The Dallas Mavericks were able to snap out of their four-game losing streak on Saturday as they defeated the Utah Jazz 102-96. While most of the discussion initially focused on the return of Lamar Odom after his demotion to the D-League and his quick return, Dirk Nowitzki was quickly able to bring the focus back onto him as his 40 points on Saturday was a season high.
What's interesting to note is the production of Nowitzki this season. Admittedly not in 100% game shape, Nowitzki took some time off in January to get healthy, and his production was abysmal in that same month. Quiet as kept, but Dirk's averages in February were back to last season's form and March has gotten off to an even better start. As Dirk goes, so go the Mavs, and you can never count out the defending champs until the triple zeroes are on the clock and the opposing team is up. Check out the splits below, updated as of March 4th.
| Split | Month | PTS | REB | AST | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Games Played) |
December (4) |
22.0 | 5.8 | 2.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| January (14) |
15.1 | 5.8 | 2.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| February (14) |
22.3 | 8.1 | 2.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| March (2) |
29.5 | 7.5 | 1.0 |
Check out Mavs Moneyball for the latest news and notes on the Dallas Mavericks, and for more insights and commentary on the NBA, check out the SB Nation NBA hub page.