Full-Court Press

Mavericks defeat New Orleans, 94-90, depsite Nowitzki's struggles

The Mavericks have talked all season about the depth of this team. And

they needed every bit of it Monday against New Orleans.



 



On a night when Dirk Nowitzki never could find a rhythm, his teammates

came to the rescue in a 94-90 victory over the Hornets at American Airlines

Center.



 



Hot-shooting guard J.J. Barea carried the Mavericks early and Jason

Terry and Josh Howard came off the bench in the second half to lead the way.



 



Nowitzki only had two points through three quarters and finished with a

season-low 10 on 4-of-11 shooting. But Barea poured in a season-best 23 points

on 10-of-13 shooting, and Terry and Howard combined for 17 second-half points

to help hold off the Hornets.



 



“Sometimes, hey, the big fellow isn’t going to be there and

we just have to play off him and let him set picks and get guys open,”

point guard Jason Kidd said, “and we did that.”



 



The Southwest Division-leading Mavericks (18-7) have won four straight

and six of their last eight. New Orleans (10-13),

which fell to 1-15 in its last 16 games at Dallas, is now 2-10 on the road.



 



Dallas shot 63.6 percent in the first quarter

to build a 35-18 lead, but that was wasted away because of a season-high 23

turnovers that led to 30 points.



 



“That’s just not good enough for a team that has our

aspirations,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

said.



 



– Brandon George

Red-hot Barea helps Mavericks jump in front of Hornets, 35-18

Mavericks guard J.J. Barea couldn’t be stopped early

against the New Orleans Hornets tonight at the American Airlines

Center. Barea was 5-of-7

shooting in the first eight minutes and scored 13 points to start the game. The

Mavericks lead the Hornets, 35-18, after the first quarter.



 



The Mavericks shot an amazing 63.6 percent in the first

quarter. The only thing keeping the Hornets relatively close is their 3-point

shooting. They were 4-fo-6 in the first quarter. And Barea helped the Mavs do a

good job on nemesis Chris Paul early, holding him to four first-quarter points.



 

Mavericks will try to slow New Orleans Hornets, PG Chris Paul tonight at AAC

The Mavericks will get another shot against the pesky New Orleans Hornets tonight at the American Airlines Center (game starts at 7:30 p.m. on Ch. 21).



The Mavericks held the lead late in regulation at New Orleans on Nov. 4, but Jason Terry and J.J. Barea combined to miss four free throws over the final 13.1 seconds as the Hornets were able to get the game to overtime and eventually win, 114-107.



"That's in the past. That was early when the season first started," Mavericks forward Shawn Marion said this morning. "Right now, we're past that. It's about taking home court and going out here and establishing ourselves."



Dallas will try to win its fourth consecutive game. To do so, the Mavericks will have to slow down their nemesis in Chris Paul, who scored 39 in the Mavs' loss at New Orleans in November and who has averaged more than 30 points and 10 assists over his last nine games against Dallas.



"Yeah, it's easier said than done," Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd said. "You're talking about a guy who can score and find the open guy. He makes his teammates better. He's one of the best point guards in this league. He's coming off of injuries, but he's been back up for five or six games. They're a different ball club when he's in the lineup, so we have our hands full tonight."



- Brandon George

Mavericks will try to slow Paul, Hornets tonight at AAC

The Mavericks will get another shot against the pesky New Orleans Hornets tonight at the American Airlines Center (game starts at 7:30 p.m. on Ch. 21).



The Mavericks held the lead late in regulation at New Orleans on Nov. 4, but Jason Terry and J.J. Barea combined to miss four free throws over the final 13.1 seconds as the Hornets were able to get the game to overtime and eventually win, 114-107.



"That's in the past. That was early when the season first started," Mavericks forward Shawn Marion said this morning. "Right now, we're past that. It's about taking home court and going out here and establishing ourselves."



Dallas will try to win its fourth consecutive game. To do so, the Mavericks will have to slow down their nemesis in Chris Paul, who scored 39 in the Mavs' loss at New Orleans in November and who has averaged more than 30 points and 10 assists over his last nine games against Dallas.



"Yeah, it's easier said than done," Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd said. "You're talking about a guy who can score and find the open guy. He makes his teammates better. He's one of the best point guards in this league. He's coming off of injuries, but he's been back up for five or six games. They're a different ball club when he's in the lineup, so we have our hands full tonight."



- Brandon George

Mavs making it close

They have been fighting uphill all night and have finally gotten within 83-79 and have the ball with 2:39 to go.



It's going to be a photo finish.



Find a TV if you can.

Where's the energy?

The Mavericks have come out in the third quarter without enough energy to work a flashlight.



The Bobcats have crept ahead by five and the Mavericks haven't come close to stopping them yet.

Who's that blond guy?

If it wasn't for him, the Mavericks would be great.



Dirk Nowitzki is 1-for-9 from the field and has no rebounds in 13 minutes.



Oops. Make that 1-for-10.



Plus he just picked up a technical foul.



Just guessing, but Dirk's probably not Rick Carlisle's biggest concern at the moment, even if the Mavs are down 39-30.

Mavs up by six

At the end of the first quarter, the Mavericks are up 26-20 and they owe it to superior rebounding.



The Mavericks own a 13-8 rebounding advantage, including an offensive tipin by Drew Gooden just before the buzzer.



J.J. Barea is getting it done offensively with 10 points.

Damp is the man

For the second game in a row, Erick Dampier is flirting with a double-double -- in the first quarter.



He's got eight points and six assists and there's still three minutes to go in the opening quarter.



Dampier has hit all four of his shots and has a block.



By the way, Quinton Ross has returned after missing nine games with a lower-back strain.

Another quick getaway

The Mavericks have bolted in front 18-13, which used to be an 18-6 lead before the Bobcats scored seven in a row.



It's another nice start for the team that ran away and hid (eventually) from Miami Friday night.