Another weird game against the Timberwolves culminated with the 12th straight victory for the Mavs. Shawn Marion had a season-high 29 points as injuries required the swing-man to be a more focal part of the offense. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)You wouldn't know that one of these teams was dead last in the Western Conference and the other was in second place by watching the four games between Minnesota and Dallas this season. Not only did the T-Wolves defeat the Mavs at home by nine points (one of their five road wins this season), but just last week they pushed Dallas to the limit in a 109-112 loss.
The feistiness the T-Wolves have shown against the Mavs is uncanny for such a shitty team.
With Dirk Nowitzki in early foul trouble, the Dallas Mavericks (44-21) quickly found themselves in a 19-9 hole early-on in the first quarter. Then, a 23-4 run by the Mavs in a little over five minutes gave them a 32-23 lead in the first that they would not relinquish the rest of the game - but it was a challenge.
Despite their numerous double-digit leads throughout, it seemed as though Dallas kept allowing the Minnesota Timberwolves (14-50) to creep to that eight or nine point deficit area. Even with a 13-point lead with 5:26 left in the fourth quarter, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle still put Jason Kidd back into the game as no lead appeared to be safe against the T-Wolves.
Finally, with the Mavericks up 15 (125-110), Carlisle unleashed his three-man bench which allowed Kidd, Nowitzki and Marion to go to the bench. But, with J.J. Barea leaving with an ankle injury, Caron Butler was forced to play out the final :29 of regulation.
Shawn Marion led Dallas with his season-high 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and also got three three steals in arguably his most dominant game in a Mavericks' uniform.
"I've done that before," said Marion, referring to his days in a Suns' uniform with a chuckle. "That's easy."
Nowitzki added 24 points (including 18 in his first 18 minutes), Caron Butler scored 23 and Jason Kidd had 12 points and 10 assists as every Dallas starter scored in double-figures. Every Mavericks' starter also had at least one steal and, as a team, Dallas had 11 for the game.
Al Jefferson led Minnesota with 36 points and 13 rebounds, becoming the first T-Wolves player to reach the 30-point plateau this season. But 26 turnovers by Minnesota that led to 32 points for the Mavericks was their downfall.
"A lot of it was just careless mistakes," said Jefferson, in his first game back after being suspended two games for a DWI. "We just didn't take care of the ball. We've just been kind of struggling with that all year."
After yet another battle between these two teams, I'm happy to say there are no more games against the T-Wolves this year - thank God.
Ryan Hollins Is A Douche
What does the three-year player have against the Dallas Mavericks?
From literally punching DeShawn Stevenson in the head after a free-throw in the first quarter (without any type of foul being called), to giving a forearm shot to his former teammate in Nowitzki (finally getting ejected); Hollins played like a madman. Stevenson yelled some explectives at Hollins and Butler ran to Nowtizki's defense, getting in Hollins grill, as it rubbed quite a few Mavericks' players the wrong way.
It didn't seem to bother Nowitzki much after the game.
"Hollins is a little out of control, but hey, it happens out there," said Nowitzki.
I can understand playing aggressively and giving your all out there to feel like a tough-guy but this douche was just taking cheap shots. Hitting a guy in the head when they aren't paying attention to you doesn't make you hard, it makes you a bitch.
Beaubois Falls Down To Earth
After setting career high's in scoring in each of the past three games and shooting an amazing 62.5 percent from the floor, Rodrigue Beaubois showed why he is still a work in progress.
The rookie went 4-12 from the floor for only 12 points. More noticeable, was his defensive miscues as he had quite a few early-on which led to a quick benching from Carlisle.
Beaubois did contribute four assists, five rebounds and a huge Lebron-esque come-from-behind block on fellow-rookie Jonny Flynn with 5.1 seconds left in the first half. Roddy B will continue to get a large amount of playing time, simply because Dallas doesn't have enough bodies, but Carlisle needs to be patient with this kid.
The Guadelupe native has a bright future ahead in this league - and has the ability to be great trade-bait this summer - so play his ass Rick!
Barea Goes Out In The Fourth
Add another Mavericks player to the injury report as J.J. Barea rolled his ankle late in the fourth quarter. Barea was fouled on the play but couldn't shoot the free throws and is doubtful to play Wednesday against the Nets.
Dallas now has eight healthy bodies with Erick Dampier, Brendan Haywood and Jason Terry also on the shelf with injuries. It's unknown whether they are going to bring in another player (Von Wafer maybe?) or just roll with it considering the level of their upcoming opponent. It's although unknown whether Haywood will be able to go Wednesday, but that would be a plus. Haywood is listed as day-to-day with lower-back stiffness.
Barea finished the game with nine points and nine assists.
What's Next
The Mavericks go from facing the worst team in the Western Conference to taking on the worst team in the entire NBA, the New Jersey Nets, at home Wednesday night.
The Nets are 7-56 this season, score the fewest points (90.7) and have the worst point differential in the NBA this season (10.3). On a lighter note, New Jersey has won two of it's past six games.
Dallas beat the Nets earlier this season 117-101, giving them their 18th straight loss.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
News and Notes:
- The Mavericks have now won 22 road games this season which is the tied for the most road wins in the NBA this season with the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Dallas won only 18 road games all last season.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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