Josh Howard returned and the Dallas Mavericks set a season high for points scored tonight (Nov. 7) with a 129-101 victory. Howard started and scored 16 points in 24 minutes of action. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)
The Dallas Mavericks set season highs in scoring (129), shooting percentage (62.4 percent), three-point percentage (50 percent), fast break points (24), and points in the paint (56); en route to their fourth victory of the season (4-2). Dallas led by double digits for the majority of the second half and scored 44 points in the 4th quarter, a season high for any quarter. Dallas was 18 of 22 from the field in the 4th.
"They went past us, and they shot over us," Toronto coach Jay Triano said. "They had more movement and energy and had confidence in their shooting.”
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 29 points on 12 of 20 shooting while also adding nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block in 39 minutes. Jason Terry was second on the team with 19 points off the bench, including 3 of 6 from downtown.
Shawn Marion finally showed some of the potential he flashed in the preseason. Marion was nine of 11 from the floor for 18 points, while also contributing 8 rebounds. Josh Howard added 16 points and Marion and J-Ho’s relentless attacks to the basket were a large reason Dallas had such a large amount of fast break points and points in the paint. Coming into tonight’s game, Dallas had averaged just 10 fast break points per game for the season. Howard (8) and Marion (6) combined for 14 points on the break alone.
"It all starts with defense," Marion said. "The more we play defense and get stops, the better our offense will be. We've got to keep that going."
Dallas had 11 steals and 3 blocks as a team while holding Toronto to 43.9 percent shooting on the night.
Former Lincoln High School star Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 28 points along with 12 rebounds and Andrea Bargnani added 22 with both shooting 50 percent from the field. But it simply wasn’t enough as Toronto seemed to run out of gas in the second half on the second night of a back-to-back.
"It was our first back-to-back, and they got off to a track meet," Bosh said. "We kind of played into their game. We settled for too many jump shots. They got long rebounds and were off to the races."
Mavericks’ fans also got their first chance to see the lineup of Kidd, Terry, Howard, Marion, and Nowitzki on the floor at the same time. The five-some didn’t get to play together all that much (a little over 5 minutes total) but did outscore the Raptors 17-12 (+5), shooting 61.5 percent while they were on the floor together. Through one game, it appears as though they will play at the end of quarters to put their best five on the floor in the clutch. More on this situation as the season goes on.
Dallas looked like the team Mavs’ fans have been hoping for, playing solid defense while also getting up and down the court with regularity. The Mavericks’ play their next game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 10) against the Houston Rockets, in Dallas.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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