Well the Mavericks’ streak of holding teams under 100 points in regulation was broken last night at eight. True it only happened because of a 3 point prayer thrown up by the surprisingly good rookie point guard Darren Collison at the buzzer. The New Orleans Hornets were able to grab a hundred points exactly. The fact that Dallas only won be eight points though is the real story here.
The Mavericks led by as many as 25 in the first half and 19 at halftime. It seemed like J Kidd and his bandits were able to make something happen on both ends of the court throughout the first two frames. They were truly just bowling down the lane and pickup up points in the paint like nobody’s business. The ball seemed to be half the size of the net for 24 minutes of play. Apparently complacency set in during Carlisle’s half-time talk or maybe a few players took a nap. The Hornets came out to play ball in the second half and it seemed like Dallas was already on the plane. Their play was so sloppy at points that it didn’t resemble anything the team has done the last couple of weeks since the blockbuster trade that brought us Butler, Haywood and Stevenson for Howard, Gooden, Ross and change. So on the first night of one of the toughest back to backs this season, the veteran starters didn’t quite get the rest they had hoped for. Kidd, Nowitzki, Haywood, Butler and Terry all had to play pretty heavy minutes in the second half just to hold on and win it.
It really didn’t look pretty as my finger nails started to pile up on the floor until the last few minutes when Dallas put down the hammer and went for the kill. Truly this was Brendan Haywood’s worst game in Dallas. He still had 12 points, nine boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. Funny thing is both blocked shots came on the same defensive possession near the end of the fourth quarter giving the Mav’s a stop when they desperately needed one. Caron Butler found his stroke and looked good in the game with 19 points 5 rebounds and 4 steals, one of which was a clutch play to really help us seal the deal.
So in the end, some good things happened to start the game, but the team’s focus was tested in the second half. it wasn’t a great game overall but Dirk, Kidd and the boys showed grit in pulling it out and having the higher score when the final buzzer sounded. Again it wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. On to Charlotte tonight. Hopefully they can make it eight in a row!
