Mavericks-Bulls Preview

Posted Nov 28 2012 12:38AM

Things haven't come easy so far for the Dallas Mavericks or the Chicago Bulls, with each feeling the effects of being without a former league MVP.

The Bulls looked particularly lost down the stretch of their latest defeat.

After blowing a 27-point lead, Chicago looks to get back on track Wednesday night when it continues a four-game homestand against the equally inconsistent Mavericks.

It's no surprise the Bulls (6-7) and Dallas (7-8) have had their issues early in the season with both Derrick Rose and Dirk Nowitzki yet to suit up, but Chicago's worst moment yet came Monday. Up 27 with 2:49 left in the third quarter, the Bulls were outscored 42-14 the rest of the way in a 93-92 home loss to Milwaukee.

Chicago fell to 3-4 at the United Center this season after going 26-7 on its home court a year ago - including 12-5 without Rose.

"You've got to play 48 minutes in this league, and we've still got a long ways to go in that area," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It can happen fast. You can lose 10 points in an NBA game in a minute. Everyone says that doesn't happen, but you see it all the time. If you don't play tough with a lead, this is what happens."

Now, they're facing a potential three-game slide at the United Center for the first time since dropping five in a row from March 1-19, 2010.

The Nowitzki-less Mavericks surely empathize with the Bulls, who also have only once strung together consecutive wins through the first month of the season. They'll be trying to avoid a third straight loss in this contest after falling 100-98 at Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Dallas had a chance to tie the score on a pair of O.J. Mayo free throws with 2.7 seconds left, but the Mavericks' leading scorer (20.8 points per game) missed both. Jae Crowder got an offensive rebound, but missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to seal Dallas' seventh loss in 10 games.

The Mavs did plenty to put themselves in poor position prior to the end, though. They committed eight of their 15 turnovers in the fourth quarter, with five coming on consecutive possessions.

"They were untimely and completely out of character to how we played to that point," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We have to eliminate those turnovers right now."

Dallas, which on Tuesday began a stretch of eight of 10 on the road, fell to 2-5 away from American Airlines Center

Mayo is having problems as a visitor, averaging 16.9 points on 42.7 percent shooting compared to 24.3 points and 52.2 percent shooting at home. He scored a season-low 11 points while dishing out seven assists against the 76ers.

Mayo averaged 5.0 points and missed 12 of his 16 field-goal attempts while coming off the Memphis bench in a pair of games against Chicago last season.

The Mavericks, who are averaging nearly 10 points fewer on the road (95.4) compared to at home (105.3), might have trouble reversing those woes Wednesday. They've lost three in a row to Chicago while averaging 81.0 points.

Richard Hamilton had 19 points in a 93-83 Bulls home victory April 21.

Hamilton missed the potential game-winning jumper Monday but scored a season-high 30 points - topping his previous high of 22 from two days earlier.

Carlos Boozer is also trying to build on a pair of strong showings, totaling 41 points and 30 rebounds while sinking 19 of 34 field goals.

Boozer has only been available for one of three matchups with Dallas since joining the Bulls, but Chicago has dominated the glass anyway. The Bulls have outrebounded the Mavs by an average of 52.0-39.3 in those meetings.

Deng leads Bulls over Mavericks 101-78

Posted Nov 29 2012 12:10AM

CHICAGO (AP) Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau preaches 48 minutes of effort to his team. He didn't quite get that against the Mavericks on Wednesday night, but it was much better than the last time out.

Luol Deng had 22 points and six rebounds as Chicago cruised to a 101-78 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Five players scored at least 11 points to help the Bulls (7-7) beat the Mavericks for the fourth straight time. Chicago recovered from a 93-92 loss to Milwaukee on Monday, in which it blew a 27-point third-quarter lead, largely due to the proficiency of its reserves.

"The bench was great," Thibodeau said. "The starters got us out to a good start. We needed everybody."

Nate Robinson had 14 points and a game-high six assists for Chicago, and fellow reserve Jimmy Butler scored a career-high 13, including 9-of-10 shooting from the free throw line.

"I feel like we're coming together, getting more comfortable out there," Butler said. "They tell us all the time that you have to keep building that lead, but it definitely shows that any night, any team - 20 down, 10 down - they can come back and win the game."

The Bulls' bench combined for a season-high 50 points.

Joakim Noah chipped in 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks as Chicago avoided its first three-game losing streak at the United Center since dropping five straight in March 2010.

"It was good to come out and forget that last loss and move forward as a team," said Bulls reserve Taj Gibson, who had eight points and eight rebounds. "We understand we have a long season. There's going to be a lot of bumps in the road, but we're sticking together."

Shawn Marion scored a season-high 18 points for Dallas, which shot just 35 percent to lose for the eighth time in 11 games. The Mavericks (7-9), who had won 21 of 27 against Chicago, dropped to 2-6 on the road.

"I loved our start to the game, but they kept chipping away and they cut the deficit, they took the lead, and our response wasn't good," coach Rick Carlisle said. "No excuses. We played last night and all that, but we just have to do a better job."

Both teams were coming off difficult losses. The Mavericks lost 100-98 at Philadelphia on Tuesday when O.J. Mayo missed a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds left. The Bulls had a 78-51 lead in Monday's loss before the Bucks broke off a game-changing 31-4 run.

"We've got to show a collective caring for one another and a collective toughness," Carlisle said. "We're entering a really difficult stretch of our schedule. Nothing's going to be easy. We've got to embrace that challenge."

Dallas closed within six with 2:30 to go in the third Wednesday but after a timeout, Deng hit a 3-pointer and Robinson scored on a drive to give Chicago its biggest lead, 77-56.

The Bulls pushed the lead to 29 in the fourth quarter and never led by fewer than 17.

"Overall, I thought we played a lot tougher with the lead," Thibodeau said.

The crowd roared to life in the closing minutes as Chicago neared 100 points, meaning a free sandwich for everyone in attendance. Nazr Mohammed's dunk did the trick, eliciting a huge roar from the remaining fans.

Chicago's reserves keyed a second-quarter spurt to open the game. After Rodrigue Beaubois' 3 cut the lead to 31-28, Chicago went on a 13-0 run and outscored Dallas 18-2 over the next 4:40.

Dallas' leading scorer, Mayo, was held to a season-low four points on 2-for-9 shooting. He entered the game averaging 20.8 points and had scored in double digits in each of the Mavs' first 15 games. It was just the second time in his NBA career that Mayo scored four or fewer points while playing 30 or more minutes.

"Here's the thing - we caught a break," Thibodeau said. "They're missing (Darren) Collison and Dirk (Nowitzki) and they played last night. And Mayo is dinged up with an ankle injury."

NOTES: Collison was inactive because of a sprained right middle finger. The point guard has struggled recently in his first season with Dallas, shooting 35 percent over his last seven games and averaging 3.0 turnovers per contest. Collison started 14 of Dallas' first 15 games, coming off the bench for the first time this season in Saturday's loss to Philadelphia. He has been replaced in the starting lineup by third-year point guard Dominique Jones. ... Each team took the floor with its best player still rehabbing from knee surgery. Neither Chicago's Derrick Rose (left knee) nor Nowitzki (right knee), both former NBA MVPs, were at the game. ... Mayo is averaging 24.3 points on 52 percent shooting at home, but just 15.3 points on 40.6 percent shooting on the road.

Notebook: Bulls 101, Mavericks 78

Kent McDill, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:47 PM - Updated Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:54 PM

THE FACTS: After letting a 27-point lead turn into a one-point loss Monday against Milwaukee, the Chicago Bulls made a big lead stand up Wednesday in a 101-78 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the United Center. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 22 points, and backup point guard Nate Robinson scored 14. Shawn Marion had 18 points for the Mavericks, who lost their third straight game.

THE FACTS II: After the game, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle announced the team was going to sign Derek Fisher Thursday.

QUOTABLE: "We need help at the point guard position. It's challenging for us. I don't see (Fisher) as a cure-all, but he can help." -- Dallas coach Rick Carlisle.

THE STAT: After the bench offered just 10 points Monday, the Bulls reserves had 50 points Wednesday. Besides Robinson, Jimmy Butler (13 points) and Marco Belinelli (11 points) reached double figures.

THE STAT II: The Mavericks shot 34.6 percent from the field (28 for 81).

TURNING POINT: Luol Deng made a jumper at the end of the first quarter to give the Bulls a 24-23 lead. The Bulls then went on a 25-7 run to start the second quarter and build a 19-point edge.

INJURY UPDATE: Carlisle said after the game he found out minutes before the start of the game that Darren Collison jammed a finger in Philadelphia Tuesday and could not play.

HOT: Robinson was five for six from the field and added a game-high six assists for the Bulls.

NOT: O.J. Mayo had his second straight poor game, making two of nine shots for four points for the Mavericks.

QUOTABLE II: "I was mad. We lost the game and I didn't play." -- Bulls guard Marco Belinelli, who did not play against Milwaukee but hit a pair of 3-pointers and five free throws Wednesday.

GOOD MOVE: After catching criticism for using his bench sparingly in the loss to Milwaukee, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau used his first five reserves (Robinson, Butler, Belinelli, Nzar Mohammed and Taj Gibson) together for 5 and 1/2 minutes of the second quarter. The lead grew from six points to 18 points in that stretch.

QUOTABLE III: "We caught a break. They're missing Collison and Dirk (Nowitzki) and they played last night. And Mayo is dinged up with an ankle injury." -- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

ROOKIE WATCH: The Mavericks used three rookies Wednesday: starter Jae Crowder of Marquette scored just two points in 26 minutes, Bernard James of Florida State had one point in nine minutes and Jared Cunningham of Oregon State scored four points in less than four minutes.

NOTABLE: Former Marquette teammates Jimmy Butler of the Bulls and Crowder of the Mavericks caught up with each other for a long conversation outside the locker rooms before the game.

UP NEXT: For the Bulls, vs. 76ers Saturday, vs. Indiana Tuesday, at Cavaliers Wednesday. For the Mavericks, vs. Pistons Saturday, at Clippers Wednesday, vs. Suns Thursday.

• Mavericks: Collison, Nowitzki
• Bulls: Rose

• Mavericks: Carter, Jones, Murphy
• Bulls: Robinson

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #11 Derrick Collins, #34 Kevin Cutler
• Attendance: 21575
• Duration: 2:17