D-Town Sports News

Movin' On Up

2011-02-01T12:51:00.006-06:00

After nearly two years of D-Town Sports action, the run is finally coming to an end. I enjoyed every step of the ride, and hopefully some of you will follow me to my next venture. I know you've all been eagerly anticipating The D-Town Sports Decision for the last few weeks now, so here it is:

In this winter/spring, this is very tough, in this winter/spring I will be taking my talents to (two-and-a-half hours away from) Myrtle Beach and join Hoopsworld.com.

All Lebron-theatrics aside, I'll be joining the esteemed HoopsWorld crew to write about the Charlotte Bobcats and other stories around the NBA. I'll put up my direct location on the site very soon here on D-Town Sports, as well as dates for live chats coming up likely in March -- so if your interested in the NBA, check me out.

Thank you to everyone who supported and/or read my blog, and even those who just stopped by on accident while browsing the web for something else.

- Derek Page

(UPDATE: Browse all of my HOOPSWORLD articles right here.)

Interim No More

2011-01-11T13:30:00.005-06:00

The hiring of Jason Garrett (above) gives this Cowboys' team hope to compete next season. (AP Photo/Miles Kennedy)

As bad as the Dallas Cowboys were this season (and they were outlandishly bad), interim head coach Jason Garrett took over mid-season and rallied a beaten and demoralized team to a strong finish. In the midst of the toughest stretch of the season, the eighth coach in Cowboys history guided his team to a 5-3 record -- coaxing the type of team-wide effort from the players that was lacking through the first eight games when Dallas started a dismal 1-7.

His reward? A freshly minted four-year contract, signed late last week, along with a guarantee from owner/gm Jerry Jones of "final say" on all roster moves and each member of Garrett's coaching staff.

"Ultimately, we're going to feel good about the decisions we make as an organization," Garrett said in his introductory press conference as the Cowboys' head coach. "We'll communicate, we have very similar football values and we'll come to the right conclusions together."

This marks a stark contrast to the way Jones has done business as the general manager of this team for the majority of his time as owner/gm of the Cowboys. Jones not only realizes it's time for a change on his part, but the value of Garrett -- and here's why:

Even with starting quarterback Tony Romo on the shelf for the entirety of his eight game stretch coaching the Cowboys -- and fielding, statistically, the worst defense in Cowboys' history -- Garrett managed to win five games against seven teams that finished the season with a combined 68-60 record. Four of those teams finished at least 10-6 on the season, while three made the playoffs compared to only two such teams over the first half of the season.

Garrett's three losses as interim coach came by a combined 7 points.

"You can dream that this thing is in place long term because of his age and, frankly, his background and experience," Jones said.

What Garrett proved at the helm for Dallas was the ability to take a group of underachievers and turn them into a playoff-caliber football team just by introducing a novel approach: accountability. As quickly as Wade Phillips lost this team to open up the season and, seemingly just as easily, Garrett got them back with his no-nonsense attitude.

If Jerry really is giving Garrett the reigns in terms of roster moves, this is a step in the right direction. Now the Cowboys' head coach must turn his attention to free agency and the draft as Dallas has holes to fill on both sides of the ball.

Luckily for the Cowboys, so does every other team in football judging by the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Every road team won last weekend aside from the New Orleans Saints, who were taking on the Seattle Seahawks -- the only team in NFL history to win it's division and make the playoffs with a losing record.

Gotta love parity!

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Fourth Quarter of Doom - Magic Pound Mavs 117-107

2011-01-08T23:57:00.009-06:00

Mavericks' sloppy final frame, smoldering 3-point shooting from the Magic and Hedo Turkoglu's (15) spectacular all-around night lead to Orlando winning franchise-record ninth straight contest. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

It appears as though the mighty Dallas Mavericks (26-10) have gone from from the "Streak Busters" of the NBA, to the "Second Half Strugglers" in just a matter of weeks. Reminiscent of what happened just two nights ago against Oklahoma City, the Mavericks laid an egg in the second half -- particularly in a horrendously played fourth quarter -- after a strong first half.

The Orlando Magic (25-12) dominated the fourth, forcing four turnovers and going on a 26-3 run; this after Dallas took an 85-82 lead just over a minute into the final frame. The huge push put Orlando up 20 points with under four-and-a-half minutes to play and Dallas would wave the white flag soon thereafter, pulling all of it's starters with 2:55 left in regulation.

"We just started playing hard," Magic center Dwight Howard said of his team's 37-26 fourth-quarter surge. "We're trying to be consistent with the way we play. We've got to learn our lesson, that we can't expect to play only half the game."

What makes this so troubling is how well the Mavericks started out of the gate for the second straight contest.

Dallas led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter, led by five first half 3's from DeShawn Stevenson -- who finished with a season-high 24 points to lead the Mavs.

Dallas had a chance to take advantage after Howard picked up his third foul with 3:03 left in the second quarter, but Orlando responded with a 17-7 run to end the half that cut the Mavs lead to just six going into the locker room.

"I thought a key part of the game was the second quarter with Dwight out of the game and to come back and close that gap and be in the game at the half," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ..."It was as big as the stretch where we made the big run in the fourth quarter to go up 20."

Despite out-shooting the Magic both overall from the field and behind the arc, the Mavericks repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with turnovers. Dallas committed 11 in the second half alone, 17 total on the night, which led to Orlando getting out on the break and capitalizing with 21 points off turnovers.

Six Magic players scored in double figures, led by Howard recorded team-highs in both points (23) and rebounds (13). While Jason Richardson added 20 points and Hedo Turkoglu put on a show running the Magic offense. Renewed and reinvigorated after returning to the team he shined the brightest for, Turkoglu dished out a season-high 17 assists to go along with 13 points, five steals and three boards.

"You could tell he's a different player now," Richardson said of his former teammate in Phoenix. "He is a guy that can do everything."

Frustrations reached a boiling point for Dallas in the fourth quarter as both Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle (two technicals) and center Tyson Chandler (sixth foul + the technical) were ejected. Carlisle argued what should have been a foul taken by J.J. Barea on Howard that led to a J.J. Reddick 3-pointer -- demonstratively gesturing a bear hug to the officials before receiving two quick T's with 6:06 left in the quarter.

"I didn't like the officiating, obviously, but that's as much as I'm going to say about it," Carlisle said. "I think calls you disagree with are one of the realities in this league, and when you totally disagree a lot you get thrown out of the game."

Despite going 2-5 in the last seven games without their superstar and now for the duration without the second banana, Dallas remains second overall in the Western Conference - ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and behind only the San Antonio Spurs. This team can still right the ship, but not against the better teams in the league without a healthy Dirk Nowitzki.

Which brings us to...

What's Next

Dallas has three days off to lick it's wounds before embarking on a four-game road trip. Nowitzki is expected to at least accompany the team on the trip, but it's unknown if he'll be able to lace 'em up.

The Mavericks first opponent with be the Indiana Pacers, who are 14-20 on the season (9-9 at home) which is good for seventh best in the Eastern Conference. Indiana comes into the game in a tailspin, having lost three straight games, and six of the last seven overall.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

While Jason Terry scored 16 points and dished out a season-high nine assists, the back court duo of JET and Jason Kidd struggled mightily in this one. The duo combined to put up and ugly +/- of -38 for the contest. Kidd was worst among all players at -28 and also missed six of eight shots from the field, but did have seven assists and five boards out there.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press, or provided by the Mavericks P.R. Dept.)

Second Half Struggles - Thunder Beat Mavs 99-95

2011-01-06T23:09:00.009-06:00

It was a tale of two halves as Kevin Durant (above) and the Thunder came out with a vengeance in the second half to prevent Dallas from sweeping the season series. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Although the final outcome was to be expected, considering the Dallas Mavericks (26-9) were missing both Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler, the way this game played out was certainly a surprise. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who thought Dallas would score 30 points in the first quarter and shoot over 50 percent through three quarters without two of the top scorers on the team... and still lose.

That's how it unfolded -- The NBA: Where amazing happens -- as Dallas was quick out of the gate against the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-13), putting up 55 points in a first half that Mavs' coach Rick Carlisle termed "our undoing" due to a rash of Mavs' turnovers that allowed the Thunder to keep it close going into the second half.

"We had 10 turnovers for 12 points, and a lot of them were timely," Carlisle said.

The turnover story was a combination of poor ball handling by the Mavericks and quick hands by OKC as the Thunder accumulated nine steals in the first half. Let's delve into how things all got started, and how it subsequently fell apart for Dallas.

Hot shooting was the name of the game early-on, with the Mavericks shooting 72.7 percent midway through the first quarter, and Shawn Marion scored 10 of the first 12 points for Dallas on 5 of 6 shooting. Both trends would continue throughout the half, with Dallas taking a 10 point lead early in the second quarter (Marion had 21 points at halftime, while Dallas shot nearly 60 percent); but the Mavericks would hold just a four point lead going into halftime because of the aforementioned sloppy play.

"We had a 10 point lead and we should have pulled away and left them at the gate," Marion said. "They put together a little run and the next thing you know, we've got a battle on our hands."

The second half was a different story entirely as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and a rejuvenated Thunder team came out on fire. OKC went on a 16-6 run to start the third quarter, taking their first lead of the game at 60-59 near the beginning of the quarter. That marked the one and only lead change of the contest, with the Thunder taking a three point lead to end the third before piling it on in the fourth.

A swarming Thunder defense held Dallas to just 15 points in the third and only 40 total in the second half. The Mavericks, who were shooting over 59 percent from the field at halftime, saw their shooting percentage drop to just under 47 percent by the end of the contest.

"In the second half we were good defensively," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said, "but everybody knows that this [Mavericks] team is battling injuries and they're a different team than a few weeks ago. But we did play good defense in the second half."

The fourth quarter saw Oklahoma City's lead reach double digits by dominating the offensive boards. The Thunder accounted for seven of the teams 16 total offensive rebounds in the fourth alone, setting up second-chance opportunities that killed the Mavericks in the final frame. DeShawn Stevenson hit three straight 3-pointers late to make the game look closer than it was, but Carlisle waived the white flag with 1:18 left in regulation by pulling all of his starters except for Stevenson.

"We struggled on the boards, and the timely second-chance points were are undoing down the stretch," Carlisle said. "That is really one of the emphasis and, having said that, we outrebounded them by two total over the whole game, so that were really just timely plays."

Another disturbing item is how Marion faded from the offense in the second half, coinciding with the Mavs' struggles on that end of the floor. After scoring 21 points in the first half, Marion would score just four in the second due to what point guard Jason Kidd said was some aggressive switching on the pick and roll.

"They did a lot of switching one through four, and we kind of played into their hands a little bit," Kidd said. "With the pick and roll with Shawn, they just switched it."

Marion still finished with a team-high 25 points, but didn't seem overly thrilled with his second half offensive exodus in interviews after the game. When asked what the difference was from the first and second half, Marion responded:

"Well they got their momentum going and we went away from what was working in the first half second half that we didn't do in the second half."

The Mavs' forward also preached that the team flow finds the open man on a night-to-night basis, toting the company line and so on and so forth -- but you can read between the lines on that last statement. The testiness of Marion is actually a good thing here as it shows this team isn't grasping for excuses with Dirk out. Marion's led the team in scoring in two of the past three games and has proved that he needs the ball in his hands with Nowitzki out of the lineup.

Each and every game is going to be a struggle without Nowitzki in the lineup, and the margin for error is extremely thin for a team lacking it's NBA MVP candidate. Dallas just has to continue to play hard and avoid the costly mistakes that ended up costing them the game against OKC.

For the Thunder, Durant finished with a game-high 28 points and Westbrook finished with 15 points and nine assists as the Thunder snapped a two-game losing skid. Also, because it was the final meeting between the two teams this season, OKC avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of Dallas.

Box Score

What's Next:

The Orlando Magic come to town Saturday night for the last meeting between the two teams this season. Dallas won earlier this season, 105-99 in Orlando, behind six Mavs in double figures led by the injured Caron Butler. The Magic have won eight straight games since taking that loss against Dallas, beating some of the NBA's elite including the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Even with only four points in the second half, Marion still finished with a season-high 25 points on 12 of 17 shooting.
Jason Kidd's shooting woes continued, going 0 of 7 for the game and 0 of 4 from deep. Kidd did have 10 rebounds and seven assists for the night, but no Nowitzki on the wing prevents a lot of those open looks he would normally get.
Dirk Nowitzki has now missed a career-long six straight games due to injury. The Mavericks are 2-4 in those games.

Rangers Snag Beltre To Six-Year Deal

2011-01-05T17:15:00.006-06:00

Adrian Beltre (in uniform) gives the Rangers' offense some added pop, while providing the defense with a Gold Glove caliber fielder at third base. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

After losing Cliff Lee to the Philadelphia Phillies and missing out in acquiring starter Zach Grienke from Kansas City, the Texas Rangers needed to secure an impact signing to make sure this offseason would not be a failure.

That's exactly what they accomplished, signing third baseman Adrian Beltre to a six-year, $96 million contract. Playing for the Boston Red Sox last season, Beltre hit .321 with 28 homers and 102 RBI in winning his first career American League Silver Slugger award.

"We all know that the Rangers have a really good team. I want to win," Beltre said. "This team is willing to do whatever it takes to get to that next step. That's one of the factors to make my decision to come here easier."

We'll delve into how Beltre's signing helps this Rangers' ballclub in a myriad of ways, but first lets get into how his contract will work.

From The Associated Press:

Beltre gets $14 million this year, $15 million in 2012, $16 million in 2013, $17 million in 2014, $18 million in 2015 and $16 million in 2016. The Rangers can void the final season if Beltre fails to have either 1,200 plate appearances in 2014-15 combined or 600 in 2015.

The way this contract is structured, Texas will have some flexibility towards the end of the deal - Beltre will be 32 when the 2011 season starts - but for a team with World Series aspirations, this deal had to be made. Not only will Beltre's defensive presence down that third base line make life easier for every pitcher on the Rangers' roster, but ESPN's Buster Olney believes the acquisition gives Texas the best defensive left side in baseball with Elvis Andrus manning shortstop.

At the plate, Ron Washington has some options on where to hit Beltre in the order but, as of now, he's penciled in as the cleanup guy behind American League MVP Josh Hamilton and in front of Nelson Cruz. This is where things get tricky for the Rangers, however; as Beltre's consistency at the plate isn't nearly as solid as in the field.

In only two out of 13 MLB seasons has Beltre hit over .300 from the plate and drove in more than 100 RBI.

Can you guess the significance of these two seasons?

In 2004, Beltre had a monster year for the Los Angeles Dodgers with career-highs in batting average (.334), home runs (48) and RBI (121). This just before becoming a free agent and subsequently signing an equally monster contract with the Seattle Mariners.

Beltre followed his massive year with five largely forgettable seasons with the Mariners that included an injury plagued 2009 campaign. Beltre still hit an average of over 20 homers per year, but managed just 79 RBI annually, while his batting average topped out at .276 in 2007. While these are solid numbers, especially for a player with Gold Glove level defense, they aren't exactly "cleanup hitter for the Rangers" material.

Last season, Boston signed Beltre to a low-risk, one-year deal and the third baseman responded with another great season in a contract year. Beltre made the All-Star team for the first time in his career during the only other season (aside from the aforementioned 2004) he would hit over .300 and knock in over 100 RBI.

In all fairness, Safeco Field is a cavernous ballpark that makes it tough on power hitters, and Beltre had little to no protection in the Mariners' lineup. In Seattle, he was relied upon to be the guy, whilst in Texas he can just be a guy with good hitters surrounding him no matter where he hits in the order.

Texas is putting it's hopes in the fact that a more hitter-friendly ballpark and a loaded lineup with have Beltre hitting like he did for the Red Sox - and that those medicore seasons in Seattle are simply a thing of the past. Regardless, this is a win-win for both sides and gives the Rangers' new ownership group that big signing they needed to kick off the journey to get back to the World Series.

"The organization had a taste for something last year, finished a few games shy of our ultimate goal," Rangers' general manager Jon Daniels said. "Everything that we've been talking about and looking to do this offseason has been in the name of improving the club to a point where we can win the division and get back to the World Series and ultimately win it. This signing is very much in line with that goal."

Young To Switch Positions... Again

Michael Young, who has seemingly been a pillar for the Rangers at nearly every infield position, will make the move to designated hitter/utility man with Beltre taking over a third. The longest-tenured Rangers at 11 seasons showed yet again his willingness to put his ego aside to make this team better.

That sentiment wasn't lost on the team's newest player.

"I have a huge respect for Michael," Beltre said. "Him willing to do that for me, it means a lot."

Not only does this make Texas a better team both in the field (where Young was an average-to-below average at third) and at the plate for the upcoming season, but it will elongate Young's career as well. Being able to DH and play the field only occasionally will reduce the wear-and-tear on the 34-year old Young - allowing him to be fresh come playoff time, and continue to play at a high level for the Rangers for years to come.

"It's clear that I want to play for the Rangers," Young said. "I'm willing to make some pretty big sacrifices in order to do that. Obviously, this is pretty significant in terms of my career path."

It's also significant in the Rangers' path, as this team is set up to be a contender in the American League for years to come.

News and Notes:

Texas also completed the signings of former Cy Young Winner Brandon Webb and reliever Arthur Rhodes earlier this week. Webb is coming off reconstructive shoulder shoulder that has kept him out for most of the last two seasons (Webb's career stats). Rhodes is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.29 ERA in 69 appearances with the Cincinnati Reds, making the All Star team for the first time in his career. The former Mariners' excellent set-up man adds another veteran lefty, along with Darren Oliver, to solidify the Texas bullpen. (Rhodes career stats)

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavs Grind Out 84-81 Win Over Blazers

2011-01-05T07:18:00.007-06:00

The Mavericks showcased some shutdown defense all game long, while Jason Terry (31) displayed his fourth quarter heroics once again to lead the Mavericks to a close win over Portland. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

In a game where baskets were difficult to come by, Jason Terry provided just enough spark in the fourth quarter to give the Dallas Mavericks (26-8) their second straight victory. Terry scored seven of the Mavs' final nine points of the contest to put away the game.

"The fourth quarter is [Terry's] show," Tyson Chandler said. "He's done it over and over. He's so clutch, so much fun to watch."

Terry scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and a stingy Dallas' defense held the Portland Trail Blazers (18-17) to just 81 points on 42 percent shooting.

"That's one thing we can do is get better defensively," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We battled and played a gritty game. That's what we have to do."

Chandler, who scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his second straight double double, controlled the paint all game long on both ends of the floor. The Mavericks' center's presence on the defensive end was considerable and he altered shots all game long, this despite finishing with just one block. There was also a considerable amount of second-chance opportunities on offense thanks to Chandler's season-high six offensive rebounds.

LaMarcus Aldridge continued his dominant play against the Mavericks, especially in crunch time scoring 11 of his team's 21 fourth quarter points. He finished with a game-high 28 points and was the Blazers only consistent scorer.

"[The Mavericks] made big shots, we missed big shots," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "They got big boards, we gave up big boards. When it's winning time, you have to make those plays."

This is the first time since Dirk Nowitzki went down with a knee bruise that Dallas has gotten the chance to play against and above-average team, and this team responded to the challenge.

What's Next:

Dallas gets a day of rest before returning the their home floor Thursday night to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC is 23-13 on the season (10-7 on the road), and is visiting Dallas for the first and only time this season. The fifth-seeded team in the Western Conference fell to the Mavericks 103-93 on Dec. 27, as Dallas battled back in the fourth quarter after Nowitzki went down in the first half to take the second meeting between the two teams this season. Dallas won the first meeting of the season on Nov. 24, behind 34 points from Nowitzki and 18 rebounds from Chandler, in another contest where the Mavs took over in the final frame.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. central time, can be seen nationally on TNT, and I'll be there to be your eyes and ears behind the scenes so I can give you the full story after the game.

News and Notes:

Dirk Nowitzki watched from the sidelines for the fifth straight game due to a bruised knee and Dallas won just it's second contest with Nowitzki on the shelf.
While he has been filling up the stat sheet on a regular basis, Jason Kidd's jump shot has been erratic to say the least. In five games since Nowitzki went down to injury, Kidd is making a measly 30 percent of his shots from the field.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Butler Done For Season

2011-01-04T15:08:00.005-06:00

Dallas will miss Caron Butler's 15 points per game. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

After undergoing season-ending knee surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right knee, Dallas Mavericks' forward Caron Butler will miss the rest of the regular season.

Butler was making his way up the Mavericks scoring totem pole over the last few weeks, averaging 21.5 points per in the four games before his injury. The swingman was second in scoring among Mavs' not named Dirk Nowitzki at 15 points per, only a fraction of a point behind Jason Terry at 15.4, and had bumped up his shooting percentage for the season to 45 percent.

Needless to say, this is a huge blow to an already injury-riddled and struggling Dallas team.

The Mavericks have struggled to just one win in their last four games (after starting the season 24-5) due to the rash of injuries. Nowitzki is not expected to return tonight, but hopes to return later this week; and Rodrigue Beaubois timetable is still in the air after fracturing a bone in his right foot while playing for the French national team in August.

While Dallas could decide to stand pat, I don't believe that this team (as presently constructed) without Butler can compete for a championship. Unfortunately for the Mavs, Butler was (along with Beaubois, Dominique Jones and two first rounders) the biggest trade chip this team had to secure the services of another superstar to pair with Nowitzki. Dallas can still trade Butler, even though he's injured, as an expiring contract; but it's not going to yield the same return, and the Mavs may still have to involve Beaubois.

Here's Butler's Tweet, while Dallas still hasn't made a public announcement on the matter.

Rebound Game - Mavs Take Down Cavs 104-95

2011-01-02T22:43:00.007-06:00

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)

Cowboys Take Down Eagles' Backups - 14-13

2011-01-02T22:39:00.001-06:00

Demarcus Ware (94), Terence Newman (41) and a stifling Cowboys' defense provided the spark to allow Dallas to squeak out a win against Philly's second-teamers. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

With third-string quarterback Steven McGee making the first start of his career, the onus was on the Dallas Cowboys (6-10) defense to make this a winnable game against the Philadelphia Eagles' (10-6).

The Dallas D proved up to the challenge; forcing four turnovers, accumulating six sacks and scoring a touchdown against backup quarterback Kevin Kolb and the rest of the Eagles' second stringers.

With the victory, interim coach Jason Garrett finished his eight-game audition to be the next head coach of the Cowboys with a 5-3 record, and the three losses have come by a total of just seven points -- something that's sure to weigh heavily in his favor when owner/general manager Jerry Jones begins the selection process for the team's next head coach.

"I would absolutely love to be this team's coach," Garrett said.

Demarcus Ware is a big reason why Garrett didn't finish with a .500 record in his half a season as the Cowboys' head coach. The recent Pro-Bowl selection set the tone defensively, recording three sacks and recovering a fumble in the second quarter before returning it 17-yards for a touchdown -- giving Dallas it's first points of the contest.

For one of the few times this season, Terence Newman was also a difference-maker for the defense. The Cowboys' corner provided two interceptions, one of which was the final nail in the coffin to close out the game on the Eagles' final possession. Two of the longest tenured veterans on the defensive side of the ball stepped up to avoid what would have been an extremely embarrassing loss -- which actually would have been fitting considering all of those kick to the nuts, late-game defeats this team has sustained this season.

Dallas held Philly to just 244 total yards, and 13 points ties the fewest the Cowboys have allowed all season.

"It obviously could've been a lot better, but at least if the situation comes where I have to go back in there, you know, you feel like you knocked some of that [rust] off," Kolb said.

While a win is a win, this doesn't mean anything but a 6-10 record and worse selection at the NFL draft. Dallas went up against a Philadelphia team locked into the number three seed in the NFC, with few starters playing and really no incentive to win the game. It looks nice, and the defense did prove it could do a number on a good team's bench warmers, but it in no way rids Cowboy fans of the bitter taste left by this season.

This team still needed a 9-play, 54-yard drive to close this thing out and Dallas still has more questions than answers on both sides of the ball going into the offseason.

McGee Struggles Early, Plays Well Enough To Win Late

The Cowboys' rookie quarterback was shaky at times Sunday afternoon against the Eagles, but came through when it mattered most. After under throwing receivers, overthrowing receivers and everything in between through three-and-a-half quarters, McGee got on the same page with Jason Witten on the Cowboys final drive and it would turn out to be the difference. McGee scampered for seven yards and completed 4 of 5 passes on the final drive, all to Witten, including the 4-yard touchdown pass that would prove to be the game-winner.

"I think he handled himself good in a tough environment," injured Cowboys starter Tony Romo said of McGee.

McGee numbers for the game are horrendous (11 of 27 passing, 127 yards, one touchdown), but he didn't commit a turnover and found the Cowboys' most reliable pass catcher with the game on the line. The rookie also finished with 55 yards rushing one nine carries -- second only to Felix Jones (11 carries 81 yards) for the game.

Hey, the third-stringer played better than the guy who was supposed to be the Eagles starting quarterback this season. Kolb finished with 162 yards on 18 of 36 passing with one touchdown and three interceptions.

What's Next

Dallas goes into the offseason finishing with it's worst regular season record since the 2004 campaign led by Vinny Testaverde. Jones must figure out what direction he wants to take this team coaching-wise, to go along with an abundance of personnel decisions to make with this underachieving team that somehow sent a league-high five players to the Pro Bowl.

Both the offensive and defensive lines must be retooled, along with the entire secondary and the middle linebacker position if the Cowboys want to return to prominence in 2011.

News and Notes:

Dallas finishes the season having given up a whopping 436 points -- the most in franchise history.
Miles Austin finished the game with two receptions for 62 yards, breaking 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight season.
Jason Witten also finished the game with over 1,000 receiving yards, the second straight season he's done so and the third time for his career. Witten also finishes with the team lead in receiving touchdowns at nine.
With three sacks in the contest, Demarcus Ware finished with 15.5 for the season - most in the NFL.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Boykins, Bucks Down Depleted Mavs- 99-87

2011-01-01T23:32:00.010-06:00

Caron Butler went down, along with the franchise record eight-game road winning streak as Earl Boykins (above) and the Bucks handled Dallas in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

For the second time this season, the Milwaukee Bucks (13-18) have delivered a potentially serious blow to this Dallas Mavericks (24-8) team.

First it was the premature end to the Mavs' 12-game winning streak in Dallas just a few weeks ago. This time it's a lopsided victory with potentially far-reaching implications, not just because it handed the Mavs' their third straight loss, but more so because of the first quarter exit from Caron Butler due to an apparent right knee injury.

Butler joins Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion as important Mavericks to have missed time in an injury-riddled past week.

"We're short on bodies now, having some injury problems," Dirk Nowitzki said.
"But we've got to fight through it. Hopefully I can get back soon and Marion can get back soon, and we'll see how bad Caron is and we'll just go from there."

Earl Boykins, filling in for an injured Brendon Jennings, gave the Mavericks no quarter -- scoring a season-high 26 points and dishing out six assists to snap the Bucks two game skid.

"Look, with Dirk out and Shawn [Marion] out, it's a game we had to win and we won," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "That's great."

With another key cog for Dallas going down early, it came down to a battle of the pint-sized point guards as the Mavs' J.J. Barea (5-10) put on a show at the offensive end to try to counter the outstanding play of the aforementioned Boykins -- the second-shortest player in NBA history (5-5).

While Boykins' team got the better of Barea and the Mavericks, little JJB did all he could to resuscitate a floundering Dallas offense.

The Mavericks shot only 37.4 percent for the contest, thanks largely to another horrendous performance by Jason Terry (is it already playoff time?), who made only 3 of 15 attempts from the floor. Dallas also jacked up 31 treys on the night, making nine (yeah, that's 28 percent), led by Terry (1-6), DeShawn Stevenson (2-8) and Brian Cardinal (1-5).

Barea did all he could to mask these shortcomings, scoring a career-high 29 points on 11 of 21 shooting. He seemed to be the only Mavericks' player interested in driving the lane, and it showed as only he and Tyson Chander (4-5, four dunks) shot better than 42 percent from the field individually.

Offense wasn't the only problem for Dallas, as mental lapses on the defensive end allowed Milwaukee to shoot nearly 50 percent from the field (49.4). Keyon Dooling's 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining in the contest iced the game and was indicative of the Mavericks' sloppy play on that end of the floor all night. The rotation on the 3-point shot was painfully late, which had Dallas players arguing with one another about their assignments on the play going back to the bench.

Dallas was so sloppy in it's defensive staple, the 2-3 zone, Boykins thought the Mavericks were a team just tinkering with idea of the zone defense.

"A lot of teams play the zone, but you know sometime they get overextended just because guys aren't used to playing the zone," Boykins said. "Their guards were a little too wide. Once we were able to get their guys wide we passed to the middle and that was huge. ...

"There's not too many teams in this league that can play a very good zone."

Ouch!

Butler's "Potentially Serious" Injury

Another game, another key component for the Mavericks has fallen. This time, unfortunately for the Mavs, it's being termed as a "potentially serious" injury that may keep Caron Butler out for a substantial amount of time.

"We're afraid that it's potentially serious," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We'll find out [Sunday] where things are at, probably later in the day."

Butler scored five of the first seven Mavs' points to start the contest, but landed awkwardly on his right leg after a jump stop in the lane. The Mavericks' swingman jumped high into the air before writhing around in the floor in pain. The good news is Butler was able to leave the court under his own power with 2:47 left in the first quarter.

Kidd Nearly F'D Around and Got Quadruple Double

After achieving his 106th triple double against the Spurs last Thursday, Jason Kidd nearly did one better in a fantastic all-around game Saturday night. Kidd scored 14 points, dished out nine assists, grabbed seven rebounds, snatched six steals and provided another earth-shaking rejection at the rim as the Mavericks' point guard threatened to overload the stat sheet.

The small-ball lineup of Kidd, Terry, Barea, Stevenson and Chandler worked in spurts against the Bucks, but the defense suffered as Andrew Bogut (7-0) and Ersan Ilysava (6-10) had their way down low.

What's Next:

No rest for the weary, Dallas travels to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers for the first time this season. The Cavs are dead last in the Eastern Conference at 8-25 for the year (5-10 at home), and have lost 15 of 16 overall.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

The JET needs maintenance: Terry has made only 6 of 31 shots from the field over the last two games (19 percent), and scored a total of only 15 points -- equaling his normal scoring average per game this season.
Another key to a loss: Dallas was dominated on the boards for the second straight game as the Bucks grabbed 51 rebounds compared to just 31 for the Mavs, with Kidd leading the Mavs with seven. Maybe Nowitzki's impact on the rebounding game is just another thing Mavericks' fans take for granted.
Speaking of Nowitzki: The Mavericks are now 0-3 this season without the big man in the lineup.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Moral Victory? Mavs Fall To Spurs 99-93

2010-12-31T00:58:00.005-06:00

The effort was certainly there on this night, but Gary Neal (14) and the Spurs were too much for the Nowitzki-less Mavs. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

Coming off possibly the ugliest loss of the season, largely due to the lack of sustained energy, next up was the San Antonio Spurs (28-4) who are off to the best start in franchise history. However, getting up to face the NBA's best team was no problem for the Dallas Mavericks (24-7), as this team hung tough against the hard charging Spurs throughout.

"It's a tough loss," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said, "but we just have to keep battling."

Despite the loss, the mood in the locker room after the game was unexpectedly upbeat -- considering the Mavericks had just been beaten by a division-rival, in what was a close contest at times.

"With this effort, we'll win a lot more games than we would lose... no matter what the record the opposing team has," Kidd said.

Dallas jumped out of the gate hot, led by Kidd who was all over the floor making plays.

A resounding block on a breakaway lay-up attempt by Tony Parker (after Parker poked the ball away for a steal on the other end) was the first bomb to drop in a mushroom-cloud laying quarter for Kidd. The Mavs point guard dished out an assist to newly-inserted starter Brian Cardinal on the other end, then proceeded by scoring seven straight Maverick points to put the team ahead 18-12.

Kidd finished with seven points, four assists, two boards, two blocks and a steal in the only quarter Dallas would hold a lead on the night.

"We were flat against Toronto, so the big thing was to come out and be aggressive," said Kidd, who finished the game with 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds - his 106th career triple double. "My job is to make things happen, find the open guy, and knock down shots. I've just got to be aggressive."

The whirlwind play of the Mavericks' point guard couldn't halt a Spurs push to end the first quarter, then things got ugly after Kidd sat on the bench to start the second. The Mavericks not only lost their offensive identity without the floor general, but also their tenacity on the defensive end of the floor.

The San Antonio reserves led the way as the Spurs reeled off a 21-2 run to take a 45-29 lead with 8:11 left in the second. Gary Neal and George Hill provided the spark as the Spurs bench would go on to outscore the Mavs reserves 42-31 for the contest. Neal actually led the Spurs with 21 points off the pine, hitting 6 of 10 shots (5 of 8 from deep) to lead what Carlisle described as the Spurs' "3-point barrage" that decided the game.

"Gary has been important to us all year long coming off the bench, scoring, playing hard," Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich said. "He has been a big part of what we've been doing."

Caron Butler did his best Batman impression throughout, scoring a season-high 30 points in an effort to keep the Mavericks in it. Dallas got to within one point three times in the third quarter, led by Butler's continued third quarter magic as he put up eight points, but weren't able to supply that impact push to blow the game open.

The Spurs opened up the final quarter with a seven point lead, extending it to double digits for the majority of the fourth, and the Mavericks were unable to get any closer than five (after a desperation Terry 3-pointer with 22 seconds left) the rest of the way.

"We just couldn't get over the hump," Carlisle said. "It was tough, it was frustrating, but our guys kept battling. I take the positives out of it, but right now we've got to really work together. Without Dirk in the lineup, the margins for error are extremely slim."

Popovich even piled on after the contest, saying "we don't take too much out of the win" and even chastising his team for not improving as a team overall.

"I thought they did a lot better overall than we did in a lot of ways," Popovich said.

While I refuse to accept the notion that this can construed by some as a quality loss for this Mavericks team -- considering they shot only 42 percent from the floor and were bullied on the boards by the Spurs at 50-34 -- but it is certainly a step in the right direction after the shellacking they took at the hands of the Raptors Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, without Dirk Nowitzki, that's all you can really hope for out of this Mavs' team until the big German makes his triumphant return.

What's Next:

Dallas gets a night off to ring in the New Years before traveling to Milwaukee on New Year's Day to take on the Bucks. The Mavs 12-game winning streak was snapped earlier this year by Milwaukee, at the AAC, and this is the second and final meeting between the two teams this season.

The Bucks are 12-18 this season (7-7 at home) and are missing starting point guard Brendon Jennings -- both their leading scorer (17.9) and assist-man (5.5). Milwaukee has lost five of their last seven games overall, but the Mavs know first hand how dangerous this team can be - especially now if Nowitzki is unable to suit up.

"Milwaukee's a spunky team," Shawn Marion said.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. central time, Saturday night.

News and Notes:

Brian Cardinal got the start over Shawn Marion at power forward to start the contest. Cardinal scored nine points and did a little bit of everything as he even played out the game in crunch time with the Matrix looking on from the bench. Marion scored
Both Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi were did not see a minute of action for the game. Alexis Ajinca was the first big man off the bench, scoring seven points and grabbing two boards for the game.
Jason Terry, normally a player who thrives when in position to take the reigns offensively, struggled to find his shot all night. The Mavs' sixth man made only 3 of 16 shots (), finishing with just eight points and four assists. It's Terry second-lowest scoring game of the season, and only the third time he's finished without reaching double-digits. ... "It was a tough night for him, but he hit a couple of 3's at the end, " Carlisle said, "which was big for us and kept us alive." ... Dallas won't beat anyone without Dirk if they get this type of production from JET.

Dirk-Less Mavs Tumble Vs Raptors - 84-76

2010-12-28T22:48:00.011-06:00

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)

Fourth Quarter Stand - Mavericks 103 Thunder 93

2010-12-27T21:41:00.006-06:00

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)

Cardinals Take Cowboys Down A Peg - 27-26

2010-12-25T22:03:00.011-06:00

Dallas couldn't overcome two pick 6's, one from Antonio Rogers-Cromartie (29) on the Cowboys' first possession, and kicker David Buehler's extra point went wide left as Arizona won on a last-second field goal. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The Dallas Cowboys (5-10) are still a dumb and inefficient football team.

They may have tried to fool you the last couple of weeks with some strong play but, I assure you, it was all a mirage. Despite out-gaining the Arizona Cardinals (5-10) by over 110 yards and holding the ball for over 16 more minutes than the Cards, Dallas was beaten by a Jay Feely 48-yard field goal with only five seconds left in regulation.

Arizona drove 46 yards with less than 1:45 left in the contest and only one timeout, converting a 4th and 15 along the way against a Cowboys defense that is now ranked 31st in the NFL against the pass.
This came after Cowboys' kicker David Buehler blew an extra point attempt, allowing the Cardinals the chance to win the game on a field goal - and ruining rookie Stephen McGee's first passing touchdown as a pro.

"I'm not feeling too good," Buehler said. "I feel bad for Stephen. He drove the team down there and got the touchdown. PATs are something that is something automatic. You have to put them through the uprights. I think I just rushed it a little bit."

That wasn't the only blunder as the Cowboys committed three turnovers for the game (compared to zero for the Cardinals), and Buehler's missed PAT was the culmination of a season chocked-full with boneheaded plays. Two interceptions on the Cowboys first two possessions of the game put Dallas in an early hole and both were due to receiver error.

Miles Austin fell down on the first INT, paving the way for Antonio Rogers-Cromartie to return the ball 32 yards to the house for the first six points of the game. Roy Williams dropped a quick out on the next possession, and Cardinals' corner Greg Toler made a shoestring catch and beat Jon Kitna's horrible angle to make it 14-0 with over eight minutes left in the first quarter.

"Really, nothing's bigger than beating the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day right now," Cardinals' rookie quarterback John Skelton said. "Whiz [coach Ken Whisenhunt] was shaking my hand before the game and I said, 'We have one last gift to unwrap.' Sure enough, it took the last minute, but we got it."

Dallas had trouble blocking anybody all game (another recurring theme this season) and lost another quarterback because of it. Kitna went down late in the second quarter after scrambling near the goal line after being flushed from the pocket. McGee came in and excelled despite heavy pressure, completing 11 of 17 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, while showing poise in the pocket in the face of a strong pass rush. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the second-year QB's strong play wasn't enough to mask both a mistake-prone team outing along with the Cowboys' gaping holes on defense.

This is nothing new for anyone who has watched the Cowboys throughout the season. Dallas is a team that has trouble getting out of it's own way, and this is why the loss total has reached double-digits with one week left in the season.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Dirk Tops Bird; Mavs Stop New-Look Magic 105-99

2010-12-22T12:07:00.009-06:00

Dirk Nowitzki (above, left) passed Larry Bird for 25th on the NBA's all-time scoring list and the Mavericks took care of a retooled Magic squad for their 16th win in the last 17 contests. (AP Photo/Stephen M. Dowell - Orlando Sentinel)

Forget being on a streak, right now it's tough for any NBA team to look at the schedule and see the humming Dallas Mavericks (23-5) on the horizon.

Dallas took time out Tuesday evening from bustin' streaks to take care of a struggling Orlando Magic (16-12) team, who now have lost eight of their last nine contests. The Mavericks persevered through a third consecutive game with at least 19 points and 20 rebounds from Magic center Dwight Howard with (surprise) some smothering defense and a well-rounded offensive attack.

Caron Butler led six Mavs in double figures with 20 points, and Dallas shot an even 50 percent for the game (including an outstanding 46.2 percent from behind the arc) while holding the Magic to only 44 percent shooting.

"We feel like we're one of the best teams in the league, if not the best right now," Butler said. "We're playing great basketball, so we want to capitalize on every opportunity."

Orlando's newcomers, acquired in a couple of blockbuster trades earlier in the week, failed to make a positive impact on the contest.
Jason Richardson (10 points on 4 of 13 shooting), Hedo Turkoglu (nine points, 2 of 11 shooting) and Gilbert Arenas (two points, 1 of 6 shooting) combined to make only 7 of 30 attempts from the field (23 percent) and, aside from a couple of 3's late for Richardson, were complete non-factors. Turkoglu even bungled a transition dunk in the fourth quarter, as the 6'10 forward was rejected by the front of the rim.

Since Saturday's trades, Orlando's lost each of the last two contests.

"None of those guys are shooting the ball very well right now," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I don't know if it's being in a new situation or putting too much pressure on themselves. All three of them are struggling to shoot the ball."

Howard led Orlando with 26 points and a monster 23 rebounds, while J.J. Reddick (21 points) and Jameer Nelson (19) did the rest of the heavy-lifting for the Magic.

"We still know who they had," Nowitzki said of a Magic team that just overhauled its roster. "Dwight [Howard] is their focus. They have a bunch of shooters, Jameer [Nelson] and all those guys."

In what seems like a recurring theme for the Magic, Van Gundy went away from Howard for the last half of the final quarter; with Orlando opting instead to launch eight 3's in the final 4:18 of the contest. Howard had just one shot attempt in the final six minutes: a tip-in attempt after a Turkoglu missed lay-in.

"It can't get any worse," Howard said of his team's slide.

Dallas has now beaten each of the upper-echelon teams in the NBA aside from the Los Angeles Lakers, who don't come to town until Jan. 19. The Mavericks seem to be playing the best basketball in the NBA right now, on both ends of the court.

Nowitzki Passes Larry Legend

Dirk Nowitzki came into Tuesday's contest only 11 points away from passing Larry Bird for 25th on the NBA's all-time scoring list. After dropping eight points in the first quarter, Nowitzki went scoreless for two quarters before coming alive to start the fourth.

Fittingly, Nowitzki drained a trailing, transition 3-pointer - a staple of Nowitzki's illustrious 13-year career - nearly a minute into the fourth quarter to pass Bird and move into the top-25 of all-time NBA scorers. Dirk didn't shoot all that well on the night (4-13), but had a well-rounded outing with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Nowitzki now has 21,798 points in his career and is only 16 points from passing Gary Payton for 24th all-time.

What's Next:

Dallas has a robust five days off for a nice Christmas break before picking back up Monday night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. OKC is 20-9 on the season (10-5 at home), good for fourth in the Western Conference, led by superstar Kevin Durant - the NBA's leading scorer at 27.6 per contest. The Thunder have won six of their last seven games, but lost at home to Dallas, 111-103, in the only meeting between the two teams this season.

Tip-off is scheduled 7:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Yet another road win puts Dallas at 10-1 on the season, which is the best road record in basketball.
So much for avoiding Superman's paint: Tyson Chandler was 7 of 7 from the floor against Dwight Howard and the Magic with six emphatic dunks, three straight at one points, as he finished the night with 16 points four boards and a steal.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Bustin' A Streak - Mavs 98 Heat 96

2010-12-20T21:37:00.010-06:00

Jason Terry (31) took flight in the clutch once again, scoring all 19 of his points in the final 11 minutes, and Shawn Marion (0) grabbed seven of his season-high 13 rebounds as the Mavericks took control in the fourth quarter to snap Miami's 12-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

If your a team in the NBA and riding a streak of five or more wins this season, it's not a good sign to see the Dallas Mavericks (22-5) next on the schedule. This is true especially for the Miami Heat (21-9), who have also now lost 14 straight regular season games against the Mavericks. Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle reiterated after the contest that his team is concentrating only on victories, not bustin' streaks.

"I don't make a huge deal out of the streak," Carlisle said. "We are just trying to play solid basketball and win as many games as we can."

A matchup between two teams in the top-5 in the NBA in both points allowed and opponent field goal percentage (Miami is first in both categories) did not disappoint as each team showcased some shut-down defense.

Dallas jumped out to 14-2 lead to start the game, taking control from the get-go by forcing three turnovers and 1 of 6 shooting from the Heat. After the Mavericks went up 23-10 with 3:14 left in the first quarter, Miami made some changes to it's starting lineup, throwing the bench at Dallas with only Dwyane Wade staying in the game among starters.

The Heat responded, going on a 17-0 run (led by Wade) to take the lead in the second quarter while holding the Mavs scoreless for a stretch of nearly five minutes. Each team supplied a 10-0 run in the second, as a back-and-forth contest saw Miami leading at halftime and at the end of the third quarter with a bonanza of lead changes throughout.

LeBron James, held scoreless in the first half with four turnovers along with three fouls that put him on the bench for the final six minutes of the second quarter, came alive in the third quarter with nine points. LBJ's 3-pointer just before the end of the third that gave the Heat a one-point lead going into the final frame.

"Two good teams playing and going back and forth the entire game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Really, nobody could pull away. ... Bottom line is they made bigger plays down the stretch more consistently than we did."

Making those "bigger plays" for Dallas was sixth man Jason Terry, who was held scoreless through three quarters before exploding in the fourth. Terry finished with 19 points in the fourth - matching both James' and Chris Bosh's outputs for the enitre game - on 6 of 11 shooting, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch to lead Dallas to the win.

After Wade hit a shot in the lane to cut the Mavericks' lead to just two points at 83-81, Terry responded with three's from each corner to keep Dallas ahead at 89-85 with 1:24 left in the contest.

"Jet finally showed up in the fourth," Dirk Nowitzki said. "That's what he does. He's our finisher. He's our closer. He got hot."

Nowitzki led Dallas with a game-high 26 points, despite making only 8 of 21 shots, thanks to his ability to get to the line consistently. The big German made all 10 of his free throws on the night, including the final four of the contest to seal the win.

Wade led the Heat with 22 points and seven assists, while LeBron led the team with 10 rebounds to go along with seven dimes of his own and 19 points on the night.

This marks the sixth time this season Dallas has defeated a team on a winning streak of five or more games and the second time the Mavs have stopped a streak of 12 - with the other coming Nov. 26 in San Antonio against the Spurs.

What's Next

Dallas travels about 200 miles upstate from Miami to take on the Orlando Magic for the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow night. Orlando is 16-10 this season, fifth best in the Eastern Conference, and just completed two blockbuster trades to acquire Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu among others. The Magic have lost three straight games, seven of eight overall, but are 9-4 this season at home.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. central time and can be seen nationally on NBA TV, locally on KTXA 21.

News and Notes:

Dallas preserved in this one despite a flurry of Heat free throws in the fourth quarter. Miami shot 16 of their 25 total free throws for the game in the final quarter, making 12 of those to keep the game close late.
The Mavericks have no issue ending a long streak in front of the opposing team's fans. Of the six busted streaks, three of those have come on the road.
This is a pretty good fourth quarter team: the Mavs are now an NBA-best 6-2 when trailing after three quarters. They're also an NBA-best 8-2 when behind at halftime, including 6-0 on the road.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Cowboys Sneak Past Redskins, 33-30

2010-12-20T12:55:00.007-06:00

Cowboys blow 20-point lead, rally late to salvage three-point victory. Jason Witten (above) led the way offensively, racking up a touchdown and a season-high 140 yards receiving. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

When your defense is this bad, even a 27-7 lead in the third quarter against a journeymen quarterback starting his first game in two years isn't safe.

The Dallas Cowboys (5-9) struggled yet again to keep a bad offensive team from lighting up the scoreboard, this time it was newly christened starter Rex Grossman and the Washington Redskins (5-9) who supplied the fireworks. Grossman threw for a career-high four touchdowns, two during the Redskins fourth quarter rally alone, and 322 yards - only the second time in his eight year career he has gone over 300 yards passing.

The Cowboys defense did step up to force a Redskins punt late in the fourth, sacking Grossman two straight times to push the Washington offense back 17 yards to the 8-yard line - setting up the offense in great field position near midfield.
Dallas then drove 31 yards, setting up the David Buehler 39-yard field goal that was good just inside the right upright.

Buehler nailed 3 of 4 field goals for the game (thanks to the Cowboys blundering some great field position early in the contest) along with the game-winner for the second straight week.

"I'm just happy I got that opportunity," Buehler said.

After being burnt for long passes and being apart of blown coverages throughout the second half, Cowboys' cornerback Terence Newman supplied the game-ending interception on Washington's next drive; reversing field twice to run out the clock and seal the Cowboys' victory.

"I'd take an ugly win over a hard-fought loss any day," Newman said.

This certainly is an ugly win and, watching it from home, you kind of hoped for the Redskins to complete the comeback - hey, they had already come that far - so the Cowboys have a better draft pick in April. It looks like the Cowboys will likely go 1-1 (beating the Arizona Cardinals and losing to the Eagles) and finish the season at 6-10, which still doesn't guarantee a top-1o pick as six teams have worse records than the Dallas and another five match them at 5-9.

This defense obviously needs a major overhaul - Dallas is on pace to set the franchise-record for points allowed in a season - and the status-quo is not going to cut it next year for a team that is supposed to be going into the 2011-2012 season with renewed Super Bowl aspirations. Combine that with an aging and mostly ineffective offensive line and your looking at an 8-8, 9-7 football team next season if everything goes right.

A top-1o pick to either draft a difference maker or trade down to get more first round picks is imperative for Dallas to rebound next season.

What's Next:

Dallas has a Christmas evening matchup with a former division foe in the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have struggled mightily after the departure of Kurt Warner and various other starters on both sides of the ball as a result of the fallout from losing the former MVP. Arizona is 4-10 this season and is coming off a 19-12 loss to the Carolina Panthers, who are the only NFC team with a worst record (2-12) this year.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. central time, and can be seen nationally on NFL Network.

News and Notes:

To add to his huge night, with 10 receptions for the game, Jason Witten become only the fourth tight end in NFL history with 600 career catches and is the fastest to do so in only 125 games.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Nash Still A Fan Of Dallas

2010-12-18T12:24:00.004-06:00

While his return to Dallas this season ended with a disappointing injury in the first quarter, Steve Nash (left) says he still considers the place he grew as a player a home away from home - over seven seasons after leaving the Mavericks via free agency. (AP Photo/Matt York)

After a great ovation from Mavericks' fans during pregame introductions, not many people in the arena expected to bust out another ovation for Suns' point guard Steve Nash in a matchup between conference rivals Friday night.

Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, the two-time MVP went down with a scary injury in the first quarter; prompting another round of cheers as Nash was able walk back to the locker room after having no feeling in his arms and legs for 10 long seconds.

Luckily, Nash told me he felt no lingering effects after the game and hopes to play early next week pending doctor's approval. Bouncing-back from injuries is nothing new for the 14-year vet, something he's proved time and time again throughout his career.

Coming into the 2010-2011 season, Nash has been the epitome of consistency and durability.

Over the last 10 seasons Nash has started at least 70 games per year, at least 73 in the last seven years with Phoenix and has played 79 or more games five time in that span. Nash, who was averaging over 18 points and 10.5 assists on over 51 percent shooting this season coming into the contest vs Dallas, attributes his longevity to strong discipline and a love for the game.

"I really still enjoy it," Nash said of playing in the NBA. "I work hard. I try to sacrifice to keep playing, and try to stay fit and able. I think the key is discipline."

At 6'3 and 178 pounds, the self-proclaimed gym rat has had to work hard to keep his game from slipping after all these years. In fact, since leaving Dallas after the 2002-2003 season, Nash has taken his game to a higher level.

During the course of winning back-to-back MVP's, Nash has shot at least 50 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 88 percent from the line in each of his first six seasons with the Suns. A true point guard in every since of the term, Nash has also led the NBA in assists four times during this span - finishing no lower than third in the league in assists per game - while averaging 17 points per contest.

Through it all, seven-plus seasons after leaving the Mavericks and transforming himself into a legitimate MVP-level player year in, year out; Nash still misses the Dallas-area - a place he still feels is a home away from home.

"I have a lot of great feelings about this place. It's an important part of my career and my life." Nash said. "I love it here and I'm sad that I couldn't stay forever.

"But it's a long time in the past now."

While it seems to difficult to imagine, a former member of the Big-Three for six seasons in Dallas, Nash has now played seven straight in Phoenix - nine years total to make up the bulk of his career.

News and Notes:

Speaking of the Suns: the team pulled off a blockbuster deal this afternoon; sending Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark to the Orlando Magic for Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus and a 2011 first round pick. This gives Phoenix a center presence in the middle that they've been lacking all season long, brings back a scorer in Carter, and offsets the loss of little-used free agent bust Turkoglu for a 3-point sharpshooter in Pietrus.

Mavericks Crush Nash-Less Suns - 106-91

2010-12-18T00:29:00.006-06:00

Suns' point guard Steve Nash went down with a stinger injury in the first quarter, and Jason Terry (above) led a balanced attack as the Mavericks cruised to an easy win. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The Dallas Mavericks (21-5) caught a break yet again Friday night as another former player was unable to showcase their skills due to an early exit. It's the second time in the last five games that a former Mavericks' point guard has gone down with an injury in the first quarter and then failing to return for the rest of the contest.

It happened Dec. 9, with New Jersey Nets' point guard Devin Harris crashing to the ground on his left shoulder, and this time it was against the Phoenix Suns (12-13) as two-time MVP Steve Nash went down hard in a collision with Mavericks' center Tyson Chandler five minutes into the opening quarter.

A scary scene played out as Nash laid motionless on the ground for a few minutes, and he said after the contest that he had no feeling in his arms or legs after his neck bent awkwardly against Chandler's hip and elbow.

"I couldn't feel my arms or legs for about 10 seconds," Nash said. "My left side came back, then my right side came back when I went to the locker room - and I feel better."

The Suns' point guard was 2 for 3 from the field with four points and an assist in five minutes of action, and Mavericks' head coach Rick Carlisle knows it would have been a different game with Nash on the floor.

"The game certainly changes without Nash, there's no question. He's one of the best players ever," Carlisle said. "He was very aggressive and he was going to have a major impact on the game. I hope he's OK."

Dallas took advantage of the Nash-less Suns lineup, taking a 54-42 lead going into halftime. The Mavericks accomplished this with their own MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, playing less than three minutes in the second quarter after picking up his third foul with 9:23 left in the frame.

An 8-0 run followed Nowitzki's seat on the bench, with the Mavericks bench picking up the slack on the offensive end. The duo of Shawn Marion and Jason Terry scored 13 points each in the second quarter, including the final eight points of the half for Dallas to give the team a double-digit lead going into the locker room.

Dallas dominated the second quarter, scoring 32 in the frame while holding Phoenix to just 17 points.

"The second quarter was a key stretch after Dirk got his third foul," Carlisle said. "Shawn and JET did a great job at both ends of the floor."

The lead reached as many as 24 points after a DeShawn Stevenson steal and hot potato with Jason Kidd en route to the basket ended with an easy lay-in for Stevenson on an alley-oop. Caron Butler continued his third quarter magic, scoring 10 in the frame and, without a healthy Nash, the Suns were unable to get any closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

"We've got to put teams away," Terry said. "We've let teams hang around. It's come back to bite us."

Terry finished the game with 18 points on 8 of 16 shooting, tying for a game-high in scoring with Nowitzki. Marion finished with 15 and Butler had 17 points as nearly every Mav contributed on the offensive end. A total of 11 Mavericks made at least one basket, with only Brian Cardinal unable to notch a point.

Hakim Warrick led the Suns with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds off the bench.

Dallas has now won 14 of it's last 15 games overall, and finishes a six-game home stand with a shiny 5-1 record. Boredom didn't set in for the Mavericks tonight as they were able to keep their foot on the gas and finish off a team late without their star player.

Hack-A-Haywood Strikes Again

Late in the fourth quarter, down 96-82 with under four minutes left, Phoenix tried to get back into the game by employing a tactic used early in the week by the Milwaukee Bucks to end the Mavericks 12-game winning streak. Haywood, now a 26 percent free throw shooter on the season, was fouled three straight times and missed five of six before Dallas was finally able to get third-stringer Ian Mahinmi in the game.

Phoenix got as close as they would get for the rest of the game at 96-84 thanks to the ploy, but the Suns tried to Hack-A-Mahinmi and Ian made all four to thwart the run.

In terms of actual play on the court, both Haywood and starter Tyson Chandler dominated the smaller Suns' lineup. Haywood grabbed 10 rebounds to go alone with six points, while Chandler snatched 12 boards, blocked three shots and added seven points for good measure.

"Tyson got us off to a good start. His energy in the third quarter was a big factor." Carlisle said. "I thought Haywood was dominant when he was in there."

What's Next

Dallas gets two days off before taking their talents to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat. The Mavericks defeated the Heat 106-95 the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Miami hasn't lost since - winning 11 straight games. Miami is now 20-8 on the season, 12-3 at American Airlines Arena.

"They're a different team now than the one we saw," Carlisle said. "They're clearly playing the best of anybody... I'm sure they'll be thinking revenge."

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Without Nash at the helm, Dallas held the Suns to under 100 points for only the eighth time this season. Phoenix is now 0-8 in those contests. On the other hand, Dallas has failed to score over 100 points 12 times this season, and has a respectable 7-5 record when failing to break the century mark.
Martin Lawrence was in the house Friday night and received a pretty good ovation from the crowd after being shown on the jumbo-tron late in the second quarter. Dammnn, Gina!

Not This Time - Nowitzki, Mavs Halt Blazers 103-98

2010-12-15T23:37:00.033-06:00

After struggling through three quarters, Dirk Nowitzki erupted with a huge fourth quarter to prevent Dallas from blowing a double-digit lead for the second straight game. (AP Photo/Michael Fuentes)

Even after failing to hit the broad side of a barn for three quarters, superstars like the Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki know how to rev it up into another gear with the game on the line.

He proved as much again Wednesday night as, coming into the fourth quarter, Nowitzki had made only 2 of 9 shots from the field before stepping up huge for the Dallas Mavericks (20-5) with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting to lead his team to victory over the Portland Trail Blazers (12-14).

"We had a chance there at the end. Dirk made two really tough shots, that's what he does," Blazers' forward (and Dallas-native) Lamarcus Aldridge said. "We did our best to make the shots tough, but he still made them."

Aldridge matched Nowitzki stride for stride in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 of his career-high 35 points in the contest, but it wasn't enough as Dallas held strong after blowing 17-point lead in the third quarter.
Portland tied the game at 91-91 on an Aldridge dunk and then again at 93-93 with 2:06 left in the fourth on another Aldridge two-pointer in the paint; but Dallas pulled away with a 10-5 run to end the game - led by six from Nowitzki.

The Blazers seemed contest playing Nowitzki man-to-man down the stretch, after playing a lot of zone through three quarters, and it cost them in the end as the Big German refused to let his team lose.

"The guys stepped up down the stretch," said Jason Kidd, who had a well-rounded 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists on the night. "We got some stops and Dirk had some real big plays down the stretch."

This marks the fifth time in eight December contests that Dallas has taken it's proverbial foot off the gas pedal and allowed a team to come back and tie the game after trailing by double-digits. The Milwaukee Bucks trailed by 20 before coming back to end the Mavs' 12-game winning streak Monday night.

"Right now that had kind of been the trend," Kidd said. "We get up by 20 and then all the sudden we find ourselves up only or three points, so we need to figure that out and understand as a team that once we have a team down we have to keep them down."

Kidd's quote here says a lot: this game is a continuation of a disturbing trend for Dallas; however, winning their 20th (out of 25) game this season on the back of Nowitzki for the second-best start in franchise history is the good here that easily outweighs the bad. It's still early in the season, and the Mavericks seem to have identified the problem, which is certainly a step in the right direction.

Is it a fixable problem, or a team-wide lack of killer-instinct?

If fixable, will it be handled by the postseason?

Time will only tell.

What's Next

The Phoenix Suns visit the AAC Friday night for the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Suns are a disappointing 12-12 on the year (5-7 on the road) and have lost three of their last four games after winning three straight to start the month of December.

Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. central time, can be seen nationally on ESPN (locally on KTXA 21) and I'll be there to be your eyes and ears behind the scenes to give you the in-depth story following the game.

News and Notes:

Caron Butler was the catalyst for the Mavericks run in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his team-high 23 points in the third alone. This has been a good trend for Butler and the Mavs as it takes some of the offensive pressure of Nowitzki leading into crunch time.

(Portions of this article were contributed by the Mavericks P.R. staff)

So Long Lee, We Hardly Knew Ye

2010-12-14T19:46:00.001-06:00

It appears as though the "mystery team" involved throughout the negotiations has snatched Cliff Lee (right) from the grasp of both the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, and it's a team he's played for before - the Philadelphia Phillies. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Well, at least he didn't sign with the Yankees.

Various reports surfaced late Monday night that Texas Rangers' ace Cliff Lee is set to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The left-hander Texas traded for at the deadline last season, and whom subsequently led the Rangers to their first World Series appearance, is expected to sign a five-year, $100 million contract with a player-option for a sixth year.

Lee will join an All-Star Phillies' starting rotation, led by another Cy Young winner in Roy Halladay, two-time 20 game winner Roy Oswalt and former World Series MVP Cole Hamels.

Sources say Texas still had a chance to sign Lee in the final hours, but wouldn't bite on a seven-year deal. The loss of Lee puts the Rangers in a difficult position, as the club must now scramble to find another top of the rotation starter in free agency or through trade in an effort not to squander the major strides this team made last season.

Here's a great piece from the DMN by Rangers beat writer Evan Grant detailing what may be the Rangers new course of attack.

Bucked! Milwaukee Snaps Streak 103-99

2010-12-13T21:09:00.009-06:00

Dallas got out to another big lead early before blowing it in the second half, this time Andrew Bogut (above) and the Bucks completed the comeback with only their third win on the road (in 11 tries) this season. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

This was bound to happen.

The Dallas Mavericks (19-5) have played with fire over the past few games, getting out to huge leads before lethargic, sloppy play reared it's ugly head. It happened again Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks (10-13), and this time the Mavericks were unable to mount a late rally to salvage the victory.

"This kind of slippage we've seen all too often," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said. "I've got to coach harder, the players have got to be more conscientious, we've got to do better than we did tonight."

Dallas jumped out to a 42-22 midway through the second quarter, dominating the Bucks on both ends of the floor with a 15-2 run to take the largest lead of the game for either team.
Milwaukee answered right back with an 11-0 run of their own, taking the once seemingly insurmountable lead down to single digits -where it would stay to end the half. The run didn't stop there as the Bucks got off to a strong start in the second half, outscoring the Mavs 7-2 to take the lead down to just four points at 54-50.

"This was a game we should have won, a game we clearly had under control," Mavericks' center Tyson Chandler said. "We let them back in it."

The Bucks continued streaking to end the third, culminating with three straight drained free throws from Kenyon Dooling, after an ugly Dirk Nowitzki foul and subsequent technical, to take a one point lead going into the final frame. After scoring only 15 points in the first quarter, the Bucks lit up the Mavericks defense for 60 over the next two quarters.

"It would have been easy to hang our heads and figure, 'They're a great club.' We battled back and were trying to get it to single digits by halftime," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "We came out in the third quarter with some nice juice."

The Mavericks tried to mount another fourth quarter clutch performance to get their 13th straight win, snatching away the lead with just over 10 minutes left the final frame and holding onto it until the 5:34 mark. Unfortunately for Dallas, that's went the Bucks got hot again.

Milwaukee made two straight free throws and four unanswered buckets after the Mavericks went up 88-83 on a J.J. Barea layup with 6:47 remaining in the quarter; spurring a 14-0 run to take a 97-88 lead with 3:32 left in regulation.

Dallas crept within two points after back-to-back 3's from Jason Kidd and Jason Terry followed by three makes at the free throws took the Bucks lead down to 101-99 with under a minute to play. Nowitzki had a chance to tie it after Bucks' point guard Brandon Jennings missed a deep jumper with plenty of time on the shot clock, but Dirk missed a fade away 8-footer with 11 seconds left.

Dooling made two more free throws to ice the game with under 10 seconds to play.

"They were on a winning streak, 12 games in a row, so to come in and get a win, it's big," Jennings said.

Jennings dropped a team-high 23 points for the Bucks while dishing out 10 assists in a reinvigorated second half attack.

"He was very determined," Carlisle said of Jennings. "You could see it in his eyes. He was attacking and we never took away his momentum."

Bucks' center Andrew Bogut had 21 points (on an efficient 10 of 12 shooting) along with 14 rebounds, and Dooling led Milwaukee with 16 off the bench.

For Dallas, Nowitzki scored a game-high 30 points as one of five Mavs to score in double-digits, but the next highest scorer was Shawn Marion with 14 points in reserve.

While the way Dallas lost was not only alarming but inevitable considering their recent play, 12 straight wins is an admirable feat and it was going to end at some point. Jennings and the Bucks refused to back down with their backs against the wall, coming on strong in the final three quarters to take down the streak and win their first road game since Nov. 10.

Hack-A-Haywood

I was going to write a small article over this, but then I found that the esteemed Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com already had a great article on the topic. Enjoy.

What's Next:

The Portland Trail Blazers visit the AAC Wednesday night in the first meeting between the two teams this season. Portland is a disappointing 12-12 this season, but have won four of six after losing six straight games to drop their record to 8-11 earlier this month. One good sign for Dallas is that the Blazers have lost six their last seven games away from home.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. central time and can be seen nationally on ESPN, locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

News and Notes:

One huge reason the streak isn't at 13 games? Milwaukee outscored Dallas 52-38 in the paint.
Want another? The Bucks missed a grand total of three shots in the final 6:31 of the contest.
Need some more bad news in this blog? Cliff Lee is a Philadelphia Philly. More on this tomorrow.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Eagles Sprint Past Cowboys - 30-27

2010-12-13T13:56:00.003-06:00

Dallas battled the Eagles all game long but, in the end, DeSean Jackson (10) and the explosive Philly offense was too much to handle. (AP Photo/Canon, Bob Malish)

With two flicks of the wrist, Philadelphia Eagles' (9-4) quarterback Michael Vick made a statement to start the game against the Dallas Cowboys (4-9), and set up wide receiver DeSean Jackson yet again to finish it in the fourth quarter to vault the Eagles to first place in the NFC East.

It's the Eagles first win at Cowboys Stadium and, with the loss, the Cowboys are now officially eliminated from playoff contention.

"It doesn't feel good," Cowboys' owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "They made a couple of big plays that we weren't able to make, but I liked the way we got after Vick, I really did. I like the way that we responded when we got down each time, a whole bunch of good things."

While the Cowboys were able to contain Vick in the pocket, while also putting pressure on the speedy QB, the Eagles quarterback and his favorite target still shredded the Dallas defense.

Philadelphia opened up the game with a play-action fake that completely fooled the Cowboys defense. Vick rolled out to the other side of the field on a naked bootleg before launching the ball 55+ yards in the air to Jackson down to the Cowboys 13-yard line. The Eagles quarterback handled the touchdown himself, scoring on a 1-yard run up the gut just five plays later.

Vick finished with 270 yards through the air (a season-high 210 yards receiving by Jackson on only four catches) with three total touchdowns and two interceptions. It's the fifth straight game Vick has passed for at least 250 yards, but the lowest rushing total (8 carries, 16 yards and a TD) this season.

"We didn't want Vick to get out of hand just running all over the place," said Dallas linebacker Bradie James, who had one of the interceptions. "The front seven did a great job of kind of containing him, but you've got to put it all together."

Dallas rallied to take a 20-14 lead in the second half after Felix Jones punched in a 3-yard score with 11:44 left in the third quarter, but the Eagles rebounded quickly. Philadelphia scored 16 unanswered points after the Cowboys took their one and only lead of the game, punctuated by the play off the game - a 91-yard pass and catch for a TD from Vick to Jackson.

"I put the ball in a perfect spot, but I didn't know he was going to go 91 yards," Vick said. "He's a very dynamic player."

Jackson caught the ball down the left sideline, weaving in and out of the Cowboys' defense before cutting across the field and outrunning a diving Orlando Scandrick to score a touchdown to put Philly up for good 27-20. The enigmatic wide receiver decided to stop just before getting into the end zone to face the Cowboys defense and fall in backwards for the score. Jackson appeared to injury himself on the celebration and, to add insult to injury, was flagged for a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well.

On the ground, Philly kept a low profile in the first half before unleashing running back LeSean McCoy in the second to close out the contest. The speedy McCoy reeled off 134 yards in the second half, after gaining only 15 yards on the ground in the first, finishing with a season-high 149 yards on only 16 carries (9.3 yards per carry).

The Eagles rode McCoy at the end of the game to seal the win as the running back ran for four first downs and rushed for a whopping 50 yards on the final possession to run out the clock.

"I like what we did at the end," Eagles' coach Andy Reid said. "We pounded it, kept the ball and played good physical football down the stretch."

The Cowboys offense did it's best to battle back all game, doing it's part to give the team a chance to pull out the victory. Quarterback Jon Kitna (like Vick) had two touchdowns through the air along with two interceptions, and the running game racked up over 100 yards for the fifth straight contest; but it wasn't enough as the Dallas defense continues to fall apart at the most crucial times. Philadelphia scored 13 points in the fourth quarter alone with the Cowboys unable to stop the run or the pass when the team needed it the most.

"We fought hard," Cowboys' coach Jason Garrett said, "it just wasn't good enough."

What's Next:

The Washington Redskins visit Cowboys Stadium next Sunday afternoon for the second and final meeting between the division rivals this season. Washington beat the Cowboys on opening night 13-7, but have struggled to a 5-8 record up to this point of the season.

Kickoff is scheduled for Noon central time next Sunday (Dec. 20) and can be seen regionally on Fox.

News and Notes:

Dallas honored former quarterback Don Meredith with a video tribute and a moment of silence before kickoff Sunday night. Meredith led the Cowboys to two NFL championship games in 1966 and 1967, but Dallas came out short against the Green Bay Packers in both contests. The former starting quarterback and Monday Night Football broadcaster died late last Sunday night at the age of 72.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavs Knock Of Jazz 103-97 - Win 12th Straight

2010-12-11T23:44:00.006-06:00

Tyson Chandler (above) and the Mavericks blew a huge early lead, but got hot late to take care of Jazz and push win streak to a dozen. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

After an outstanding start from the field, things changed quickly Saturday night for the home team at the American Airlines Center.

The Dallas Mavericks (19-4) hit 13 of 18 field goals in the first quarter (7 of 10 from 3-point range) jumping out to a 25-point lead right out of the gate. But, by the fourth quarter, the Utah Jazz (17-8) battled back to tie the game at 89 with only 4:31 left in regulation.

"They slowly chipped away and chipped away and finally tied the game there in the fourth, and we had to really dig deep, grind it out and get some stops," said Dirk Nowitzki, who led Dallas with 31 points and 15 rebounds on the night.

That's exactly what the Mavericks were able to do after the Jazz had clawed their way back to tie it up late in the fourth. After two Ronnie Price 3's got the Jazz within one point at the 2:40 mark, the Jazz missed four of their final five shots as Dallas went on a 7-2 run to close out the contest.

"They're just playing a lot better defensively," said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who spurred the Utah run but missed three straight shots to close the game. "This is by far the best defensive team we've seen from them."

"This is the best Mavs team I've seen since I've been in the NBA."

Coming on strong late for the Mavs was sixth man Jason Terry. After struggling to make a shot and turning the ball over five times through three quarters, Terry took over to close out the game.

JET and Nowitzki played their patented two-man game in the final minutes, leading to the duo scoring all of the Mavericks final 12 points. Utah was forced to send an extra defender at Dirk late in the game, freeing up Terry to score eight of those final points - including a backbreaking-three from the corner off a Nowitzki assist with 7 seconds left that put Dallas up 102-97.

"JET hadn't really made a lot of shots all game," said Williams. "We took a chance and he hit the ones that mattered the most."

Williams did his best to try to finish the comeback for Utah, and finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with six assists.

It didn't seem like they would need to, but the Mavericks showed their propensity for coming through in the clutch yet again against the Jazz. So far this season, Dallas has been able to rise to the challenge of a close game late time and time again.

"We definitely made it harder on ourselves than we should have," said Nowitzki.

What's Next:

Next up for the Mavs is the Milwaukee Bucks who will make their only visit to Dallas this season. The Bucks are 9-13 this season, 2-8 on the road, and have lost five straight away from home.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time Monday night.

News and Notes:

Over the last two games, Dirk Nowitzki has made 18 of 22 shots from the field (82 percent) - vaulting him to eighth in the NBA in field goal percentage (56.8 percent) this season... "He's on a great run," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "You're not going to shoot 10 for 12 every night, but a guy of his skill level is capable of it."
At 19-4, the Mavericks are off to the second best start in franchise history. Dallas started out 22-3 in the 2002-2003 season.

(Portions of this article were contributed by the Mavericks' P.R. Dept.)

Show Lee The Money

2010-12-10T12:31:00.009-06:00

Rangers must do everything they can to sign Cliff Lee (left) and remain relevant in the landscape of Major League Baseball. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

As the bidding war escalates between the American League Champion Texas Rangers and 27-time World Champion New York Yankees, it's time for the Rangers' brass to do what that did in acquiring Cliff Lee out from under the Yankees in the first place: up the ante.

Show Lee the money!

I've read some grumblings from Dallas-area sports columnists about how this signing is similar to the epic-fail courtship and record-setting contract given to Alex Rodriguez by former owner Tom Hicks just nine seasons ago.

This is a not a fair comparison, in fact, it's a vast underestimation of Lee's talents and what he brings to a team.

Bringing in Rodriguez before the 2001 season was a ploy to generate revenue and fan interest for a team with a lack of pitching and no chance of making the postseason as the glory days of the late 90's were clearly at an end. Rodriguez was a great infielder and incredible hitter for Texas, but his skills in no way match that of a Cy Young winning, playoff dominating pitcher like Lee. The now-Yankees' shortstop failed to lead the Rangers to the playoffs in any of his three seasons with the club, despite hitting over .300, belting an average of over 50 home runs and more than 120 RBI in each of those seasons.

Lee's dominance transcends an excellent play in the field here, or a three run home run there in that he can put a team on his back and win a playoff series. He did it against Tampa Bay in the American League Divisional Series: dominating both of his starts against another great pitcher in David price and doubling the Rangers career playoff win total in the process to ensure Texas the first playoff series victory in franchise history.

Let's also not forgot the complete and utter mind-bang the Rangers were able to put on the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. New York knew that they would have to face Lee a second time if they had won game six, this after Lee had blanked them in game three: allowing only two hits with 13 strikeouts for the win. When the Rangers were able to win that first game in New York, taking a 2-1 series lead, it sent a message that in order to go through Texas, you had to beat Lee.

Not to mention the fact that this former Cy Young pitcher brings instant credibility to the Rangers.

Without Lee, this Rangers' ball club is an also-ran in a crowded American League playoff picture next season. Compound that with the fact that, not only will you lose Lee, but he's going to the most talent-laden team in baseball - the New York Yankees - and the Rangers are shooting themselves in both feet if they don't lock up one of (if not the best) pitcher's in baseball.

Sure Texas could trade for former Cy Young winner Zach Grienke (giving up the farm in the process) or sign Matt Garza from the Tampa Bay Rays for a lot cheaper than Lee, but both of the players are unknown commodities. Texas knows what it has in Lee: a dominant pitcher both during the regular season and in the postseason.

Also keep in mind: if Grienke contributes Lee-like performances like the Rangers hope, won't the Yankees be banging his door down in two years for his services? In the best case scenario, Texas would be right back in this situation.

Sign the guy you know can lead you to the World Series.

If Lee gives you just two, three or even four more seasons of what he's shown in last few years and Texas makes it deep into the postseason every year, it's a sound investment - regardless of the final three years of the contract.

The Rangers went for it all in last season's blockbuster trade for Lee, reassuring a jaded fan base that the new ownership group was intent on trying to build a World Series contender. It's time to reaffirm that stance and sign the guy that got you to the dance, no matter the cost.

Streak Continues - Mavs Handle Nets 102-89

2010-12-09T23:11:00.011-06:00

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.

4th Quarter Kings - Mavs Win 105-100

2010-12-08T00:37:00.004-06:00

After 24 lead changes, the Mavericks put together one of their patented fourth quarter runs to take care of the Warriors and push their winning streak to 10 straight games. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

Over a quarter of the way into the 2010-2011 season, the Dallas Mavericks (17-4) are the most clutch team in basketball.

How else can you categorize a team that has won time and time again during this 10-game streak using the same formula: close out the fourth quarter.

"We're a veteran ball club and we expect to win in the fourth quarter," Mavericks' sixth man Jason Terry said.

Dallas did just that Tuesday night, trailing for the first minute of the final frame to the Golden State Warriors (8-13) before taking the lead and never looking back to pick up the win. Ian Mahinmi, filling in for injured starter Tyson Chandler (stomach illness), played the entire fourth for the Mavs, scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds to lead Dallas. Mahinmi finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds - the first double-double of his career.

"We played with great passion tonight in the fourth quarter, especially on defense," Mahinmi said. "That has to be our main focus and as long as we're doing that we give ourselves a good chance to win every game."

The defense certainly came alive late, the Mavericks forced five turnovers in the fourth quarter, 19 for the game, as the team just seemed to flip that switch like they've done so often over the last few weeks.

Terry, who scored 10 points in the final frame, continued to preach defense after the contest.

"For us down the stretch defensively it's about getting stops," Terry said. "Dirk [Nowitzki] got a couple of key deflections late and we came up with some key rebounds and then we executed on the offensive end."

Nowitzki, who also had a game-high 25 points, stuffed David Lee at the rim and stripped Stephen Curry in the lane to key the Mavericks defensive surge in the final 1:30 of regulation. The big German finished with a season-high four blocks, while the Mavericks accumulated 10 rejections as a team.

What's Next:

Former Mavericks' coach Avery Johnson and point guard Devin Harris come to town Thursday night as Dallas takes on the New Jersey Nets. The Nets are 6-16 this season (2-10 away from home), and have lost five straight games and seven of eight overall.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time, and I'll be there to be your eyes and ears behind the scenes to give you the full story.

News and Notes:

Alexis Ajinca, another Mavs' backup center stepping up huge on the night, chipped in six rebounds, three points and two blocks in nine minutes of action.

The People's Choice

2010-12-06T15:26:00.006-06:00

In his first meaningful action of the season, Tashard Choice (32) proved against Indy that he should have a shot at carrying the load in the running game for Dallas. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

With four games left in the 2010-2011 NFL season, it's time for the Dallas Cowboys to evaluate their talent going into next year. While winning three of the last four games in nice, at 4-8 on the season, it's time for the Cowboys to make decisions on who's in and who's out going into 2011-2012.

This is true especially at the running back position where Dallas has struggled on the ground for most of the year with a trio of runners who contributed so much last season.

Much of that changed Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis, as Tashard Choice - with Marion Barber out of the lineup with a strained calf - spearheaded a season-best 217 yard rushing attack.

"They did a nice job," Colts' coach Jim Caldwell said. "They ran the ball well on us."

Granted, it was against fourth-worst rushing defense in the NFL, but Choice's ability to hit the hole hard and make defenders miss is something the Cowboys had yet to have from a leading rusher this season.

Felix Jones is a speedster who can make people miss in the open field, but isn't the type of player like Barber who can bully his way in there to convert that 3rd and 1 or get the extra yard. Barber, however, has lost a lot of the burst he had in his first couple of seasons with the Cowboys, and it looks like the pounding of running into guys at 100 miles an hour every play for almost six seasons has taken it's toll.

The Cowboys' starter to open the season is averaging 3.1 yards per carry this season, the lowest of his career, and rushed for only 313 yards - only 175 yard more than Choice has this season on nearly 70 fewer carries.

Choice combines both of those skill sets and seems hungry for an expanded role on the offense - something I believe he should have regardless of who else is healthy and in the backfield next week. With Barber on the decline and Jones unable to leave his imprint on the running game, Dallas needs to see whether or not Choice can be the guy at running back over the final four games of the season.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Intercepted - Cowboys Corral Colts In OT 37-34

2010-12-05T21:37:00.002-06:00

The Cowboys withstand Colts' charge as Peyton Manning's fourth interception, the second pick of the game from rookie linebacker Sean Lee (above), set Dallas up for the game-winning field goal in overtime. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

In back-to-back weeks now, the Dallas Cowboys (4-8) have a pushed team that played in the Super Bowl just a season ago to the limit in a back and forth contest.

This time, however, the Cowboys were able to come through in the clutch, taking down the Indianapolis Colts (6-6) on the road in impressive fashion.

Dallas used a two-headed rushing attack on offense and the Cowboys defense picked-off Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning four times, scoring 20 points off those turnovers to spur the win.

"You get challenged in the NFL every week and really get challenged every play," Garrett said. "Certainly when you come to this place, against that team and that quarterback and those (pass) rushers, it's going to be an all-day sucker for us. It didn't surprise me that their team battled back and overcame some adversities, and we had to do the same to win this game."

Dallas took a 17-0 lead to start the game and withstood two Manning comebacks to get their fourth win of the season. Indianapolis outscored the Cowboys 21-8 in the fourth quarter, but it was too-little, too-late as two issues that have burned the Colts all season long - stopping the run and taking care of the football - plagued last year's AFC Champions Sunday afternoon, and Dallas took advantage.

Spearheading a ball-hawking defense was Cowboys' rookie linebacker Sean Lee, used mostly on the nickel defense in passing situations throughout the year, who had the best game of his young career. Lee snatched the first interception of his career in the third quarter, reading Manning's eyes playing center field in the defense before breaking on the ball and taking it back 31 yards for his first career touchdown.

That in itself would be a great game for a rookie LB like Lee, but he wasn't finished yet. Cowboys' cornerback Mike Jenkins set Lee up (another situation where Manning stared down a receiver) by coming off his man to tip a pass intended for Colts' tight end Jacob Tamme in overtime. Lee immediately found the ball and came down with it for his second interception of the game.

Five plays later, Cowboys' kicker David Buehler split the uprights on a 38-yard field goal to win the game.

"He's probably the best quarterback to ever play the game and to have four interceptions on him is unbelievable for us," Lee said. "It just shows the type of work we've been putting in in practice."

Offensively, Dallas had their way with Indianapolis on the ground. The Colts, who have now lost three straight games, could not stop the Dallas ground attack throughout the contest. The Cowboys finished with 217 yards rushing, led by Tashard Choice (19 carries, 100 yards and a touchdown) and Felix Jones (22 carries, 86 yards). The Cowboys averaged nearly five yards per carry on the ground and accumulated their highest rushing total of the season.

Choice, seeing his first significant action this season, plowed through the Colts' defense for the highest rushing total of his career and the second 100-yard game for Dallas all season long. In the doghouse for most of this season, Choice proved in this game that he deserves a look for more carries as the season goes on - with or without a healthy Marion Barber in the lineup.

As the wins keep piling up late in the season for the Cowboys, one can't help but wonder what this season might have been like if this team didn't quit four games into the season.

What's Next

Dallas has a tough game coming up next Sunday night against the NFC East division-leading Philadelphia Eagles. This is the first meeting between the two teams and will take place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

The Eagles are 8-4 this season, led by the resurgent play of quarterback Michael Vick. With 2,243 yards passing, 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions in nine games this season, Vick is in the midst of the best season of his career.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. central time, and can be seen nationally on NBC.

News and Notes:

Dez Bryant fractured his right ankle in the fourth quarter and did not return. His status for next week's game against Philadelphia is uncertain.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavs Sneak Past Kings - 105-103

2010-12-05T13:33:00.002-06:00

Mavericks use 15-4 spurt to end contest, extending win streak to nine games. Jason Terry (31) scored eight of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and had a game-sealing steal in the final seconds to propel Dallas to victory. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

In an unexpected turn of events, the lowly Sacramento Kings (4-15) played some of their best basketball of the season Saturday night, providing the Dallas Mavericks (16-4) with arguably their stiffest test in the last nine games.

Tyreke Evans scored 25 points for the Kings, but a late rally by Jason Terry and the Mavericks proved to be to much for the young squad to handle.

"I remember it was 99-90 (Kings) and we were able to lock them down from that point on," Mavs' center Tyson Chandler said. "We were able to close it out. This was huge one for us coming off a big win (Friday night) against Utah. Everyone was a little tired, but we withstood their runs."

Sacramento jumped out to a 37-25 lead late in the first quarter behind 35 combined points from Evans (14 points), Demarcus Cousins (11) and Donte Green (10).
The Kings trio kept Dallas on it's heels for the rest of the first half and into the fourth quarter as the Mavericks were able to tie the game a few times, but couldn't find a way to get over the hump and take the lead.

Sacramento went up 99-90, their largest lead of the second half, with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter after Kings' point guard Beno Udrih hit a wild runner in the lane. Dallas responded, closing out the game on a 15-4 run behind six points from Terry and four from Dirk Nowitzki.

The duo also combined to force a steal on the Kings last possession to ice the game down the stretch; something this new defense-first team come accustomed to over the last few weeks.

"Dirk got his hand on the pass, I rotated and was in the right spot at the right time," Terry said. ..."That's our identity now, we hang our hat on it (defense)," Terry said. "That started two years ago and we bought into it. That's the biggest thing we have going for us now."

Nowitzki finished tied for the game-high in scoring with Evans (25 points) and shot an efficient 11 of 14 from the floor, while Terry chipped in 23 points. Cousins had 17 for the Kings and Green had 19, but Green failed to score in the second half.

"I thought that the group that started played fantastically well," Kings' coach Paul Westphal said. "We were moving the ball, we were hitting shots. we went toe to toe and got the better of a great team for most of the game."

The Mavericks' winning streak is now at nine and perhaps the most impressive aspect of the streak is that Dallas has won five of them on the road, including six games on back-to-back nights. Dallas is 8-1 on the road this season, tied for the best record in the NBA away from home along with the San Antonio Spurs.

What's Next:

Dallas gets a couple of much-needed days of rest before hitting the floor Tuesday night in Big D to take on the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are 8-11 this season (3-7 on the road) and are led by Monte Ellis and his 24.9 points per game - tied with Dirk for fifth best in the NBA.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Not only is Nowitzki fifth in the NBA in points per game, the big German is also 10th in the NBA is field goal percentage at 55.3 percent after going 11 of 14 from the floor against Sacramento.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Streak Busters - Mavs Smother Jazz 93-81

2010-12-04T01:01:00.008-06:00

Mavericks snap five-game skid in Utah - along with the Jazz seven-game winning streak overall - and push win streak to eight straight games behind a strong second-half performance from Dirk Nowitzki (41). (AP Photo/Colin E Braley)

Time and time again through the early part of this season, the Dallas Mavericks (15-4) continue to impose their will in big-time contests. For a fifth time this season, the Mavericks have put an opposing team's winning streak of five or more games out to pasture.

The trend continued Friday night, as the Mavericks used another late game run to put away the Utah Jazz (15-6) in a hostile environment on the road.

"Dallas came out and beat us in the second half," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "They really pushed the ball up the floor, and we had a tough time getting back on defense."

The Mavericks trailed 46-43 with 9:07 left in the third quarter, after a hotly contested first half saw neither team lead by more than seven points, before making their move.
Dallas outscored Utah 23-16 to take the lead going into the fourth, and jumped out 25-12 to start the final quarter to secure the largest lead of the game at 91-74.

Dirk Nowitzki led the way for Dallas, scoring 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. Jason Kidd added 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting (3-5 from behind the arc), and Caron Butler chipped in 16 to lead Dallas to it's eighth straight victory - pushing the Mavericks road record on the season to 7-1, second best in the NBA.

"We feel we can beat anybody anywhere," said Butler. "We are playing great basketball. The environment in that locker room is second to none."

Another key was how well Dallas was able to defend Jazz All-Star point guard Deron Williams; effectively using the zone and causing Sloan to say some of his players "looked confused" after the game. Williams, who came into the game averaged over 25 points and nearly 12 assists in the last four games, was just 4 of 13 from the field for 12 points to go along with seven assists on the night.

"We're still one of the best teams," Williams said. "This is one of those nights. Things didn't go our way. The Mavericks played better than us."

Utah shot just 39 percent from the floor as a team, led by Paul Millsap (21 points) and Al Jefferson (18), and scored only 81 points - the team's second lowest scoring output of the season. Dallas is now second in the NBA in points allowed per game (91.6) and first in field goal percentage allowed (.428 percent) 19 games into the season.

Dallas has flexed it's defensive muscle all season and now that the offense is finally starting to click (averaging over 102 points per game over the last six), this team is proving to be one of the best, if not the best, teams in the league in the early portion of the season.

What's Next

Dallas has a quick turnaround, traveling to Sacramento to take on the Kings Saturday night at ARCO Arena. The Kings are 4-13 this season (2-8 at home) and have lost 12 of their last 13 games.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Only one Mavericks' starter played over 30 minutes against Utah (Nowitzki with 35) and both Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler were able to rest for the entire fourth quarter. This has been happening a lot lately due to the Mavs' ability to close-out opponents late and will pay dividends for these veterans late in the season.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavericks Take Care Of T-Wolves - 100-86

2010-12-01T23:35:00.005-06:00

Shawn Marion (0) led an extremely balanced attack on offense, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds off the bench, as Dallas didn't trail after the first quarter against Minnesota. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

It was another blowout win for the Dallas Mavericks (1-4) against the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-14) Wednesday night, the team's the second straight and seventh consecutive win overall.

Dallas outrebounded the normally stout on the boards Timberwolves 50-46, something that was a key coming into the contest.

"That was a point of emphasis for the game," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said. "Everybody was focused on keeping a body on their man and knowing where [Kevin] Love was on the floor."

The NBA's leading rebounder still secured 15 boards, along with 12 points, but was overshadowed by Mavericks' center Tyson Chandler.
After notching only four rebounds in the first half due to foul trouble, Chandler came out with a vengeance in the third quarter - snatching rebound after rebound before setting the franchise record with 14 rebounds in the quarter.

"I thought I had a bad first half and didn't bring enough energy," Chandler said. "I made some dumb fouls and Coach kind of got on me at halftime, so I wanted to come out and bring some energy and do some more out there."

The Mavericks didn't trail after falling behind 9-8 with 7:10 left in the first quarter, leading by at least 10 points all second half.

"They know how important it is to put an opponent away when they have an opportunity," Carlisle said.

Dallas shot only 41 percent from the floor as a team, but ten players scored at least five points and a relentless defense forced 39 percent shooting from the T-Wolves on the night.
Shawn Marion set the tone offensively off the bench, scoring a team-high 16 points.

"When you step on the court, you've got to bring it at the same level as the starters or you'll be back on the bench," Marion said. "It's that simple."

What's Next:

Dallas travels to Utah Friday night to take on the Jazz. Utah is 15-5 this season, third in the Western Conference behind the Mavs, and (like Dallas) have won seven straight contest coming into the game.

Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m. central time and can be seen on ESPN.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavs Blow Out Rockets 101-91

2010-11-29T21:53:00.007-06:00

After a tight contest for the majority of the first half, Caron Butler (4) spurred a huge Mavs run in the third quarter for the second straight game. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Another game, another huge run in the second half for the Dallas Mavericks (13-4), this time against the Houston Rockets (5-12).

After 16 lead changes through the 3:00 mark of the second quarter, the Mavericks went on an 11-1 run to end the half - changing the lead for the final time of the game in the process. Dallas proceeded to jump out to a 57-47 lead to start the third quarter thanks to five points from DeShawn Stevenson.

"We started kind of flat tonight," said Mavericks' reserve guard J.J. Barea, who scored all of his 11 points in the first half and dished out six assists for the game, "but the bench came out and really gave us energy in the second quarter and then in the third quarter the starters really took over and it was done from there."

The lead grew to 66-53 before Caron Butler went on a run of his own, scoring 11 straight Mavericks' points to put Dallas up 77-59 with a little over three minutes left in the quarter.

"When a guy gets going, our guys do a good job of finding him," Mavericks' head coach Rick Carlisle said. "We aren't doing a lot of play-calling right now."

Jason Kidd racked up 11 assists for the game, three to Butler during his third quarter rampage alone.

"You know, Jason Kidd had a lot to do with the way [Butler] got going out there," Carlisle said. "They had some stuff going among themselves that was really effective and when [Butler] gets a hot hand, he really is tough to get under control."

The Mavericks scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and the lead got to as high as 95-73 with 7:10 left in the fourth before starters began heading for the bench. No Mav played for more than 29 minutes on the night (Dirk Nowitzki) as Dallas won it's sixth straight game, but also were able to rest their key guys down the stretch for the first time all season.

"There's a reason they're one of the top teams in the NBA," Houston's Shane Battier said. "To beat them here would have taken a heck of an effort. We tried to match them jump shot for jump shot and that's really not our strength."

What's Next:

The Minnesota Timberwolves visit the American Airlines Center Wednesday night for the first meeting between the two teams this season. The T-Wolves are 4-13 this season, second-worst in the Western Conference, but are led by a couple of promising front court players in Kevin Love (19 points, NBA-best 14.9 rebounds per game) and Michael Beasley (21.6 points per game).

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Key to the victory: Dallas held Houston to 35 percent shooting on the night, while shooting 49.4 percent themselves.
Dirk Nowitzki, named Western Conference Player of the Week for the 12th time in his career last week, led Dallas with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the game.

Costly Decisions

2010-11-29T12:48:00.005-06:00

Cowboys interim coach Jason Garrett has done a good job in getting his players motivated, disciplined, and ready on game day for the past three weeks; but a few questionable decisions against the Saints on Thanksgiving may have cost his team the game. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

Lost in all of the hubbub surrounding Roy Williams' costly fumble were some dumbfounding calls by interim head coach Jason Garrett.

Don't get me wrong, this is a completely different Dallas Cowboys team since Garrett took over for the marshmallow-soft Wade Phillips; but Thursday's loss against the New Orleans Saints may have been more the fault of the head coach than fans want to realize. In what ended up being a three-point game, every decision counts - especially in situations where points are on the line.

Flash back to the beginning of the second quarter of Thursday's game. Dallas used an 11-play, 50 drive to get to the Saints' 21-yard line with New Orleans leading 17-0.

Instead of having one ounce of confidence in your kicker and putting your team on the scoreboard for the first time all game, Garrett and the Cowboys decided to go for it on 4th-and-1. It appeared as though Garrett was going with the odds here (kicker David Buehler is only 1 of 3 on kicks 30-39 yards) but Buehler had made 5 of his last 6 kicks over the last few weeks, and giving the kid a shot in a low pressure situation (down 17-0) is the type of confidence-building kick he could use.

Not only was the decision to go for it in that situation the wrong call, I believe the play call in that situation with just as terrible. Garrett decided to utilize the strength and power of Marion Barber and the Cowboys' giant offensive line by... calling a toss play?

Tossing the football behind the line of scrimmage is a bad idea on 4th-and-1 in itself - it gives the defense that much more time to penetrate and snuff out the run - especially with a slow and unathletic line combined with a not-so-speedy Barber. The result of the play speaks for itself.

The line got absolutely no push at the snap, Barber was hit first behind the line of scrimmage before propelling forward to get back to the line of scrimmage for no gain and the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs.

Dallas scored six points to end the half, including a career-long 53-yarder from Buehler with time expiring. That extra field goal would have put a Cowboys lead, rather than a tie, only two touchdowns away and lets not forget the Saints won by only three points.

Fast forward to the last drive of the fourth quarter for the Cowboys.

Dallas drives 35 yards in six plays to the Saints 41-yard line with over a minute left in the game and two timeouts. The Cowboys decide to throw three straight passes at or behind the line of scrimmage, force-feeding Dez Bryant with the game on the line. One of the throws to the left side of the field was the result of an errant throw by quarterback Jon Kitna's, as he missed an open Bryant on the sideline.

Here's my question: with two timeouts in your pocket, why not run a draw play or some sort of run to keep the defense honest? Put Felix Jones in, run him on a delay up the gut and see if you can't get two or three yards to make it a more manageable field goal. If you do that on first or second down, that sets up play action and also routes over the middle because then the Saints linebackers and safeties have to at least respect the chance of a run.

Instead, Dallas was forced to rely on Buehler, the same kicker they wouldn't let kick a field goal from the 21-yard line, to have to kick one from 20 yards deeper. We all know how this turned out: Buehler had the distance but the 59-yard attempt sailed just left, and the Cowboys suffered their eighth loss in 11 games this season - the first with Garrett at the helm.

"The obvious thing to me as coach is our team continued to fight," Garrett said after the game. "Ultimately, we are not into moral victories. ...But I think, overall, the effort, the fight, all that stuff is what we want. We just have to clean up some of the things."

Hopefully Garrett kicks off the "clean up" process by practicing some self-reflection, especially with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (6-5) looming next on the schedule.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Extinguished - Mavs Throttle Heat 106-95

2010-11-28T00:01:00.015-06:00

Caron Butler (above) led the way for Dallas against the Heat, scoring a team-high 23 points. The Mavericks used a 31-17 third quarter to break open the game, and led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter en route to winning their fifth straight ballgame. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

One thing has become a constant in the NBA regular season: the Miami Heat (9-8) do not beat the Dallas Mavericks (12-4). Dallas beat the Heat for the 13th straight time - a span of over six seasons, not including the 2006 NBA Finals of course - handing the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh their eighth loss of the young season. At the same point last season (sans James and Bosh) the Heat were 10-7.

"It's tough because I know the potential of this team," Wade said.

What was a close contest in the first half turned quickly in the third quarter as the Mavericks were able to put it in another gear despite playing, and winning, their fourth game in the last five nights. Dallas outscored Miami 31-17 in third, after leading by two at the half, en route to yet another big win.

"It’s been a great week for us," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said of his team, who have won five straight games overall. "To go through and win all four like this you have to be extremely tied together, you’ve got to be deep, you’ve got to have good guys and good players and you have to have a high energy level and a high spirit. We’ve been able to sustain that this week."

The Mavericks came out of the locker room in the second half with that high energy level, making it a priority to push the tempo against the Heat, and it paid dividends. Caron Butler scored 12 of his season-high 23 points in the third quarter, propelling the Mavericks to an 18-point lead with 5:35 left in the third quarter.

"We wanted to pick up the pace," Carlisle said. "Getting the game going up and down [the floor] was something that was going for us."

After Dallas went ahead by their largest margin of the game at 90-71 with 9:47 left in the fourth quarter, Miami tied to mount the comeback. Wade scored 11 points in the final frame, but key misses and turnovers down the stretch by himself, and the rest of Miami Thrice would be their undoing.

The Heat got as close as five points after Mario Chalmers' deep three with 4:18 left made it 94-89, but the Mavericks outscored Miami 12-6 to close out the game - led by seven points from Butler.

Wade and Bosh finished with 22 points a piece on 50 percent shooting, while James led the Heat with 23 - but made only 5 of 19 shots to get there. As a team, Miami finished the game shooting only 41.3 percent from the floor.

"Well, it's a disappointing loss here," Miami ~~interim~~ Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But regardless of any circumstances the bottom line right now is it's got to be painful enough."

For the Mavs, Butler scored a total of 19 points in the second half, providing the spark Dallas needed down the stretch to take care of the Heat. The Mavs' starting small forward finished with his best shooting percentage of the season, making 9 of 15 shots (60 percent) and all three 3-pointers he attempted.

"[Butler] is a talented player and for him this a different situation where he can get a lot of just catch and shoot because he's wide open," Mavericks' point guard Jason Kidd said. "...tonight we went to him and he delivered."

Kidd, who notched two assists on two of Butler's final three baskets of the game, led Dallas with 13 assists for the game; to go along with eight boards, five points and two steals. For the third straight contest, the Mavericks did a good job moving the ball around and getting open looks. Six Mavs scored in double figures and everyone who touched the floor made at least one basket.

"[The key is] ball movement, playing together, playing off each other, not forcing any shots and just reading what the defense gives us," Dirk Nowitzki said. "The ball movement has been great the last few games."

Nowitzki dished out four assists himself, the third straight game for him with at least four dimes, while also scoring 22 points, grabbing six boards and recording two steals in another great all-around game for the Mavs' MVP. The more Dallas can ease the burden on Nowitzki (especially on the offensive end where the Mavs tend to give the ball to Dirk and then proceed to stand around and watch) the better chance this team has to truly compete come playoff time.

Players Only

The Heat locker room stayed closed to the media for about 45 minutes after the game due to a players-only meeting. The media was told, after the locker room was finally opened, that the trio of Bosh, James and Wade - rather than being interviewed like common NBA players in the visitors locker room - would answer questions in the interview room. Well, Bosh didn't show up, then Wade and James answered questions for about five minutes before being rushed away by Miami's PR guy.

James had this to say about the Heat's disappointing start:

"It was a well-needed team meeting where everybody had a chance to get off whatever they had on their chest or in their head about us figuring things out," James said. "Right now we are a 9-8 team and we have to own up to that. Does our record speak of the quality of team we can become? I don't think so. But right now we're 9-8 and we're playing like that."

Wade, standing next to LeBron at the podium, pretty much said the exact same thing:

"We felt like we needed it. Sometimes it's a feel. We haven't had a team-only meeting. We're playing like 9-8 and we needed it," Wade said. "This is a new team, a new group of guys. Guys need to understand each other and hear each other talk. We all feel better after the talk we had."

Such insight!

Miami Thrice combined to score 67 of the Heat's 95 total points for the game, but also accounted for 13 of the team's 14 total turnovers and shot a combined 36.5 percent from the field for the game.

Anyone still think this team is going to break the Chicago Bulls all-time regular season wins record?

Anyone?

Didn't think so.

News and Notes:

Dallas has scored over 100 points for the third straight game - the longest such stretch this season. The Mavericks are now 22nd in the NBA in scoring at 97.1 points per game, after dropping to 28th of 30 teams only one week ago.
Tyson Chandler got off to a great start against the Heat, scoring the Mavericks first seven points of the game and finishing the first quarter with a hefty nine points and seven rebounds. Chandler finished the game with 14 points and 17 rebounds for his second double-double in the last three games and fourth overall this season.
Miles Austin was in attendance for the game and fans cheered loudly when they showed him on the jumbo-tron. Austin signed a Mavericks basketball early in the second half, before tossing it into the stands for fans to fight over.
This South Park reference was played a few times after James' fouls and miscues throughout the game. Cartman saying "What should I do" and "Should I admit that I've made mistakes" were both played over the PA in the second half.

Dethroned - Mavs Handle Spurs In San Antonio - 103-94

2010-11-26T23:46:00.008-06:00

Mavericks squash Spurs 12-game winning streak with fourth quarter spurt. Shawn Marion (above) led the way, scoring 11 points in the final period. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Squaring off for the first time this season, the Dallas Mavericks (11-4) and San Antonio Spurs (13-2) put on quite a show Friday night in San Antonio. Neither team led by more than six points until the Mavericks went on a 14-4 run, after a Manu Ginobili 3-pointer tied the game at 86, to take a 100-90 lead with under a minute left in regulation.

Dallas forced four turnovers during the stretch and held the Spurs without a field goal from the 4:45 mark until Ginobili - who had a game-high 31 points - made a layup with 42 seconds left in the contest. The Mavericks, on the other hand, closed out the game by making six straight baskets to hand the team with the best record in basketball only their second defeat all season, and first since the month of October.

"The last few games we were executing great down the stretch and making shots, but today they did," Ginobili said. "It was pretty clear they made all the shots they needed and we didn't."

Dirk Nowitzki led a balanced attack on the offensive end with a balanced effort of his own, shooting a lights out 12 of 14 from the floor (2-2 on 3's) for a team-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds and a season-high five assists.

"Offensively, there were times in the past where we would force-feed the ball to me," Nowitzki said. "But we haven't done that the last couple of games. We kept moving the rock."

Dallas worked the ball around enough for four Mavericks to notch at least five assists, allowing five to score in double-figures and Dallas to shoot 52.7 percent from the field as a team. Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler contributed 19 points apiece, and each played an integral role in a frenzied fourth quarter.

Chandler entered the game with the game tied at 86 and (paired with Marion) spearheaded the game-sealing run with some tough play on the inside.

The duo of Marion and Chandler combined to score 10 of the Mavs final 17 points, attacking the basket to either get an easy bucket or shoot two at the free throw line. The perimeter defense of Marion (who was put on Ginobili during crunch time) and the inside presence of Chandler (who held Duncan scoreless) combined to give San Antonio fits on that side of the floor as well; holding the Spurs to only eight points after the 5:16 mark of the fourth.

The Mavericks have now won three games in the last four nights, four straight overall, and in back-to-back games used a huge fourth quarter run to seal the win. It appears as though this team is healthy and clicking on all cylinders to close out the month of November, but another stiff test awaits them at home Saturday night.

What's Next

The Miami Heat come to Dallas Saturday night as the Mavericks conclude their brutal, four games in five nights stretch against LeBron James and Miami Thrice. The Heat are 9-7 this season, having just snapped a three-game losing streak with a 99-90 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night.

I'll be on site to cover the game and be your eyes and ears from behind the scenes at the AAC.

Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Brendan Haywood was suspended for Friday's game against the Spurs by the team due to a code of conduct violation. No word on what he did (or didn't) do, but Alexis Ajinca and Ian Mahinmi filled his role as the backup center -combing to score three points and grabbing seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Mahinmi even made some noise in crunch time, swatting a Tony Parker attempt in the lane, throwing down a ferocious slam and grabbing two rebounds in the fourth quarter.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Snatched Away - Cowboys Comeback Falls Short 30-27

2010-11-25T19:04:00.011-06:00

Roy Williams (above just before the fumble) was stripped after a 47-yard catch and run with 3:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, leading to the Saints capitalizing by scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 left in the game. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Jose Yau)

So close, yet so far away.

After rallying from down 17-0 in the first half and taking a 27-23 lead with under 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, some key blunders cost the Dallas Cowboys (3-8) the game against the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints (8-3).

For the third straight week, the Cowboys refused to let adversity stand in their way, clawing back with some explosive plays on offense and a suffocating defense in the third quarter. Dallas outscored the Saints 14-3 in the third, thanks to a game-breaking 60-yard touchdown rush on a beautifully executed fake-handoff reverse to Miles Austin - the Cowboys longest run of the season. Marion Barber bullied his way into the end zone on 4th and 1 later in the quarter, after a Reggie Bush fumble on a punt return gave Dallas possession at the Saints 15-yard line, putting the exclamation point on an 11-play drive and putting the Cowboys within three points down 23-20.

New Orleans had only two offensive possessions in the third, due largely to the Cowboys holding the ball on offense for nearly seven minutes during the frame. When the Saints did have the ball, the Dallas defense tightened, allowing only a field goal and causing New Orleans to turnover the ball on downs after failing to convert on 4th and 5 from the Dallas 34-yard line.

"I think we demonstrated again what we've done the last few weeks -- battle and fight," Cowboys' interim head coach Jason Garrett said.

Gerald Sensabaugh's interception (Saints' quarterback Drew Brees only one of the day) on the Saints first possession of the fourth quarter set Dallas up another score as momentum seemed to be in the Cowboys favor. Two receptions for 21 yards to Cowboys' wide receiver Roy Williams put Dallas in a goal-to-go situation and Tashard Choice punched it in from 1-yard out two plays later to give the 'Boys their first lead of the game at 27-23.

However, in the end, it all came down to one play that looked like a game-sealer for Dallas, but turned out to be the impact play going the other way that would swing the momentum back to the Saints.

The Turning Point

Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna threw a strike on a slant pattern to Williams, who had severely beaten the corner off the line, and he took off down the middle of the field for what appeared to be a game-sealing 47-yard reception down to the Saints' 11-yard line. Williams saw Saints' corner Tracy Porter coming from his right side, so he decided to switch the ball into his left arm and brace for contract.

Little did he know, the corner he had beaten off the line in the first place was coming from his left with only one objective on his mind: strip the ball. In the blink of an eye, second-year corner Malcolm Jenkins snatched the ball away so fast, it didn't even touch the ground.

"He didn't see me from the blind side," Jenkins said. "A bad play turned good for us. Not only ripped it out, it just kind of fell in my stomach."

While at normal speed it appeared as though Williams may have had a knee down before the strip, replays showed the football had come out before he hit the ground. Williams shouldered the blame for the loss after the game.

"I lost the ballgame," Williams said. "I let my teammates down. I need to fall down. We run the clock down and win the game. I was trying to make a play and they did a good job. It's late in the game. That's the nail in the coffin. We had the momentum going our way. We were there. That was a W. I get tackled, we get in the end zone and we win.

"I fall down and we win."

The Aftermath

New Orleans took the ball from their own 11-yard line and needed only five plays to drive 89 yards down the field. Brees needed only three completions to get his first touchdown pass of the game, picking on Terence Newman twice for a 22-yard completion to Marques Colston and a 55-yard bomb to Robert Meachem - who sprinted right past the speedy Newman for the huge gain. One play later Lance Moore beat the Cowboys other corner, Michael Jenkins, on a quick slant in the end zone. The football went into Moore's hands just out of the reach of a diving Jenkins to put the Saints up 30-27 with 1:55 to play.

Just as was the case in the first half, the Cowboys weren't ready to call this a game just yet.

Dallas drove to the Saints 41-yard line, but three straight decisions to throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage - instead of trying a run or two with two timeouts and only six yards away from kicker David Buehler's career-long set earlier in the contest - led to a 59-yard attempt on 4th and 10. Buehler's try had the distance, but the kick was just left.

Just like the Cowboys' comeback hopes: so close, yet so far away.

"There were a lot of things to be proud of," Garrett said. "Guys played with a lot of passion, energy and enthusiasm. ... But you've got to get the bottom line right.

"We didn't get it done."

News and Notes:

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak on Thanksgiving Day for Dallas. It was the Saints first-ever win on Turkey Day. The Cowboys are 27-15-1 all-time on Thanksgiving.
There were many Saints fan in the building Thursday afternoon. Many in the crowd chanted defense and got loud during Cowboys' offensive possessions. Even before Bush's punt return (and fumble) during the Cowboys third quarter comeback, you could hear fans chanting "Reg-gie! Reg-gie!" before the punt.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavs Come Alive In Fourth, Muffle Thunder 111-103

2010-11-24T22:01:00.009-06:00

Dallas used a 24-3 run in the fourth quarter to come back and shock the Thunder in Oklahoma City. Tyson Chandler (above) did the dirty work, securing a season-high 18 boards while scoring his most points in a game (17) since 4-11-2008. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The Dallas Mavericks (10-4) used an explosive offense in the fourth quarter to hand the Oklahoma City Thunder (10-5) their fifth loss of the season. Coming off an 88-84 defensive struggle against the Detroit Pistons, an offensive outburst of this magnitude came as a bit of a surprise.

"It’s a work in progress," said Jason Terry of the Mavericks' offense after the team shoot a season-low 38.5 percent in the 88-84 win Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons. "We just have to continue to grind it out until our offense gets more and more comfortable."

Dallas certainly looked comfortable in the fourth quarter just one night later against Oklahoma City.

The Mavericks' offense, ranked 28th of 30 teams in the NBA coming into the game scoring 95.5 points per contest, finally came together down 90-83 with 7:22 left in the final frame and finished with it's highest scoring outing of the season.

Dirk Nowitzki hit two straight three's after the Thunder took a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter - one of which led to a four-point play after Nowitzki hit the deck on the second attempt - tying the game and starting a crucial 24-3 run that ended with Dallas attaining 107-93 lead with 1:51 left in regulation.

"What always helps in this league is making big shots, and we got hot at the right time," said Nowitzki, who scored half of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter alone.

The Mavericks hit 4 of 6 three's during the run, after going 5 of 21 from behind the arc before that point.

"They got hot. Let's face it," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "This is a good team. They hit a lot of 3s, and they were missing a lot of 3s early in the game."

After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, Dallas battled back to keep the lead in single digits for the rest of the quarter and into the fourth - paving the way for a fourth quarter comeback.

"It was a nip-and-tuck game. Though they got up nine to 10, it didn't feel like it," said Terry, who hit a three-pointer with 6:24 left in the fourth that put the Mavs ahead for good at 93-90. "It felt like it was a one-point ballgame the whole game, and defensively we just kept grinding it out and getting stops.

"And all of a sudden our offense came alive there in the fourth quarter."

What kept Dallas alive going into the fourth quarter was the excellent play of Mavs' center Tyson Chandler. Despite getting out-shot 48.2 percent to 44.4 percent for the game, Dallas outrebounded OKC 49-36 thanks in large part to Chandler's season-high 18 rebounds.

"He's been amazing, just his positive energy," Nowitzki said. "He's always the first one off the bench when he's not on the court, he's vocal in the locker room and he's been amazing to have around."

Dallas was able to hang tough through three quarters and managed to pull away in the fourth thanks to some hot shooting. The Mavericks have started off winning the first two games of a four-games in five-nights stretch; playing polar opposite styles in each contest.

The Mavericks have proved in the ability to win both defensive struggles and offensive shootouts, which should come in handy in facing two of the league's best teams on back-to-back nights. First things first: Dallas just hopes to keep it's three-game winning streak alive going into San Antonio on Friday night.

What's Next

The Mavericks get Thanksgiving off before concluding the brutal, four games in five night with a back-to-back in San Antonio and at home against the Miami Heat. The Spurs are an NBA-best 13-1 this season and 7-1 at home. The Spurs also crushed the Mavericks' playoff hopes last season, beating Dallas 4-2 in the first round as the seventh seed.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Kevin Durant kept up his end of the bargain in the battle of two of the league's top scorers, scoring 32 points (on 12 of 20 shooting), grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out five assists in the loss. However, Durant scored only four points in the deciding fourth quarter.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavs Win Ugly Game Vs. Detroit - 88-84

2010-11-24T01:29:00.005-06:00

Dirk Nowitzki (41) went off for a season-high 42 points (15 in the fourth quarter), as the Mavericks botched a big lead early and had to come back from down double-digits in the third quarter to get the win over the Pistons. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Where would this Dallas Mavericks (9-4) team be without Dirk Nowitzki?

Fielding one of the worst scoring offenses in the NBA, the Mavericks had to rely on Nowitzki for the second time in the last three games to score nearly half of the team's total points. Number 41 was up the the challenge, yet again, dropping a season-high 42 points along with game-high 12 rebounds.

Nowitzki made 13 of 23 shots from the field (56.5 percent, including 3 of 3 from three-point range), compared to 17 of 55 (31 percent) for the rest of the team as Dallas shot a meager 38.5 percent from the floor on the night, yet still found a way to grind out a win against the Detroit Pistons (5-4).

"We can't really be happy about this win, but it's definitely a win," Nowitzki said.
"At this point we'll take the win and move on, especially in this tough week."

Nowitzki is referring to the current stretch of four games in five nights where Dallas, after tonight's game against Detroit, takes on the Oklahoma City Thunder (Wednesday), the 11-1 San Antonio Spurs (Friday) and the Miami Heat (Saturday).

Early on against the Pistons, it appeared as though Dallas was on the verge of being able to rest up for the upcoming rough stretch. The Mavericks jumped out to a 16-2 lead to start the game, holding Detroit without a point until the 7:22 mark and without a field goal for nearly half of the first quarter (6:07).

Things turned quickly, however, as the Pistons came back to take the lead in the second; holding Dallas to a season-low 14 points in the quarter to take a 42-38 lead going into half time.

"In the second quarter we just couldn’t make any shots," Nowitzki said.

Detroit kept it's momentum into the second half, achieving it's largest lead of the game at 60-48 with 3:24 left in the third quarter - then Nowitzki and Jason Terry took over.

Dirk and JET scored all eight points as the Mavericks went on an 8-1 run to end the quarter, cutting the deficit to five points (61-56) going into the final frame. The torch was then passed to Caron Butler, held scoreless since the first quarter, who took control to start the fourth. Butler scored seven straight for Dallas to start the quarter and his quick hands also forced two Detroit turnovers.

One key play saw Butler steal the ball, make an outlet pass up the court, and then hustle into the play to collect a rebound on a Shawn Marion miss - putting it right back up and in for two points.

"I thought a big key to the game was the way Caron started the fourth quarter," Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle said. "His points to start the fourth quarter really got us going... he stayed in there and kept battling."

After a Terry three-pointer brought Dallas within one point with 7:39 left, Nowitzki took it from there, scoring nine straight points to give the Mavs a 75-70 lead.

Back-to-back jumpers by Terry later in the quarter (one on a Nowitzki screen that took care of two defenders, and the other on a solid Nowitzki pass out of a double team to Terry to beat the shot clock) kept Dallas ahead by five with less than two minutes to play.

The Pistons got to as close as 84-82 after Richard Hamilton made two free throws with a minute left, but two straight offensive rebounds led to four straight free throws from Nowitzki to seal the Mavericks 88-84 win.

"JET had some big baskets," Nowitzki said, "and Caron got us going in the fourth quarter with a couple of good drives."

When the dust settled; Nowitzki (15 points), Terry (9) and Butler (7) combined to score 31 of the Mavs 32 points in the fourth quarter.

"We want the ball in that situation. We thrive in that situation," Terry said. "Dirk and I have been playing together for seven years now, we have great chemistry. At the end of games, it’s no secret. All 20,000 in the arena plus the other team know what we're going to [on the offensive end]."

Despite getting out-shot (42.5 percent to 38.5 percent) and outrebounded (46-42), the Mavericks still managed to squeak out the win thanks to Nowitzki's huge game and some clutch play by Terry and Butler in the fourth quarter.

"We found a way to get it done," said Carlisle. "It’s not always going to be pretty."

What's Next

Dallas travels to Oklahoma City tomorrow night to take on Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder. OKC is 10-4 this season (5-3 at home) and come into Wednesday's game having won five straight games.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Shawn Marion, who missed the early morning shoot around due to flu-like symptoms, played only 15 minutes and was 1 of 6 from the floor with four points and four rebounds.
With 10 assists on the night, Jason Kidd now has six double-digit assists in 13 games this season. It's the first such occurrence since Nov. 10 (five games) and Kidd has fallen from second in the NBA in assists per game to fifth at 9.3 per game.
After missing four straight free throws to start the game, the Pistons were called for a lane violation and Dirk Nowitzki got another chance at his second free throw with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Nowitzki made it, and the next 12 in a row, to total 13 straight (10 in the fourth quarter) to finish the game 13 of 16.

Dallas DB's Come Through In Clutch

2010-11-22T12:13:00.004-06:00

The injured and beleaguered secondary of the Cowboys stepped up in the second half of Sunday's game against the Lions. (Pictured left: Corner Terence Newman and safety Gerald Sensabaugh celebrate after Newman's interception late in the game. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The much-maligned defensive backfield for the Dallas Cowboys didn't do itself any favors through the first half against the Detroit Lions. Through two quarters Sunday afternoon, the Cowboys' secondary made journeyman quarterback Shaun Hill look like an elite NFL QB.

Hill completed as many passes (20) as the Cowboys offense total plays in the first half, as the Lions appeared poised to steal a record-breaking roadie going into the locker room up 12-7.

Dallas made some adjustments at halftime and cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman (both questionable to start against Detroit due to injury) stepped-up their game the rest of the way.
Hill completed only 12 of 20 passes in the second half, notching another touchdown late in the third, but Newman came up with an excellent interception to seal the game late.

Newman beat Lions' receiver Calvin Johnson on his own route, back-peddled to gain possession, and snatched the ball away from the 6-5, 235 lb All-Pro; giving Dallas possession up 35-19 with under 3 minutes remaining in the contest.

"It certainly wasn't pretty in all areas," interim head coach Jason Garrett said. "What we're finding out about our football team is that it has a lot of fight."

In two games since Garrett took over as head coach, Dallas has allowed 20 points or less - this after allowing totals of 45, 35, and 41 in three straight losses with Wade Phillips at the helm. It's a small sample size, but a secondary that was either too injured or uninterested to play hard for the majority of the season seems to have regained some of the effort and intensity they had last season, when Dallas fielded one of the top defenses (statistically) in the NFL.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Cowboys Finally Protect Home Turf, Beat Lions 35-19

2010-11-21T15:18:00.008-06:00

Dallas finally gets it's first home win of the season thanks to some timely defense, Bryan McCann, and an outstanding game from Jon Kitna (3). (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The Dallas Cowboys (3-7), two-and-a-half months into the season, have won their first game at Cowboys Stadium, prolonging the Detroit Lions (2-8) record-breaking futility on the road in the process.

In a battle of the win-less (Cowboys at home this season, and the Lions' NFL-record (now 26) on the road), Dallas showed some tenacity and smarts, battling back from down 12-7 with 11:24 in a dominant second half.

Jon Kitna led the team from under center, accounting for all four of the Cowboys' offensive touchdowns (three in the second half), including a career-best 29-yard touchdown run - tying the franchise record for a quarterback set by Roger Staubach.

"The people I'm playing with allow me to play at this level," Kitna said. "When they're playing like that, the quarterback position becomes easy."

The comeback started after the Lions tried to pin Dallas inside the 5-yard line for the fourth time in the game with 9:16 left in the third quarter. Rookie kick-returner Bryan McCann made a heads up play on a punt after the Lions' gunner tried to bat the ball back into play out of the end zone. McCann had other ideas, scooping up the football and racing 97 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

"I saw the edge and kept running," McCann said. ..."I was tired of seeing the offense start out at the 5 all day, so really I just wanted to make something happen."

McCann ran back a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown that broke open the game last week against the Giants, and proved his worth again this week against the Lions.

"Everybody wants to be the guy to make that play and it just felt good to be able to do it two weeks in a row," he said.

Dallas went up 14-7 on the play and would not trail the rest of the game, thanks to a resurgent effort by the Cowboys' defense in the second half. The defense allowed only one touchdown in the second half and forced two turnovers, including a fumble recovery that set up the Cowboys' next touchdown.

"When you are looking for crumbs, it doesn't take but a little piece to get you to smile, and these (wins) have been a couple of nice little pieces," Cowboys' owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.

The Cowboys have now won two straight games with Jason Garrett at the helm, and the increase in player accountability and up-tempo practice habits seem to have made a huge impact on this team. Things will get dicey in just a few days, however, as the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints visit Cowboys Stadium for a Thanksgiving day match-up.

Expect more on this game in the next few days and a preview of the Thanksgiving day showdown before game day.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Rebound Game - Mavs Stop Hawks 98-93

2010-11-20T22:07:00.009-06:00

Dallas celebrates (above) after turning the tables on the second night of a back-to-back, outrebounding the Hawks and withstanding a run late to take the victory. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

After getting out to a sluggish start and being dominated on the boards last night against the Chicago Bulls, the Dallas Mavericks (8-4) responded by outrebounding and outshooting the Atlanta Hawks (8-5) in winning on the second night of the first back-to-back of the season.

Dallas corrected it's early game shooting woes, starting 7 of 11 from the field as opposed to the dreadful 5 for 20 the night before. In fact, the Mavericks matched their halftime total against the Bulls (35) with 9:45 left in the second quarter against the Hawks.
The Mavs won battle on the boards 40-37, but especially on the offensive glass where the Hawks totaled only seven; as opposed to the night before when the Bulls' Taj Gibson totaled eight on his own.

"It was a tough back-to-back for us, coming in late at night," Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We responded to a tough loss yesterday. We kind of made it a little hard on ourselves there in the second half. I felt like that was a good win against a good team at home."

The Mavericks' jumped out to a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, and the lead reached 18 later in the frame. The lead stayed in double-digits until the end of the half, this coming against a well-rested Hawks team that hadn't played since Tuesday night.

"We didn't come out with the energy we needed," Hawks guard Joe Johnson said, "but we were able to get back in it."

Atlanta got off to a hot start in the second half, scoring seven unanswered points to get the Mavs lead under double-digits for the first time since early in the second quarter. Dallas went on another large run of it's own, regaining an 18-point lead before the Hawks kicked it into overdrive and got themselves back in the game with a huge run.

After Dallas went up 71-53 on a Nowitzki jumper with 4:46 left in the third, Atlanta outscored the Mavs 22-4 to cut the lead to five points with a little over 10 minutes left in the final frame. The Mavericks then stormed back with eight straight points from the bench combo of Shawn Marion and Jason Terry (four each). But the Hawks didn't back down as the brought the lead down to a single point with 15 seconds left in regulation.

Dallas then responded on the defensive end, forcing Johnson to miss a contested three pointer and Nowitzki rose between two Hawks and snatched the rebound away from the grasp of power forward Josh Smith.

Terry and Nowitzki then made two free throws each to seal the game for Dallas.

"I love to go up there with the game on the line, whether it's a tie game or to put the game away," Terry said. "It was a must-win for us. Now you're back feeling confident in yourself. You've learned from your mistakes."

While Nowitzki struggled a bit from the field (8 of 22), he led Dallas in scoring with 21 points, while Terry scored 15 and dished seven assists off the bench.

Sometimes a team needs to learn lessons the hard way and Dallas did just that in the loss Friday versus the Bulls. The Mavericks seemed to have a renewed effort on the glass in this game and (especially on Dirk's excellent board at the end) that made the difference throughout.

Zone Defense Not Just A Mavs' Staple

Each team relied heavily on the zone defense throughout the game, but while Dallas was able to penetrate and find holes in the zone, the Hawks relied on outside jumpers - going 7 of 25 from behind the arc.

"Twenty-five 3-point shots is way too many for us," Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. "We settled for perimeter shots. Our movement was very slow early on. We didn't have much zip."

The Mavericks quick rotations on the defensive end forced the Hawks to either drive the ball into a congested paint or settle with a contest outside shot and that paid dividends.

"We're trying to be the best zone team in basketball," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's challenging. We have to play to our length and experience and our knowledge of the game."

What's Next

The Mavericks return to Dallas for a couple of days off before taking on the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center. Detroit, 4-8 on the season, has actually won four of their last seven games after starting the season by losing five straight. The Pistons are 2-5 on the road this season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

DeShawn Stevenson had his highest scoring game as a Maverick with 13 points on an efficient 4 of 4 from the field an 3-3 from three-point range.
Shawn Marion secured his first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Unlikely Hero - Mavs Fall To Gibson, Bulls 88-83

2010-11-20T00:09:00.009-06:00

Taj Gibson (above) reacts after nailing the first three-pointer of his career with 2:48 left in the fourth quarter to put the Bulls up 79-77. Dallas would not regain the lead. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

"You can't control what the ball do, it's crazy man, y'all hilarious," - Josh Howard.

Truer words were never spoken, especially in the context of Friday's game between the Dallas Mavericks (7-4) and Chicago Bulls (7-4). There's no doubt about it, Howard was a prophet.

With 2:53 left in regulation, Mavs center Tyson Chandler rose up and blocked Bulls' point guard C.J. Watson's lay-in attempt with both hands, sending the ball crashing to the ground. Somehow, the ball ricocheted and found it's way to Bulls' forward Taj Gibson beyond the three-point line - a place where Gibson had never attempted an NBA shot.

Gibson's 25-footer splashed home to put the Bulls ahead 79-77 for the first three-pointer of his career, and the Bulls would not trail for the rest of the game. Gibson finished with 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds (eight on the offensive boards) before fouling out with 52 seconds left in the game.

"Coach knows I've been working on my jumper, but he said don't rely on jump shots," Gibson said. "Attack the glass and hit the boards. I've struggled the last two games so he challenged me."

In a game where points were difficult to come by, it all came down to rebounding and the Mavericks simply couldn't cut it against the Bulls. Chicago killed the Mavs on the boards, outrebounding Dallas by a whopping 59-34, including 20 on the offensive glass. The Bulls offensive rebounds created chance after chance under the basket and led to Dallas outscoring Dallas 42-26 in the paint. One of those aforementioned rebounds on the offensive glass led to Gibson's back-breaking three late in the contest.

It didn't look good for Dallas right off the bat as the Mavs missed 15 of their first 20 shots and the Bulls took their largest lead of the game at 28-17 early in the second quarter.

After struggling mightily to get anything going in the first half, Dallas went from down double-digits in the second, to up double digits in the third quarter. The Mavericks used a 24-4 run from the 1:45 mark of the second quarter to lead 55-43 with 5:07 left in the third. Chicago scored only four points through the 4:27 seconds of the quarter.

The Bulls charged back, however, scoring 11 points in the final three minutes of the third and 32 in the fourth to get the victory. Derrick Rose led Chicago with 20 points and six assists, and I counted at least half a dozen drives to the basket during the course that showcased his explosiveness and athletic ability. The guy is a highlight machine.

"The thing about Derrick is he drives the ball extra hard," Bulls' coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Nowitzki or Nothing

Offensively for Dallas, it was the Dirk Nowitzki show but, unlike normally, he actually seemed to be the only Maverick to even show on that end of the floor.

Nowitzki scored 30 of the Mavericks' 59 points through three quarters, finishing the game with a season-high 36 points on 15 of 26 shooting. The rest of the Mavericks combined to go 15 of 49 (30.6 percent) on an ugly night offensively for any Mav not named Dirk.

""There are going to be nights when Dirk has a huge game," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's that great a player. But 20 offensive rebounds and 25 second-chance points is just tempting fate too much, simple as that."

The only other Mavs' player to score in double-digits was Caron Butler, who had 12 points on 3 of 10 shooting. Butler and Jason Terry, two guys who are supposed to be able to pick up some slack on the offensive end, combined to make only 6 of 25 shots (24 percent) from the field.

What's Next:

Dallas is in the midst of a stretch where the next six games will all be back-to-backs. Saturday night, the Mavs head to Atlanta to take on the 8-4 Hawks. Atlanta is only 3-3 at home this season, but it should be difficult game against a good team on the second night of a b2b.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. central time.

News and Notes:

Dallas scored a season-low 35 points in the first half, but also held an opponent to their lowest scoring half of the season (39).

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Hornets Get Even, Beat Mavs 99-97

2010-11-17T22:15:00.007-06:00

The Mavericks were unable to withstand a huge Hornets third quarter surge, along with a frenetic fourth quarter finish that culminated with a David West steal on the final Mavs possession with New Orleans up by only one point. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

For the second time this season, a turnover in the final seconds of a one point contest cost the Dallas Mavericks (7-3) a chance at a win.

The New Orleans Hornets (9-1) ramped up their defensive intensity late in the game, and Hornets' power forward David West came up with a huge steal on a Dirk Nowitzki drive to the basket with 2 seconds left in regulation. This made sure New Orleans would hold serve on their home court after losing in Dallas Monday night and handed the Mavs their first road loss of the season.

"We knew this was a big game for us in terms of just being able to respond to what happened at their place and we want to keep the momentum that we built, especially here at home," West said.

Dallas had three separate leads of 10 points in the first half, jumping out to a 12-2 lead early in the game, as they became the first team to lead by double digits against the Hornets in any game this season.

After shooting under 40 percent from the field and trailing 52-42 at halftime, the Hornets came out on fire in the third quarter. New Orleans made 11 of their first 13 shots to start the quarter and became the first team all season to score more than 30 points in a single quarter against Dallas. The Hornets dropped 33 and held the Mavs to only 17 points, taking a double-digit lead of their own in the quarter, to go into the final frame with a 75-69 lead.

Hornets' All-Star point guard Chris Paul scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the third quarter, and dished out five of his game-high 11 assists.

"They really came out and put it to us to start the game, so we had to come out and be more aggressive in the third quarter," Paul said. "That's my responsibility. I can't let us come out flat, and I did that tonight."

With Nowitzki in foul trouble throughout the second half, Dallas was forced to pick and choose when to play their most explosive offensive player. However, when he was on the court, Nowitzki almost single-handedly kept the Mavericks in the game - scoring 18 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter alone.

The Final 13 Seconds

New Orleans led for the majority of the fourth quarter, but Dallas kept it close as the Hornets had no lead greater than six points in the final frame. As far as I'm concerned, this game came down to a frenzied final 13 seconds at the end of regulation.

After Peja Stojakovic missed a second free throw with 13 seconds left in regulation that would have put the Hornets up by two possessions and sealed the game, Nowitzki drove to the basket and hit a lay-up with 8 seconds left to make it a one point game at 98-97. Then Jason Kidd showed why (in spurts) he can still make a stellar play with the game on the line.

Kidd reached in front of Trevor Ariza to tip away the Hornets' in-bounds pass and then dove into the scorers table, hanging in the air for just enough time to toss the ball into the outstretched hands of J.J. Barea - giving the Mavericks one more chance with six seconds left.

After the Mavs used their final timeout, Kidd in-bounded to Nowitzki, who caught the ball at just above the three-point line at the top of the key due to some aggressive defense from West. Nowitzki tried to dribble behind his back to get by West, but the Hornets' power forward saw it coming and poked the ball away.

"I was just trying to crowd him and felt like I wasn't going to give him any space," West said. "If he was going to make a shot, he was going to have to shoot a tough turnaround jump shot."

Dallas fouled West, who made the first and intentionally missed the second, but had no timeouts and a desperation down court pass was intercepted by (who else) West to seal the game for the Hornets.

"The last play is on me, I'll take the blame," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "I put Dirk in a bad situation."

West finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals, but none bigger than his strip on the Mavs final possession. Even if your a Mavs' fan, this was a great game of basketball this evening that any basketball fan would have thoroughly enjoyed.

It was a chippy game throughout, with technical fouls called and words exchanged at various points in a heated second contest in three days. If New Orleans can stay healthy, and that's a big if given the history of their All-NBA point guard, this might be the makings of a great rivalry and some quality basketball between these two teams down the road.

NBA.com Box Score

What's Next

Dallas travels back home for a Friday night game against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Rose is fifth in the NBA in scoring (24.7) and seventh in assists to lead Chicago to a 6-3 record to start the season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

News and Notes:

A disturbing trend for the Mavericks: Dallas has committed a total of 30 turnovers in the previous two games. Wednesday night, the Mavs had 15 and the Hornets scored a whopping 23 points off Dallas miscues.
Caron Butler returned to the lineup Wednesday night and seemed to be pressing it from the start, jacking up four shots halfway through the first quarter and missing every one of them. Butler finished with five points on 2 of 7 shooting as his field goal percentage for the season has now dipped to 39 percent. Ouch!

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Undefeated No More - Mavs Swat Hornets 98-95

2010-11-15T23:31:00.028-06:00

The Mavericks closed the game on a 23-11 run, thanks to the insertion of the three-point guard lineup, as Dirk Nowitzki (above) hit some clutch baskets at the end to hand the Hornets their first loss of the season. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Down double-digits in the fourth quarter, the Dallas Mavericks (7-2) knew they had to make a change in order to dethrone the previously undefeated New Orleans Hornets (8-1).

Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle answered the call by inserting Jason Kidd along with J.J. Barea and Jason Terry in the back court, creating a three-point guard attack that propelled Dallas to a come-from-behind victory and the team's fourth straight win overall.

"We were just searching for a group that could get something going," Carlisle said. ... "It was an attempt to get more playmaking into the game, get more penetration in the game. There's gamble because, when you go small, you don't have the length and they are a very long team. But the group that finished did a great job."

After Peja Stojakavic and Willie Green hit back-to-back three-pointers to make it 87-77 Hornets, Dallas stormed back with a 21-8 run to close the game thanks to some balanced play from their point guard trio.

Terry, Kidd and Barea combined to score 15 of the final 23 points of the game, and the miniature lineup even provided the defense necessary to grind out a victory. The Mavericks suffocating play on the defensive end held Hornets' superstar Chris Paul scoreless in the fourth quarter, and held New Orleans to 4 of 16 shooting overall in the final eight minutes to close out the win.

"We identify defense as the number one variable to us being a true contending team,” Carlisle said of his Mavericks, now first in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed (.422). "...I think our guys realize that hard, consistent defense, and staying with a system, is the most important part of our success and continuing the success that we’re having.”

New Orleans, who came into the game second in both opponent field goal percentage and points allowed, got rocked late by the combo of the three point guards and Dirk Nowitzki. The foursome combined to score all of the Mavs' 29 points in the fourth quarter, making 10 of 17 shots (59 percent) from the field - including an outstanding 6 of 7 (86 percent) from behind the arc.

"We fought back," Kidd said. "New Orleans is a good team and they were undefeated for a reason."

If you've read this blog over the years, you know I'm not normally a proponent of relying on the three point guard lineup for any prolonged amount of time. But you have to give coach Carlisle credit in this situation. He went with a lineup he's rarely used this season (Caron Butler missing his third straight game with back spasms certainly played a role) and it paid dividends.

Terry Heats Up In The Second Half

For the second time in the last three contests, the Mavs' sixth man led his team in scoring - this time dropping 26 points on the normally stingy Hornets' defense - but it didn't come easy, especially in the first half. Terry struggled from the floor in the first two quarters, missing 9 of 11 shots, before busting out in a big way in the second half.

Terry made all three shots he took in the third quarter and 4 of 5 in the final frame to finish at a respectable 9 of 19 from the floor - 7 of 8 in the second half. JET scored 10 points in the fourth, including the Mavs' final two baskets, to shake off his early-game slump as the most integral part of the three guard attack. His last make, a 19-footer off a screen and curl towards the high post, broke a 95-95 tie to seal the game for Dallas.

"In this league, you've got to have subjective amnesia," Carlisle said. "If your struggling you've got to forget about that and stay in the present... He did a great job with it."

Nowitzki Shines In Fourth

The Mavs' MVP and All-NBA player scored eight points in the final quarter and grabbed five rebounds en route to his fourth double-double of the season. Nowitzki finished with 24 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, making it look easy on 58 percent shooting from the floor and 10 of 13 at the charity stripe.

"We really had to battle there in the end. They are obviously one of the best teams in the league right now and they're playing with a lot of confidence and they kept coming and made big shots but we just hung in there," Nowitzki said.

What's next:

Dallas now travels to New Orleans in a double-header to take on the Hornets Wednesday night. Mavericks' coach Carlisle knows it won't be easy to beat a team twice in a row.

"I know that we're going to have to play a better overall game," Carlisle said. ... "We're going to have to be more solid from start to finish, especially on the road. We've got work to do."

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

News and Notes:

Along with jumping to first in the NBA in shooting defense, Dallas is also fourth in the NBA in points allowed per game (91.9).
A big reason why New Orleans is 8-1, the Hornets haven't allowed a team to reach 100 points all season long.

Making Miracles Happen

2010-11-15T13:01:00.008-06:00

Jason Garrett's insistence on actually coaching and holding players accountable seems to be just what the doctor ordered for the previously uninterested Cowboys. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

One game into his coaching career, Jason Garrett has exhibited the ability to work miracles.

There's no other way to explain it.

It's the only way a team that came into the game having lost five straight games, blown out in the the last two by a combined 58 points, could beat up on the division leading New York Giants - winners of five straight. But the Dallas Cowboys did just that, exuding effort and playing quality football for 60 minutes.

"I thought the intensity was there in all three areas," Garrett said. "Guys were fighting for each other. We were challenged in all areas and I think we stepped up."

All kidding aside, this is a huge step for an interim coach that has been nearly as unpopular as his predecessor throughout the season.

Garrett's no-nonsense approach throughout his first week on the job has this team, for one week at least, playing the way everyone thought they would coming into the season - and they did it without Pro-Bowl quarterback Tony Romo.

In the process, Dallas took down a division rival on the road for the team's first divisional win through three contests this season.

"I'll tell you what, they played well," Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. "They hit us with a lot of big plays. And we can't afford to let an offense do that against us. All the credit goes to them."

The Cowboys offense, held to a total of 24 points in the last two contests, broke loose thanks to a huge day from back-up quarterback Jon Kitna, as the Dallas aerial attack lit up the Giants' secondary. Dallas put 26 points on the board a-minute-and-four-seconds into the second half, taking a decisive 20-point lead after Felix Jones took a perfectly executed screen pass 73 yard to the house. It was the first third down conversion for the Cowboys against the Giants all season long - a total of a little over six quarters of action - and was the longest play from scrimmage for Dallas this season.

Kitna finished with 327 yards (an outstanding 25 yards per completion), three touchdowns and only one INT as he had no trouble finding holes in the New York defense. Kitna's 124.1 passer rating was his best since 2003, when he played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I think the difference, first and foremost, is the freakish disasters that have kind of defined our season didn't happen tonight for us," Kitna said of a Cowboys team that committed only one turnover for the game, the second fewest amount in a game all season. "There was no tipped balls for interceptions and things like that."

Dez Bryant was the beneficiary of a few incredibly crisp passes from Kitna. One of which was a circus catch in the end zone in the first quarter, as Bryant was on his way to the first 100 yard receiving game of his career.

Another spectacular play, Roy Williams' over-the-shoulder, 22-yard catch to get a first on 3rd and 22 in the third quarter, set up a 24-yard touchdown to Miles Austin that put Dallas up 33-13. The pass from Kitna was right on the money and Williams adjusted well to make sure Dallas didn't have to settle for a field goal.

While the Giants scored twice in the third, the Dallas D shut them down in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

"The timing is more important than what it means specifically to the future," Cowboys' owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "It's a good time to have a good feeling, we needed it. The players needed it and our fans needed it most of all. But it's just that, a feel-good. We have to get a lot of things worked out."

Dallas Defense Battles Back, Still Has Work To Do

Defensively the Cowboys were able to mostly contain the versatile running attack from N.Y.

While, as a team, the Giants managed over 100 yards on the ground; Dallas held the dynamic duo of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to just 90 yards on 25 carries (3.6 yards per carry) and no touchdowns.

Through the air was a different story.

Although Dallas did pick off a couple of Eli Manning's passes, including a team-record 101 yard interception (the first of his career) return for a touchdown by rookie Byran McCann, there were still some glaring holes in the Cowboys' secondary. This was true especially in the third quarter, where it appeared the Giants were poised to make a comeback.

Manning connected on three of his first four passes to start the quarter, culminating with a 5-yard touchdown to Mario Manningham that cut the deficit to 26-13. On the Giants' next drive, Manning needed only two passes (one pass interference) to get into the end zone, connecting with tight end Kevin Boss on a 35-yard strike to cut the lead back to 13 points. Manning connected on 6 of 8 passes for 85 yards and both of his touchdowns in that quarter alone.

The Giants' QB finished with 373 yards through the air to go along with two touchdowns and two interceptions. This is a lone negative on what was a great day for Dallas, but something that should not be ignored especially with both starting corners nursing injuries.

What's Next:

Dallas travels back home to take on the Detroit Lions Sunday afternoon, just four days before each team is scheduled to play on Thanksgiving. Detroit has the same 2-7 record as Dallas and is also missing their starting quarterback, Mathew Stafford, for Sunday's game.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon and the game can be seen regionally on Fox.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Say What?! Cowboys Dominate Giants 33-20

2010-11-14T19:55:00.006-06:00

Say what??!! Jon Kitna (3) led a balanced offensive attack, while both sides of the ball showed some intestinal fortitude against the Giants. A change of scenery had Dallas playing at another level, as new coach Jason Garrett (also above) led a re-energized team to earn his first win as an NFL head coach. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Where was this effort the last three weeks of the season?

The Dallas Cowboys (2-6) played like a team possessed for four quarters against the New York Giants (6-3), blowing out the NFC East leaders with a balanced effort on both sides of the ball.

"We needed this," said Dez Bryant, who had five catches for 104 yards and a spectacular 13-yard contorting touchdown catch in the first quarter. "I knew it was in all of us. I just felt like we had to come together and we did that tonight."

Dirty Work - Mavs Win 99-90

2010-11-13T10:56:00.008-06:00

The Mavs' two-headed monster of Tyson Chandler (above, being fouled by Spencer Hawes) and Brendan Haywood led Dallas to a grind-it-out win against the 76ers. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

17 points, 29 rebounds.

That's exactly what the Dallas Mavericks (6-2) got from their center combo in taking out the Philadelphia 76ers (2-7) in a hotly contested game Friday night. Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood provided the lift Dallas needed in dispatching the young and talented 76ers.

"Right now they've got a tag-team thing going [at center] that's helping us," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "They're getting a lot done. Haywood's 17 rebounds is a monster number."

Chandler had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season for Dallas, and Haywood provided 17 boards (nine on the offensive glass alone) as the duo flexed some muscle in the paint.

"Their size killed us," 76ers coach Doug Collins said. "Tyson Chandler and Brendan had 29 rebounds, 12 on the offensive backboards ... it was the second shots that just wore us down."

Coming off the bench, J.J. Barea led a balanced attack offensively, scoring 19 points, as six Mavs scored in double figures for the second straight contest. The Mavericks leading scorer on the season, Dirk Nowitzki, managed only 16 points on 33 percent shooting, but the balanced attack on offense negated the hobbled superstar's rough night.

"We've got a deep team," Barea said. "We've got a lot of guys who can score. We were still happy Dirk was out there, even if he's on one leg."

Even Brian Cardinal (who?) made an impact, recording two steals, a block and five points as one of nine Mavericks' to get on the scoreboard Friday night. Even with Nowitzki nursing that ankle injury, the depth of this team showed through in getting their sixth win of the season.

What's Next:

Dallas takes on the undefeated New Orleans Hornets at home Monday night.

Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. and I'll be there to give you the full story after the game.

News and Notes:

In two games as a starter, Shawn Marion has gone 18 of 26 from the field (69 percent shooting) and is averaging 18 points and six rebounds. Caron who?
Mavs' point guard Jason Kidd recorded the 11,000 assist of his career on a lob pass and dunk to Chandler in the first quarter. "That's a pass I enjoy," said Kidd, who finished with 10 points and eight assists, giving him 11,007 for his career. "Tyson made a nice catch. He had the hard part. I've played with some guys who can put the ball in the basket. I've always enjoyed passing the ball."
Kidd is second all-time in assists behind only John Stockton (15,806), who will never be caught.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavericks Tame Grizzlies - 106-91

2010-11-11T10:23:00.009-06:00

Shawn Marion (above) and others picked up the slack after Dirk Nowitzki's injury in the first half as the Mavs coasted to their third straight road win to start the season. (AP Photo/Alan Spearman)

Even without superstar Dirk Nowitzki (who left the game briefly after rolling his ankle in the first half) at 100 percent, the Dallas Mavericks (5-2) found a way to pull out a double-digit victory against the Memphis Grizzlies (4-5). Six Mavs scored in double figures as Dallas cruised, scoring a season-high 106 points Wednesday night in Memphis.

"I thought we spread the ball around great," said Tyson Chandler, who had 11 points and eight boards. "The wings got out on a run, and we were able to open things up, and obviously Jason Kidd made every right play at the right time."

Kidd dished out 12 assists for the game, seemingly finding a man open near the basket at will, especially in the the second half.

One of the recipients of those passes that led to easy buckets, newly inserted starter Shawn Marion, scored a season-high 20 points on an efficient 10 for 15 shooting from the floor. The Matrix also tacked on seven boards and two blocks in easily his best game of the season.

Coming off the bench for the second straight game, Jason Terry led Dallas with 25 points - equally efficient from the floor on 11 for 16 shooting - and had three steals as everyone picked up the slack with Nowitzki hobbled. Even Nowitzki chimed in with 12 points and 10 rebounds (), coming back in spurts in the second half to provide his team a lift.

"This guy is so tough, it is ridiculous," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki's return. "Not many guys would come back in and try to play after rolling an ankle like that. But it really helped us. His presence on the floor changes the geometry of the game, even if he is not touching the ball."

Defense A Key

For the fifth time this season, the Mavericks held an opponent under 100 points in a game. In fact, this was also only the second time all season that Memphis has been held under triple digits - both coming against these Mavs.

"Defense was the key," Memphis guard Mike Conley said.

The Mavericks are currently fifth in the NBA in points allowed per game (91.7).

What's Next

Dallas returns home Friday night to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly is 2-6 for the season, 1-3 on the road, and are led by reinvigorated Elton Brand - who leads the team in both points (18.4) and rebounds (8.3) through eight games.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the AAC.

News and Notes:

Jason Kidd has dished out 10 or more assists in five of seven games so far this season. Kidd is now second in the NBA at 10.9 per contest.
Starter DeShawn Stevenson tied his highest scoring game as a Maverick, supplying 11 points in 21 minutes of action.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

New Acquisition Making Early Impact

2010-11-10T12:40:00.008-06:00

One of the "heart and soul guys" as coach Rick Carlisle refers to him, Tyson Chandler (left) has been a force around the basket for the Mavericks. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Through the first six games of the 2010-2011 season, there's no question who the starting center for the Dallas Mavericks should be.

It wasn't always this way, especially after now-backup center Brendan Haywood signed his 6-year $55 million contract in the off season, but Tyson Chandler - with his ferocious play in the paint - is by far this teams best option at the position.

"Tyson, since he's been here, has been a factor," Jason Terry said after Monday's game against Boston. "He’s been an impact player for us and [Monday night] was no different. He manned the middle, controlled the rebounds, and he put some monster dunks that gave us momentum."

Fully healthy for the first time in two years, Chandler is one of those players that fights on every possession and makes his presence known around the basket, on both ends of the court.His best game of the season had to be Monday against the Celtics. Chandler scored 12 points (all on layups, dunks and two free throws) and grabbed 12 rebounds for his first double-double in a Mavericks' uniform. Combine that with two blocks, a steal and only one foul, and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle heaped a good amount of praise on his starting center after the contest.

"This guy is becoming one of our heart and soul guys," Carlisle said. "He brings a spirit. He brings a toughness and an energy. He was huge tonight, but he’s been very important for us all season."

When I told Chandler of Carlisle's comments after the game, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

"That’s a big-time compliment. I honestly don’t know what to say," Chandler said. "I try to bring my passion and energy for the game and uplift my teammates in any kind of way I can."

Chandler has averaged 7.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and a team-high 1.5 blocks per game (19th in the NBA). The most impressive stat, and a sign that he is doing nearly all of his damage around the basket: Chandler is shooting 81 percent from the field through six games.

Even Mavs' superstar Dirk Nowitzki had to weigh in on the Mavs off season acquisition.

"We always stick him on the best offensive player on the post," Nowitzki said. ..."[Chandler is a] great player in the locker room, always positive and in the huddles too. We’re glad he’s here."

For a guy who's been on a total of four teams in his nine-year career, I bet he's glad to hear that from the team's franchise player.

The Mavericks take on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at 7 p.m., and the game can be seen locally on Fox Sports Southwest. Here's quick preview from the DMN.

News and Notes:

Caron Butler (back spasms) will miss tonight's game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Shawn Marion will start in his place at small forward.

Back To The Bench

2010-11-09T10:55:00.005-06:00

Jason Terry (right) is saying all the right things after being taken out of the starting lineup for the first time this season. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Five games into the season, the Dallas Mavericks have made a change to their starting lineup - and not because Rodrigue Beaubois foot is healed.

The Mavericks second leading scorer behind only Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry found himself on the bench at the start of Monday's game against the Boston Celtics in favor of guard DeShawn Stevenson - who had logged a total of two minutes all season.

"It’s tough, especially when you’ve had success," Terry said. "I’ve had a good run these past five games and then been thrust back off the bench. It’s an adjustment."

Some may forget that it was Terry starting at 2-guard when the Dallas Mavericks made it all the way to the NBA Finals just four years ago.

Through the first five games of the season, Jason Terry averaged 19.2 points point per game for the Mavericks. Combine that with the fact that he leads Dallas is plus/minus at +56, and one starts to wonder why head coach Rick Carlisle made this decision. A knee-jerk reaction from the poor defensive performance at home against the Denver Nuggets Saturday night? Let's see what Carlisle had to say after the Celtic game:

"I thought that he would be a good matchup on Allen to start the game," Carlisle said. "He’s been playing well in practice, he keeps himself ready. He hit two three’s in the first half. The guy’s a pro."

When asked if this would be the starting lineup for the duration, Carlisle said the team is taking a wait and see approach.

In defense of Carlisle, the move did seem to work. Dallas rarely got beat off the dribble from the perimeter with Stevenson in the game and it seemed to light a fire under Terry and the rest of the team on the defensive end of the floor.

Terry still played 34 minutes (compared to 14 for Stevenson) and scored 17 points. His replacement played a part as well, hitting a couple of open 3's and blocking two shots. Stevenson's primary cover, Ray Allen, was held to his lowest scoring total of the season (11) on 4 of 11 shooting.

JET had to expect this at some point and time, whether it was when Beaubois returned or otherwise. It seems as though he just didn't expect to get the hook this quickly, especially after such a great start to the season.

Through one game, at least, the move seems to have worked out for everybody.

"Give Rick a lot of credit for making the switch," Terry said. ..."For the betterment of this team, I'm here to do it."

"Will-Win" - Mavs Top Celts 89-87

2010-11-09T02:10:00.008-06:00

Dirk Nowitzki (41) scored 10 of the final 13 points as Dallas hit some clutch shots and flexed some defensive muscle in handing Boston it's second loss of the season. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

Forced into a situation where they had to stand toe-to-toe with defending Eastern Conference Champs, the Boston Celtics (6-2), the Dallas Mavericks (4-2) exhibited a toughness and defensive tenacity rarely seen around these parts.

Instead of falling victim to another dismal fourth quarter at home, the Mavs bucked their recent trend and beat Boston at their own grind-it-out style of game.

"This was a will-win," Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle said. "It was all about will and all about toughness."

The Celtics rallied from down 10 points at halftime, using a 27-13 run to start the second half, to take a 67-63 lead with 1:57 left in the third quarter. Dallas turned the tide to end the third, going on a 7-2 run to take a 70-69 lead going into the final frame.

"It was a period where frustration could have easily taken over and it didn’t. Our guys didn’t allow it to," Carlisle said. "We knew this game was going to be about toughness and will."

Boston got off to a quick start in the fourth, leading by six halfway through the quarter and then Paul Pierce's leaner with 1:58 to go made it 87-82 Celtics. The Mavericks refused to go quietly, however, led by four points from Dirk Nowitzki and a three-pointer from Jason Terry; Dallas mounted a 7-0 run to close out the game.

"We know it was a big win for us," Terry said. "We hadn't had much success in the fourth quarter, but to end on a 7-0 run was huge. Defensively getting those stops and offensively getting the shots we wanted."

Terry's three tied the game at 87 after Jason Kidd penetrated into the lane and made a no-look, laser pass to Terry on the outside for the open look. Kidd finished with zero points (0 of 5 shooting), but dished out 10 assists and his quick hands accounted for two Mavs' steals.

"It was a perfect pass," Terry said. "All I had to do was let it fly."

Nowitzki and JET combined to score the final 15 points of the game for the Mavs, with Dirk accounting for 10 of his game-high 25 points in the final quarter. Dallas force-fed their superstar the ball on nearly every possession down the stretch and Terry provided the Robin-support that the Mavs have rarely had at their disposal so far this season.

"They drew in the defense late, Terry tied the game, and Dirk hits an amazing shot with great defense all over him," Boston's leading scorer (24 points) Pierce said. "That's what he's done throughout his career. That's why he's a future Hall of Famer."

The Celtics had a chance to send it to overtime with 17 seconds remaining in regulation, but a surprisingly suffocating Mavs' defense forced an ill-advised three-pointer from Rajon Rondo. Ray Allen got the rebound with 3 seconds left, but a smart decision by Terry to foul made the Celtics have to in-bound the ball with only a few seconds remaining. Boston got the ball into Kevin Garnett, but an awkward shot from just above the three-point line (and nearly behind the basket) fell short as Dallas pulled off the win.

"Garnett had a very difficult shot with two 7-footers on him," Carlisle said. ..."I'm really happy that our guys hung tough and found a way, because they deserved it."

The Mavs are now 2-2 at home this season, but have some hope that they may have erased some of the recent home woes with the win. In the fourth quarter especially, where Dallas closed out the game on a 15-7 run (all points scored by Dirk and JET), after Boston went up 80-74 with 7:24 left in the game.

"This is definitely a big win at home. [Boston] is a great team," Nowitzki said. "We hung in there and showed a lot of guts down the stretch."

What's Next:

Dallas has a day off Tuesday before traveling to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. The Grizz are 4-4 this season, and beat the Mavs 91-90 in Dallas earlier this season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

News and Notes:

Caron Butler sat out the fourth quarter due to back spasms, according to coach Carlisle. Butler was 5 of 13 from the floor with 11 points before leaving the game.
The Mavs' defense may have played its best game of the season against Boston. The Celtics shot only 41.8 percent from the floor against Dallas Monday night and tying a season-low with 87 points. "The defense really won us the game down the stretch," Nowitzki said.

Time For A Change - Packers Win 45-7

2010-11-08T13:57:00.006-06:00

Cowboys lose fifth straight game in Sunday night spanking on national television. ESPN is reporting that Wade Phillips (above) has been fired as the Dallas head coach. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

The Dallas Cowboys (1-7) have made the change at head coach after their worst start to open a season since 1989. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will take over for Phillips.

"I've got a lot of work to do. I've got a lot of decisions to make and it's not just one, two, three or four," Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said after last night's beat down. "There's several decisions. I think everybody in this country would agree, there's a lot wrong with this team that I've got to address and certainly I'm the one to address it."

The Cowboys' horrible play made this decision happen as early as it did, and I doubt the change will have much affect on a team that seems poised to have a top-5 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, but it had to be done. These players have quit on Phillips and it's impossible, football-wise, to justify keeping him.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Judgment Day

2010-11-07T14:57:00.006-06:00

If Cowboys rack up another embarrassing loss tonight against the Packers, expect coach Wade Phillips (left) to receive his pink slip Monday morning. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

I don't care what Jerry Jones says, Wade Phillips will be gone by Tuesday if the team gets demolished tonight - which they will.

Enjoy the game!