Wizards-Mavericks Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Mar 13 2012 1:21AM

The Dallas Mavericks are happy to be home and happy to have a couple of days off from games.

They're probably also happy about their first two opponents this week.

The Mavericks will try to end a three-game slide as they host the NBA's worst teams starting Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards.

Dallas (23-20) has lost seven of nine within a 12-day span, a stretch it capped by dropping three games in as many nights on the road. The Mavericks fell Thursday in Phoenix, Friday in Sacramento and Saturday at Golden State.

"Well, we've gotta go forward," coach Rick Carlisle told the Mavericks' official website. "It was a murderer's stretch, a tough schedule and all that, but it's behind us and we've gotta focus on this next stretch of games. And the home games are critical for us."

Fatigue was clearly a factor on the grueling road stretch, with 38-year-old Jason Kidd sitting out Saturday's 111-87 loss to the Warriors. Vince Carter, 35, averaged 8.3 points on 28.6 percent shooting during the three-game skid and Dirk Nowitzki, 33, averaged 17.7 points - well shy of his 22.8 career mark.

There are encouraging signs at home, where Dallas is 15-7. Mavericks big men Brendan Haywood (ankle) and Brandan Wright (concussion) both practiced Monday and could be back.

"It's been a tough stretch here but the only way is really up, I think," Nowitzki said. "We've gotta use this homestand here to build some momentum and get some guys back, play with some energy on both sides of the floor, get our legs back and just play a lot sharper."

This three-game homestand should help Dallas since it begins with matchups against Washington (9-31) and Charlotte. Those teams are a combined 6-34 on the road, with the Wizards dropping to 3-15 after Monday's 112-97 defeat to San Antonio.

Wizards coach Randy Wittman wasn't happy that his club allowed the Spurs to shoot 62.2 percent in the first half.

"We can't have a first half from a defensive standpoint (like that)," Wittman said. "Again, until we get committed defensively for 48 (minutes), that's what it was."

JaVale McGee had 21 points and 15 boards while Jordan Crawford added 19 points for the Wizards, whose problems seem to be too numerous to list.

"It's not just the guards," guard John Wall said. "It's not just the bigs. It's everything. No help side, no closing back on shooters, and they score whenever they want to, basically. Until we started playing defense in the second half, a young team like us, we can't wait against a team like this."

Washington, 1-7 when playing the second half of a back-to-back set of games, has lost five of its last six meetings with Dallas.

Haywood's lone games against the team he spent his first eight full seasons with came last season as he totaled four points and three boards in two wins for the Mavs.

Yi Jianlian has played sparingly for Dallas since being signed as a free agent after appearing in 63 games for Washington in 2010-11.

Mavericks get much-needed win, 107-98 over Wizards

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Posted Mar 14 2012 2:21AM

DALLAS (AP) Rodrigue Beaubois finished for the Dallas Mavericks, a good sign for a team trying to get back on track while also preserving veterans like Jason Kidd.

Beaubois made some acrobatic moves to keep balls in play and scored 19 points, including five straight in a clinching stretch early in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks got a desperately needed 107-98 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

"From start to finish, you look at offense, defense, decision making, it's one of his best game's he's had," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Really significant because down the stretch I wanted to keep Kidd out if possible. ... He did a great job, so there's some real growth there."

Kidd, only 10 days shy of his 39th birthday, wasn't needed in the fourth quarter.

Dirk Nowtizki scored 27 points and Jason Terry, who like Beaubouis played the entire fourth quarter, had 24. Vince Carter added 14, while Shawn Marion had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The defending NBA champions had lost eight of their previous 10 games. There were three road losses in three nights before a short break leading into consecutive home games against the league's two worst teams.

"I thought Roddy gave us a lift," Nowitzki said. "We've got to work for everything we get and grind those wins out."

After Terry's short jumper early in the fourth quarter, Beaubois quickly followed with five consecutive points in less than a minute. That 7-0 run put the Mavs up 92-79 with 8 1/2 minutes left.

Beaubois made a 12-footer, then followed up Terry's miss with a putback layup and extended his personal run with a free throw on the next possession with 8 1/2 minutes left.

"We weren't playing that good so we needed this," Beaubois said. "I try to attack and play my game. I made jumpers and made some layups. I try to be aggressive but I'm also a point guard so I try to get other guys the ball. I'm learning."

Trevor Booker had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards (9-32). John Wall had 18 points and 10 assists. Jordan Crawford and Nick Young had 15 points each.

"We competed," Wall said. "We just gave up too many easy baskets. We've got to figure out how to close."

The only team with fewer wins than Washington is Charlotte (6-34), which plays in Dallas on Thursday night before Southwest Division-leading San Antonio is in town Saturday night.

After being called for a foul against Young that led to two free throws and got the Wizards within 70-68 with 4:21 left in the third quarter, Beaubois more than made up for that on the next possession.

Shawn Marion's crosscourt pass appeared headed out of bounds when Beaubois leaped up near the sideline to grab it. While still in the air, Beaubois passed the ball to Vince Carter for a 3-pointer.

Beaubois had another nifty save late in the first quarter after Young stole the ball from Nowitzki. Young took off on a breakaway, but Beaubois hustled back and stripped the ball under the basket. He then grabbed the ball and managed to keep his feet up in the air above the baseline while throwing the ball out to Terry.

When the ball got back to the other end, Beaubois hit a long jumper right in front of the Mavericks bench for a 27-26 lead after the first quarter.

"I just liked the way Roddy was playing. You could tell the guys had lot of confidence in him," Carlisle said. "The only mistakes he really made were a couple of shots he turned down that he had. ... He's changing speeds, he's doing a great job guarding people. He's solid. His decision-making is improvement. This is big."

Dallas went ahead to stay in the second quarter, when they shot 82 percent (14 of 17 from the field). They ended the half with a 10-3 run for a 60-51 lead.

That half-ending run came after Nowitzki, who had made his first seven shots, missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:55 left. But he had a 17-footer and two free throws in the final 44 seconds, giving him 20 points in the first half. He finished 10-of-14 shooting overall.

"Beaubois gave them a big lift," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "To come in off the bench with 19 points, that was a big thing that hurt us."

NOTES: Dallas scored 60 points in the first half for the fourth time this season, the first in 18 games - since 64 against Denver on Feb. 8. ... Washington is 3-16 on the road, including six losses in a row. ... Nowtizki had a four-point play with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. After Nowitzki got fouled making a 14-foot jumper, Crawford was called for a technical foul. Nowitzki made the technical free throw, then the freebie for being fouled for a 68-56 lead. ... Mavs C Brendan Haywood, who had missed the previous four games with a sprained left ankle, had six points and eight rebounds in nearly 25 minutes.

Notebook: Mavs 107, Wizards 98

Posted Tuesday March 13, 2012 11:56PM

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Facing a struggling road team playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Dallas Mavericks took care of business Tuesday with a much-needed 107-98 victory against the Washington Wizards at the American Airlines Center. Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points, Jason Terry had 24 off the bench and Rodrigue Beaubois added 19 for the defending champs, who halted a three-game skid.

Washington, tied for the fewest road victories in the league at 3-16, dropped its sixth straight away from home despite having six players in double figures and double-doubles from Trevor Booker (20 points, 12 rebounds) and John Wall (18 points, 10 assists). The Wizards are now 0-15 on the road this season when trailing at halftime and they are 1-8 on the second half of back-to-backs.

QUOTABLE: "Beaubois' game tonight from start to finish -- you look at offense, defense, decision-making -- it's one of his best games he's had here."
--Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle

THE STAT: The five starters for the Wizards have a combined 11 seasons of NBA experience (including this season), compared to 70 for the Mavericks' veteran starting unit.

TURNING POINT: After Washington scored 10 unanswered points to get within 70-68, Dallas pushed the lead back to 83-73 with buckets on six of its next eight trips: a 3-pointer by Vince Carter (14 points), a reverse by Ian Mahinmi, a finger roll by Carter, two jumpers by Terry and an athletic putback by Beaubois. The Mavericks led by double digits nearly all of the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We came in here and I thought we fought them tooth and nail. Against good teams like this, your margin for error for us, being what we are is a young team, is small."
-- Wizards head coach Randy Wittman

HOT: Nowitzki knocked down his first seven shots and was 8-for-9 in the opening half, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 at the line for 20 points. Beaubois was 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 at the stripe in the first half. Dallas shot 82 percent (14-for-17) in the second quarter.

NOT: Jordan Crawford took a team-high 16 shots to score 15 points (5-for-16) for the Wizards. Lamar Odom was 1-for-6 and finished with more fouls (four) than points (three) for the Mavericks.

GOOD MOVE: Playing in his 1,300th career game, Jason Kidd showed he still had a few tricks up his sleeve during an 8-0 Dallas run late in the second quarter. On back-to-back possessions, he fired a pretty no-look pass to Brendan Haywood for a wide-open dunk and delivered an alley-oop toss to Shawn Marion from behind the 3-point line.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Marion contributed 10 points, a game- and season-high 13 rebounds and four assists. In addition to his 399th career double-double, Marion (15,649 points) passed Antoine Walker (15,647) for 100th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

NOTABLE: The Wizards attempted 23 more free throws (38-15) than the Mavs. ... Dallas dominated the battle of the boards, 51-38. ... The teams were dead even in points in the paint (40-40) and fastbreak points (17-17). ... Haywood returned from a four-game injury absence ( left ankle sprain) and tallied six points and eight boards. ... Dallas now has a 31-30 edge in the all-time series.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Thursday vs. Charlotte, Saturday vs. San Antonio, Monday @ Denver. For the Wizards, Thursday @ New Orleans, Friday @ Atlanta, Sunday @ Memphis.

• Wizards: Lewis
• Mavericks: West, Williams

• Wizards: Crawford
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #11 Derrick Collins, #78 Scott Bolnick
• Attendance: 20319
• Duration: 2:14