Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com Indiana Pacers (19-36) at Dallas Mavericks (35-21)
A three-game winning streak has the Dallas Mavericks seeing things from a new perspective.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Mavericks' first winning streak of 2010, and first since a five-game streak from Dec. 8-16, is certainly a welcomed sight. But the team is taking things one game at a time. That starts with not overlooking Monday night's home game against the Indiana Pacers, even with a date against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers looming.
"We respect everybody we play," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "And I think we've learned lessons over the year that you can't assume anything, being at home or playing a team that's got a lesser record."
"You've got to focus in on the matter at hand, and first is Indiana...It's a nice challenge today and they're going to bring it," swingman Caron Butler said. "We've got to really be prepared for this challenge and not look ahead."
Looking ahead is something the Mavericks certainly don't want to do, after watching the Pacers leave Houston with a 125-115 win over the Rockets on Saturday. But the Pacers will have a large hole to fill against the Mavericks, after forward Danny Granger left the team for personal reasons. Granger takes with him a 22.9 points per game scoring average, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
With the Pacers' top scoring threat out, the Mavericks see Monday's game as even more of an essential win. The Mavs have yet to put together a string of victories at home, making their current three-game home stand that much more important.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
"(Winning on the home floor) is very important, to establish something special and build some momentum...It's very important to capitalize on these opportunities," Butler said.
Butler and his teammates are hoping that the home-court success begins against a Pacers squad that sits at the bottom of the Central Division. But if the Mavericks are going to run their winning streak to four, it will be because they remained discipline and stuck to the game plan.
"They're going to throw a lot of things at us. They're a basketball team that is a little bit nontraditional, because they set picks with the (shooting guard on the center) or the (small forward on the center), and they're just scattered out everywhere. So, we've got to be prepared for rotations and protecting the paint," Butler said.
The additions of Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson has made sticking to the game plan easy, sixth man Jason Terry said.
"You've got guys that are really concentrating on the game plan and on the scouting report," Terry said. "These guys want to play hard, and that just feeds into our team. We're feeding off of it, and these guys are hunger."
The trio has still yet to go through a full practice with the team, but they did stick around 30 minutes after the team's Monday morning shootaround to go over plays with Carlisle and his coaching staff.
"Getting these guys caught up on all of the offensive stuff takes a little bit of time...Since the trade, we haven't had that much stuff in," Carlisle said.
"I think we're doing a great job of executing our offense, even though we haven't had a lot of practice time," Butler said.
Lack of practice time aside, the new-look Mavs welcome in the Pacers to American Airlines Center on Monday night after escaping Conseco Fieldhouse with a 113-92 blowout road win on Nov. 27.
The Pacers-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.
Dallas plays host to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The Lakers lead the season series 2-1, including a 100-95 win on the American Airlines Center floor on Jan. 13. The Mavericks and Lakers will close their regular season series, with the game airing nationally on ESPN and locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com Portland Trail Blazers 114 at Dallas Mavericks 112 F/OT
The Dallas Mavericks entered their matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers looking to avenge an 85-81 home loss on Dec. 22.
After Andre Miller's performance on Saturday night left the Mavericks scratching their heads, the December loss was the furthest thing from their minds.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) With Portland's All-Star guard Brandon Roy out with a hamstring injury, Miller showed up and showed out. Hitting on 22-of-31 shots he hoisted up, the veteran point guard poured in a career-high 52 points to power the Blazers to a 114-112 overtime win on Dallas' home floor, yet again. Though they had their chance to win, Miller was simply too much for the Mavericks down the stretch.
"Guys in this league, when they get in a groove, they can have special nights like that," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Miller's night. "We tried a lot of different guys on him...He played a phenomenal game. On nights like tonight, guys like him get the rolls. A lot of those hung on the rim and went in. So, you have to give him his due. It was a phenomenal effort. We obviously didn't do a good job on him."
"I've had a few heated nights in my career, but I think this was one of those nights where I just didn't stop shooting," Miller said of his career outing, eclipsing his previous career-high of 37.
The Mavericks were a little shorthanded as well, playing without reserve big man Tim Thomas after the veteran left the team for personal reasons. With no Thomas coming off of the bench, Carlisle needed more from his starting unit. Behind a quick start from forwards Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs came out of the gates sprinting. But Miller ran the pick-and-roll to perfection with big man LaMarcus Aldridge in the opening quarter, powering Portland to a 26-21 edge after one.
"A poor start to the game defensively," the coach said plainly.
Playing without Thomas, big man Drew Gooden and rookie Rodrigue Beaubois sparked the Mavericks' second string to begin the second stanza. Also providing fireworks was forward Eduardo Najera, who saw his first game action since returning to the team via a Jan. 11 trade with New Jersey. The fan favorite got the hometown faithful out of their seats with a 3-pointer, putting the Mavs ahead 32-29 with 6:42 remaining in the first half. But the second quarter was all about Josh Howard, raining in 14 points with an array of shots to lift his team to a 47-44 lead heading into halftime.
The Blazers out-shot the Mavericks, connecting on 47 percent of their shots compared to Dallas' 44 percent shooting in the half. But Dallas held the scoring edge at the midway point despite Miller's 19 first half points.
"It all started with easy layups that got him going," Nowitzki said of Miller's early scoring attack.
Miller continued his scoring assault on the Dallas defense to start the third quarter. As they did in first quarter, the Mavericks countered with more Nowitzki and Marion in the halfcourt. But the Mavericks' offense was out of sorts, causing Nowitzki to succumb to the frustration, as the superstar was assessed a technical foul at the 1:06-mark of the quarter. Meanwhile, Aldridge came on strong in the period, giving the Blazers a seven-point edge before J.J. Barea's buzzer-beating three cut the deficit to 73-69 heading into the fourth. The Mavericks shot just 7-for-19, as Portland outscored Dallas 29-22 in the third.
"In the fourth quarter, it was just make something happen. We really didn't look great (in the third) and we were down," Nowitzki said.
With his team down, Nowitzki attempted to rally the troops. But Miller and Steve Blake continued to keep the Mavs at bay. Despite the best efforts of Portland's backcourt, the Mavericks knotted the game at 88-all on a driving score by Jason Terry with 5:09 remaining. The two teams then exchanged jabs, and the lead, like prize fighters, as Nowitzki and Miller refused to let their teams lose.
Nowitzki got a little help from Jason Kidd, as the veteran lead guard knocked home a three to put Dallas ahead 97-96 with 1:48 remaining. Miller came right back with a three-point play. The game was once again tied at 99-all when Nowitzki sent Aldridge to the line with 59.0 ticks left in regulation, but the big man went 0-for-2 at the charity stripe. After collecting the rebound, the Mavericks went to their go-to guy, and Nowitzki once again thrived. No. 41 swished home a patented jumper to put his team ahead two with 41.9 seconds on the game clock.
After a Portland timeout, Marion was called for a foul, sending Miller to the line where he calmly tied the game once again. Matched up one-on-one with Aldridge, Nowitzki got the ball on the right elbow, but Aldridge poked the All-Star forward in the eye. Back at the line with 26.8 seconds, Nowitzki nailed a pair of clutch free throws, as the Mavericks went back ahead on the scoreboard. But as he had all night long, Miller brought his team back, this time connecting on a running hook to tie the game at 103-all.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) As they have his whole career, the Mavericks expected another game-winner from Nowitzki, but No. 41's go-ahead shot attempt bounced off of the iron and into Juwan Howard's hands with 1.3 ticks left for Portland to end things.
"I had a good look at the game-winner. It's a shot that I've got to make," Nowitzki said.
After a timeout, the Blazers went to Aldridge, but the big man's fadeaway jumper hit the front of the rim as time expired.
"You can't let teams hang around at home, you can't turn it into a shot-making contest," the coach said. "We can't be adrenaline junkies and take it down to the last possession every night. We should be a better basketball team than that."
The extra period began with a three from Miller, as his career night continued. The veteran point guard hit the 50-point mark on a jumper with 3:21 left in the overtime.
"I didn't look at it as scoring the ball, but just going out and making plays and being the point guard," Miller said. "The shots came, and since they were going in, I was just going to keep shooting."
But a three from Terry and Kidd's tip-in had the Mavs in front 112-108 with 2:22 on the clock. After a pair of free throws from Jerryd Bayless, Miller knotted the game again with a driving score. Portland then surged ahead on Howard's jumper with 44.9 seconds remaining. The Blazers then forced a Nowitzki miss, grabbing the rebound and calling timeout with 20.3 seconds left.
But the Dallas defense held its ground, forcing a Blake miss from 3-point range. Barea grabbed the subsequent rebound and called timeout with just 3.2 seconds available for a tying shot. Again the Mavericks went to Nowitzki, but his shot over Nicolas Batum rimmed in and rolled out as time expired.
"In overtime, the same thing," Nowitzki added. "I had a couple of good shots. This is definitely a tough one to swallow."
"You're going to have nights when it comes down to the last shot and you don't make it. But the question you've got to ask is, 'Is that the play to reflect on or is it a total of a lot of other things going on that put you in that position?' In my view, it's a lot of other things going on," Carlisle concluded.
The game finished with 20 ties and 13 lead changes. The Mavericks are now 3-3 in overtime games.
Miller's output is the third best performance against the Mavericks in the team's history, and his 22 made field goals is an American Airlines Center record.
"It seemed like Miller got to the basket whenever he wanted," Nowitzki summed up the night.
Nowitzki finished with a team-high 28 points to lead six Mavericks in double figures. Terry (18), Howard (17), Barea ((13), Marion (12) and Kidd all scored in double figures. Kidd also record his 14th double-double of the season, dishing out 10 assists, albeit in a loss. Kidd's assists total was one more than Portland's entire team, as most of the Blazers' offense was Miller's scoring.
Aldridge added 21 points as four Blazers scored in double figures.
Portland finished the night out-shooting Dallas 54 percent to 47 percent, though the Mavs hit 7-of-14 from behind the arch. The Mavericks did out-rebound the Blazers 42-39 and the Dallas bench outscored Portland's reserves 44-18. But it wasn't enough to overcome a 60-46 points in the paint differential in the Blazers' favor.
Now, the Mavericks head back out on the road and touch down in Salt Lake City on Monday for a battle with the Utah Jazz. The two teams have split the first two games of the season series, with the Jazz most recently leaving Dallas with a 111-93 win on Jan. 9. The Mavericks-Jazz matchup will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 8 p.m. CT.
"Utah's a tough place to play," Nowitzki said. "They're really starting to play better...I think they're really starting to come along, and really being the force at home that they really have been the last couple of years.
"It's a tough building to play in, but we've usually been good at recovering from losses and turning losses into something positive."
Dallas returns home to host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Mavericks will be out to avenge a 111-103 home loss on Nov. 24.
"(Winning on the home floor) is very important, to establish something special and build some momentum...It's very important to capitalize on these opportunities," Butler said.
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