Mavericks-Nuggets Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Mar 18 2012 8:32PM

With a victory against one of the league's top teams over the weekend, the Dallas Mavericks maintained their perfect home record in March.

It has been another story for the defending champs, however, on the road.

In the midst of their longest road losing streak in more than a dozen years, the Mavericks try to avoid dropping their eighth straight away from Dallas on Monday night when they face the Denver Nuggets.

After opening a three-game homestand with uninspiring wins over Washington and Charlotte, the Mavericks (26-20) looked impressive in Saturday's 106-99 victory over Southwest Division-leading San Antonio. Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, while Jason Terry finished with 17 points and Jason Kidd added 14 with 10 assists.

"Everybody stepped up. Everybody came to play," Kidd said. "We knew how important this game is. As the season is getting closer to the end, we've got to play better basketball."

That's especially true on the road.

The Mavericks are 5-0 at home this month, but have lost seven straight road games since beating Philadelphia on Feb. 17. It's their longest road skid since an eight-game slide Nov. 7-30, 1999.

A subpar offense has been one of the biggest reasons for the road woes and Nowitzki has been right in the middle of those struggles.

The Mavericks, who are 8-13 away from Dallas after tying Miami for the league's best road record last season at 28-13, are averaging 91.9 points during their road skid compared to 102.2 at home this month. Nowitzki is averaging 19.1 points on 45.3 percent shooting in the last seven road games, with those numbers at 29.8 and 53.8 percent in the last five at home.

Dallas, one-half game ahead of the Nuggets (25-20) for sixth place in the Western Conference, won in Denver 105-95 on Feb. 8 behind 25 points from Nowitzki, but it hasn't won twice at the Pepsi Center in a single season since 2002-03.

The Nuggets are coming off Saturday's 98-91 win over Boston. Denver, which has alternated wins and losses through seven contests during a nine-game homestand, again received encouraging performances from Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried.

Gallinari scored 20 points and is averaging 18.0 on 47.2 percent shooting in his last three games. He had totaled 18 points on 5-of-25 shooting in his previous four contests after missing 13 with a left ankle sprain.

In his lone game against Dallas this season, Gallinari scored 15 and Ty Lawson had a season-high 27 points in a 115-93 victory Dec. 26.

Faried finished with 18 points and a season-high 16 rebounds against the Celtics, and is averaging 10.1 points on 64.7 percent shooting with 8.6 boards in starting the last 14 games. The rookie out of Morehead State was 5 for 5 from the field and 8 of 8 on free throws Saturday.

"I did all right by playing with my heart," he said. "I'm not content. I want to do better."

The 6-foot-8 power forward, who had an alley oop dunk and four layups versus Boston, might again find some success against a Dallas team that could be thin in the frontcourt.

Starting center Brendan Haywood is expected to be out at least four more games with a sprained right knee and forward Shawn Marion could be sidelined again after missing his first game Saturday with a sore left knee.

The Nuggets could have both JaVale McGee and Wilson Chandler for Monday's game. McGee was acquired in a trade for Nene on Thursday and Chandler agreed to a five-year deal worth nearly $37 million Sunday after returning from China.

Nowitzki leads Mavericks over Nuggets 112-95

Posted Mar 20 2012 2:25AM

DENVER (AP) Dirk Nowitzki answered everything the Denver Nuggets threw at him. The only thing that stopped him was the lopsided score.

Nowitzki had 33 points and 11 rebounds before getting a rest in the fourth quarter, Brandan Wright scored a season-high 15 points and the Dallas Mavericks won 112-95 on Monday night.

Arron Afflalo scored 24 points for the Nuggets, who lost a game that could have an impact on their playoff position. Denver entered Monday seventh in the Western Conference, a half-game behind Dallas. The Mavericks not only gained a game on the Nuggets, they won the season series and hold a tiebreaker should the teams finish with the same record.

"It always helps," Mavericks guard Vince Carter said. "Right now, it's not about series wins, it is about getting wins and moving ourselves up the ladder."

Nowitzki was the biggest reason they hold the tiebreaker. The 13-year veteran started hitting shots early and never really stopped as he finished 12 of 19 from the field against several different defenders, all of whom were shaking their heads.

And when he wasn't hitting shots, he was finding the open man. He finished with six assists.

"For some reason, we're really shooting the ball well, moving the ball," Nowitzki said. "I have gotten better at it as I've gotten older. That comes with experience. Sometimes my passing decisions aren't the greatest."

The Nuggets also lost guard Andre Miller in the second quarter with a bruised right shoulder, and forward Danilo Gallinari broke his left thumb in the third quarter. Neither player returned, and their status for Wednesday was unknown.

"I hit my thumb to the backboard. I was trying to block a shot," Gallinari said. "I tried to play through, but it was getting worse second by second. I didn't know it was broken, but it hurt a lot."

Their injuries made Wilson Chandler's debut even more significant one day after he signed a multiyear deal. He had 13 points and took a team-high 16 shots.

Chandler, who played overseas for Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association during the lockout, was ineligible to return until his team and FIBA, basketball's governing body, signed off. Once that happened, he and the Nuggets agreed to a five-year, $37 million contract. They finalized the deal Sunday and he was on the court Monday. He came into the game midway through the first period and hit his first three shots, including a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock.

"I was pretty winded," he said. "First game back against the defending champions with two future Hall of Famers, it's tough."

Chandler's early offense helped keep the Nuggets close in a half where the Mavericks didn't miss many shots.

Dallas started the game 10 of 13 from the field and shot 62.5 percent in the first period. Nowitzki led the way by going 5 for 5, mostly against rookie Kenneth Faried.

"That 1-foot fadeaway, nobody in the league can hit that and he makes it look so easy," Faried said. "You think you play great D, you contest the shot and he looks at you like, `That's going to go in every time.' As a rookie, wow."

Behind Nowitzki's 18 points in the first half, the Mavericks built a nine-point lead before Denver made a charge to get within a point at 50-49 with 2:38 left in the second quarter. Dallas recovered and led 63-56 at the half.

Nowitzki drained a 3 as the Mavericks scored the first seven points of the third to go ahead by 14. Denver cut it to 78-72 on Chandler's tip-in, but Dallas finished the third quarter on a 14-6 run to lead 92-78 heading into the fourth.

"My biggest disappointment was the beginning of the third quarter," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "They scored the first seven points and their confidence just ballooned. They're a championship team, they have an attitude and they're getting ready for the playoffs."

Nowitzki's three-point play and 16-foot turnaround jumper gave Dallas a 101-82 lead with 8:08 left. Soon after, he sat down for the rest of the night and Denver never made it a game in the fourth.

"It was one of the smartest played games I've seen in the league all year long," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Very disciplined, aggressive, but not frantic and we moved the ball the way we had to."

Notes: Mavericks F Shawn Marion did not make the one-game trip because of an injury. The team's injury report noted Marion has a sore left knee, but Carlisle wouldn't be specific, saying: "We're not listing him as anything in particular except for he's getting treatment." ... Nuggets C JaVale McGee, acquired from Washington on Thursday, didn't play.

Notebook: Mavericks 112, Nuggets 95

Posted Tuesday March 20, 2012 2:57AM

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Dirk Nowitzki had 33 points and 11 rebounds, Brandan Wright scored 15 points and the Dallas Mavericks grabbed a key playoff chip in a 112-95 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

Arron Afflalo had 24 points and Wilson Chandler, playing his first game since signing a multiyear deal with Denver, had 13 in his first NBA game in nearly 11 months.

Nowitzki also had six assists for the Mavericks, who moved a game-and-a-half ahead of Denver in the Western Conference playoff race and won the season series.

QUOTABLE: "For some reason we're really shooting the ball well, moving the ball. It's fun to play out there. When we were doubled, we passed it out and we made shots. It's a fun way to play if everybody touches it."
-- Nowitzki, on Dallas' unselfish play.

THE STAT: The Mavericks won nearly every significant stat in impressive fashion. They had 33 assists, 45 rebounds and shot 53.6 percent from the field. They started the game hitting 10 of 13 shots and never cooled down.

TURNING POINT: After Denver had cut a 14-point Dallas lead to 78-72 in the third quarter, Vince Carter drained a 3-pointer from the corner to start a 16-6 run that gave the Mavericks a 94-78 lead early in the fourth. Five straight points from Nowitzki early in the fourth put this one away.

QUOTABLE II: "My biggest disappointment was the beginning of the third quarter. They scored the first seven points and their confidence just ballooned. They're a championship team, they have an attitude and they're getting ready for the playoffs."
-- Nuggets coach George Karl

HOT: Nowitzki was unstoppable early. He hit his first five shots and had 18 points at the half. He scored 10 more in the third quarter and never really seemed to sweat in this one.

QUOTABLE III: "That 1-foot fadeaway, nobody in the league can hit that and he makes it look so easy. You think you play great D, you contest the shot and he looks at you like, 'That's going to go in every time.' As a rookie -- wow."
-- Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried, on Nowitzki

NOT: The Nuggets' health. A team that has suffered several injuries this year was hit with two more Monday. Guard Andre Miller left the game in the second quarter with a right shoulder contusion and forward Danilo Gallinari suffered a fractured left thumb in the third quarter.

QUOTABLE IV: "I hit my thumb to the backboard trying to block a shot. I tried to play through but it was getting worse second by second. I didn't know it was broken, but it hurt a lot."
-- Gallinari

GOOD MOVE: Despite having Faried on him early, Nowitzki didn't force things, even with a 5-inch height advantage. Instead he let the offense come to him and he found a flow right away.

BAD MOVE: The Nuggets got within one late in the second quarter but couldn't stay with the Mavericks. They missed too many layups, and at the start of the third quarter their defense wasn't crisp. Dallas opened the second half by scoring the first seven points and got separation.

QUOTABLE V: "It was one of the smartest played games I've seen in the league all year long. Very disciplined, aggressive, but not frantic and moved the ball the way we had to."
-- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

NOTABLE: Nuggets newcomer JaVale McGee didn't play in his first game eligible since he was acquired from Washington for Nene. ... Denver fell to 4-4 on this homestand and is now 14-12 at Pepsi Center. Last season the Nuggets lost eight home games over a full schedule. ... Wright's 15 points were a season high.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Wednesday vs. L.A. Lakers, Friday @ San Antonio, Saturday @ Houston. For the Nuggets, Wednesday vs. Detroit, Friday @ Utah, Sunday @ Minnesota.

• Mavericks: Haywood, West
• Nuggets: Hamilton, Stone

• Mavericks: Carlisle
• Nuggets: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #38 Michael Smith, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 16683
• Duration: 2:16