Mavs Nearly Stung Before Winning Lucky #7

The Dallas Mavericks' meeting with the New Orleans Hornets at the AAC on Sunday was definitely a tale of two halves. The opening 24 minutes of the late night matchup with the Hornets (minus Chris Paul) looked like the Mavericks would be able to cruise right on to the finish line, never looking back. The Mavs were moving the ball well, being unselfish, and everyone it seemed had a turn at scoring near or directly under the basket. The team was playing so well, in fact, that Jason Kidd was able to rest on the bench during the second quarter...for the entire twelve minutes.

At the end of the second quarter, the Mavericks were shooting lights out at 67%, compared to a respectable 50% for New Orleans. Dallas had outrebounded the Hornets, 21-15, and was a plus 10 on points in the paint at 38-28. The most notable advantage for the Mavericks, however, came on the fast break, where they had outscored New Orleans 17-0. Dirk Nowitzki was riding the hot hand, shooting 7-0f-11 for 16 points, and JJ Barea, who saw extended playing time due to Kidd resting the entire second quarter, led the team with eight assists.

But after the half, the Mavs started to lose their focus a bit, as teams often do when leading by large margins. What was at one time a 25 point lead for Dallas had dwindled down to four at 101-97 late in the 4th quarter, causing the Mavs to again apply the lockdown defense they have been mastering ever since the All-Star break. Brendan Haywood blocked two consecutive shots on a single Hornets' possession, which resulted in a 24 second shot clock violation and the Mavs regaining control of the ball. Caron Butler contributed a team high four steals, the final one coming with 53 seconds remaining, allowing Haywood to get an easy basket on a tip in follow.

And once again, Jason Kidd made his presence on the floor known on the defensive end of things. With his two steals, Kidd moved to 2,310 for his career, which moved him to fourth place all-time in steals. In the fourth quarter, Kidd tied Al Thornton up on a jump ball, which Thornton won, and then Kidd automatically tied him up again, resulting in a second jump ball. The things that Kidd does on the floor don't always show up in the box score like they did in the Atlanta game on Friday night, but he always has a massive impact on the game once he sets foot on the hardwoods.

After the game, Coach Carlisle mentioned that the team was well aware of New Orleans' ability to recover from double digit deficits this season. The Hornets have won an impressive 12 games this year when trailing by ten or more points. All things considered, Carlisle said, this was a "good win against a good team."

Rookie point guard Darren Collison, filling in for the injured Chris Paul, had a career high 35 point performance for the Hornets. Said Dirk Nowitzki, “Collison kept coming all night with big shots and next thing you know, we had a ball game on our hands.” Dirk was somewhat disappointed with the Mavs’ loss of focus, although he was happy to escape with the win. Nowitzki finished the game as the Mavs leading scorer with 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting. In addition to scoring 30+ points for the third straight game, Dirk’s well-rounded performance also featured seven assists and eight rebounds.

In an unusual occurrence, it was not Jason Kidd who led the Mavs in assists, but JJ Barea, with nine. While being interviewed after the game, Kidd was asked how he felt about the fact that he only accounted for the fourth most assists by a Maverick during the game. “That’s a good thing,” he laughed, before discussing how much easier the offense flows and opens up when everyone is willing to share the basketball. For Kidd, what really matters is just to keep on winning. “The more wins we put in the left column, the better off we’ll be,” he added.