Recap: Jazz 101 at Mavericks 116

Earl K. Sneed recaps the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks' season-high scoring performance in a thrilling home win over the Utah Jazz led by big nights from guard Rodrigue Beaubois and forward Lamar Odom.

DALLAS — One man in, two men out.

Already playing without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki (sore right knee) until at least Sunday’s matchup against the Southwest Division rival San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks welcomed one player back Friday night while also seeing another sit due to injury.

Returning after missing five games due to a sprained left foot was swingman Vince Carter just in time to face off with ex-Mavs Devin Harris and Josh Howard with the Utah Jazz in town. Meanwhile, fellow newcomer Delonte West would be forced to sit out a game while nursing a strained right hamstring.

Without West and Nowitzki, the Mavericks took the court looking to bounce back from a 105-90 home loss Wednesday night to Minnesota. The team also looked to duplicate a 94-91 win in Utah on Jan. 19, doing so this time on the American Airlines Center floor as the organization hosted Military Appreciation Night.

Friday night, after also losing their floor general early in the game, the shorthanded Mavericks (12-8) would treat the soldiers in attendance to a show. Scoring a season-high number of points and having six players score in double figures, the defending champs routed the Jazz down the stretch en route to a runaway 116-101 victory.

“Good response, good bounce back,” forward Shawn Marion said of the win after vocalizing his disappointment following Wednesday night’s loss. “We went out there and did what we needed to do, got a good win and everybody contributed. That’s what it’s gonna take.”

With West out, third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois slid into the starting lineup for the first time this season next to point guard Jason Kidd, Marion, Lamar Odom and center Brendan Haywood. Beaubois posted a season-high 17 points against the Jazz (10-7) to help boost the Mavs to the win in Utah earlier in the month.

Carter would then sub in early for Kidd, who came out at the 9:47 mark of the opening quarter and would not return after suffering a right calf strain. Showing no signs of rust and scoring a quick eight points instantly when he came into the game off the bench, Carter would take control alongside the cat-quick Beaubois.

“I felt good,” Carter said of his return. “I wasn’t expecting to play big, big minutes. But I was ready to go, ready to play and I wasn’t gonna come back if I was gonna hurt the team. J-Kidd goes down, they called me in a little earlier than I expected … but I felt good.”

Still, the Mavericks would find themselves knotted at 30-all after 12 minutes of play with Dallas’ 65 percent shooting bettering the Jazz’ 54.2 percent from the field after one.

The Mavs would get a big left from their bench early in the second quarter as big man Yi Jianlian rained in jumpers from the perimeter. Beaubois then reentered the game playing superb perimeter defense while sixth man Jason Terry took over the scoring duties. The young lead guard and Carter would then boost the Mavs to a double-digit lead as large as 11 with shots from the outside before taking a 58-50 margin into the break.

Led by Beaubois’ 16 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting, the Mavericks accompanied a 20-15 rebounding edge by outshooting the Jazz through two quarters, 59.5 percent to 46.7 percent. Carter added 11 points off the bench to combat the Jazz’s duo of Al Jefferson inside and Harris on the outside as Utah tried to stay close with 22 points combined from the 1-2 punch.

With Kidd on the mend, Beaubois started the second half and continued to lead the charge from the point position as the third quarter got rolling.

“They told me that Jason Kidd was going to be out, so I just wanted to play the best basketball I could play and just wanted the team to win,” Beaubois said. “Everybody did a great job, we knew Jason Kidd wasn’t going to play and we know how important he is to us. Everybody stepped up and that was good.”

Meanwhile, Odom — after a 2-for-14 shooting performance Wednesday night — again looked for his own shot as well, moving into double figures in the period. At the same time, the Mavs’ lead continued to balloon as Terry also reached double figures, giving his team a 77-63 advantage on a 3-pointer midway through the period.

But Paul Millsap and the Jazz refused to go away easily, trimming their deficit to just two before another three from Terry gave the Mavs some breathing room. Still, after Enes Kanter’s tip-in to beat the buzzer, the Mavs entered the fourth up only 88-82.

Beaubois’ dribble penetration opened up the lane for a thunderous slam from big man Ian Mahinmi to get the Mavs off to a good start in the final quarter. Beaubois and Odom both then looked to take over on the offensive end from behind the 3-point arc as the two each passed their previous season-high scoring performances. Marion also got in on the fun from the outside while Haywood dominated the interior as the lead swelled to 21.

Leading the way for the Mavs was Beaubois’ season-high 22 points on 9-of-14 from the field, adding a season-best seven assists and career-high three blocked shots.

“I don’t know. The Jazz are a great team, but my teammates pushed me, everybody was pitching in, so yeah, I’ve had some good games against the Jazz because of my teammates,” Beaubois modestly admitted.

“I thought he played the point position as well as he’s ever played it,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of the young lead guard in Kidd’s stead, “in terms of running the team, making reads. His defense was terrific, and yet he didn’t foul. He didn’t have any bad fouls. He really had a good feel for where to put everybody on the court. He made plays. He made important plays time and time again.”

Breaking through his slump, Odom racked up his Mavericks-high of 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range, pulling down five rebounds as well.

“I didn’t expect to play bad 66 games in a row,” Odom joked. “Tonight, the shots went in. I took open shots. It could have happen last game like that, but it just missed. … It’s all about winning at the end of the day. That’s all that really matters.”

“[Odom] is doing what we’re asking him to do; just keep playing basketball, keep staying aggressive. I thought his all-around game was tremendous. He defended, he made plays on offense and he made some really high basketball-IQ plays. … He was terrific, and we needed every single guy,” Carlisle added.

Marion continued to step up big in the starting lineup, scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 from the field to accompany Haywood’s double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. And off the bench, Terry pitched in 18 points and Carter returned to score 12.

“We had a lot of guys step up tonight and we needed it after that bad loss on Wednesday,” Haywood explained. “Everything was working well and we need that to keep working Sunday against the Spurs.”

Millsap’s 20 points and Jefferson’s 19 points led four Jazz players in double figures. In their returns to Dallas, Harris finished 4-of-7 and 2-of-3 from 3-point range for 10 points and Howard was 2-for-8 for four points off the bench.

In a low-turnover game, the Mavs’ 11 giveaways were two more than the Jazz’s nine with both teams scoring 11 points off the miscues. With Beaubois, Odom and Terry all hitting three shots from the perimeter, Dallas’ 11-of-19 from 3-point range bettered the Jazz’s 5-of-12 from deep. The Mavs also outshot the Jazz from the field, 54.9 percent to 46.4 percent, while finishing the night with a 44-33 rebounding edge.

The Mavericks return to action in the final matchup of a four-game homestand Sunday evening when they host the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lead the season series 1-0 after the Mavs’ 93-71 road loss on Jan. 5. The Spurs-Mavericks game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on ESPN at 5:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

“It was a good game, but we know one game at a time,” Marion said while looking ahead. “San Antonio is our rivalry, so we know it’s gonna be exciting and it’s gonna be pumped up in here.”

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).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.