Suns-Mavericks Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 22 2012 8:09PM

With 10-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki sidelined for at least three more games, the Dallas Mavericks are counting on their supporting cast to continue to help fill his void.

If their latest effort is any indication, the Mavericks should be able to manage just fine.

Looking to extend its winning streak at American Airlines Center to seven, Dallas tries for a ninth consecutive home victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

Nowitzki, who has been hindered by a sore right knee, was held out of Saturday's 83-81 win at New Orleans. He isn't expected to return until Jan. 29 versus San Antonio at the earliest.

"We just thought it was a good decision for everybody. I'm not happy right now anyways, so the guys are better off when I'm not out there," Nowitzki said. "This gives me time to really do some of the stuff that I couldn't do when my knee was bothering me the last couple weeks. I couldn't lift and run and do the things I needed to do."

Dallas (10-7) didn't seem to miss a beat without the reigning NBA Finals MVP thanks in large part to Lamar Odom, who scored 16 points in his first start.

"I liked the way Lamar played. We're a running team, so with him starting and getting more minutes, this is an opportunity for him to get in the habit of running and to raise his level of conditioning," coach Rick Carlisle said. "This week is a big week for him."

Delonte West also scored 16 points while Shawn Marion and Jason Terry combined for 26.

"We've gone through this last year when we lost (Nowitzki) for nine games," said Jason Kidd, who had nine rebounds and five assists. "We felt like we have a lot of talent here, and we feel like our depth is one of our keys. Everybody just has to step up."

The Mavericks have outscored opponents by an average of 19.2 points in winning six straight at home - and given their recent history in this series - have to like their chances of keeping things going with Phoenix (6-9) coming to town.

Dallas, which has beaten the Suns eight consecutive times on its own court by 12.7 points per game, has also taken six straight from Phoenix overall.

The Suns, however, enter this matchup on a bit of a roll after posting back-to-back victories for just the second time this season. Two nights after prevailing 91-88 at New York, Phoenix handed Boston a 79-71 defeat Friday on the fourth stop of this five-game trip.

Center Marcin Gortat recorded 24 points and 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double in as many games while Steve Nash had 11 points and nine assists.

"Steve put on a show, and people found me in the right spots," Gortat said. "We have to start winning. We tripped a couple of times at home. Now we need to make it up on the road."

Gortat is averaging 19.0 points and 11.3 boards in his last three matchups in this series. He had 22 and 10, respectively, in a 98-89 loss at Dallas on Jan. 4.

Odom's career average of 16.3 points versus the Suns is his highest against any opponent.

In addition to Nowitzki, Vince Carter (sprained left foot), who spent the majority of 2010-11 with Phoenix before signing with the Mavericks in the offseason, is also out.

Marion's 29 points lead Mavericks over Suns 93-87

Posted Jan 24 2012 12:20AM

DALLAS (AP) The Dallas Mavericks are looking for offense to make up for the absence of top scorer Dirk Nowitzki and key reserve Vince Carter.

Shawn Marion came through with a season-high 29 points and the Mavericks stretched their home winning streak to seven games with a 93-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

"My teammates were looking for me," Marion said. "I've been able to do a lot of different things on the floor."

Marion, who entered with five 3-pointers all season, went 4 of 6 from behind the arc and 11 for 20 from the field.

Marion is averaging 19.3 points over his last four games, helping make up for the loss of Nowitzki (17.5 points per game) and Carter (9.5 ppg).

"Shawn was great," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "A lot of plays he made were very timely. ... We needed someone to step up."

Ian Mahinmi chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds for the defending NBA champion Mavericks (11-7), who returned home from a 2-2 road trip.

"This was one of those games when we felt we needed that spark," Mahinmi said. "When you come off the bench, you bring that energy, and we got the starters going again."

Nowitzki missed his second game in what has been projected as a four-game stretch to work on his conditioning and allow his sore right knee to improve.

Carter sat out his fourth consecutive game with a sprained left foot.

Carlisle said Nowitzki went through two conditioning sessions on Monday. The MVP of last year's NBA finals will be monitored as the week goes on to determine his progress.

Carlisle said the German star could miss more than four games depending on how much improvement he shows.

"There's some conditioning and some things with the knee that need to be resolved," Carlisle said.

Grant Hill scored a season-high 19 points for Phoenix and Marcin Gortat had 19 points and 17 rebounds, his eighth consecutive double-double. Shannon Brown added 14 points for the Suns, who have lost six of eight.

Phoenix has dropped its last nine games at Dallas.

Dallas continues to play tough defense, holding an opponent under 100 points in its 15th straight game to extend its franchise record.

Marion's nine points sparked a 10-2 third-quarter run. Marion, who had 14 points in the third quarter, converted a three-point play, then hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Dallas a 70-55 advantage with 4:41 left in the quarter.

"Shawn was Dirk tonight," said Phoenix's Jared Dudley of Marion, a former Suns star.

Phoenix ended the third quarter with six unanswered points, narrowing the deficit to 74-65.

Sebastien Telfair of the Suns was called for a flagrant foul with 7:07 left, earning an automatic ejection when he hit Dallas' Roddy Beaubois in the face and hauled him to the floor on Beaubois' layup attempt.

Beaubois made both foul shots, and when Dallas got the ball back, Lamar Odom's basket extended the Mavericks' edge to 88-74.

The Suns made one last push when Steve Nash's jumper with 2:16 left narrowed the gap to 91-84.

But Marion's hoop with 35 seconds remaining extended Dallas' lead to 93-84, closing out the Suns.

"I wasn't surprised," Gortat said of Marion's production. "He always has good games against us. We've just got to be smarter against him."

NOTES: Marion's previous season high was 22 points at Utah last Thursday. ... Dallas set a season high with a 32-point first quarter. ... Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith sat courtside with his wife, Pat.

Notebook: Mavericks 93, Suns 87

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Tuesday January 24, 2012 1:18AM

THE FACTS: Shawn Marion gave Phoenix fans flashbacks with a vintage "Matrix" performance on Monday, sinking four 3-pointers and scoring a season-high 29 points to fuel the Mavericks' 93-87 victory over his former team in Dallas. Marion, who ranks fourth in Suns history with 652 3-point field goals from 1999-2008, made only three treys in his first year with Dallas in 2009-10, five in 2010-11 and five this season entering the game. It was his 33rd career game with four or more 3-pointers, but his first since leaving Phoenix four years ago (Jan. 18, 2008 vs. Minnesota).

The Mavericks, playing without Dirk Nowitzki because of a sprained right knee, got another boost from the bench with 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocks from Ian Mahinmi and 12 points from Jason Terry. Marcin Gortat paced Phoenix with 19 points and 17 rebounds for his eighth straight double-double.

QUOTABLE: "I've shot the three my whole career -- I just don't have to do it here. Here I don't have to do it because they need somebody who can score inside the paint. ... When you stop doing it, it definitely feels a little weird, though."
-- Marion, who matched his highest point total as a Maverick, set on March 8, 2010 vs. Minnesota

THE STAT: The Mavericks have held 15 consecutive opponents under 100 points, extending a franchise record. The previous mark was 13 straight from Jan. 14-Feb. 9, 2006. Teams have averaged just 84.3 points against Dallas during that span.

TURNING POINT: Phoenix whittled what had been a 15-point deficit down to seven with less than nine minutes left. Dallas pushed the lead back to 84-74 with a free throw and a tomahawk dunk by Mahinmi, then Sebastian Telfair was ejected for a flagrant foul when he clubbed Rodrigue Beaubois with a forearm to the head on a layup attempt. Beaubois hit both free throws, the Mavericks maintained possession and got a 15-foot jumper from Lamar Odom to make it 88-74 with 6:53 left.

QUOTABLE II: "We did a poor job with the turnovers. We didn't shoot the ball well. We didn't deserve to win. We didn't play well enough to win."
-- Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry

HOT: This was the Mavericks' seventh straight win at home this season and their seventh straight win against the Suns.

NOT: Phoenix shot a season-worst 37.3 percent from the field, including 35.0 percent (14-for-40) in the second half. The Suns turned it over 19 times, leading to 21 Dallas points.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Steve Nash had a game-high 12 assists and Grant Hill flirted with a dubious triple-double, finishing with a season-high 19 points, eight boards and eight turnovers. ... Brendan Haywood scored a season-high 10 points for Dallas.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time rushing leader, received a big ovation from the crowd. ... R&B singer Monica, who is married to Phoenix guard Shannon Brown (14 points), sat with Khloe Kardashian, who is married to Odom (11 points, five assists).

ROOKIE WATCH: Forward Markieff Morris made his third straight start for Phoenix and finished with seven points and a season-high 11 rebounds.

NOTABLE: Odom and Suns guard Jared Dudley both appeared in their 200th consecutive games, tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the NBA. ... Phoenix is 6-0 when leading at halftime and 0-10 when trailing at the break.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Wednesday vs. Minnesota, Friday vs. Utah, Sunday vs. San Antonio. For the Suns, Tuesday vs. Toronto, Friday @ Portland, Saturday vs. Memphis.

• Suns: --
• Mavericks: Carter, Williams

• Suns: Hill, Price
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #75 Eric Dalen, #54 Nick Buchert
• Attendance: 19944
• Duration: 2:12