Recap: Mavericks 89 at Clippers 91

Earl K. Sneed reports from Los Angeles and recaps the Dallas Mavericks' last-second loss to the Clippers Wednesday night. It was the third time on the road this season the defending champions have fallen on a game-winning 3-point shot.

LOS ANGELES — Instead of getting back in the win column with an impressive showing away from home, the Dallas Mavericks suffered a severe case of déjà vu.

Dropping a fifth road loss and third of which on a game-winning 3-pointer, this time in a 91-89 defeat, Dallas’ 10-game win streak against the Los Angeles Clippers came to an end as the Mavericks moved to 0-2 on their current four-game road trip.

“We were right there. Three threes to end games, we just can’t let that happen,” forward Dirk Nowitzki said of the defeat. “I mean, we should have won at OKC [Oklahoma City], we should have won this game and the Lakers game we were tied and should have went to overtime. Three game-winners … so, we’ve got to work that out.”

“Again, it’s late-game situations,” reserve guard Jason Terry added after the second straight loss on a last-second shot. “We’ve lost now on three 3-point shots, so we’ve got to get that corrected.”

One man down, next man up.That’s been the philosophy for the Mavericks (8-7) since coach Rick Carlisle stepped into place four seasons ago. After losing eight-time All-Star Vince Carter (sprained left foot) to an injury on the last play of the team’s 73-70 loss to the L.A. Lakers Monday night, that would have to continue to be the Mavericks’ motto two nights later against the upstart Clippers.

“When you lose a guy, you’ve gotta get contributions from multiple other places, and that’s what we’re gonna have to get,” Carlisle said heading into Wednesday night’s nationally-televised matchup.

And after having their five-game win streak halted on a last-second loss, the defending champions looked to get back on track. That figured to be especially difficult against ex-Mav Caron Butler, All-Star forward Blake Griffin and a Chris Paul-less Clippers squad — which was playing its third game in as many nights — while Carter traveled back to Dallas to meet with team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal.

While the Mavs took the court without Carter, the Clippers (8-4) played their third game minus Paul due to an ailing left hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Nowitzki shook off a sickness that kept him out of the team’s morning shootaround and remained in the starting lineup. But the Mavericks would rely on the scoring of newcomer Delonte West in the first period, scoring 12 points in the opening quarter to keep the Mavs in the game.

Still, with Mo Williams returning from a right foot injury and producing 11 quick points off the Clippers’ bench, the home team went into the second stanza with a 31-27 lead.

“We weren’t really in the game, and it got [the Clippers] going,” Carlisle said of his team’s early play. “It gave them confidence, and that’s on all of us.”

Nowitzki, however, would power an 11-0 run to open up the second quarter, putting the Mavs in front on the scoreboard. When the Clippers responded West did as well, draining his third 3-pointer of the half to keep the opposition at bay. But the new addition to the backcourt and his season-high 17 points wouldn’t be enough to overcome the duo of Williams and Chauncey Billups, who scored 32 points combined to lift the Clippers to a 52-51 edge heading into the halftime break.

Despite holding Griffin to just six points in the first half on 2-of-6 shooting, the Mavericks were still outshot, 48.8 percent to 41.7 percent. But the Mavs did hold edges in points in the paint (22-18), second-chance points (19-11) and fast-break points (11-5) through two quarters.

The Clippers would come out of the locker room looking to run, with Randy Foye finding big man DeAndre Jordan above the rim with ease. At the other end, scoring became especially difficult for the Mavs, with frustration building as Nowitzki was called for a technical foul. Meanwhile, after his rough first half, Griffin tried to be more assertive in the third quarter, slamming home a score to put the Clippers up 66-57 and forcing a timeout by Carlisle with 5:37 left in the period.

When the Clippers tried to separate further, Terry awaked from his sluggish 1-of-5 start with back-to-back scores to keep his team within an arm’s reach. Jason Kidd then did what he failed to do in eight tries against the Lakers, swishing a 3-pointer to bring the Mavs within one. A score by backup big man Ian Mahinmi then brought the two teams even at 71-all heading into the game’s final quarter.

With starting center Brendan Haywood quieting Griffin on the defensive end Nowitzki went to work on offense in the fourth. But like two championship fighters landing haymakers, the two teams would stay even while exchanging blows. That is until Griffin and Williams put together back-to-back scores, forcing a timeout by Carlisle with the Mavs down 82-78 and 4:39 left.

After the timeout the Mavs went straight inside to Mahinmi, whose powerful and-1 score pulled the team back within one. But another dunk by Jordan forced Carlisle to call timeout with the Mavs down 86-83 and 2:01 still on the clock.

Again the Mavs would try to respond, but a pass from Kidd to Shawn Marion dribbled out of bounce before Griffin scored inside to keep the Mavs at a disadvantage. Mahinmi then drew all iron on a pair of free throws with 57.9 seconds remaining. But the Mavs weren’t quite done after Terry connected on a pull-up three to cut the deficit to two with 36.7 ticks left to close the gap.

The Dallas defense then forced a miss by Billups, with Jordan and Nowitzki both grabbing the rebound and finding themselves in a jumpball situation with 20.0 seconds remaining.

The Clippers’ big man would win the tip, but after a mad scramble tipped the ball out of bounce, it would be rewarded to the Mavs with 14.9 seconds to tie or go for the win. Out of another timeout, Carlisle drew a play up with Kidd inbounding to Terry, who then worked off a double screen and pulled up for a 3-pointer that swished all net to put the Mavs up one with 5.0 seconds for the Clippers to answer.

After the Mavs knocked the ball out at the other end after the advance, the Clippers would get another chance with 4.2 seconds on the reset. Following a timeout, Billups inbounded the ball to Griffin but quickly got it back from the All-Star big man in time to hit a three with 1.0 ticks left for the Mavs to win it on the game’s final possession.

“We had to stay on our toes, and we defended the first play pretty good,” Nowitzki said of the final seconds. “It went out of bounds again, and they got another look at it. They ran a good play, Chauncey took the ball out, then the handoff, and he hit a big shot.”

“On the road, you want the ball. JET [Terry] comes down and makes two big threes. He put us in position to win the game, and we just couldn’t get a stop,” Kidd said of the sequence.

Carlisle would again go to Kidd inbounding, but this time the ball would head toward the basket in the direction of Mahinmi. With little time to operate, however, the game would end on a failed lob attempt as Mahinmi couldn’t get a shot up towards the basket after not catching the ball cleanly as time expired.

Nowitzki and West shared team-high honors for the Mavericks with 17 points each on a combined 12-of-32 from the floor. Mahinmi added 13 points and Terry pitched in 12 off the Dallas bench, while Marion registered a double-double of his own with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Despite finishing 2-of-6 for five points, Kidd did dish out 10 assists.

Leading all scorers was Williams off the Clippers’ bench with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Billups poured in 21 including the game-winner and Jordan finished with 17 points to go with nine rebounds. Griffin recorded a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds, but only hit 6-of-15 from the field.

“[Griffin] is very explosive, and he’s always looking to attack and go both ways. He’s the future of the league and he’s fun to watch. I actually thought we did a decent job tonight. We didn’t give them a lot of lobs and we ran with them in transition. We tried to stay between him and the basket. I thought our bigs did a good job,” Nowitzki said.

Against his former team, Butler finished 1-of-12 for just two points.

The Clippers’ 42.5 percent shooting just bettered the Mavs’ 42 percent. The Mavs also lost the battle on the boards, 47-42, despite Marion’s big rebounding night. And although the Mavs committed one more giveaway than the Clippers’ 15 turnovers, both teams produced 22 points off the miscues.

The Mavericks will now continue their four-game road trip, returning to action on the second night of a back-to-back in Utah against the Jazz Thursday night. That game will air nationally on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.

“That’s basketball at its best. It can reward you and also it can upset you. We’re a veteran ballclub, and we have a game tomorrow, so we have to be ready,” Kidd said while looking ahead.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

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