Maverick bench gets it right vs. Clippers

At halftime of Sunday’s game against the Clippers, the
Mavericks’ bench had been outscored 21-8 by their counterparts.
 
In the second half, they reversed that score, beating the
Clip backups 22-10.
 
The bench, particularly Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood,
was a key in the 16-point win and also in keeping the minutes of Dirk Nowtizki
and Jason Kidd right at 31 for the game.
 
“Our bench play was pivotal,’’ coach Rick
Carlisle said. “Marion played great. Dominique Jones did a real solid job
in his minutes. Haywood after a slow start became a real factor in the game.
And the guys guarding (Eric) Gordon, Jason Terry and Jones, really concentrated
and made it hard for him.’’
 
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Maverick game if there
wasn’t something to nitpick about. And Nowitzki was all too happy to
oblige.
 
“I still think we’re shooting ourselves in the
foot too much with the turnovers,’’ he said. “We had a chance
to blow it open and we didn’t.’’
 
True, but the 14 errors were a huge improvement on the 18.5
they averaged in the first two games.