Full-Court Press

Mavs only score 13 pts in the first quarter

DALLAS _ Fresh off one of their best quarters Monday at Oklahoma City, the Dallas Mavericks had one of the worst quarters of the season Tuesday against Toronto at American Airlines Center.

Playing without the injured Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs made only 4 of 20 baskets (20 percent), committed seven trunovers and fell behind the Raptors at the end of the first period, 23-13. The 13 points ties for the fewest points the Mavs have scored in any quarter this season.

In the 103-93 win over the Thunder on Monday, the Mavs outscored Oklahoma City 24-12 in the fourth period.

-- Dwain Price

Stevenson leads the NBA in treys

DALLAS _ He was an after-thought when the Dallas Mavericks made a big splash via a midseason trade with the Washington Wizards last winter.

But Mavs shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson is now leading the NBA in 3-point shooting.

Stevenson has converted 39 of 75 3-pointers so far this season for .520 percent. Guard Caron Butler, who was in the trade that brought Brendan Haywood and Stevenson from the Wizards, is eighth in the NBA at .448 percent (26 of 58).

Meanwhile, Mavs point guard Jason Kidd is sixth in the league in assists at 8.8 per game, and forward Dirk Nowitzki is seventh in scoring (24.1 points per game) and ninth in field goal accuracy (.545 percent).

-- Dwain Price

Mavericks are dominating the NBA's 3-point shooting stats

If it seems like the Mavericks have been smoking-hot from
3-point range of late, it’s because they have been.
 
DeShawn Stevenson in particular has been terrific and with
his 3-of-4 outing Monday in Oklahoma, he has ascended to the top spot in the
NBA in 3-point shooting percentage, making 52 percent of his triples
(39-of-75).
 
He passed San Antonio’s Matt Bonner (.511) and Atlanta’s
Mike Bibby (.493) with his recent hot streak.
 
In addition, Caron Butler is tied for eight in the league at
.448 from 3-point range (26-of-58).
 
Dirk Nowitzki is 38th at .403.
 

As expected, Shawn Marion to start for Dirk

The Mavericks will start Shawn Marion at power forward
tonight against Toronto as Dirk Nowitzki misses his first game of the season
with a sprained right knee. He’s day-to-day beyond tonight.
 
Less clear is who Toronto will start. They may not have Jose
Calderon and already are missing Andrea Bargnani and Peja Stojakovic.
 
Their lineup is starting to bear a strong resemblance to a
D-League team, although that may be an insult to some of the top D-League
teams.
 
Also, Brian Cardinal is back on the active list after coming
down with a stomach ailment for the second time in a month.
 
“It was bad enough going through it once,’’
Cardinal said.
 

Nowitzki has sprained knee, will miss tonight's game

DALLAS _ Dirk Nowitzki will miss at least one game after an MRI he underwent Tuesday morning revealed he has a sprained right knee.

Dallas Mavericks officials have listed the 7-foot forward as day-to-day, and added that he will sit out tonight’s home game against Toronto.

The Mavs are hoping to at least have Nowitzki back for Thursday’s big home game against the San Antonio Spurs, who lead Dallas by 1 1/2 games in the Southwest Division. But now the Mavs are in a wait and see mode in regards to their perennial All-Star.

Nowitzki was injured Monday night in Oklahoma City when he came down awkwardly while he was fouled by Thunder forward Serge Ibaka. Replays appear to indicate that there was no contact on the play, only that Nowitzki’s right foot got twisted and made contact with his left foot.

But even with Nowitzki getting treatment in the locker room, Dallas went on to defeat the Thunder, 103-93. It was the Mavs’ eight consecutive win, their 17th victory in their last 18 games and increased their record to an impressive 24-5.

Throughout his 13-year career, Nowitzki has been known as a tough-minded durable player who has recovered quickly from injuries. Out of a possible 981 career games, he has missed only 32 contests.

That’s third on the NBA active list for players with 10 or more years of experience. Topping the list is Portland point guard Andre Miller, who has missed just six of a possible 930 games in his 12-year career, and Mavs guard Jason Terry, who has been out for just 25 of a possible 931 games during his 12-year career.

Nowitzki leads the Mavs in scoring with 24.1 points per game, and also averages 7.4 rebounds. He is shooting .545 percent from the field and .401 percent from 3-point range.

-- Dwain Price

Strange twist opened the door for Alexis Ajinca

If we can rewind the tape to shootaround on Monday morning
in Oklahoma City, acting head coach Dwane Casey was talking about how he
didn’t envision changing much from the system that coach Rick Carlisle
has set in place.
So being the intrepid reporter that I am, I asked if that
meant we weren’t going to see 30 minutes of playing time for Steve Novak
or Alexis Ajinca.
“No, as much as I love Steve and Lex, we’re not
going to try to keep things the same,’’ Casey said.
So the game rolls around, Brian Cardinal is out with a
stomach ailment and Dirk Nowitzki goes down in the second quarter against the
Thunder.
Guess who comes rolling into the game when Tyson Chandler
gets into foul trouble?
Ajinca, the 7-footer from France who plays more like a
6-footer, comes in and while he puts in only a few minutes of work, he cans a
huge 3-pointer from the left corner in the final minute of the quarter. That
cut a four-point OKC lead to 80-79.
“I thought it was a total team effort,’’
Casey said. “Lex came in and that 3-pointer was huge for
us.’’

Sprained knee will keep Nowitzki out tonight vs. Toronto

The Mavericks just released results of the MRI Dirk Nowitzki
had this morning, which revealed a sprained right knee.
He will sit out tonight’s game against Toronto and his
status beyond that will be re-evaluated daily. The Mavericks play next on
Thursday against San Antonio, then have a back-to-back over the weekend at
Milwaukee on New Year’s Day and Sunday at Cleveland.
This is good news for the Mavericks. Ruling out any serious
damage to the ligaments or cartilage is a big victory.
And it might not do Nowitzki’s teammates any harm to
prove they can keep the ship floating without their biggest weapon.

No knee-jerk reaction: Mavs are very good

Monday's win at Oklahoma City is a perfect indication why the Dallas Mavericks are strong candidates to win this season's NBA championship.

Even with their All-Star forward and No. 1 go-to guy, Dirk Nowitzki, missing nearly the final three quarters with a sore right knee, the Mavs rolled up their sleeves and defeated the Thunder, 103-93. It was their eighth straight road win and increased their record away from home to an NBA-best 11-1.

Overall, the Mavs have won 17 of their last 18 games and have the league's second-best record at 24-5. But by taking down Kevin Durant and the Thunder on their home court, the Mavs proved they can beat anybody any where and under any conditions.

Even with their head coach, Rick Carlisle, back home nursing a bum knee.

Remember, the Mavs own road wins this year at Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio, Utah and twice at Oklahoma City, and home wins over Boston, Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, Portland and Utah.

The Mavs are an impressive 14-3 against teams that are .500 or better, with the losses coming to Chicago, New Orleans and Denver. The only teams above .500 which Dallas has yet to play are the New York Knicks and the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Nowitzki will have an MRI at 9 this morning to determine exactly what's wrong with his knee. But knowing how tough Nowitzki is and how he's shaken off previous injuries and gotten back on the court quicker than anyone expected, he probably won't be out very long.

But if Nowitzki is sidelined for an extended period, this will be another chance for the Mavs to show that they have several more players who can step up and deliver in the clutch. And if that keeps happening -- and once Nowitzki returns -- the Mavs just might get that championship parade in downtown Dallas after all.

You know, the one that Miami stole from them in 2006.

-- Dwain Price

 

Dirk Nowitzki has a few laughs during a scary time

So what does a superstar do when he’s stuck in the
locker room with a sore right knee and can’t go back to the court?
Dirk Nowitzki had X-rays, then showered and then did what
came naturally.
He cheered at the television.
“I was yelling my (butt) off,’’ Nowitzki
said. “The guys played an amazing game after I left.’’
Said Jason Terry: “We went in at halftime and Dirk
asked what the score was. We told him it was tied and he said: ‘You guys
can handle this, I’m taking the rest of the night off.’
‘’
All kidding aside, it was no laughing matter for Nowitzki
when he went down early in the second quarter with some sort of right knee
injury. After the game, he was walking with a noticeable limp and not very
spryly, either.
He’s schedule for an MRI Tuesday. The X-rays showed no
structural damage. Nowitzki thought maybe it was a strain to one of the muscles
behind the knee.
We’ve seen Nowitzki make remarkable recoveries from
his many ankle twists and sprains. This is a little different with the knee. It
wouldn’t be surprising at all if he missed some time.

Mavericks and OKC fans have lots of byplay

The Mavericks had some touchy interaction with fans and the
scorer’s table late in the game. Jason Terry was constantly egging on the
fans, who booed and taunted him.
“At that point, you’re trying to do anything to
get yourself going and I just use that to get fired up,’’ Terry
said.
Meanwhile, acting coach Dwane Casey had a heated moment with
the game-operations crew at the scorer’s table when Jason Kidd was trying
to come into the game and the scorers said he wasn’t at the table in time
to go in during a dead ball.
“I disagreed with the gentleman that Jason was
there,’’ Casey said. “When a guy has been in the league 15 or
20 years, I just thought maybe he’d get the benefit of the doubt if he
was a foot or two away from the table.’’
As for Terry’s waving and jousting with the fans,
Casey said: “That’s just Jet’s way of juicing himself
up.’’
By the way, the interesting number for the night is that the
Mavericks are 16-0 when they score 100 points or more. That’s a
remarkable stat considering the way they used to win games. Nowadays,
it’s just not easy for opponents to top the 100 mark.