(Mavs coach Rick Carlise says "Alrightythen")Injuries and a pending trade gave the Mavericks a shallow bench and forced them to play their starters heavy minutes on the second night of a back-to-back. However, the Jazz were also on the second night of a back-to-back. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)
At least one Dallas team knows how to play defense.
The Dallas Mavericks (25-12) allowed the Utah Jazz (20-17) to shoot 53 percent and score 50 points in the paint. Utah was up as many as 22 points and led by double-digits the entire second half en route to a blowout victory.
Deron Williams led Utah with 20 points as six different Jazz players scored in double figures. Williams also contributed nine assists and two steals for the game. Williams' court savvy was a key in the Jazz getting a double-digit lead and keeping it that way for the majority of the game.
With a pending Kris Humphries trade and both Drew Gooden and Josh Howard out with injuries, the Mavericks were forced to rely on seldom used role players.
Needless to say, tossing Matt Carrol, Quinton Ross and James Singleton into meaningful game action after not playing them for weeks at a time didn't work well for the Mavericks. Dallas missed defensive rotations, turned the ball over and looked generally confused out there on the court as guys that normally don't play together were forced to learn each others' tendencies on the fly.
"It hurts, but you've got to be able to win with the guys available," said coach Rick Carlise. "No excuses there."
Nowitzki Good, But Not Nov. 3 Good
In the Mavs last home meeting with the Jazz, Dallas trailed by 16 points with eight minutes left fourth quarter before Dirk Nowitzki put on a show. The former MVP scored 29 points in that quarter and led the Mavericks to an improbable 96-85 victory.
Nowitzki was about the only thing that went well for Dallas in tonight's game, though. He scored a game high 29 points (10 in the fourth quarter) along with eight rebounds and three assists.
"I think we did a good job on him," said Carlos Boozer, who had 15 points and seven rebounds. "We made him work."
Jason Kidd - The Scorer?
Kidd had his most points in a game in nearly a month and-a-half. The veteran point guard finished with 19 points on 7-11 shooting, including 4-5 from behind-the-arc.
He also chipped in eight assists and five rebounds in 37 minutes.
JET Continues Inconsistent Play
Jason Terry shot 5-14 from the field (36 percent) and 2-7 from deep for 16 points.
In his previous two games (@ San Antonio and at home against Detroit) Terry was 18-32 from the field (56 percent) for 47 points.
In the two games before that (@ L.A. and @ Sacramento) Terry was 6-18 (33 percent) for 21 points.
This has been the trend all year in what has been a helter-skelter season for JET.
Whats Next
Dallas got beat. Pure and simple.
They may not have had their full roster of players, but they pride themselves on being one of the deepest team's in the league. But their bench failed to come through tonight for a team desperate for bench production.
The Mavericks now have three days off before a home match-up with the best team in the West, the L.A. Lakers. Dallas is 1-1 against the Lakers this season in L.A.
The Lakers are 8-5 on the road and have lost two straight roadies against the Clippers and the Portland Trail Blazers. L.A. will also be playing on the second night of a back-to-back after going against the Spurs in San Antonio on Tuesday night.
Tip-Off is at 7:30 and can be seen locally on KXTA 21.
News and Notes:
- Utah had lost four of their previous five games before Saturday's meeting with Dallas.
- The Mavericks are now 2-2 in their last four games and 2-2 in their last four home games.
- Dallas is 5-6 this season on the second night of a back-to-back.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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