Mavericks notch 11th straight win in Avery Johnson's return to Big D. Jason Terry (31) notched 15 points to go along with a huge night for the Dallas reserves. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)Another night, another win for the streaking Dallas Mavericks (18-4).
This time, no fourth quarter outburst was needed as Dallas got out to a quick start and held on to beat the New Jersey Nets (6-17) - and former head coach Avery Johnson.
"It was pretty emotional," the Nets' head coach said after the contest. "A lot of friends and family are here tonight... it was good seeing some the guys."
"Dirk [Nowitzki] came over and said hello before and after the game. Jason Terry and I had a chance to visit with Mark [Cuban] after the game and a lot of people that meant a lot to me both as a player and as coach."
Terry braced himself for an emotional experience before the game.
"I got to shake his hand and hug him before the game," said Terry, one of only three holdovers from Johnson's regime in Dallas. "I actually thought it would be even a little more emotional. But it subsided as we got into the flow."
The pleasantries didn't last long as Dallas got straight to business right out of the gate. The Mavericks started the game out on fire from the field, taking a 30-19 lead after one quarter on a blazing 72 percent shooting. Dallas continued to pour in buckets in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 15 point lead, behind 14 points from Shawn Marion off the bench.
Nets' point guard Devin Harris, involved in the blockbuster trade to acquire Jason Kidd at the trade deadline just a few seasons ago, had four assists in the first quarter to pace New Jersey; but took a hard fall on his right shoulder late in the quarter and would not return to the game.
"I know Devin really wanted to come back and play well, but we just have to find a way," Johnson said. ... "It's not like he tweaked something, that is a hard fall."
Despite the absence of Harris, the third quarter saw New Jersey come out with more of an effort to get to the basket and it paid off. The Nets shot 18 of their 26 free throws on the night in the third alone (making 15), and two Travis Outlaw free throws took the Mavs lead down to five with 2:13 left in the quarter.
"We turned it over, made some bad decisions," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said of the third quarter. "They got timely scores and we were unable to get timely stops."
The Mavericks smallest lead in the second half appeared to be a wake-up call as Dallas rallied off a 9-4 run to end the third, taking a 10-point lead into the final frame. New Jersey got no closer than eight points the rest of the way, and an unrelenting Dallas defense held the Nets to only two points in the final 3:50 of the contest - along with a total of 41 percent shooting for the game.
"We can't shoot 41 percent as a team and expect to beat a championship-caliber team like the Mavericks." Johnson said.
A large culprit for this win, and the Dallas winning streak as a whole, is the resurgent play of the Dallas reserves. The Mavericks' bench outscored the Nets reserves 52-24 on the night, led by 18 from Marion (on an efficient 8-10 shooting) and 15 points from Terry.
Putting it all together for the Mavs off the bench was J.J. Barea. The back-up point guard dished out a career-high 13 dimes, doing his best Jason Kidd impersonation to allow Kidd the luxury of resting the entire fourth quarter.
"Yeah, J.J. had it going on," said Caron Butler, who had 15 points and four assists himself on the night. "He was doing a great job of getting into the paint, creating for others."
Lost in all the commotion of Avery's return and the Mavericks excellent bench play was a quietly excellent night from Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks' perennial All-Star scored a team-high 21 points, making 8 of 10 shots, and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double in the month of December.
Brooke Lopez led the Nets with a game-high 24 points, Anthony Morrow added 21 and former Maverick Kris Humphries chipped in 16 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
"...I thought Humphries and Lopez were really good for us inside tonight," Johnson said. "I thought Morrow shot the ball really well, but for our team to win we have to have to have everybody playing good."
It's good to see Dallas continue to take care of teams they are supposed to beat on their home court. Beating lesser-teams at the AAC last year was an adventure in itself, but early on this year the Mavericks have seemed to figure out how to win - no matter the opponent - on their home floor.
Dallas is now 10-3 on their home floor this season, tied for the most wins at home in the NBA.
What's Next:
The Utah Jazz come to town Saturday night in the second game of the Mavericks six-game homestand. This will be the second meeting in the last eight days between these two teams, with Dallas coming out on top 93-81 in Utah last Friday night. The Mavericks snapped the Jazz seven-game winning streak in that contest, and Utah has gone 2-2 since the defeat.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. central time.
News and Notes:
- Dallas had a total of 31 assists for the game, led by Barea's career-high 13 along with eight in three quarters from Kidd. The Mavericks averaged 23.2 per game on the season coming into the game - seventh-best in the NBA.
- Shawn Marion had a season-high four steals on the night and Dallas had 11 as a team.
- New Jersey has never won at the AAC, a streak of 11 contests. The last Nets' win in Dallas came in the 1999-2000 season at Reunion Arena.
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