Dallas Mavericks

Not Last Years Team

Even though Billups was out, the Mavs kept Carmelo in check (only 16 points, almost half of what he is averaging this season so far) which secured their win against the Nuggets.

It also helps when 7 players post double digit scoring, that’s called teamwork since basketball is a team sport. The Mavs players seem to be listening to their captain in taking bigger roles to lead to more wins instead of just depending on him.

The Mavericks ended up winning 104-96 to push them in second overall place in the West, right behind the Lakers.

Portland Sneaks In A Win

That’s about all I have to say really, Portland sneaked by with the win. When Nowitzki and Little Jose are the only players in double digit scoring, this is what happens.

Cuban Files Protest Over OT Loss To Rockets

Mark Cuban has filed a protest with the NBA over their OT loss to the Rockets.

Basically Dampier was fouled, but the officials also said he threw an elbow on his way down in which a technical foul was called against him, his second of the game which is an automatic ejection.

If you review the play, it’s clear Dampier did not throw an elbow to cause harm. The officials could have taken back the technical thrown his way but didn’t after several on court reviews themselves.

Cuban is protesting this as a misapplication of the official rules and wants the last 1:01 of the game replayed with Houston up 110-104.

I actually couldn’t agree more and don’t blame Cuban for submitting the 10k it costs to protest such a call that could make or break a game. It might only be 1:01 left in the game but Dampier should have been allowed to make his free throws which potentially could make the score 110-106 with the Mavs getting the ball back after the flagrant foul was made against Dampier.

Nowitzkiless

With Nowitzki sporting a nice new tooth neckless helping comment on the game, the Mavs spoiled the Cavs nice little win streak they had going by beating them 102-95.

They also spoiled Lebron’s 500th career game.

The Cavs won the last 4 meetings against the Mavs but tonight even without Dirk, the Mavs stayed focus and came out on top with Thomas filling the hole and coming to the rescue.

Without Nowitzki, Expect Anything

Well, Nowitzki collided with Landry of the Rockets early in the game, sending them both out of the game. Nowitzki made one of his free throws having to do it left handed as he banged up his right elbow, requiring stitches.

Landry wasn’t as lucky, losing several teeth when Nowitzki’s elbow hit him when fouled.

But the Rockets squeezed by barely. Up by 10 or so points late in the game with what looked to become a closeout after knocking our star out of the game, the Mavs pulled it together and tied it at 100, but then lost all such momentum in OT as the Rockets pulled away 116-108.

From the fans standpoint, most were not pleased with the officiating in the end of the game but expect anything when Dirk is out, like Little Jose being our leading scorer.

After the Nowitzki and Landry collision, the Rockets went on an 18-5 run if that tells you anything. That’s how this Rockets team has to beat the Mavericks, take out the star.

Nowitzki is questionable for Sunday nights game against the Cavs, but at least it’s not a serious injury that is taking him out for weeks or the season.

Rockets Tonight

The Mavs play the Rockets tonight at home. Hopefully we’ll see a repeat of their beatdown they had in Houston back around Thanksgiving.

The Mavericks are also on a 5 game winning streak, barely squeezing by the Hornets but I was surprised with their play against the Thunder. I know the Thunder are relatively young but they scare me as a potentially dangerous team, with Durant and company. Luckily for us, we spoiled Durant’s spotlight in this game where he introduced his new shoes, holding him around 12 points.

The next few games are going to be a good test for the Mavericks, going up against the Cavs again, with the Rockets lined up again, Lakers and Nuggets as well. It should be a entertaining holiday round up nonetheless.

The Mavericks are now 19-7 shooting for their 20th win of the season and well on their way to another 50 plus win season from the outlook so far.

Bobcats Remain Winless Against Mavs

The Mavericks are the only team the Bobcats have yet won a game against since entering the league in 2004. They are now 0-11 when playing the Mavericks.

Last night was almost their first win until Dirk took over in the 4th quarter and first OT period.

Dirk scored 18 points of his 36 in the 4th quarter and OT. The Mavericks final 14 points in regulation, Dirk scored 12 of those points. This is after he started with a horrible first half, even missing 9 of his first 10 shots and missing two consecutive free throws, which is a rare thing.

The Mavericks were down late in the 4th quarter but Dirk hit a 17 footer to tie the game at 85 with 10.9 seconds remaining. The Bobcats couldn’t connect to push the game into OT where the lead switched 6 times before ending as Dirk once again ended the game by hitting a 10 foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left to secure the win.

Dampier had another great game, contributing 14 points and 18 rebounds. Perhaps he feels under pressure watching Gooden do such a good job in his place, he doesn’t want to lose his starting role.

Mavs 106, Heat 93

Take that Wade! That’s all I got to say except a congrats to Dampier for having a very good game.

Almost But Not Quite

The Suns almost came out with a win but the Mavericks held on to win 102-101 at home.

The big surprise, Josh Howard to the rescue with his sore ankle. Josh actually didn’t get things going until the second half, which is unusual for him since he’s been kn0wn as the 1st quarter guy and usually disappears after getting his 16 or so points.

Howard ended up with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals all in 26 minutes of playing time. Not too shabby.

This was a big game. The Suns are off to a great start this year with their run and gun type offense but have not done so well since December. They only lost 3 games in their first 17 games but have since dropped 4 of their last 5.

The key to winning against the Suns though is, play some defense because they’re going to let you score since they lack defense. They try to win by just outscoring you and running the court. That makes exciting high score games but doesn’t get you far against teams that can play defense.

When you play good defense and you turn Nash into a scorer instead of dishing the ball around to make plays, this works to your advantage as well.

First Consecutive Losses

The Mavericks suffered their first consecutive loss of the season. The first was against the Grizzlies, which should have been a win but when you shoot as poorly as the Mavericks did, they deserved to lose.

The next was against the Hawks, which I knew was going to be a good matchup but they ended up on the better side, grabbing their win and ending their 5 game skid.

The Mavericks are up against the Suns on Tuesday which will be interesting game and matchup as the Suns are having a great season thus far, let’s just hope they keep this little skid of their own at only two games and bounce back into rhythm.