Mavericks-Raptors Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Dec 13 2012 2:11PM

The Dallas Mavericks have made due without their superstar.

The Toronto Raptors have struggled to remain competitive, and it could get worse because of recent injuries.

Neither team will be at full-strength Friday night in Toronto, though Dallas figures to have the upper hand against a sliding Raptors team which will be very short-handed.

Plus, the Mavericks have won 14 of the last 17 meetings, including a 109-104 home victory Nov. 7 in the only one this season.

Dirk Nowitzki still hasn't played a game for Dallas after undergoing right knee surgery in October. Nowitzki originally hoped to be back by mid-December, but coach Rick Carlisle said Wednesday there is no timetable for his return.

Even without Nowitzki, eighth in the league last season at 21.6 points per game, the Mavericks (11-11) have hovered around .500 and are currently eighth in the Western Conference.

New acquisition O.J. Mayo has assumed the lead scoring role in Nowitzki's absence, putting up career highs with 20.9 points per game and 48.9 percent field-goal shooting.

He scored a team-high 24 on Wednesday but also accounted for a career-worst nine of Dallas' 28 turnovers in a 117-115 double-overtime loss at Boston, ending a three-game winning streak.

Then again, Mayo also converted the tying points that forced both overtime periods while playing almost 52 minutes.

"I wasn't tired at all," he said. "You just can't turn the ball over. Look at the stats, man: nine turnovers out of 27. We had plenty of opportunities to take control of that game and win. We've got to be better in that area. We just can't turn the ball over."

The Mavericks outshot them from the floor, 51.1-43.0 percent, but the turnover margin proved to be the difference as they forced just 13.

"Looking at the stat sheet, what I am is encouraged," coach Rick Carlisle told the Mavs' official website. "Because we had 28 turnovers, we give up 34 points off turnovers, and to be in the game with this team is encouraging to me. It means we have a lot of positive upside to us and we've got to find it.

"We can do it. I believe in these guys. I really do. We showed a lot of guts hanging in this thing and we've just got to be able to make simple plays."

The Raptors (4-19) have lost six straight and 12 of 13.

Things don't figure to get any easier as second- and third-leading scorers Andrea Bargnani (16.0 ppg) and Kyle Lowry (15.0 ppg) will both miss time with injuries suffered in Monday's loss at Portland. Bargnani is out indefinitely with a torn elbow ligament and a strained right wrist, while Lowry will likely miss 10 days with a partial tear in his right triceps.

Toronto had just nine players available in Wednesday's 94-88 home loss to Brooklyn as Amir Johnson served a one-game suspension and Linas Kleiza missed his second game in a row because of a sore right knee.

Ed Davis matched career highs with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

"We ran out of gas," Davis said of the Raptors, who are also still without Alan Anderson and Landry Fields. "We were short-handed, but we were fighting."

Dallas got Shawn Marion back Wednesday, and he posted 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists after missing two games with a strained right groin.

Mayo and Chris Kaman each scored 22 points in the previous matchup with Toronto while Vince Carter added 17 off the bench against his former team.

Kleiza leads Raptors over Mavericks

Posted Dec 14 2012 10:40PM

TORONTO (AP) Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle had glowing praise for an old pal turned opponent. He wasn't as kind when it came to his own team.

Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, rookie Terrence Ross had 18 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Mavericks 95-74 on Friday night, snapping a six-game losing streak.

"We played poorly and they played great," Carlisle said. "I don't know how else to sum it up. It's as simple as that."

Not quite that simple, really.

Carlisle made sure to credit Toronto coach Dwane Casey, his former assistant in Dallas, for his efforts on the sideline.

"After tonight, I think it's very, very clear that whatever problems the Raptors franchise have are completely unrelated to coaching," Carlisle said. "Dwane Casey is doing a great job with a roster that's beat up. I just have so much respect for him."

Casey worked for the Mavericks for three seasons, and was part of Carlisle's staff when Dallas won the NBA title in 2011. Casey took over the Raptors last season, but has endured questions about his status as Toronto stumbled to a 4-19 start.

Still, Casey didn't call Friday's victory cause for relief.

"We still have a lot of games to play," he said. "We need to continue with the basics."

DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon scored 14 points each for the Raptors, who had lost 14 of their previous 17 meetings with the Mavericks.

Dallas came in ranked as the NBA's fifth-best 3-point shooting team but endured a miserable shooting night. The Mavericks went 0 for 13 from 3-point range, coming up empty for the first time since February 1999. Their stretch of 1,108 games had been the longest active streak in the NBA.

"The whole team played like (garbage) tonight," O.J. Mayo said. "We didn't play the way we're capable of playing and when that happens, you get beat by 20."

Derek Fisher was credited with a 3-pointer at 9:09 of the fourth, but the basket was later changed to a 2 after video review.

Casey called it one of Toronto's best defensive efforts of the season.

"Our guys did a good job as a whole," Casey said. "We have spent the last couple of days getting back to basics. That's the only thing you can do when you are knocked down."

The Raptors had lost 12 of 13 and were again without Andrea Bargnani (right elbow) and Kyle Lowry (right shoulder). But thanks to some impressive long range shooting, that didn't matter.

"We didn't match what they put out on the floor, simple as that," Carlisle said. "We got our butts kicked."

Kleiza had five 3-pointers, four in the final quarter, as Toronto matched its season high with the 12 3s. The Raptors made 12 3-pointers in a Nov. 10 loss to Philadelphia.

Shawn Marion had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, who lost their second straight and dropped below .500 at 11-12. Chris Kaman scored 15 points and Mayo added 10.

Dallas lost 117-115 in double overtime at Boston on Wednesday.

"It's frustrating after going double overtime with the Celtics, a team like that, and then coming in here and losing by 20 to a team who is struggling," Kaman said.

Mayo, Dallas' leading scorer this season, didn't make his first field goal until a driving hook shot with 1:08 left in the third. He finished with six turnovers, giving him 15 in his past two games.

"Just got to get better," he said. "Can't keep turning the ball over and expect to help this team win."

Kleiza made consecutive 3s to begin the fourth and John Lucas III followed with a fast break layup, putting Toronto up 77-55 with 9:26 left.

"They jumped us and it was uphill the whole way," Carlisle said. "By the last six minutes, it was over."

Dallas held a 25-24 lead after the first quarter but Toronto took the lead in the second, starting the period on a 17-6 run fueled by 11 points from Ross. Kleiza added eight points as the Raptors led 54-41 at halftime.

DeRozan and Mickael Pietrus made consecutive 3-pointers and Pietrus added a three-point play to put the Raptors up 66-45 with 7:14 left in the third. Dallas scored eight straight points before Calderon stopped the run with a 3, snapping Toronto's 5:27 scoreless streak. The Raptors led 69-55 heading to the fourth.

NOTES: The last time the Mavericks failed to make at least one 3-pointer was a Feb 26, 1999 loss to Utah that saw them go 0 for 8 from beyond the arc. ... Dallas F Jae Crowder (illness) dressed but did not play. ... The Mavericks visit Minnesota on Saturday night. ... F Amir Johnson returned to Toronto's lineup after missing Wednesday's loss to Brooklyn while serving a one-game suspension. Swingman Alan Anderson was back after missing 17 games with a sore left foot, while Kleiza returned after sitting out two games with a sore right knee. ... Buffalo Bills receivers Donald Jones and Steve Johnson attended the game. The Bills host the Seattle Seahawks in Toronto on Sunday.

Notebook: Raptors 95, Mavericks 74

Duane Watson, For NBA.com
Posted Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:41 PM - Updated Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:41 PM

THE FACTS: The Toronto Raptors (5-19) got a desperately-needed win defeating the Dallas Mavericks (11-12) 95-74 at the Air Canada Centre on Friday night. The Raptors snapped a six-game losing streak, winning only their second game of their last 14. Toronto was led by their bench with Linas Kleiza's 20 points and rookie Terrence Ross' 18 points. Starters DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon each added 14 points, with the Raptors' bench outscoring the Mavericks' 53-27.

With a 54-41 Raptors lead going into halftime, both teams played evenly in the third quarter, yet shot poorly from the floor at 26.3 percent (Raptors) and 21.1 percent (Mavericks). However, the home team came out with an 18-6 run to start the fourth quarter, pushing the score to 87-61 and getting as much as a 29 point lead to take the game, winning their third out of their last 18 meetings with the Mavericks.

Dallas was led by Chris Kaman's 15 points and Shawn Marion's double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. Mavericks leading scorer O.J. Mayo was held to 10 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field.

QUOTABLE: "We got to get back to defensive fundamentals and principles, and that's on me. I got away from it, but from now on it's going to be about that. Closing out to touch, and multiple efforts, and we got that tonight."

-- Raptors coach Dwane Casey

THE STAT: While defense was key, 3-point shooting was telling in this game. The Raptors shot 12-for-33 from behind the arc (36.4 percent), tying a season high. The Mavericks shot 0-for-13, marking the first time in 1,108 games that Dallas failed to make a 3-pointer.

TURNING POINT: The Raptors inability to close out games has haunted them all season, however, their 20-8 run to start the second quarter put them ahead with a lead that was never in jeopardy and stretched out to as much as 29 points.

QUOTABLE II: "It's definitely a relief. Now we have the confidence to go out there and settle and focus ... and play like that every night."

-- Raptors guard Terrance Ross

HOT: Raptors rookie Ross checked into the game for the first time at the start of the second quarter and scored 11 points in the first five minutes on 4-for-6 shooting in the quarter, helping take the Raptors from a 25-24 first quarter to a 54-41 lead going into halftime.

NOT: Mayo didn't shoot well and also had six turnovers in the game. Despite leading the league in 3-point shots made, he went 0-for-4 from the line and didn't make his first field goal until their was 1:08 left in the third quarter on a driving layup.

NOTABLE: The Mavericks were still without Dirk Nowitzki who is recovering from right knee surgery. The Raptors were missing Andrea Bargnani (strained right wrist), Kyle Lowry (partial tear in right triceps) and Landry Fields (right elbow). The Mavericks streak of 1,108 consecutive games with a 3-point shot made was snapped as they shot 0-for-13 tonight. Former Raptor Vince Carter returned to Toronto and was booed incessantly each time he touched the ball. The Mavericks turned over the ball 17 times leading to 26 Raptors' points. The Mavericks are now 0-2 on their three-game road trip; they are 4-9 on the road all season.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors, Sunday vs. Houston, Tuesday @ Cleveland, Wednesday vs. Detroit. For the Mavericks, Saturday @ Minnesota, Tuesday vs. Philadelphia and Thursday vs. Miami.

• Mavericks: Cunningham, Nowitzki
• Raptors: Bargnani, Fields, Lowry

• Mavericks: Kaman
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #47 Bennie Adams, #55 Bill Kennedy, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 19132
• Duration: 2:19