Full-Court Press

Mavs aren't lacking confidence

DALLAS -- Just because the Dallas Mavericks have lost eight of their last nine games, that doesn't mean they've lost any confidence.

"I think our confidence is there,'' point guard Darren Collison said. "You guys probably don’t believe it, but I think our confidence is there.

"We just got to continue to just be positive and stay together. We can’t look at this and say,
'OK we’re on a losing streak and things are not going to go well for us.' ''

The Mavs (12-18) hope things will go well for them Sunday at 6:30 p.m.when they host the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Center. It's the perfect game for the Mavs to make a very large statement.

"All it takes is one game to turn things around,'' Collison said. "And we’re looking forward for Sunday to do that.''

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Mavs don't expect Spurs to hit 20 three-pointers

DALLAS -- It was less than a week ago when the Dallas Mavericks rolled into San Antonio and got blasted by the Spurs, 129-91.

And it wasn't even that close.

At one point in the second half the Spurs led by 46 points. Forty six points!

Part of the reason the the final score was so lopsided was because the Spurs made a franchise record 20 three-point field goals -- in 30 attempts. The Mavs, though, hope to cool off the Spurs when the two teams collide at 6:30 Sunday night at American Airlines Center.

"I can’t imagine them hitting 20 out of 30 three's again,'' center Chris Kaman said while knocking on wood. "But who knows.

"They’re a good team, they play well together, they’ve been together for a long period of time, and they’re well coached. It’s important for us to try to come out in front of our fans and  play well, and we've just got to get Dirk (Nowitzki) going a little bit.''

The Mavs are 12-18 and have lost their last five games. That includes that whopping 38-point loss to the Spurs last Sunday, and a 21-point loss to the Denver Nuggets this past Friday.

Despite their issues, the Mavs don't expect to receive any sympathy cards from the NBA's other 29 teams. 

"We can’t sit back and feel sorry for ourselves,'' point guard Darren Collison said. "We’ve got to stay positive.

"We’ve got to come together as a team and be ready for the game plan against San Antonio. We’re capable of beating any team, but we just got to be ready to know that, 'OK, we’re going to show up and be ready to play.' ''

Sunday's game against the Spurs is the last of six ganes when the Mavs had to play some of the best teams in the NBA. That includes games against Miami, Memphis, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Denver, and Sunday's 2012 finale against the Spurs.

"It doesn’t get any easier,'' Kaman said. "No one feels bad for us and we don’t want them to.

"We've got to come in and do our jobs, and everybody’s got to stay focused.''

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice 

George Karl defends Avery Johnson

DALLAS -- Denver Nuggets coach George Karl took exception with the Brooklyn Nets, who fired coach Avery Johnson on Thursday.

"It's just a continuous, whatever, coaching cycle,'' Karl said before the Nuggets defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 106-85, Friday night at American Airlines Center. "We’re the ones who get blamed, we’re the ones who have the target on our chest.''

The Nets started the season 11-4, but lost 10 of their last 13 games. That's when the Nets decided to fire Johnson, who was the NBA Coach of the Month for the month of November.

Karl said: "11-4 to (3-10). You go from smart to stupid? I think the answer we all know is no.

"But someone has to be called and held responsible. In today’s game it's going to be the
coach, and if you don’t like that, don’t be a coach.''

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Nowitzki plays just 18 ineffective minutes

DALLAS -- Friday was a perfect example of how the Dallas Mavericks are going to nurse Dirk Nowitzki back i nto the mix at a slow pace.

Nowitzki played just 18 minutes against the Denver Nuggets, including not playing at all in the fourth period. The 11-time All-Star played the final 5:18 of the third period and didn't play again.

Nowitzki had played 26 minutes during Thursday's loss in Oklahoma City, and the Mavs dlidn't want to place any added stress on their franchise player's body. Especially since Nowitzki is just in his third game back after returning from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

"It was too much tonight,'' coach Rick Carlisle, on why Nowitzki sat the fourth quarter. "That was my decision.

"It was back-to-back games and he isn't limping or anything, but he just can't give us what everyone expects him to give. We had to get a different guy in there and this process is going to be ongoing.''

Nowitzki was greeted with a standing ovation by the fans as he was playing in his first game in American Airlines Center since Game 4 of the first round of last season's playoffs against Oklahoma City. He wound up scoring all five of his points in the first quarter and finished the night just 2-of-10 from the field with one rebound, one assist and one steal.

"I'm going to work myself into better shape, obviousl,y and can help a little  more, but right now I'm not helping that much,'' Nowitzki said. "I was a step slow, that was  obvious. "I had really no lift on my jumper, so everything was in and out, but that last little thing is missing. This was my first back-to-back and really was my first games. I didn't even play a preseason game besides that one in Berlin, so these are my first games in a long, long time, so it's ugly but I've got keep fighting, got to keep working hard on practice days and eventually I'll be able  to come back." Noiwtzki knows with the extra patience, hisgame will return to its old form. "It's just small things add up right now,'' Nowitzki said. "You know, making little mistakes  and that's just the way this tough stretch has been going, turning little  mistakes into big mistakes and the other team capitalizes on it. "That kind of  sums up the stretch unfortunately, but we've got to keep plugging." The Mavs have lost eight of their past nine games and will face a San Antonio Spurs team on Sunday that just beat them by 38 points five days ago. "It's not pretty right now, obviously,'' Nowitzki said. "Not pretty defensively, not pretty offensively, not pretty on the glass, so we've got to keep on working and keep on plugging. "Eventually we'll work ourselves out of it. ...  This is not the time to go separate ways. When it's tough, you've got to pull together and hopefully we can pull through."

The Mavs are just delighted Nowitzki is back on the court playing again. The other stuff -- him getting back to his all-star level -- they know will come.

"With him coming back it's great, having the big fellow on the floor,'' forward Shawn Marion said. "But his conditioning is not right just yet.''

Marion, though, has grown tired of the excuses for the losses that have piled up for a team that's now 12-18 and have dropped five straight games.

"We can't keep throwing up all these damn excuses,'' Marion said. "We have to go out there and compete.

"We get paid to do a job and we have to go out there and compete and that's it.''

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Mavs got hammered on the boards by Denver

DALLAS -- Yet another game has come and gone where the Dallas Mavericks just didn't pull their weight on the boards.

The Denver Nuggets totally dominated the Mavs on the boards Friday, winning that battle by a sizeable 60-43 margin. The heavy lifting by the Nuggets on the backboards helped them get out of American Airlines Center with a 106-95 win over the Mavs.

"It's a problem that isn't going to go away by talking about it,'' coach Rick Carlisle said of his team's rebounding woes. "It is a collective problem we have to address collectively, and I know we can do it.''

Kenneth Faried pushed the Mavs around all night to the point where he almost had a double-double -- in the first quarter. Faried collected nine points and 11 boards in the first period and finished with 11 points, 19 rebounds and four steals.

"All I can say is that they have a hell of a rebounding team,'' forward Shawn Marion said. "And if we don't take the initiative to collectively rebound as a team it's going to be like that.

"We don't have the most athletic guys, the biggest guys, so when we play teams like that it shows. We've got to find other ways to make adjustments more effective out there and we have to collectively do it together.''

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Mavs lose their fifth in a row, 106-85, to Denver

DALLAS – Danilo Gallinari scored a career-high 39 points as the Denver Nuggets ran over the Dallas Maverick, 106-85, Friday night at American Airlines Center.

It was the fifth loss in a row for the Mavs, who have lost eight of their last nine games to slip to 12-18 on the season. This also was the seventh time this season the Mavs have lost a game by 20 or more points.

Other than Gallinari, Andre Iguodala had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, Kenneth Faried finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds, and Ty Lawson and Andre Miller collected 11 points apiece.

Gallinari made 14-of-23 shots, including 7-of-11 three-pointers. Meanwhile, Iguodala buried four three-pointers in the third period, which ended with the Nuggets holding a commanding 87-70 lead.

OJ Mayo led the Mavs with 15 points, Chris Kaman had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Darren Collison and Vince Carter each popped in 10 points. In addition, Dirk Nowitzki came off the bench again and had just five points on 2-of-10 shooting in 17 minutes.

Denver pounded the Mavs on the boards, 60-43, and also converted 12-of-28 three-pointers. In addition, the Nuggets outscored the Mavs in the paint, 52-34.

The Mavs will finish the calendar year at 6:30 p.m. Sunday against a San Antonio Spurs team that beat them by 38 points in San Antonio last Sunday.

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Carlisle disappointed the Nets fired Avery Johnson

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was emphathetic when asked about the Brooklyn Nets surprisingly firing coach Avery Johnson on Thursday.

"Just disappointed.'' Carlisle said. "Avery's a close friend, a trusted friend and a highly respected basketball person, both as a coach and his career as a player.''

Johnson coached the Mavs from 2004 until owner Mark Cuban fired him following the 2007-'08 season and replaced him with Carlisle.

As a player, Johnson buried the series-clinching jumper that helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals. He also has his Spurs' jersey retired, and was named NBA Coach of the Year after he guided the Mavs to the 2006 NBA Finals.

"There aren't many guys around who hit game-winning championship-winning shots and had their number retired, and have been Coach of the Year,'' Carlisle said. "So he's a special guy and he'll enjoy the peaceful time off and then he'll be back when he wants to be back.

"He's a high level coach.''

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

Collison has the top play of the night

OKLAHOMA CITY -- That three-point shot Darren Collison hit to send Thursday's Dallas Mavericks-Oklahoma City Thunder game into overtime turned out to be the No. 1 on ESPN's Top 10.

It was an extremely awkward one-legged trey that Collison connected with at the buzzer to tie the game at 98-98 and stun the sellout crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena. And, as Collison admitted, the play wasn't planned.

"It was just prayer,'' Collison said after the Thunder beat the Mavs in overtime, 111-105. "I honestly didn't think it was going in, but I've made a couple of those floating three-pointers before.

"I'm just thankful that it went in. It gave us a chance for overtime.''

Collison, who tallied a season-high 32 points, said "by far (the play) wasn't'' drawn on the blackboard.' But the game, overall, showed Collison's ability to attack the basket at will and also drill a few jumpers.

"This is how I was in the beginning of the season _ I was attacking,'' Collison said. "I always told myself if I get this opportunity again, try to go back to my old ways and just continue to attack.

"I've been in the gym for the last couple of months on the grind. It's about haivng the opportunity to go out there and showcase it.''

Collison showcased his playmaking skills so well that coach Rick Carlisle said he is now the Mavs' starting point guard. Collison was 13-of-22 from the field, including 4-of-4 from three-point terrritory.

"Collison was terrific, really,'' Carlisle said. "Tremendous on both ends, and the way he played tonight is what we need from him just in terms of his presence in the game, his aggressiveness at both ends of the court.''

Read more here: http://startelegramsports.typepad.com/mavs/#storylink=cpy

As usual, Collison was humbled by Carlisle's comment. But he knows there's more work to be done, since the Mavs did lose the game to the Thinder.

"I've just got to help my team win from here,'' Collison said. "The starting point guard is judged on his team winning.

"It doesn't really mean anything unless you don't get the job done. So I'm focused on just trying to get the job done.''

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

 

Collison has one of his best games ever

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Darren Collison started the first 14 games of the season at point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, then got benched because of his poor play.

But after the way he played Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Collison has earned his starting spot back again.

In one of his best games of his career, Collison poured in a season-high 32 points, grabbed five rebounds, handed our four assists and collected four steals during the Mavs' 111-105 overtime loss to the Thunder.

"Collison was terrific, really,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "Tremendous on both ends, and the way he played tonight is what we need from him just in terms of his presence in the game, his
aggressiveness at both ends of the court.

"He just had a great impact, and I'm not even talking about the points scored necessarily, although that's a part of it, certainly.''

Carlisle likes the way Collison controlled the ball and the Mavs' offense.

""I'm into presence, and he had it tonight,'' Carlisle said. "At this point he's our starting guy.'

Asked if he thought he did enough Thursday to be declared the Mavs' starting point guard, Collison said: "'Why you ask that question? I''m just out here just trying to play my game.

"If I get an opportunity like I did tonight, I'm going to just play my game.''

Dominique Jones and Rodrigue Beaubois are the other point guards battling Collison for the starting job. Beaubois didn't play Thursday because of a stomach illness, and Jones had six points and three assists in 13 minutes off the bench.

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice

 

 

Mayo continues his horrible slump

OKLAHOMA CITY -- OJ Mayo had another rough outing for the Dallas Mavericks during Thursday night's 111-105 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Mayo was just 1-of-7 from the field and had more (turnovers (six) than points (four). For a player who was on pace earlier to perhaps get a reserve spot on the Western Conference All-Star squad, Mayo is just 10-of-40 from the field, 2-of-16 from three-point range and tallied just 29 points over the past four games.

But coach Rick Carlisle plans to stick by his shooting guard, hopeful that he'll soon snap out of his slump.

"We win and lose as a team,'' Carlisle said. "Individual guys struggle -- that's going to happen during an NBA season.

"And when it does I've got to help those guys do better. It's on me.''

Despite his poor shooting, Mayo had a chance to tie the game when he was fouled by Kevin Martin while attempting a three-point shot with 33.2 seconds left in overtime and the Mavs trailing 107-104. But Mayo rimmed the first two free throws before making the last one, and OKC closed the scoring on a pair of free throws each by Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@dwainprice