Mavericks-Hornets Recap

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)


Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
New Orleans Hornets 90 at Dallas Mavericks 94

On a night centered around stopping one lightening-quick point guard, the Dallas Mavericks got a career night from one of the quickest players, and definitely the smallest, on their roster.

With leading-scorer Dirk Nowitzki having a rare off night, J.J. Barea became the focal point of the Mavericks' offense, posting a season-high 23 points and outshining New Orleans Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul to lift Dallas to a 94-90 victory. Getting his third straight start, Barea proved to be the biggest star on the court, at least for one night.

"Coach put me in there to get a better start," Barea said after the win. "I think we've been doing that. It worked out."

"(Barea) was great. They really didn't pay much attention to him off of the scene-and-rolls, they stuck with me and didn't really leave me much. So he was able to walk in there and had some great finishes. He was big, getting us off to a great start and really keeping us going offensively," Nowitzki said of his teammate.

The Mavericks came into their matchup with the Hornets on Monday night looking to avenge the 114-107 overtime loss in New Orleans on Nov. 4, after the Mavericks failed to close that game out at the foul line at the end of regulation. Winners of three straight, the Mavs knew if they were going to run that streak to four it would be by limiting Paul's role in the game.

(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle looked to take away Paul's dribble-penetration from the opening tip and make the cat-quick lead guard a jump shooter. The strategy worked early, as Paul got off to a 2-for-5 start for just four points in the opening quarter. But the first period was all about Barea and his penetration off of pick-and-roll offense with Nowitzki drawing double teams. The smallest man on the court was not only the Mavs' go-to scorer on offense early but also a pest to Paul on the defensive end. Barea's 13 first quarter points paced the Mavs to a 35-18 advantage after one, as Dallas finished the period on a 22-5 run.

"I thought Barea was the guy that got us off to such a good start," Carlisle said. "His penetration caused a problem, he hit shots and during the first quarter I don't think I called one play. Kidd ran the show."

In the second-highest scoring first quarter for Dallas this season, the Mavs outscored the Hornets 18-0 in the paint.

"It was probably the best offensive quarter we've played all year with ball movement, screening and flow," Carlisle said.

After the Dallas lead swelled to as much as 21, the Hornets got right back into the game in the second quarter with a 13-0 run. Once again the Mavs turned to Barea to stop the bleeding. Still the Mavs couldn't overcome nine second quarter turnovers, outscored by the Hornets 25-14 in the period, cutting the Dallas lead to 49-43 at the half.

"We really blew a great start to the game. We were in a really strong position and then let it get completely away with turnovers, bad decisions and those things led to other problems," Carlisle said.

Barea's 19 first half points were already a season-high for the Puerto Rico native at that point, as he led all scorers after the first 24 minutes of play. Paul led the Hornets with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting in the half. Dallas' 57 percent shooting couldn't combat their 10 turnovers in the half, but a strong defensive effort held the Hornets to just 42 percent at the other end.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Paul came out of the intermission aggressively looking to get into the lane, finding Emeka Okafor for above-the-rim finishes in the process. As a result, the Mavericks found themselves in a dogfight in the third. Dallas countered with a heavy dose of Shawn Marion and Josh Howard, who returned after sitting out a game to rest his surgically-repaired left ankle. The two swingmen led Dallas to a 71-66 edge headed into the fourth quarter.

With Nowitzki having a sluggish night, the Mavericks continued to look towards Barea for offense in the fourth. Working both as a scorer and play-maker, Barea handled the load with ease until his teammates began to match his production. Starting with strong defensive intensity headed by Howard, Dallas began to turn stops at one end into buckets at the other. Still Paul would not allow the Hornets to go quietly into the night, crossing over and getting into the lane for a layup with 3:02 remaining to cut the Dallas lead to 86-81. Despite the stagnant night from No. 41, Nowitzki thrived when he was needed with a rain-making jumper to lift the Mavs to a 90-83 advantage with 58.9 ticks on the clock.

"I really couldn't get much going today, so it was good that I at least made a couple and was about to get to the line once to finish the game off," Nowitzki said.

But James Posey answered right back with a 3-pointer, as 49.9 seconds remained. The Hornets then cut the deficit to 90-88 on a run-out score by Darius Songaila with just 22.9 seconds remaining. After a Carlisle timeout, the Mavs kept the Hornets at bay with a Kidd inbound pass to Nowitzki just beating a five-second violation for a lay-in over Posey with just 20.3 seconds left.

"Kidd made a sensational play passing the ball to Dirk for the layup at the very end," Carlisle said. "Three guys converged on Jet (Terry) and there was really no other outlet. That basically was the game-saving play. Not many point guards that have ever played the game make that play. Our guy's special and that's why we love him."

"I didn't panic," Kidd said. "I had a count in my head to almost four when I saw him break to the basket, and I think he did a great job by laying it up. A lot times players will catch it and try to kill the clock and it becomes a free throw game."

After Paul air-balled a three right into Songaila's hands for an easy deuce, Jason Terry found himself in the same position as the Nov. 4 meeting, at the line to close the game out. This time Terry came through, nailing a pair calmly to secure the Mavs' fourth straight win.

In addition to Barea's 23-point night, just three points below his career-high, Dallas showed just how deep they are as five other Mavs scored in double figures. Putting up numbers to rival Paul, Kidd finished with 13 points and a team-high 13 assists for his sixth double-double of the season. Off the bench, Howard supplied 14 points and eight rebounds while Terry added 12. Nowitzki and Marion posted 10 apiece.

"Sometimes, the big fellow (Nowitzki) isn't going to be there," Kidd said. "We just have to play off of him, let him set picks and get guys open, and we did that."

Meanwhile, Paul needed 22 shots, nine made, to collect his 20 points while dishing out 16 assists. The star was also a menace defensively, forcing five steals.

The Mavericks' 55 percent shooting was overshadowed by the 30 points New Orleans scored off of 23 Dallas turnovers, which allowed the Hornets to stay in the game despite shooting just 44 percent on the night.

"When you turn it over 23 times for 30 points, that's just not good enough for a team that has our aspirations. I'm really happy we won. It easily could have gone the other way if a couple of plays had gone the other way," Carlisle said.

With the turnover woes plaguing the Dallas offense, the Mavs attempted 20 less field goal attempts.

"We gave it away a lot tonight and that's why we had 69 shots to their 89. That kept them in the ball game," Kidd said.

Dallas goes for its fifth straight win when the Mavs head north on I-35 to battle the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest, and nationally on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT.

The Mavs return home to the American Airlines Center for the start of a four-game home stand on Friday night, when they host the Southwest Division rival Houston Rockets. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. That game will air locally on TXA 21 and TXA HD at 7:30 p.m. CT.

The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Hornets Preview

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
New Orleans Hornets (13-10) at Dallas Mavericks (17-7)

The memory of some losses don't fade away easily.

Despite entering Monday night's meeting against the New Hornets riding a three-game winning streak, the Dallas Mavericks have their minds on the events of Nov. 4. That night the Mavs lost 114-107 in overtime to the Hornets, after having a chance to seal the game at the free throw line. Consecutive empty trips for Dallas at the charity strip in the final 15 seconds of regulation, followed by a game-tying 3-pointer from the Hornets' Peja Stojakovic, was just a prelude to Chris Paul's game-high 39 points to led New Orleans to claim the win in the extra period on its home floor.

The Southwest Division-leading Mavericks have learned a lot about winning close ball games since that night, which could benefit them greatly with the Hornets entering Dallas on Monday.

"We're doing some good things down the stretch to be able to win close games," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "In an NBA season, you're going to have between 25 and 32 one-possession games over the course of 82, and how well you do in those goes a long way towards defining the success of your regular season."

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

In order to avoid another close game against the Hornets, Carlisle's top priority is limiting Paul's impact on the flow of the game. That is easier said then done, the coach admits.

"The plan is to try to keep (Paul) from going crazy. He's a great player. He's an MVP-caliber player. "It's a tough job to contain him and keep him out of the lane, on the one hand, and then try to take away his open shots but we want to make them a jump-shooting team as much as possible. And it's not easy because he gets places with the ball."

The game plan on Paul, who has historically torched the Mavs with his ability to get to the rim with ease and with his play-making ability to facilitate to others, is to make the top-tier point guard into a scorer first, preferable from the outside. Dallas is hopeful that Paul will fall into the trap of looking for his own shot, likely taking his ability to elevate his teammates out of the equation.

"Sometimes it's easier when one guy is really going because no one else is doing anything," forward Shawn Marion said. "So it really doesn't matter if he gets off and has a great night. Thing is, you have to contain him to stop him from getting everybody else involved. I think when he goes off for 30-plus and 15 assists, that's tough to beat."

The job of defending Paul will often fall to his point guard counterpart, Jason Kidd. Mostly guarding the top players in the league on a nightly basis, Kidd, often their senior, has made up for "young legs" by studying the opposing team's best players and their tendencies.

"In age, you have to use (veteran knowledge) to your advantage," Kidd said. "Knowledge is sometimes a little bit better than being quicker than your opponent. Just knowing tendencies and habits is something I'm living off of right now."

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

On offense, the Mavericks will continue to look towards their own MVP candidate, as Dirk Nowitzki has put forth a public service announcement by displaying a continuous highlight reel for his candidacy. Dallas' 98-97 overtime win on Saturday night over Charlotte was just the latest installment of the Nowitzki's "best of" collection, posting a game-high 36 points including the game-winner with 1.8 ticks left in the extra stanza. No. 41 seems to be on the right track towards claiming the award for a second time, stepping it up at both ends of the court.

"(Nowitzki) is playing great. I wasn't around when he won the MVP, but he's done everything his teammates have asked, and the coach. The biggest thing is not his offense but his defense. He's been great for us defensively all year," Kidd said.

Dallas goes for its fourth straight win on Monday night, in a divisional matchup against New Orleans at the American Airlines Center. The game will air locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD, and nationally on NBA TV at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Hornets Recap

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com (11/04/09)
Dallas Mavericks 107 at New Orleans Hornets 114

One night after Dirk Nowitzki put the Dallas Mavericks on his back with a historic fourth quarter, the team was unable to return the favor with the star fouling out and watching helplessly from the bench.

Winners of three straight, the Mavericks entered New Orleans riding high but knowing that a win against the Southwest Division rival Hornets would require a better shooting night than the one Dallas put out just a night before, when the Mavs overcame a 16-point deficit behind 40 points (franchise record 29 in the fourth) from Nowitzki to take home the win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, despite Dallas shooting under 40 percent.

(Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
Chris Paul scored at will against the Mavs Wednesday night


By the end of the night, Nowitzki would be seating with six fouls and the Mavericks would be on the losing end of a 114-107 overtime loss after an inability to close the game at the foul line late in the fourth quarter.

"The opportunities were there," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "We didn’t play a particularly pretty game, but we really battled, and did what we had to do to put us in a position to win. But NBA basketball is 48 minutes -- on consecutive nights, strange things can happen if you don’t make plays. Dirk fouling out was a very difficult break for us."

With Quinton Ross out of the lineup with a bruised lower back, Carlisle inserted rookie Rodrigue Beaubois into the starting lineup at shooting guard, playing alongside Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Nowitzki and Erick Dampier.

The decision immediately proved to be a good one, as the rookie scored the Mavs' first nine points, taking Dallas to an early 9-7 lead.

After the Hornets used a 14-3 run to take a nine-point lead (23-14), Dallas found themselves down 25-17 at the end of one. The shooting slump continued for the Mavs, as Dallas hit just 7-of-18 in the opening quarter. Visa versa the Hornets hit 50 percent from the floor, shooting 11-for-22 from the field.

Early in the second quarter the Hornets' lead grew to 12, as the Dallas reserves went through a stretch of missing 9-of-10 shots. The Mavericks rallied when Kidd re-entered the game, as the point guard connected on a 3-pointer and then found Kris Humphries in the paint for a three-point play.

Kidd's corner 3-pointer cut the Hornets lead to 35-32 with 6:12 on the clock. The Mavs climbed within two (39-37) when Nowitzki drew a foul and scored (goal-tending). On the next possession, Nowitzki took an offensive foul from Emeka Okafor square in the chest, leading to J.J. Barea's 3-pointer to give Dallas a 40-39 lead with 4:32 remaining in the first half.

After Chris Paul brought the Hornets back ahead, Nowitzki's fadeaway jumper with 13.2 seconds left put Dallas up one. Paul answered right back with a 3-pointer over Kidd's out-stretched hand with 2.3 seconds left to take New Orleans into the locker room at halftime up 50-48.

The Hornets shot lights-out in the first half, hitting on 55 percent from the field, while the Mavs connected on 42 percent. Dallas stayed in the game from behind the 3-point arch, knocking down 5-of-12 from long range.

To start the third quarter, Carlisle continued to play Beaubois with the traditional starters. The rookie's job was to slow down and defend the perennial All-Star Paul.

While the former French League standout held his own, Paul and the Hornets sprinted out to a 62-54 lead midway through the period behind the low-post scoring of David West.

Dallas charged back to within one, when sixth man Jason Terry subbed in for Beaubois. The Mavs tied the game at 64-all on a Humphries score in the paint off the feed of Nowitzki, but it was immediately answered when the Hornets' Bobby Brown got into the lane and scored at the other end. Paul then began to try take the game over as the fourth quarter neared. Dallas countered with a three-guard lineup of Kidd, Terry and Barea.

"You just have to keep putting different guys on him (Paul) and keep changing schemes. It’s extremely difficult," Carlisle said of trying to slow down Paul.

After Paul turned up the tempo and pushed New Orleans out to an eight-point lead, James Singleton's 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left in the third cut the Hornets' lead to 74-69 heading into the final period.

The fourth quarter started with Nowitzki on the bench with four fouls, so Terry stepped in and stepped up. Back-to-back Terry jumpers brought Dallas within one, before Humphries gave Dallas the lead at the free throw line (75-74). Terry gave the Mavs 12 unanswered points with a 3-pointer from the wing to give Dallas a four-point edge with 9:58 remaining.

After a defensive stop, Terry took the run up to 15-0 with a three-point play on a driving finger-roll lay-in plus the foul, as Dallas held an 81-74 lead. New Orleans battled back to tie the game with seven unanswered points, but once again Terry rose to the occasion with a corner 3-pointer off the feed from Nowitzki.

"(Terry) shot the ball beautifully. He played a really good all-around game. We needed somebody to have a hot hand. Dirk got some looks, but he didn’t have it going like he did last night. Jet was great," Carlisle said.

The shootout then ensued, as Terry and Paul exchanged blow for blow.

"Chris is always a tough cover," Terry said. "They have been having a rough go so far and you could tell he wanted to get it. He is a great player."

The Mavericks then got much-needed post scoring from Dampier, first on an offensive rebound putback and then on an alley-oop dunk off a Kidd lob to put Dallas up 92-88 with 2:54 left. Just 16 seconds later Dallas lost Nowitzki for the remainder of the night, when the star picked up his sixth personal foul.

Afer West's three-point play cut the Dallas lead to one, Okafor tied the game at 92-all at the free throw line with 1:06 remaining.

As the two had with their play all night, Terry and Paul went one-on-one at the top of the key, with Terry drawing a foul on his counterpart, reaching the foul line where he calmly knocked down 2-of-2 to put Dallas up 94-92.

With Nowitzki watching from the sideline, the Mavericks forced Paul into a miss and went ahead by four after a Dampier tip-in of a Marion miss with 16.5 seconds left. West then cut the deficit in half with a score over Humphries with 14.0 seconds on the clock.

The Mavs then played the free throw game, as Paul fouled Terry, sending the reigning Sixth Man of the Year to the line. Terry went 1-of-2 at the charity strip, giving the Mavs a three-point edge with 13.1 remaining.

As the Hornets inbounded the ball to their star, Barea defended Paul tightly, sliding under the Hornets' point guard to draw an offensive foul.

But the Mavs missed three straight at the foul line with an opportunity to ice the game, leaving the door open for Peja Stojakovic. As he has so often in his career, Stojakovic nailed a clutch 3-pointer, this time over the defense of Kidd with 6.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 97-all. Stojakovic was 0-for-7 shooting before the game-tying three.

After a Mavs' timeout, Kidd looked for Terry in the corner for an opportunity to win the game, but the New Orleans defense forced a steal, leading to Paul's desperation attempt at the buzzer that came up short and sent the game into overtime.

In the extra period, New Orleans got out to a quick four-point lead, as Dallas struggled to score with Nowitzki on the bench. With Kidd nearly forcing a steal from Paul, the New Orleans point guard found Brown on the wing for a 3-pointer with the Mavs defense over-rotated and 2:20 remaining on the game clock.

"Everything went wrong that could have gone wrong (in overtime) to lose the game," Kidd said. "It’s a lesson learned. 24 hours ago we get one that goes exactly right for us. That’s just the way the game of basketball can be sometimes. It can be nice. It can be cruel."

After the Dallas defense stiffened, Terry's 3-pointer cut the New Orleans lead to 106-102 with 1:22 remaining.

Once Paul and the Hornets pushed the lead back up to eight, Terry continued to fight, knocking down another three with 11.3 seconds left and the Mavs down 112-107.

The Hornets then turned to Paul, who unlike the Mavericks before, iced the game at the foul line, as New Orleans secured the seven-point victory and handed the Mavs their second loss of the season.

"It's a lost opportunity," Terry said. "It's a game that we wanted coming off of a tough victory last night. I thought we showed a lot of heart and a lot of determination. The key things that we talk about all of the time and the little things --free throws, getting out on the shooters and fouling when we are up three (are important). Those things are what championship teams do. Obviously, we’re not there yet. We’ll learn from this loss.”

While Dallas' field goal percentage was higher than their three previous wins, shooting just under 46 percent, it wasn't enough to combat New Orleans' 50 percent shooting from the field. The Hornets also out-rebounded the Mavericks 44-40.

Doing his best to lead Dallas to the victory, Terry scored 35 points off the bench. The sharpshooter connected on 7-of-10 from 3-point range. In an all-around game, Dampier poured in 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the paint.

Paul finished with a game-high 39 points.


Dallas returns home to host the Toronto Rapters at the American Airlines Center on Saturday night, with tickets still available. For ticket information call (214) 747-MAVS. The game will air on KTXA 21, KTXA 21 HD and HD NET at 7:30 p.m. CT.

The Mavs have also introduced the “MavsU” program, designed to offer college and university students an opportunity to attend Mavs games at a discounted rate. The Mavericks and Genghis Grill have teamed to offer discounted tickets to students for many upcoming games.

To purchase any MavsU ticket and receive a coupon for a free bowl at Genghis simply call 214-747-MAVS or visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Hornets Preview

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com (11/04/09)
Dallas Mavericks (3-1) at New Orleans (1-3)

The road to a 3-1 record hasn't been an easy hike for the Dallas Mavericks.

After a season-opening loss at home to the Washington Wizards, the Mavericks have battled uphill to three straight wins with defense and persistence. As the team has shot a low percentage in all three wins, the Mavs have learned how to win when they're not seeing the ball go in the basket.

It took a herculean effort from Dirk Nowitzki on Tuesday night to push Dallas to a 96-86 victory over the Utah Jazz. Nowitzki scored a franchise-record 29 points in the fourth period in the win against the Jazz, posting 40 on the night. Dallas enters New Orleans well aware that they must shot better and cognitive of the fact that No. 41 will need help with the scoring responsibilities if the Mavs' winning streak is going to run to four.

"It's something that we put an emphasis on in Training Camp," Mavs sixth man Jason Terry said. "The games last year that we shot 40 to 45 percent, we lost 80 to 90 percent of them. This year we're making it a point that if that shot ain't falling, which it ain't, we have to get it done somehow some way."

(Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

Perhaps the Mavericks have the perfect opponent to break out of their shooting woes against in the Hornets. The division rivals have seen plenty of each other in the past season, playing four times annually and meeting in the playoffs two seasons ago when New Orleans ended the Mavs' season.

"New Orleans is a team that has kind of been a thorn in our side the last couple of year. We're looking to go down there and get a win. They're in our division," Terry said.

The Hornets have struggled this season, after an off-season trade brought in Emeka Okafor from Charlotte for Tyson Chandler. Despite the tough start, New Orleans still features arguably the league's best point guard in Chris Paul, who perennially ranks atop the league's assist charts.

"We know New Orleans is a good team," Mavs center Erick Dampier said. "They have good players on that team. They know how to play the game. They get the ball in the right guys' hands and they're good offensive players."

"It's going to be on us to make up our minds and get the stops and get run outs. We have guys that can put the ball in the basket, but defense is going to be the key for us each and every night."

The Mavericks and Hornets meet on Wednesday night, with the game airing locally on FSN Southwest and nationally on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. CT.



Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.