Recap: Mavericks 97 at Bobcats 101 F/OT; Bobcats claw through Mavs in OT to end streak at 16
Earl K. Sneed reports from Charlotte and recaps the Dallas Mavericks' first ever lost to the Bobcats, as the Mavs' streak of 16 straight wins over the young franchise came to an end in overtime Saturday night.
Recap: Mavericks 97 at Bobcats 101 F/OT
Bobcats claw through Mavs in OT to end streak at 16
CHARLOTTE — All good streaks must come to an end.
Just 24 hours after the Dallas Mavericks saw their three-game win streak snapped following a 104-94 loss in New York, the team was right back on the court, looking to improve to 17-0 all-time against the Charlotte Bobcats.
After beginning their unbeaten homestand with a 126-99 victory over the same Bobcats team one week prior, the Mavericks saw the season series shift to Time Warner Cable Arena. Meanwhile, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle and his players tried to put the loss in the Big Apple out of their minds, hoping to extend their unbeaten streak against the NBA’s youngest franchise.
“The good thing about this league is that there’s another game tonight. The bad thing about this league is that there’s another game tonight,” Carlisle joked before taking the court.
When the coach and his players stepped onto the hardwood, however, there was no laughing matter. And after a sluggish start to the showdown and late-game miscues, the Mavs would see their longest active streak over an opponent end at 16 wins, falling to a 101-97 overtime loss to finished up their two-game road trip.
Continuing to play without 11-time All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki (right knee surgery) and four-time All-Star small forward Shawn Marion (sprained left MCL), the Mavericks (4-3) would face an early uphill climb after the Bobcats opened the game on a 9-2 run. The home team would then open up a quick double-digit advantage, as Carlisle quickly subbed out his starting five of point guard Darren Collison, 2-guard O.J. Mayo, rookie forward Jae Crowder, power forward Elton Brand and center Brandan Wright following four quick turnovers.
The strategy would work, as the Mavs' bench got the team back into the game thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by forward Troy Murphy and swingman Vince Carter after falling behind by as much as 13, 17-4. And after the starting backcourt reentered the game, Collison's runner with .9 ticks left in the period left the Mavs down just three, 24-21, thanks to a 12-2 run to close the first 12 minutes of play.
"We had a slow start and then our bench really came in and gave us a little spark. Then we were playing good for most of the game, and towards the end we kind of let it slip away," Collison foreshadowed.
With the starters on the floor, with the exception of forward Dahntay Jones in for Crowder, it wouldn’t take long for the Mavs to capture the lead early in the second quarter after scoring the first six points of the period. Meanwhile, Mayo continued his assault on opposing defenses after four straight games of at least 22 points.
And with Carter lending a helping hand after connecting on 3-for-3 from 3-point range while playing with a left hip flexor injury suffered the night before, the Mavericks entered the halftime break up, 55-44.
Led by Mayo’s 12 first-half points to overcome Kemba Walker’s 17 points at the other end, the Mavericks outshot the Bobcats through two quarters, 48.7 percent to 47.4 percent, to go along with a 23-17 rebounding margin. The Mavs also committed eight turnovers for 11 Charlotte points in the first 24 minutes of action, but made up for the miscues with 7-of-10 shooting from 3.
Coming out of the locker room with much more intensity compared to the start of the game, the Mavericks looked to impose their will on the Bobcats in the third quarter. But, after going up by as much as 15, the Mavs would see the Bobcats (2-3) rally behind the trio of Walker, Ben Gordon and rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Still, with Carter continuing his aggression off the bench, the Mavs entered the fourth with a 73-68 edge.
Unable to pull away in the game's final quarter, the Mavs continued to find themselves in a dogfight. And with the visiting team in need of a spark, the Mavericks benefited from Gordon's early exit with a sixth foul, before Brand's steal of Walker led to a breakaway two-handed jam by Mayo to put the Mavs up eight, 84-76, with 4:53 left.
But, the Bobcats weren't done just yet, getting a conventional three-point play from Kidd-Gilchrist before Walker's 3 from behind the arc made it just an 84-81 Dallas edge with 3:42 still on the clock.
The Bobcats still weren't done, seizing the momentum in front of their home crowd.
Briefly taking the lead after back-to-back scores by Ramon Sessions, the Bobcats again leaned on the high-octane rookie, Kidd-Gilchrist, before Carter's timely 3 gave the Mavs an 89-87 advantage. The two teams would then exchange possessions with consecutive turnovers before Mayo calmly extended the lead at the free throw line.
Still, following ex-Maverick Brendan Haywood's dunk, plus a foul on Collison and missed free throw, the scrappy Bobcats would finally manage to tie the game on a score by Sessions with 2.8 seconds left for the Mavs to win the game. And after Carlisle drew up a play for the last shot to go to Carter, the eight-time All-Star's mid-range jumper would come up short of the rim, sending the game into overtime.
"We just made some poor decisions down the stretch when it got up to four points," Mayo explained after the lead dwindled away. "We made a turnover, they made a hustle play, made another hustle play with an offensive rebound off a free throw, and we just handed them a win that we had pretty much in the bag. All we had to do was play solid and finish off the game with some effort."
After two free throws by Mayo put the Mavs ahead in the extra period, Haywood again tied the game but missed the free throw after a dunk plus the foul by center Chris Kaman, leading to a slam by Byron Mullens off the offense rebound to put the Bobcats up two. The Mavs wouldn't recover the rest of the way, committing back-to-back turnovers by Murphy and Collison in the final minutes before a much-needed transition score by the point guard brought his team within two.
And with Kidd-Gilchrist’s 2-for-2 trip to the foul line padding the Bobcats’ lead to four with 19.0 seconds left, Brand’s two free throws would be too little and too late before Sessions put the game away with consecutive shots at the charity stripe of his own with 6.3 seconds remaining.
“We just made some silly mistakes down the stretch,” Collison confessed. “We didn’t rebound the ball off the free throws, and you’ve gotta give them credit. They played hard and we let this one slip away.”
“They were hungry. They wanted it more at the end,” Brand added. “We had the game and just couldn’t finish it off. You’ve gotta give them credit.”
Despite scoring 17 points off Charlotte's 18 turnovers, the Mavericks also gave up 19 giveaways -- as Walker snagged eight steals -- which led to 20 points. This after 20 turnovers in New York the night before.
Scoring 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting and going 2-of-3 from 3 in the loss, Mayo continued a streak of five games with at least 22 points.
Off the bench, Carter added 19 points on 6-for-15 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3, while Collison added 14 points and Brand pitched in 10 points in the first unit. Dallas also hit 9-of-19 from the 3-point arc, holding Charlotte to 3-of-20 from long range at the other end.
Led by Walker's 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting and 25 points from Kidd-Gilchrist on 8-of-12 from the field, the Bobcats finished the game outshooting the Mavs, 42.1 percent to 40.5 percent, in addition to a 53-43 rebounding margin after 21 offensive rebounds. The dominance on the glass also led to a 52-24 advantage in points in the paint and a 14-6 separation in second-chance points.
“In the second half, we got outrebounded, 36-20. There were plays at the end where there were mistakes made, but the physical pounding that they put on us in the second half was the game,” Carlisle concluded.
He added: “This team has a lot to learn about winning. That’s where we’re at. And this is a very painful lesson.”
The Mavs will now return home for two home games, welcoming in the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. The game will air locally at 7:30 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest. Tickets for the game remain available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287 or by visiting Mavs.com.
The team then will host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. That game will also air locally at 7:30 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest. Tickets for the game remain available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287 or by visiting Mavs.com.
