Rookie Rodrigue Beaubois had career-highs across the board as his insertion into the lineup at the end of the first quarter provided the Mavericks with the spark they desperately needed. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)Is Rick Carlisle watching the same games we are?
It's going to be even harder for the Mavericks coach to justify keeping Rodrigue Beaubois out of the lineup considering the rookie scored 26 points in the first half, besting his previous career high of 24 and fueling a 51-20 run by the Dallas Mavericks (48-25) to end the half. Beaubois made his first five shots from the field (3-3 from three) and the Mavs went from down 21-16 with 3:17 left in the first quarter to the Golden State Warriors (20-52), to leading 67-41 at the half.
"I felt great," said Beaubois. "I thought I couldn't miss so I kept shooting."
After Brendan Haywood jammed his finger and went to the bench, Dallas was forced to go to a small-ball lineup. Unlike earlier in the season, instead of relying on J.J. Barea in this situation, the Mavs turned to Rodrigue Beaubois. With Eddie Najera at center, Shawn Marion at power forward along with Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, and Beaubois as the three-guard catalysts, the small and speedy lineup worked to perfection.
Beaubois especially excelled in this situation as his raw athleticism and sweet-stroke immediately paid dividends. This combined with Najera's tenacious play (nine points, nine rebounds, two steals and one block) forced both Haywood and Erick Dampier to the bench for the rest of the game. When the dust settled, Roddy B had set a team rookie record with nine threes made (nine of 11 attempts) and had career-highs in points (40), rebounds (eight) and blocks (three) in 30 minutes of action. In total he made 15-22 shots (68 percent) and was the most valuable player on the court.
"What a performance by Beaubois," said Warriors coach Don Nelson. "Unbelievable."
The Mavericks simply looked flat and uninterested in the first six-and-a-half minutes of game action, until the Roddy B came into the game. I hope Carlisle was paying attention, this is something Dallas needs on a night-in night-out basis.
No Drop-Off On D
Not only did the choice to go small work as expected on the offensive end, it paid some serious dividends on defense. The Warriors shot only 33.3 percent for the game and the Mavericks had a total of 15 steals (led by Marion with five) and six blocked shots (Roddy B had three) as the decrease in size helped the transition defense.
After averaging 121.7 points per game for their last nine contests, Golden State was held to a mere 90 points. This is just another example of how much better Dallas is when they get out on the break. It's extremely beneficial on both ends of the court for the Mavs to push the tempo.
What's Next
This is the type of win Dallas needed going into the most important game of the season at home Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. The season series is tied 1-1 with each team winning once in Denver and the team that pulls out a victory will hold the tie-breaker if the two teams are tied up come playoff time.
"We're trying to get the highest seed we can, hopefully let it all out there the last 10 games," said Dirk Nowitzki who had 13 points and 10 rebounds against the Warriors. "We have a big game Monday with Denver. They're right there with us."
Expect a full preview Monday before the game.
News and Notes:
- Rodrigue Beaubois 40 points were the second most in a game by a rookie this season. Brandon Jennings scored 55 Nov. 14 against these same Golden State Warriors.
- Dallas' 16 made threes and 30 attempts were both season-highs.
- Beaubois set a Mavericks rookie record with nine made three-pointers. The previous record was eight makes - held by Jason Kidd.
- Dirk Nowitzki's now has 16 double-doubles this season.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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