Ed Davis (32) had a career night, and Dallas had trouble scoring points - reverting to launching almost nothing but 3's in the fourth quarter - as Toronto snapped the Mavs' five-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)Coming off an emotional win against Oklahoma City, in which they beat and bullied the Thunder to take control of the game in the fourth quarter; the Dallas Mavericks (24-6) were beaten and bullied by a shorthanded and struggling Toronto Raptors (11-20) squad Tuesday night.
While the Mavericks' leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki had to miss the game due to a knee injury suffered Monday night, the Raptors were missing their own leading scorer in Andrea Bargnani (who averages just over 21 points per) and starting power forward Reggie Evans - who leads the team in rebounding at just over 12 per contest.
The Raptors, like Dallas, were also on the second night of a back-to-back -- having played the night before in Memphis -- so I think that takes care of all the would-be excuses for a Mavericks' team that collectively got their asses kicked.
"It was a disappointing loss, but I would credit Toronto more on their effort and how well they played," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said. "They won the game. We didn't give it to them."
The Mavericks got off to a slow start, making only 4 of 20 shots (nine straight to end the first quarter) and committing seven turnovers en route to setting a season-low in scoring for a quarter as the Raptors took a 23-13 lead. This was indicative of how the contest would turn out, as the Raptors would hold the Mavs' to their lowest scoring output of the season.
"We only had one lead in the game when it was 1-0 to start," Carlisle said. "They got a double-digit lead in the first quarter. We made runs, but could never get anything consistently established."
Raports' rookie Ed David led the way, setting career-highs in both points (17) and rebounds (12) off the bench. Linas Kleiza had 16 points before being ejected in the third quarter, while DeMar DeRozan chipped-in 16 more as five Raptors scored in double figures. While the Mavs gave up only 84 points, Toronto was efficient; making over 47 percent of their shots and scoring 48 points in the paint as they abused Mavs' defenders at the basket.
Toronto kept the pedal to the metal throughout, jumping ahead by 13 points in the third quarter and 12 near the end of the contest. Dallas got the lead down to just three points twice in the fourth quarter, but became overly reliant on the 3-pointer and it cost them. The Mavericks jacked up nine 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, making just one.
Only three Mavs reached double-digits in scoring -- led by Jason Terry, who had 18 points and six assists off the bench, alone with Caron Butler's 15 -- and shot only 41.3 percent for the game.
"They just outplayed us," said J.J. Barea, who scored just seven points on 3 of 8 shooting off the bench. "They played great defense on us and we couldn't execute.
"They outplayed us on both ends."
What's Next
The Mavericks have a matchup with the team with the best record in all of basketball Thursday night, as the San Antonio Spurs come to town for the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Dallas handed the Spurs only their second loss of the season in San Antonio earlier this year, snapping a 12-game winning streak in the process.
San Antonio's record is now 27-4 on the season (9-2 on the road), and the Spurs have won 12 of the last 13 games overall - including a 97-82 pounding of the Lakers Tuesday night.
"They're the best team in the NBA right now," Jason Kidd said. "They have the best record and they're playing extremely well. We're going to have our hands full."
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. central time, can be seen nationally on TNT, and I'll be there to be your eyes and ears behind the scenes at the AAC.
(Portions of this article were contributed by the Mavericks P.R. staff)
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