Recap: Bucks 76 at Mavericks 102

Earl K. Sneed recaps the Dallas Mavericks' home win over the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks Friday night. The defending champs extended their winning streak to four while Dirk Nowitzki eclipsed the 23,000-point plateau.

DALLAS — There’s not much Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t accomplished in his illustrious career, from making 10 trips to the All-Star Game to winning a MVP to winning an NBA championship and Finals MVP. Friday night, the 7-footer entered the Dallas Mavericks’ matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks with an opportunity to reach another career milestone.

Sitting just three points shy of 23,000 for his career, Nowitzki looked to reach that feat while also leading his team to a fourth straight win. And with the opportunity to watch the maturation of his star player from an up-close-and-personal view during the last four seasons, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle took time to pay homage to Nowitzki before taking the court.

“He’s one of 12 or 13 players to be a 10-time All-Star, a league MVP and a Finals MVP. So, that puts him in the top 12 or 13,” Carlisle said when ranking Nowitzki’s place in the league’s all-time history. “I don’t think that can be disputed. … He’s had a staggeringly awesome career. There’s no debate now, he’s up there.”

Friday night, with Nowitzki reaching the career milestone with ease, the Mavericks didn’t need much from their superstar to blow out a shorthanded Bucks squad playing without center Andrew Bogut after he was sent away from the team with concussion-like symptoms. And with a total team effort, the Mavericks (7-5) extended their winning streak with a runaway 102-76 victory.

But the Mavs would find themselves in a dogfight from the opening tipoff, playing without injured point guard Jason Kidd for the last time with him set to make a return Saturday night against Sacramento from a four-game hiatus due to lower back soreness. A thunderous driving dunk from Vince Carter opened up scoring, before the Bucks’ three-point assault powered by Brandon Jennings and Stephen Jackson put the visitors in front quickly. Carter would settle his group down with 11 points on 5-of-6 from the floor, however, using an array of offensive moves to put the Mavs back ahead, 32-23, after one quarter of play.

“I was just trying to give our team a little life at the start,” Carter said of his first-quarter performance. “You have to hit first, because we’ve seen teams hit us first and it’s effective.”

The Mavs had 16 points in the paint and finished on a 14-5 run in a season-high scoring first quarter.

Behind reserve guards Rodrigue Beaubois’ and Jason Terry’s sweet strokes from the outside, the Mavs’ lead would grow to double digits in the second period. Meanwhile, after a quiet two-point first quarter, Nowitzki reached his feat with two free throws at the 7:17 mark of the second stanza.

“All the milestones are gonna be great when I look back on my career in 10-15 years. But as of right now, I’m trying to keep going and trying to help this team and franchise win as many games as I can,” Nowitzki said. “We’ve been playing better, so that’s really what I’m worried about right now.”

“A lot of those 23,000 I shared with him. You know, just a great player. As he continues to wind down his career, he’s going to continue to pass more and more milestones, and it’s just the Hall of Famer that he is,” Terry said of his long-time teammate.

The franchise’s leader in virtually every statistical category then received a standing ovation from the crowd before deferring to Beaubois and Terry to combat Jennings’ offensive explosion. And despite getting just four points from Nowitzki, the Mavericks produce a season-high first half scoring output to take a 60-45 lead into the locker room.

Led by Carter’s 14 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting, the Mavericks outshot the Bucks through 24 minutes of play, 57.9 percent to 45.0 percent. The Dallas reserves also outscored their Milwaukee counterparts, 29-7, in bench scoring.

“Well, we know that when we go out on the court we have to play hard,” Beaubois said of the reserves. “We have to bring a lot of energy, because the first unit is doing a very good job, so we just need to keep pushing, keep being aggressive. And we have to keep playing like this all season, because our bench is going to be big for us.”

It wouldn’t take long into the second half before the Mavs had the Bucks (4-7) in a 20-point hole, with Nowitzki doing the honors with a jumper that put the Mavs up 67-47. Using a 14-0 run, the Mavericks upped that advantage to as large as 27.

But again the Bucks responded, forcing Carlisle to call a 20-second timeout with Milwaukee on a 10-0 run to cut the Mavs’ lead to 77-61 with 2:18 left in the 3rd. Beaubois, Terry and the rest of the reserves then carried the Mavs into the game’s final quarter with an 83-63 lead.

The final 12 minutes of play would continue the way the third period ended, with Beaubois and Terry powering an 11-0 run to put the Bucks to bed for the night. And with Nowitzki and the rest of the starters sitting the entire quarter, the Dallas bench — including newcomer Yi Jianlian, who scored his first three points as a Mav — put the finishing touches on the victory by increasing the lead to as much as 30 before the final buzzer.

Led by Terry’s 17 points on 5-for-9 from the floor (3-of-5 from 3-point range) and Beaubois’ season-high 15 points and six rebounds off the bench, the Dallas reserves outplayed and outscored Milwaukee’s backups, 55-33. Carter finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 from the floor in the first unit, while forward Shawn Marion added 11 points and Nowitzki finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

“We got even contributions from top to bottom,” Carlisle said.

“Ultimately we want to go where we were last year, and that’s a move-the-ball team that plays unselfish, finds the open guy and knocks some shots down,” Nowitzki added after the Mavs dished out 20 assists as a team.

Jennings led the Bucks with 19 points while Shaun Livingston was the only other Milwaukee player in double figures with 15 points. And in addition to winning the rebounding battle, 43-36, the Mavericks finished the night outshooting the Bucks, 52.0 percent to 37.2 percent.

Dallas sped to a 23-11 advantage in fast-break points, a 42-24 edge in points in the paint and 17-11 margin in second-chance points. The Mavs also turned 19 Milwaukee turnovers into 33 points, surrendering 18 points off their own 18 giveaways.

“The thing I thought we did best tonight was respect the opponent,” Carlisle concluded after his team took the first game of a home back-to-back. “The guys followed the game plan. We approached the game with tenacity, because playing back-to-back at home is an opportunity. You’ve got a chance to play two in two nights with two potential wins.”

Saturday night, the Mavericks return to the floor and welcome in the Sacramento Kings, looking to reel off a fifth straight win. The game will air on Fox Sports Southwest at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

“We expect to win these games and tomorrow is another game that we expect to come out and play well,” Terry said looking forward. “And if we don’t, it will be disappointing.”

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.