The Mavericks moved to 5-2 and paid the Grizzlies back for a 91-90 loss in their second home game with a 15-point road win. Dirk Nowitzki went down in the first half with a sprained ankle, but he managed to return for the second half and post a modest 12-and-10. Despite the injury, he was a +26 in his 30 minutes.
↵With Dirk hobbled and Caron Butler out (and of course with Rodrigue Beaubois out for maybe another month), the story of this game was whether Jason Terry and Shawn Marion could step forward and handle the scoring duties. They handled the task with flying colors. Marion started for Butler and was 10 of 15 for 20, and Terry went for 25 on 11-of-16 shooting.
↵Dallas jumped out to multiple double-digit leads early, but Memphis hung around through halftime, trailing 55-50 at the break. But with a 31-19 third quarter, the Mavs cruised home.
The Mavericks had held all but two opponents under 40% shooting this season, and while the Grizz hit 45%, O.J. Mayo was held to four points on 1-8 and Mike Conley was held in check, for nine on 4-of-11 shooting. Both teams defended the free throw line well, as they combined for a 16-30 (53%) night, led by Brendan Haywood's 0-5.
Dallas returns home to face the 2-6 76ers Friday night at the AAC. I'm sure that Mark Cuban would love to sell you a couple of tickets.