mavs a 125-115 advantage. The Mavs then put the finishing touches on the win.

"We gave up 70 points in the first half, and the way we came back speaks volumes to the leadership of this team," Terry said of the win. "We are going to continue to get better and this is another step in the right direction."

Dallas saved its best for last, outscoring Golden State 37-19 in the fourth quarter.

"I thought in the fourth quarter we played together," Nowitzki said. "We fought, got some stops finally and that was great."

With the win, the Mavericks take a 2-1 season series lead. Dallas finished the night out-shooting Golden State 52 percent to 49 percent. A 41-for-46 night at the foul line certainly helped the Mavericks' cause, attempting 17 more shots from the line than the Warriors hoisted up. The Mavericks' 12-of-22 shooting from the 3-point line even outdid the Warriors' 8-for-20 from behind the arch.

But the key to the game was the play of the Dallas bench, in particular the scoring of Howard and Gooden. The Mavericks' reserves outscored their Warriors counterparts 54-14.

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Picking up the slack for a marginal night from Nowitzki, the Mavericks received season-high scoring nights from Terry (36), Howard (25) and Gooden (24). Gooden posted a double-double off the bench, grabbing 10 rebounds in his 41 minutes in a reserve role. Nowitzki finished with 15 points (13 in the second half), while Kidd recorded his 15th double-double of the season, scoring 17 and dishing out 12 assists.

"Drew gave us a lot of energy off the bench, so he was fantastic. JET (Terry) was outstanding all night long. Josh was fun to watch, attacking and getting to the line. Kidd was open, he was making shots. So, it was a great team effort," Nowitzki said.

Morrow led the Warriors with his 33-point night. After his monster first half, Ellis was held to just five points the remainder of the way, finishing with 27 on the night. Curry added 25 of his own.

Now, on the second night of a back-to-back, the Mavericks finish up play before the All-Star break with a trip to Denver to square off with the Nuggets. The Mavericks knocked off the team that ended Dallas' 2008-09 season with a 104-96 road win on Dec. 27, in the first meeting between the two squads. The Mavericks-Nuggets matchup will air locally Tuesday night on KTXA and KTXA HD at 8 p.m. CT.

"(Winning in Denver for a second time) is going to be tough, but we can do it," Gooden said. "We already won once there...We can do it."

For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Warriors Preview

(Photo by Don Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks (31-19) at Golden State Warriors (13-36)

If you asked the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors, they'd each say that their squad needs a win more.

The two teams, who have split the first two games in the season series, will get their opportunity to prove the other squad wrong on Monday night in Oakland. The Mavericks enter limping, after dropping four of their last five contests. But if the Mavericks are limping, then the Warriors may need to be carried to the court. Golden State is in the midst of an eight-game losing streak.

But it's the Mavericks' play of late that has coach Rick Carlisle looking for more, challenging his team after suffering a 117-108 home loss to Minnesota on Friday night.

"I just think this team has more pride than they are showing. We'll keep studying it, but the answer is pretty obvious -- play harder," the coach said. "We need to dig down and find some pride. It's as simple as that."

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Hard play will only go so far against the Warriors. The Mavericks must also find an answer for Warriors guard Monta Ells. The versatile lead guard recorded a 37-point night in Golden State's 111-103 road win in Dallas on Nov. 24. He followed that up with a career-high 46 points, albeit in a loss, in Dallas' 110-101 win on the American Airlines Center floor last Wednesday night. Stopping Ellis is priority No. 1 for Carlisle's crew.

"(Ellis) 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," Carlisle said after Ellis connected on 17-of-23 shots from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point arch last week.

The duty of containing Ellis will be a shared responsibility, guard Jason Terry said. So, the Mavericks' strategy entering the game will be to simply make the Golden State role players step up and win the game.

"With a player like that (Ellis), you try to get the ball out of his hands and make everybody else beat you," Terry said of the defensive strategy. "We'll try to come up with some kind of game plan. Hopefully he will miss a couple of those that he made (Wednesday night).

Offensively, the Mavericks will be looking to cut down on their recent spike in turnovers. Though the Mavericks have been one of the better teams in the NBA, in terms of protecting the ball, they have had more giveaways of late. It is a product of having to play from behind more and more, according to Carlisle.

"In some instances when you're behind, turnovers go up because you're trying to get back into it," the coach added. "The one thing that I would say is that it is uncharacteristic of us, looking at the whole sample of the year. We're a very good team, in terms of being about to be efficient with the ball and keeping the turnovers down. So, I think it's probably an aberrational type of situation, at least I hope."

(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
While the entire Dallas squad will be looking to cut down on the turnover totals, the responsibility of keeping the second unit offensively efficient seems to have fallen to rookie Rodrigue Beaubois.

Beaubois has assumed a bulk of the backup point guard duties, and the first-year standout is coming off of a career-high 17 points against Minnesota. Carlisle showed a great deal of confidence in No. 3, playing the young guard down the stretch of a close game.

"(Beaubois) was active. We all know he's made progress. Finishing a game like that is something he hasn't quite done...He certainly came up and made some plays. A couple times, he got in tough situations. But his intentions were very good and his effort was good. There were a few rookie mistakes in the fourth quarter that were costly, but he definitely played aggressively," Carlisle said.

Meanwhile, the rookie is feeding off of the coach's trust in the Guadeloupe native.

"It makes me feel comfortable, because he's showing that he is trusting me," Beaubois said. "I have to keep working to show him that he's right, and to help the team win games."

Beaubois will get another opportunity to impress on Monday night. The Mavericks-Warriors matchup will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 9:30 p.m. CT.

The Mavs then head to Denver on the second night of a back-to-back, concluding play before the All-Star break.

For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.