With Tim Thomas starting in place of Dirk Nowitzki and leading the team in scoring, the Mavericks showcased their outstanding depth in win over Lebron James and one of the NBA's best teams. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)(I have been sick the past couple of days, and I know it's been awhile since Sunday, so I will just recap this game pretty quick. The usual in-depth report on tonight's game against the Blazers on tap for later tonight and more on the Cowboys amazing win against the Saints later in the week - now back to your regularly scheduled blogging.)
The Dallas Mavericks (20-8) were able to survive (for one night at least) without one of the best players in the league against the Cleveland Cavaliers(20-8), thanks largely to some outstanding bench play. Tim Thomas, who started his first game of the season, excelled in place of Dirk Nowitzki. Thomas had a team-high 22 points, along with seven rebounds, while shooting 50 percent from the floor.
"I just wanted to be aggressive with the minutes I was given tonight," said Thomas.
Jason Terry, who has struggled in recent weeks finding his shot, also bounced back with a big performance off the bench. Terry made 7-12 shots, scored 19 points and also dished out four assists for the game. It was Terry's highest scoring output since Nov. 28, against these same Cavaliers (25).
The other Jason, Mr. Kidd, also played an integral role in the victory. The Mavericks' point guard had no problem finding suitable scoring options with Nowitzki in street clothes. Kidd finished with 11 assists to go along with 10 points, his seventh double-double of the season and second in consecutive games.
"That's why they're one of the best team's in the league," said Lebron James, who had a game-high 25 points but was only 9-23 from the field. "Even without Dirk they've got All-Stars like Josh Howard and Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. Tim Thomas played great tonight. Guys stepped up."
Dallas took a two-point lead going into halftime and led for the entire second half. Surprisingly, in a relatively close fourth quarter (Dallas never led by more than nine), Lebron James took just three shots, making one of them. The Mavericks have won six of their past seven games and are alone at second in the Western Conference.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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