Tim Thomas and the Dallas Mavericks Used a 26-0 Run En Route to 130-99 Blowout of Rockets on Second Night of Back-to-Back.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The Dallas Mavericks (11-4), likely hung over from a loss to a bad team with only six players Tuesday night, got off to a rocky start in Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets (8-7). The Rockets led 15-2 at one point in that first quarter, and 25-13 later in the quarter, before the Mavericks went on a 26-0 run from 5:03 in the first quarter to 11:29 in the second. When all was said and done, Dallas had turned a 12 points deficit into a 14-point lead at 39-25.
"Our start was horrendous," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "The rest of the game was great. Our tempo was perfect."
Dallas finished the half at 69 percent shooting, their highest for a half this season, and had 36 bench points.
Last year’s Sixth Man of the Year award winner Jason Terry and newcomer Tim Thomas led the Dallas run coming off the bench. The duo combined to score 21 points during the 26-point run, while Jason Terry finished with a game-high 27 points while shooting an incredible 10-11 from the field, including 4-4 from behind the arc. Terry also finished with 10 assists for his first double-double since March 3, 2007.
Making the most of his time on the floor, Thomas finished the game with 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting for his best performance in a Mavericks’ uniform. Both Thomas and Terry finished the first half with 17 points a piece.
"Tim played great," Carlisle said. "He brings a playoff mentality to our team, that's evident. He's worked hard to get back to this point, and we're just going to keep bringing him along."
At 10:50 in the third quarter, Jason Kidd threw a perfect alley-oop pass to a leaping Rodrigue Beaubois for his 10,335 assist of his career, passing Mark Jackson for 2nd place on the all time list. With John Stockton more than 5,000 assists away, Kidd understands that number two on the all-time list is about as good as it’s going to get.
"Some records are meant to stay where they are," Kidd said. "I don't see anybody breaking that any time soon."
Kidd finished the game with nine points and seven assists as he played sparingly in the second-half as Dallas had a double digit lead throughout.
Carl Landry led the Rockets’ in scoring with 24 points off the bench and Trevor Ariza ended with 20. After Golden State ripped the Mavericks for 54 points in the paint the previous night, it was surprising to see Houston take so many outside shots. The Rockets missed 15 of 20 hoists from behind the arc for the game.
Dallas had their best shooting percentage in a game this season with 65.5 percent and with their highest 3-point shooting percentage for a game with 52.9 percent.
After a break for Turkey-Day, the Dallas Mavericks travel to Indiana to face the Pacers on the first night of yet another back-to-back. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov.27).
Dallas plays King James and the Lebrons in Cleveland on Saturday night.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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