After an icy first three quarters shooting, Dirk Nowitzki and the new-look three guard lineup propelled the Mavericks to an improbable victory in Memphis. (AP Photo/Jim Weber)With 7:16 left in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Mavericks (50-25) down 82-70 to the Memphis Grizzlies (38-36), Mavs coach Rick Carlisle - as he has many times this season - decided to go with the three-guard attack. This time, however, Rodrigue Beaubois remained as the third member of the crew and, paired with Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Dirk Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood, the decision worked to perfection - thanks largely to #41.
Dallas went on a 20-8 run from that point on to close out the game. This including a 13-0 spurt in the final four minutes before Mike Conley hit a 19-footer to put the Grizzles ahead 90-88 with 1:02 remaining. Then Nowitzki hit yet another clutch shot, this time a turnaround jumper with 45 seconds left over the extended arm of Dallas-native Darrell Arthur, tying the game at 90 and subsequently sending it to overtime. After making only five of 18 shots from the field, he made three straight shots to close out the fourth, two three-pointers and the aforementioned game-tier. Over the last 8:08 minutes of game action, including overtime, Nowitzki scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting including 10 of the last 11 Mavs points of the fourth quarter.
"He's the type of guy who has so much confidence in his shot," said Brendan Haywood, who scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Dallas made the first three baskets of OT, taking their first lead (92-90) since 47 seconds left in the first half (50-48). Nowitzki's fade-away 12-footer with 24 seconds left put Dallas up 101-98 and the Mavs made their free-throws to get to another 50-win season. Nowitzki finished with 28 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Not bad for an off night.
Terry led all-scorers with 29 points off the bench, had a game-high four steals, and Dallas was an outlandish +27 with the reigning Sixth Man of the Year on the court. In fact, the three-guard lineup was a combined +49, led by Terry and Beaubois (+14). Roddy B had 10 points, played some great defense and seemed to learn from his myriad of first half mistakes that included a lane-violation on a free-throw, traveling on an inbounds pass, and a foul on Memphis before they passed the ball inbounds. An excellent choice by Carlisle to give the rookie some run in crunch time and the new three-guard attack may be very useful as a change-up come playoff time.
As for the Grizzlies, O.J. Mayo (27), Zach Randolph (24), and Conley (25) all scored over 20 points, but Memphis has now lost three straight games. A main culprit was that the Grizzlies missed seven of their final eight shots from the field and committed four turnovers during the Mavericks' fourth quarter comeback.
"We can't close out games," said Zach Randolph, who scored six points in overtime but was held without a point in the fourth quarter. "That has been a big problem for us all season."
While it wasn't pretty (Dallas shot only 42.7 percent and committed 18 turnovers) the Mavs were able to play excellent defense in the second-half as Memphis saw their shooting percentage drop from 52.5 percent in the first half to only 40 percent for the game. And when Nowitzki came alive late, the Mavs were able to pull out the unlikely victory. It's not exactly an ideal situation to have to go to OT on the first night of a back-to-back, but Dallas will take the win.
Game Saver
With time running down and the game tied 90-90, the Grizzlies went to their best shooter in Mayo with the game on the line. Mayo received the pass just beyond the three-point line and seemed to have a pretty good look at a basket. Unfortunately for Memphis, Jason Kidd wasn't having any of that.
The 36 year-old point guard closed quickly on Mayo and left him no room to breathe as he barely got the shot off and missed badly as the game was sent into overtime. Yet another late game clutch defensive play from the Mavs leader. Oh, and Kidd also added 12 points (4-7 from deep), 10 rebounds and seven assists on the night. Not. Too. Shabby.
Bucking Two Trends
Coming into Wednesday night's game, the Memphis Grizzlies had won 30 of 39 games when they led after three quarters. On the flip-side of that, Dallas was 8-22 when trailing going into the fourth quarter. Take into account that the Mavs were down by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter, and this was a pretty remarkable comeback.
"This team doesn't have any quit in them," Haywood said. "We're not going to give in. As long as we think we have a shot, we're going to continue to fight and play hard."
What's Next
The Mavericks travel back home to take on the Orlando Magic tonight at the AAC. This will be their second game in two nights and Dallas is in the midst of a three games in four nights stretch.
It won't be easy as Orlando is 52-22 on the season, hasn't played since Sunday (a 103-97 victory over the Nuggets), and have won 13 of their past 15 games overall. The Magic are pretty good on the road also with a tidy 22-15 record record, having won five of their last six roadies.
Dallas won Feb.20, in Orlando 95-85, with a big game from Brendan Haywood and some excellent defense.
I will be at this game, with a press-pass, so expect an even more detailed report than usual as I'll finally have some access.
Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. and must be watched on TNT.
News and Notes:
- With the victory, the Dallas Mavericks are now the fourth team in NBA history with 10-straight seasons with 50 or more wins.
- Caron Butler scored 11 points and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds to lead the Mavericks.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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