Magic-Mavericks Recap

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com (04/01/10)
Mavs' April Fool's Day frowns
Orlando Magic 97 at Dallas Mavericks 82

The Dallas Mavericks had no April Fool's jokes awaiting the Orlando Magic on Thursday night. Instead the joke was on the Mavericks, and it was no laughing matter.

Though the Mavericks entered the matchup with a three-game win streak and the psychological edge, after sneaking out of Orlando with a 95-85 road win on Feb. 19, the Magic was the team leaving the American Airlines Center floor with a smile and a 97-82 win the second time around. With the Mavericks coming off of a grueling 106-102 overtime win in Memphis the night before, Orlando was the fresher team. The Magic squad also stuck to what it does best, torching the Dallas defense from three-point range.

"We were in a dogfight last night. We gave our all, but Orlando was the better team tonight," point guard Jason Kidd said after the loss.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

The opening quarter was a test of wills, with both squads feeling each other out while looking for a weakness to attack. The Mavericks attempted to go right at All-Star center Dwight Howard on the offensive end. But the Mavs had their hands full with No. 12 inside at the other end of the court. The result was an 18-16 Magic edge at the end of one, in a low-scoring affair. Both teams struggled shooting early on, as the Magic hit on seven of 19 shots compared to the Mavs' 7-for-23 shooting.

"Some nights, it's going to be like that," forward Shawn Marion said. "It just felt like a lid was on the basket."

"The game was tight after the first quarter, and then they started hitting threes," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.

The two squads remained pretty even in the second quarter, with Dirk Nowitzki pulling his team closer every time the Magic got breathing room. But with Nowitzki on the bench, the Magic ran off seven unanswered points to go comfortable in front. With Mickael Pietrus schooling understudy and fellow Guadeloupe native Rodrigue Beaubois, the Magic took a 43-36 advantage into the halftime break.

Behind Pietrus' 15 first half points in 12 minutes off the bench, the Magic out-shot the Mavs 38 percent to 35 percent in the half. Nowitzki's 12 points kept the Mavericks in contention at the midway point.

"We just weren't able to get anything going early," Nowitzki said. "We were a little flat."

"They are a very good defensive team, top two or three in the league. They are going to make it hard. Early on, Dirk is the only thing we were really able to get going and that made it tougher because then they were locking in on him," Carlisle explained.

But Nowitzki picked right back up where he left off to begin the third quarter. Still, the nine-time All-Star was unable to keep his squad from falling behind by double digits. The Mavs tried to find a spark plug in the play of reserve guard J.J. Barea, as the fan favorite returned from a two-game hiatus with a sore left ankle.

"I was just trying to be a spark in the second half. We needed to get something going," Barea explained.

But the quarter was all Orlando's, as the Magic dominated the Mavericks in the paint and on the perimeter. Deadly three-point shooting and the combination of Howard and former Mav Brandon Bass inside lifted Orlando to a 72-56 advantage heading into the fourth.

"We didn't execute our game plan at all," sixth man Jason Terry said.

"We couldn't make shots and we got frustrated," Kidd added. "It carried over to our defense."

Despite Barea's dribble-penetration and Terry's outside shooting off the bench, the Mavericks continued to trail by double figures early in the fourth.

"The second half, we were able to get some more guys involved," Carlisle said. "Barea came in and made some things happen. JET (Terry) got going and we had some better activity. But it was an uphill battle all night."

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
The duo did cut an 18-point deficit down to nine inside of the final two minutes of play. But the Mavericks never got any closer, after Pietrus closed the door on Dallas with back-to-back threes in the final minute.

In addition to out-shooting the Mavericks 49 percent to 38 percent, the Magic connected on 14-of-24 from behind the arch. That's a far difference from the 4-for-25 from deep that Orlando shot in the February meeting.

"The thing that killed us was the threes," the coach said. "The last two times we played these guys, this year and last year, we made a real effort to run them off the line. There were a lot of times they had shots they would normally knock down but they didn't make. And tonight, they were making them. There were times tonight when we didn't do a good job of finding shooters in transition."

"You take the threes out of the equation and we were right there. They were shooting just as bad as us," Marion said.

Dallas won the points in the paint battle (30-28) and were just slightly out-rebounded (43-42), even with Howard's 17-point, 20-rebound effort. What the Mavericks didn't prepare for was Pietrus' season-high 24 points off the bench on 7-of-8 shooting and 6-for-6 from behind the arch.

"Pietrus was on fire," Nowitzki simply said.

The Mavericks also didn't anticipate an off-night from the squad's starters with the exception of Nowitzki. Take away Nowitzki's 24 points on 9-of-22 from the field, and the four Dallas reserves that saw playing time (Barea, Beaubois, Terry and Erick Dampier) outscored the other four starters (Kidd, Caron Butler, Marion and Brendan Haywood) 38-20. Barea and Terry were the only other Mavs in double figures, scoring 16 points apiece.

"We want to get everybody playing well," Carlisle said. "The fact is, there are going to be nights when guys have some struggles. That's why you have a team, so you can try to find other guys who can help.

"Our first unit, a lot of it, we've got to be efficient, move and screen well. That's a group that plays a lot of basketball off the flow, not a lot of play calling. The recognition of one another has to be really good. That group's played some really fine basketball in some instances. We can do it, we just have to work to do it."

Now the Mavericks try to catch a convenient case of amnesia, putting this loss out of their minds so they can concentrate on Saturday's home matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks lead the season series 2-1 over Oklahoma City. The Thunder-Mavericks matchup will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

"It was not a good night, but we've got to move on. We've got an important one on Saturday," Barea said while looking ahead.

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

Magic-Mavericks Preview

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Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com (04/01/10)
Mavs seek magical fourth straight W
Orlando Magic (52-22) at Dallas Mavericks (50-25)

The Dallas Mavericks never fail to amaze.

With all odds against them, the Mavericks overcame a double-digit deficit with less than five minutes of game action remaining in the fourth quarter on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Eventually the Mavs captured a 106-102 overtime victory, ending a three-game losing streak in FedExForum.

"This team doesn't have any quit in us," center Brendan Haywood said after the win. "We aren't going to give in. As long as we have a shot, we are going to continue to fight and play hard."

The win made the Mavericks just the fourth franchise ever and only the third since 1967, when NBA teams began playing 82-game regular seasons, to capture 50 wins in 10 consecutive seasons.

"(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 (Wednesday night)."

Carlisle was speaking of players like Dirk Nowitzki.

Though No. 41 connected on just three of 11 shots in the first three quarters, the sharpshooter kept firing. The result was three clutch 3-pointers down the stretch, 28 points on 9-of-23 shooting and a victory for his team.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

"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 added.

Now, after rookie Rodrigue Beaubois' 40-point game against Golden State, Nowitzki's second career triple-double against Denver and the instant classic comeback against Memphis, the Mavericks return to the place where they make amazing things happen. The squad will host the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic Thursday night at the American Airlines Center.

With the quick turnaround, the Mavs will rely heavily on what they learned in a 95-85 road win in Orlando on Feb 19, in the only regular season meeting between the two squads this season.

(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
In that game, the Mavericks learned that their bigs can not get into early foul trouble against All-Star center Dwight Howard. Quick fouls on Haywood had the 7-footer sidelined early on in the previous matchup, helping Howard to a 13-point, 8-rebound first half.

"When you have a guy 7-1 out there, it's going to change the geometry of the game, defensively. Guys are going to go in there, they're going to have to change their shots, they're going to see length and long arms up over the rim...(Haywood's) foul trouble is what got him out of the game early," Carlisle said.

"Dwight was just killing there in the first half," Nowitzki said. "He got whatever he wanted. He got to the basket, he got some dunks, he got right shoulder, left shoulder jump hooks. So, we wanted in the second half to just mix it up...We did a decent job of mixing it up on him."

While Howard did finish with a game-high 29 points, the Mavericks took away the Magic's perimeter shooting. That was lesson No. 2. In addition to holding Orlando to 41 percent shooting for the game, the Dallas defense also forced the Magic into 4-of-25 from 3-point range.

"Howard had a big night scoring, but they weren't able to get going from the 3-point line," the coach added. "We did a little bit of double-teaming, but for the most part, Brendan played him straight up (in the second half). It allows you to stay closer to the 3-point shooters, so it was a big key."

"Where they get you is with their 3-point shot. I thought we really stuck with their shooters," Nowitzki echoed.

Now the Mavericks look for a repeat performance, while also seeking their fourth straight win. Dallas will be playing in the second half of a back-to-back.

The Magic-Mavericks matchup will air nationally on TNT at 7 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.

Mavericks-Magic Recap

(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 95 at Orlando Magic 85

Friday night's matchup with the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic figured to be a benchmark game for the new-look Dallas Mavericks. By night's end, the Mavericks set a new standard.

In a battle between the Southwest and Southeast Division leaders, the squad from Big D headed to Orlando for the third of four games in five nights. After bringing in Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson for the sole purpose of contending for an NBA title, the Mavericks wanted to see just how close they are to the top tier teams in the league. The Mavericks proved that they are also a team to be reckoned with, after a come-from-behind 95-85 road win.

"We had some really good stretches, and there were a few other short stretches where we had some breakdowns," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle summed up the night. "But the key was we just kept battling, kept hanging in. It was a hard fought game."

The Dallas squad has now won back-to-back games, both 10-point wins, after a 99-86 loss in Oklahoma City coming out of the All-Star break. With the win, Dallas became the first Western Conference squad to win in Orlando this season.

"We've been a bit of a streaky team. We have the ability to go on hot streaks as well," Carlisle said.

Because of the tough scheduling, the team has been forced to learn how to play together without practice time.

"This is four in five nights, so we are practicing and at the same time we're playing," point guard Jason Kidd said. "Games are our practice. And we're a veteran ball club, so I think that helps."

(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

Still yet to hit the practice court together, the Mavs put out a starting lineup of Kidd, Butler, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Haywood. For the second straight contest, Haywood began the game in the five spot with center Erick Dampier out indefinitely with a dislocated right middle finger. But while matching up with All-Star big man Dwight Howard, Haywood found himself with two quick fouls in the opening quarter.

"When you have a guy 7-1 out there, it's going to change the geometry of the game, defensively. Guys are going to go in there, they're going to have to change their shots, they're going to see length and long arms up over the rim...(Haywood's) foul trouble is what got him out of the game early," Carlisle said.

With the 7-footer on the bench and veteran reserve Eduardo Najera on the court, the Dallas defense was no match for Howard inside. After a buzzer-beating transition layup by Matt Barnes concluded the period, the Magic took a 33-23 advantage after one. The Magic's 13-for-20 shooting in the first quarter paced the home team in front early.

"We were down 10 at the end of the first quarter but kept battling, and that was the key," the coach added.

The Mavericks found a spark plug in the play of J.J. Barea early in the second quarter. But more than anything, Butler's aggression and finishing ability got the Mavs back into the game. After falling behind by as much as 12, Butler and the Mavs cut their deficit to 47-42 heading into the halftime break.

Howard's 13-point, eight-rebound first half led all players in those categories after 24 minutes of play. But the Mavericks stayed close behind Butler's 10 first half points. After the hot first quarter, the Magic cooled down to 47 percent shooting, which was still better than Dallas' 39 percent at the other end.

"Dwight was just killing there in the first half," Nowitzki said. "He got whatever he wanted. He got to the basket, he got some dunks, he got right shoulder, left shoulder jump hooks. So, we wanted in the second half to just mix it up...We did a decent job of mixing it up on him."

(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
With Nowitzki having a quiet night by his own standards for the first two quarters, the Mavericks continued to go to Butler on the offensive end. But after Dallas climbed to within one, Howard began to reassert himself at both ends of the floor. As Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis gave Howard aid with shots from behind the 3-point arch, the Orlando lead once again reached double digits. The Mavs responded, finding Nowitzki for easier looks and slicing the Magic's advantage to 69-65 heading into the fourth. Nowitzki posted 13 points in the third.

Beginning at the 1:49-mark of the third quarter, the Mavericks utilized inside-outside play to spark a 19-0 run, eventually taking a 77-69 lead on Kidd's fadeaway jumper with 8:54 remaining.

"We obviously needed that spurt to get back in control of the game," Carlisle said.

With Haywood dominating the paint and Jason Terry coming on strong in the period, the Mavericks attempted to hold off the Magic on its home floor. Buckling down on the defensive end, the Mavericks did just that.

"Defensively, I think we talked better and we were more aggressive," Haywood said. "As a team we doubled Dwight a little bit and that threw them for a loop...It got them into a funk and we did a couple of different post coverages and had more aggressiveness on the screen-and-rolls."

After a 3-pointer from Kidd put some distance between the two squads, the future Hall-of-Famer found a cutting Terry for a layup to put the Mavericks up 90-81 with 51.8 ticks remaining. The Mavs then finished the game off at the foul line, eventually outscoring the Magic 30-16 in the fourth quarter.

"During that third and fourth quarter, we made Dwight become a passer," Kidd said. "We didn't want the layups to keep happening. They turned the ball over and missed some threes. We capitalized on that."

It is the Mavericks' 12th comeback of the season in games in which they trailed by 10 points or more.

Nowitzki led five Mavs in double digits with 23 points, getting help from Butler (16), Terry (16), Haywood (15) and Kidd (10). The play of the bench was lopsidedly in Dallas' favor, as the Mavericks' reserves outscored their Orlando counterparts 27-6.

Haywood finished one board short of a double-double with nine rebounds.

"Brendan had two or three really big baskets in the fourth quarter...He was a big part of the win," the coach said.

"The guys have been great," Haywood added. "Jason Kidd has really been doing a good job of directing me, Jason Terry as well. They have been keeping me in the right spots. And if there is a play I am not familiar with, they run me through it."

Meanwhile, Kidd once again filled up the stat sheet with eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

Howard finished the night with a game-high 29 points, as four of the five Magic starters scored in double figures.

But Dallas out-shot Orlando 45 percent to 41 percent. The Dallas defense also disrupted the Magic's outside attack, forcing Orlando into 4-of-25 from 3-point range.

"Howard had a big night scoring, but they weren't able to get going from the 3-point line. We did a little bit of double-teaming, but for the most part, Brendan played him straight up. It allows you to stay closer to the 3-point shooters, so it was a big key," Carlisle said.

"What was really key is, where they get you is with their 3-point shot. I thought we really stuck with their shooters," Nowitzki echoed.

Led by Howard's game-high 16 rebounds, the Magic won the battle on the boards, 47-45. Orlando also held a 52-36 advantage in points in the paint, but the uptempo Mavs used a 17-6 edge in fast break points to sprint to their 18th road win of the season.

"Look, when we get stops and get the ball into Jason Kidd's hands in transition, great things happen for us," Carlisle said.

Saturday night, the Mavs hope great things continue to happen when they put an end to a stretch of four games in five nights and host the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Center. That game will air nationally on NBA TV and locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The Mavs took the first meeting between the two teams, a 106-93 road win on Dec. 11.

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-Magic Preview

(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks (33-21) at Orlando Magic (37-18)

It is two games into the second half of the season, and the new-look Dallas Mavericks believe that they have the blueprint for success.

Rebounding from a disappointing showing Tuesday night in Oklahoma City, the Mavericks responded a night later with a 107-97 home win over a playoff-contending Phoenix Suns squad. With a scrambling defense and six players scoring in double figures, including newcomers Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, the Mavericks moved to 1-1 on a stretch of four games in five nights.

"I don't think I've ever known a team to hold Phoenix to under a 100," Haywood said praising the defense after the win. "Our defense (Wednesday night) was great. Everybody stuck to the game plan, everybody was in position and it just felt good to give a good defensive effort."

"It's always easier at home," Butler said after the win. "The crowd just kind of carried us and lifted us and gave us that momentum we needed down the stretch to win this game."

Now the Dallas squad leaves the friendly confines of the American Airlines Center and travels to Orlando to contend with the defending Eastern Conference champion Magic. The Mavs will be looking for the same success displayed against Phoenix, in the first matchup of the regular season between the Southwest and Southeast Division leaders.

"Going in there and trying to get a win is going to be a big momentum-booster. It's against a quality team that's playing great basketball as well," Butler said.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
But the Mavericks will have to defend All-Star center Dwight Howard without big man Erick Dampier. Dampier, who suffered an open dislocation to his right middle finger in the loss to Oklahoma City, is expected to be out of action for a substantial period of time.

"Everything is fine. We'll take this week to week to see how it feels," Dampier said with no timetable set for his return.

But in Dampier's stead, the Mavericks got a big night from Haywoood at both ends of the floor against the Suns. Haywood, a 7-footer having perhaps the best season of his career, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds against Phoenix. Add the big man's five blocked shots, and you have a formidable body to through Howard's way come Friday night's meeting with the Magic.

"Overall, I felt we did a good job staying with their shooters and made them finish in the lane over big Haywood," forward Dirk Nowitzki said.

While Haywood will be called upon to anchor the defense, the Mavericks are relying on point guard Jason Kidd's on-court tutelage to instruct the offense.

With Butler, Haywood and fellow new addition DeShawn Stevenson only equipped with about 1/3 of the Mavericks' offensive playbook, Kidd is utilizing transition offense to sprint out to easy buckets.

"(Using transition offense) is to make the game simple," Kidd said. "Make or miss, get it down the court as fast as you can and hope something presents itself, whether it's a layup or a wide-open jump shot."

(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

"We're a running team," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "We have Jason Kidd. We are always better when we don't call plays or don't have to call plays. Sometimes you have to in certain situations. When you do, you better be able to execute it and put the ball in the hole."

The quick-tempo play is allowing for Butler to fit in immediately at the shooting guard spot. The 6-7 swingman said that the future Hall-of-Fame lead guard is making life easier for everyone on the court.

"We're just playing basketball -- it's like pickup game style. We're just getting the ball to the floor general (Kidd) and just getting to spots and he's finding us," Butler said.

Kidd is also coming off of a game in which he found his way to the ball no matter where it bounced on the court. No. 2's 18 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and career-high seven steals even had his coach in awe.

"(Kidd) is just amazing. Just an amazing game, the way he led the team. The steals, to get to seven steals is a phenomenal number in one game. It seems like they were all timely...He was great," Carlisle said.

Now the Mavericks will rally around Kidd as they play yet another back-to-back. The Mavericks-Magic game will air nationally on ESPN and locally on KTXA and KTXA HD at 7 p.m. CT. The two teams have not met this regular season.

Saturday night, the Mavs return home to host the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Center. That game will air nationally on NBA TV and locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The Mavs took the first meeting between the two teams, a 106-93 road win on Dec. 11.

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