Balanced Effort Leads to 12th Straight Win at Home vs Sacramento . (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)The Dallas Mavericks (10-3) continue to persevere through injuries to their top players. With Josh Howard, Erick Dampier, and Shawn Marion looking on in designer suits for the third consecutive game, the Mavericks handled their business again against a young and talented Sacramento Kings (5-6) team. Dallas exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring 36 points in the period after scoring a total of 68 points in the first three quarters. The Mavericks have won five games in a row, which ties their longest win streak from a year ago.
"The emphasis has been on the bench guys from the start," said Mavericks' backup Kris Humphries. "It starts with Jason Terry coming off the bench first. We've got to bring energy. It's an important part of the team."
In contrast from the way Dallas has played thus far this year with a smaller lineup, utilizing a 3-PG attack, the Mavericks decided to go with a bigger lineup for long stretches during the game. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle mixed and matched Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Thomas, Kris Humphries, and Drew Gooden at the center, power forward, and small forward positions all game long. The bigger lineup reeked havoc on Kings' defenders as Dallas continuously dropped the ball down low to Gooden, Humphries, and Thomas in different post plays.
Thomas had his best game as a Maverick with 11 points and seven rebounds on 50 percent shooting in 24 minutes of action, in his second game back from injury. Humphries also clocked in at 24 minutes on the night and scored 15 points (a season high) to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Drew Gooden continues to impress in Erick Dampier's absence as he was one point away from his fourth straight double-double, and led Dallas in rebounding with 16; another season high for this group. With 11:02 remaining in the third quarter, Gooden caught a pass at the top of the key, drove to the basket and poster-ized Kings' center Spencer Hawes with a ferocious two-handed jam. This trio's relentlessness and aggressiveness set a tone against an equally 'scrappy' Kings squad.
Jason Terry had a bounce-back game after two sub-par outings. Terry led the team in scoring (along with Nowitzki) with 20 points and shot 53 percent from the field, after he shot a combined 26 percent in his previous three games. The Dallas reserves outscored Sacramento's 52-14 for the game.
Jason Kidd continues to show that he belongs in the upper echelon of NBA point guards, even at this stage in his career. One play in particular, with 5:33 left in the second quarter, Kidd stole the ball at half-court from Kings forward Andres Nocioni and then (all in one motion) made a no-look, behind-the-back bounce-pass that hit Jason Terry in stride running down the floor for an easy two points. Kidd also hit five three-pointers and his line at the end of the night was pretty spectacular with 15 points, 11 assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
After averaging 32.7 points over the Mavericks' previous three games and basically willing the team to victory, Dallas' bench play allowed Nowitzki a break in this one. Dirk still co-led the team in scoring with 20 points, but was able to do so without having to put the team on his back as he has had to do at many points this year.
Rookie Tyreke Evans led the Kings' in scoring with 29 points, while also adding 10 assists for the first double-double of his career. Sacramento shot 53.1 percent from the field for the game and a three point barrage at the end of the game (the Kings made 3 three-pointers in the last 24 seconds of regulation), after some sloppy Mavericks' ball handling, made the contest a little to close for comfort at the end for Dallas.
"That was a scrappy team," Terry said. "They didn't let us put them away like we wanted to, but we'll take the win."
The Dallas Mavericks are off to the second best start in the history of the franchise at 10-3, and are now tied with the Phoenix Suns for 1st place in the Western Conference. Dallas has three days off after today to enjoy their victory.
Dallas' next game is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov.24) against Nellie and the Golden State Warriors at the AAC.
News and Notes:
- The last time Sacramento won in Dallas was Feb. 27, 2003
- After ending the regular season last year with 25 consecutive 20+ point games, Dirk Nowitzki has scored 20 or more 12 out of 13 games this season.
- Not only did Kris Humphries have a season high in points (15), it was also the most points Humphries has scored in a game since Jan. 21, 2008, when he had 16 against the Washington Wizards.
- The Dallas bench scored 25 of the 36 total points scored by the Mavs in the fourth quarter.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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