Dallas bounces back against the lowly Cavaliers, holding a double-digit lead for the majority of the contest, led by Shawn Marion (above) and a revitalized, team-wide scoring attack. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)A healthy Dallas Mavericks (25-8) squad -- the "Streak Busters" of the NBA -- is something you don't want to see upcoming on the schedule when on a winning streak. On the other hand, the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-26) are the team you relish seeing -- especially when in the midst of a losing streak.
Shawn Marion (22) and DeShawn Stevenson (21) both set season-highs in points, while all five Mavericks' starters scored in double figures to snap a three-game losing streak in taking down the team with the second-worst record in basketball.
"We are beat up right now," Marion said. "We needed this game. We had a tough night in Milwaukee."
With Marion healthy again, the Mavericks decided to start their five best players out of the gate (Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Stevenson, Marion and Tyson Chandler). It worked to perfection as Dallas jumped out to an 8-0 lead, which grew to 21-7 midway through the first quarter.
Unfortunately for the Mavs, and this has happened so often this season, Cleveland mounted a run to end the quarter; cutting the lead to just two points to end the first. When the dust settled at the beginning of the second quarter, the Cavaliers had mounted a 22-6 push to take their first lead of the game at 28-27.
"They made runs at us," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said, "but we had answers."
Carlisle's team immediately mounted an 8-0 run after Cleveland's spurt, which grew to a 22-6 run of their own, as the Mavericks took their largest lead of the game 49-34. The key to the Mavs push wasn't perpetrated by the five starters, but by four hustling reserves and a 3-point clinic put on by Stevenson that turned the game back around.
Stevenson hit two huge 3's (apart of a career-high five on the night) and Dominique Jones scored seven points during the run with Dallas working the inside-outside game to perfection. The Mavericks finished with 28 points in the paint for the first half -- thanks largely to Jones along with Chandler's dirty work down low.
The Mavs' center finished the game 6 of 6 from the field with 14 points and 14 rebounds, as Dallas outrebounded an opponent (37-34) for the first time since Dirk Nowitzki's injury against the OKC Thunder on Dec. 27.
"We needed this one desperately," Chandler said.
Ramon Sessions (19 points, 12 assists, seven boards) and Antawn Jamison (game-high 35 points and 10 rebounds) did their best to keep Cleveland (who were also missing starters Daniel Gibson and Anderson Varejao) in the game, with the Cavs cutting the lead down to 55-47 to end the first half. But the Mavericks jumped out to a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter and Cleveland would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
"This was a much needed win for us with what happened with Caron," Carlisle said. "It has been a tough 24 hours, but the guys came together and really battled hard."
This was just what the doctor ordered for a beaten, bruised and struggling Dallas squad. While the Cavs did end up shooting over 50 percent for the game, snapping the streak of 37 straight games Dallas had held an opponent under that, the Mavericks did what they had to in order to pull out the victory. Every Mav that touched the floor had at least one basket, and Dallas scored over 100 points in a game for the first time since Nowitzki went down.
Butler's Replacement?
With Caron Butler on the self for who knows how long, the Mavericks called up Jones, seeing his first action since the beginning of the season after spending time in the D-League, and he was all over the court. 'Nique finished the game as the high-scorer off the bench with nine points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal for good measure.
The rookie did miss 8 of 10 shots for the game, but his aggressiveness on the defensive end and in attacking the basket was key in the Mavericks pulling out the win.
What's Next
Dallas returns home with a day off before the Portland Trail Blazers come to town Tuesday night. Portland is currently 8th in the Western Conference with an 18-16 on the year (6-13 on the road), and the Blazers have won two straight -- six of eight overall -- even without Brandon Roy (knee) in the lineup.
In the only other meeting between the two teams this season, Dallas was able to grind out a 103-98 victory at the AAC on Dec. 15.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time.
News and Notes:
- It seems as though Jason Terry benefited the most from the insertion into the starting lineup. The Mavs' usual sixth man topped his combined scoring output over the last two games by three points, finishing with 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting (2 of 4 from deep) to go along with four assists and two steals. Dallas hopes those previous two games were just an aberration as he must step up in Butler's absence in order for the Mavericks to compete, even when Nowitzki returns from injury.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
No comments:
Post a Comment