With Dirk Nowitzki looking on from the locker room for most of the night due to injury, Shawn Marion (above, left) and the rest of the Mavericks picked up the slack - holding the Thunder to just 12 points in a dominant fourth quarter to pick up the win. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)Without injured superstar Dirk Nowitzki (who left early in the second quarter due to a right knee injury), the Dallas Mavericks (24-5) proved they're more than just a one-man show Monday night in Oklahoma City. Dallas showcased great depth and tenacious defense in dispatching the Oklahoma City Thunder (21-11), increasing their league-best road record to 11-1.
Kevin Durant broke out of his slump against Dallas with 28 points on the night, but the Mavericks used a strong fourth quarter, especially on the defensive end, to persevere without their injured MVP. A suffocating defense held the Thunder to only 4 of 18 shooting in the final frame and Dallas doubled-up OKC 24-12 for the quarter.
The anchor of the Mavs' defense, Tyson Chandler, closed out the game with a block, a rebound and a steal on Oklahoma City's final two possessions to finish off the Mavericks' 17th win in 18 contests.
"I knew this team was a defensive team. They have the record of 24-5 because they have a talented group of guys that play well," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.
"Dirk is one of the best players, but he isn't the only guy on their team."
Nowitzki went down after drawing a foul and banking a shot off the back-board for the and-one opportunity, falling awkwardly on his right foot with 9:10 left in the second quarter. Dirk converted at the line for his 13th point of the game, but went back to the locker room immediately after and did not return.
Shawn Marion started the second half and picked up right where Nowitzki left off in the first. The Matrix scored 10 points in the third quarter alone, finishing with 20 points - tying his season-high in points for the game - and dominating the offensive paint with an efficient 10 of 15 shooting. Combine that with nine rebounds, a block and some hard-nosed defense; and you can see why there wasn't much of a drop after Nowitzki left the contest.
"You hate to see the big German go down," Jason Terry said. "But we saw him at halftime and he was smiling. He told us, 'No problem. You guys got this."
Trailing by two going into the fourth quarter, the Mavericks relied on Terry - who had struggled going 1 for 9 through the first three quarters - to be their closer yet again. JET responded, knocking down four of his team's first five shots to start the quarter to give Dallas a 90-84 lead. With under two minutes to play, Dallas took a 101-91 lead on a long Caron Butler jumper to beat the buzzer and the lead got to no fewer than eight the rest of the way.
To put the icing on the cake, Terry provided the dagger with 27 seconds left for the final points of the game for either team. The former Sixth Man of the Year finished with 11 of his 13 points in the final frame, while also dishing out eight assists for the game.
Butler finished with 21 points to lead the Mavericks, while Jason Kidd nearly f'd around and got a triple double with 10 points, 10 assists and nine boards to go along with four steals. Russell Westbrook played Robin to Durant with 15 points and seven assists before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter due to an apparent elbow injury.
Six Mavericks finished with double-figures in points, and Dallas shot 49 percent from the field - while the new-look defense held the Thunder to only 42 percent shooting.
"Just a great team win," said Mavs assistant Dwane Casey, who is in charge of the team until coach Rick Carlisle returns from knee surgery. "Huge team win. The guys pulled together. We had to get into a rhythm offensively. It took us awhile to find it. This should be a huge confidence boost for our guys."
The way these Mavericks are playing, even going in without their head coach and losing the best player on the team to injury during the contest couldn't shake their confidence.
What's Next
The Mavericks travel back home to take on the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night on the tail end of a back-to-back. The Raptors are 10-20 on the season (3-11 on the road) but, in the Eastern Conference, they're only 2 1/2 games out of the playoffs. Toronto has lost three straight games and five of six overall. This is the first meeting between these two teams this season.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time.
News and Notes:
- Another sign of the vast improvement on the defensive end: Dallas is now 16-0 when scoring 100 or more points.
- Dallas has lost just one time since Nov. 19.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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