Inside Report: Mavs Spotlight — Cardinal stays ready

Earl K. Sneed puts the Mavs Spotlight on backup big man Brian Cardinal, after his performance in Minnesota lifted the Mavericks to a big road win.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Brian Cardinal was perhaps the most unlikely of characters to play the role of unsung hero for the Mavericks in the team’s 108-105 victory Monday night in Minnesota.

With leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki in foul trouble for most of the night and the Mavericks’ offense stagnant without their go-to scorer on the floor, Cardinal stepped in and shined, swishing in perimeter jumpers and hounding Minnesota’s Kevin Love for the better part of his 17 minutes of game action.

“I was open a little bit on the 3-point arc and I was able to make some shots,” Cardinal said of his performance. “It was exciting. We obviously never want to see Dirk get in trouble, but I think we have a deep team that can step in for people.”

The former Purdue standout would finish the night shooting 4-of-8 from 3-point range, scoring a season-high 12 points to go along with hustle plays that didn’t show up in the stat sheet. He also was a force on the defensive end, drawing two offensive fouls and playing the passing lanes to collect three steals.

“Without Cardinal I don’t think we would have won the game,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after the victory. “His activity, rebounds, loose balls, deflections and shotmaking completely changed the game around, because we were down … I don’t remember the last time he played significant minutes, it’s been awhile. So, for him to keep himself ready and go in there, make four threes, make plays defensively and just play the heck out of the game, it tells you what kind of a pro he is.”

Cardinal, who has played in 39 games this season including four starts, hadn’t seen much playing time of late, however, last playing double-figure minutes when he logged 11 in a 118-99 rout of Utah on Feb. 23. But the veteran continued to cheer on his teammates from the sideline, awaiting his own opportunity to make an impact.

That opportunity came Monday night, when his coach and teammates admitted that without the 6-foot-8 forward the Mavericks (46-17) could have very easily dropped their second straight game, entering their matchup with the Timberwolves less than 24 hours after a last-second loss to Memphis back in Dallas.

“[Cardinal] was huge for us, he won the ballgame. He changed the whole rhythm offensively and defensively for us. He gave us a spark and that’s what we’ve done. There’s always been somebody to come off the bench and give us life, especially on a back-to-back after a tough loss (Sunday night) at home. So, he was huge. He got going there and had a couple of heat-checks, but that’s the beauty of the game. When you get going like that, you cheer your teammate on and he stepped up big,” point guard Jason Kidd explained.

“He’s a constant professional,” Nowitzki added. “He’s always ready when his number is called. He plays hard, he takes charges, he puts his nose in there, he makes shots and he doesn’t complain when he doesn’t play for a week or two. He always stays ready. He’s positive on the bench and he’s been a great influence on this team.”

Now, Cardinal hopes for the opportunity to once again help the team with yet another back-to-back on the schedule — Wednesday night in New Orleans and Thursday night when the New York Knicks come to Dallas. But if his number isn’t called, you can bet that Cardinal will still remain ready until the team needs him to step in yet again.

“It’s just about doing whatever I can do to help our team win,” Cardinal modestly said. “We’ve got a good team, a smart team and a heady team. And we’ve got to try to continue to play well and we’ll see what happens.”

Note: The Mavericks-Hornets matchup Wednesday night will tip off at 7 p.m. CT, airing locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

The Mavericks return to the American Airlines Center on Thursday night, hosting Carmelo Anthony and the new-look New York Knicks. Tip-off for that game will be at 8:30 pm. CT, airing nationally on TNT and locally on Fox Sports Southwest. Great seats are still available and tickets can be purchased by visiting the American Airlines Center box office, logging on to Mavs.com or by calling 214-747-MAVS (6287).

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