+7
Behind 34 points from Jason Terry, including the game-tying shot at the end of regulation, the Dallas Mavericks survived a stunning surge by the San Antonio bench in garbage time to pull out a win in Dirk Nowitzki's first game back.
After blowing an 18-point third quarter lead to be behind 89-82 with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter, the Dallas Mavericks battled all the way back to a 91-91 tie when Jason Terry hit a pull-up jump shot with .05 seconds left.
However, that left just enough time for San Antonio to call a timeout and run a play for one of their unlikely heroes, Danny Green. A third-year 6'6 swingman from North Carolina, Green has played in only 48 NBA games, but he helped lead an unlikely charge by the end of the Spurs bench in the second half.
His 12 points were the fourth-most he scored all season, and points 13 and 14 were literally a fingertip away, as his game-winning shot at the end of regulation was initially ruled good but then overturned before a raucous home crowd at the American Airlines Center:
Dallas would eventually win 101-100 in OT, but not before Green's second attempt at a buzzer-beater came up short.
Vince Carter scored 14 first half points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 51-40 halftime lead over the San Antonio Spurs. Carter hit 6-8 field goal attempts in the first half for the Mavericks who shot 52 percent in the first half.
Jason Terry added eight points off teh bench for Dallas while Rodrigue Beaubois and Shawn Marion each pitched in six points. Marion also leads the team with five rebounds while Terry handed out four assists. In his return from a four game absence with a sore knee, Dirk Nowitzki played 16 first half minutes and finished with four points and four rebounds.
Tim Duncan leads San Antonio with 10 points while both Tony Parker and Richard Jefferson have nine points each. The Spurs hit just 36 percent of their shots in the first half and were out rebounded by the Mavericks 26-23 in the first half.
For more on this game Mavericks fans should check out Mavs Moneyball and Spurs fans should visit Pounding The Rock. For more news and analysis on the NBA head on over toSB Nation's NBA Basketball page.
Dirk Nowitzki is in the starting lineup for the Dallas Mavericks' Sunday night matchup with the San Antonio Spurs after missing the last four games with a sore knee.
Looks like Dirk will play and of course start. #mavs
— Mark Followill (@MFollowill) January 29, 2012
After originally being scheduled to miss only four games there was some doubt whether Nowitzki would make his return against the Spurs. Dallas has been battling injuries of late with Jason Kidd down for at least a week with a calf injury and Delonte West sitting out Friday's game with a strained hamstring. Vince Carter made his return to the lineup on Friday night after suffering a sprained foot.
Nowitzki has played in 16 games for the Mavericks this season and is averaging 17.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
For more on Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks head on over to Mavs Moneyball. For more news and analysis on the NBA check out SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.
Delonte West sat out the Mavericks win over the Utah Jazz on Friday with a strained hamstring. The injury riddled Mavericks could use West on Sunday given the news that point guard Jason Kidd will miss at least a week with a calf injury suffered in Friday's win.
ESPN Dallas writer Tim MacMahon reports that West is in uniform and is going through pregame shooting and looks like he will play in Sunday's nationally televised matchup against the Spurs.
Judging by fact that Delonte West is wearing his uniform while going thru his pregame shooting routine, I expect him to play vs Spurs.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 29, 2012
Dirk Nowitzki is a game-time decision for the Mavericks after missing four games with a sore knee.
For more on the Dallas Mavericks head on over to Mavs Moneyball. For more news and analysis on the NBA check out SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.
Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said during his pregame press session that Dirk Nowitzki will be a game-time decision for Sunday's game against the Spurs. It is presumed that Nowitzki will see how he feels during warm-ups before a decision is made.
RC says Dirk is a game time decision. Kidd out at least until next weekend.
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs) January 29, 2012
Nowitzki has missed the Mavericks last four games with a sore knee. He was originally scheduled to return for Sunday's game against the Spurs but he may in fact not be fully ready to go. In his absence, Lamar Odom has seen an increase in playing time.
One player whose status is certain is point guard Jason Kidd who Carlisle said will be out until at least next weekend. Kidd suffered a calf injury in Friday's game against Utah and left the game in the first quarter. With Delonte West also banged up, Rodrigue Beaubois stepped up in the veteran point guard's absence scoring 22 points and handing out seven assists against the Jazz.
For more on the Dallas Mavericks head on over to Mavs Moneyball. For more news and analysis on the NBA check out SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.
With Dirk Nowitzki taking some time off to let his body heal and regain his physical strength, the Dallas Mavericks have had to lean on their reserves to pick up the slack. Lamar Odom has begun to play to his ability, Brandan Wright has shown some spring off the bench and Yi Jianlian has proven to have some "Dirk" in his game.
Facing up, elavating, shooting the spot-up jumper and even getting to the rim when necessary have all been displayed in Yi's arsenal when given the playing time to show off.
"The first couple weeks I was learning the team and running the plays, offensive and defensive things," said Yi, whose English is not half bad. "The players and coaches have really been helping me. This season with the schedule you don’t have real practice time, so for me it’s just watching and watching."
With Nowitzki's return to the lineup, Odom will go back to the bench as the first forward off the bench. However, it'll remain to be seen if head coach Rick Carlisle will have faith in his reserve bigs to play when needed.
For more on this game Mavericks fans should check out Mavs Moneyball and Spurs fans should visit Pounding The Rock. For more news and analysis on the NBA head on over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.
The Dallas Mavericks are battling an injury bug that could have them down as many as three starters for Sunday's nationally televised matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. Dirk Nowitzki's status for the game is still unknown after the All-Star power forward has sat out the last four games with a sore knee.
The Mavericks were also without Delonte West who missed Friday's win over Utah with a strained hamstring. In that game point guard Jason Kidd pulled up lame with a strained calf and his status is in doubt for Sunday's game against the Spurs.
Despite the injuries, Dallas pulled out a 116-101 win over the Jazz on Friday behind 22 points and seven assists from Rodrigue Beaubois.
San Antonio comes into this game tied atop the Southwest standings with both the Mavericks and the Houston Rockets who all have a 12-8 record. The Spurs lost last time out dropping Friday's contest in Minnesota 87-79.
Game date/time: Sunday, January 29, 5:30 p.m. CT
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
TV: ESPN, Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: Mavericks Radio Affiliates
Online Streaming: ESPN3
For more on this game Mavericks fans should check out Mavs Moneyball and Spurs fans should visit Pounding The Rock. For more news and analysis on the NBA head on over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.
OpenCalais - Powered by Thomson Reuters
•
Odds Shark 
Photographs by
jamesbrandon,
jdtornow,
phlezk,
flygraphix,
mcdlttx,
tomasland, and
literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.
Are The Dallas Mavericks Better Off Without Jason Kidd?
by Jonathan Tjarks
If you count the Utah Jazz game where Jason Kidd left with a calf injury early in the first quarter, the Dallas Mavericks are now 6-0 without their 38-year old point guard.
Kidd, the oldest guard in the NBA, is unsurprisingly not handling the NBA's condensed 66-game schedule all that well.
In 16 games this year, he's averaging career lows in nearly every category: minutes (28.7), points (4.1), rebounds (4.4), assists (5.1) and shooting percentage (28.2%). In the most telling sign of how far his athleticism has slipped, he's taken only 5% of his shots inside the lane this season.
He's not killing Dallas when he's on the floor, and you figure his numbers will go up somewhat as the year progresses and he gets his legs underneath him.
But in the last two games Kidd has been out, home wins over Utah and San Antonio, Dallas has given third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois the chance to run the show at the point, and he's responded with the best basketball of his career.
After not playing more than 21 minutes in any of the Mavericks first 19 games, the 6'2 185 combo guard from Guadalupe has averaged 35.5 minutes in the last two without Kidd. He's been a game-changing force on both sides of the floor, averaging 18 points on 51.2% shooting, 7 assists on 1.5 turnovers, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks.
You obviously have to take a two-game sample with a grain of salt, but at this point in their careers, Beaubois' upside is far higher than Kidd's. Not only is he running the point extremely well, but he's penetrating into the heart of the lane as well as providing a surprising defensive presence on the floor.
He's always had the talent: he has a 6'10 wingspan and a maximum vertical of 39' inches to go along with a great-initial burst, excellent ball-handling ability and a smooth and quick release on his jumper. As a rookie, he dropped 40 points on the Golden State Warriors and 16 points in 20 minutes against the Spurs in a first-round playoff game.
That combination of athleticism and wingspan is part of what makes Dwyane Wade such a dominant player, as it's nearly impossible for most guards to defend a floater from a 6'10+ release point. In no way is Beaubois even close to the player or the athlete Wade is, but he can get his shot off on at will, it's just a matter of how consistent he can become knocking it down.
He started off last year with a broken foot that persisted most of the season and, by the time he got back, the Mavericks had a veteran back-court rotation of Jason Kidd, DeShawn Stevenson, Jason Terry and JJ Barea rolling, keeping him on the bench during most of their playoff run.
Now, in his third year in the NBA, Dallas needs to know what they have in their 23-year old guard. He'll have off-nights, as he's still only three seasons removed from playing in a lower-level French league, but he needs to have the confidence to play his game knowing he won't get a quick pull for making a few mistakes.
A Dallas team that features Beaubois and Delonte West, two athletic 6'2+ combo guards who can defend on the perimeter, attack the rim and make plays for their teammates, is far more dangerous than one that gives Kidd 25-30 minutes a night. Combine those two with Jason Terry off the bench, and the Mavericks have one of the most potent back-courts in the NBA.
Kidd, who is still a replacement-level point guard and is a widely respected locker room presence, doesn't necessarily need to be benched when he returns from his latest injury. Much like in the 2008 Olympics, he could start the game but give way to more talented younger players in crunch time.
With Dirk clearly not at 100%, Dallas can't afford to sacrifice offense from as many positions on the floor as they did last year. And if Beaubois can maintain somewhere near this level of production, the Mavericks would have an extremely attractive core at the 2-4 positions -- Beaubois, Marion, whose added a three-point shot and a consistent post game this season, and Dirk -- going forward.
That's something a certain point guard and center entering free agency next summer might be interested in.
Jan 30 12:09a