Full-Court Press

Carlisle likes Mayo's overall game

DALLAS -– Although OJ Mayo tallied just 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting during Sunday’s 113-108 victory over the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle likes the way his two-guard performed.

“Generally our team functions better when he plays an efficient all-around game,’’ Carlisle said. “There are nights we need him to step up his scoring, but it’s not a situation where he needs to come into each game thinking he’s got to score 20 or 25.

 “When he’s in an all-around play and ball movement mode and finding people, he does a really nice job of playing it.’’

Since scoring 22 points on Mar. 8 against Detroit, Mayo has eclipsed the 14-point barrier just once over the past nine games. Carlisle, however, is more concerned with Mayo displaying his overall game instead of just showing what he can produce on the offensive end of the floor.

“He’s always going to be aggressive to score,’’ Carlisle said. “When the shots are there he takes them, when he sees both the shot opportunity and the open teammates, that’s when we’re in business.

“He’s improved his recognition of the overall game, he’s improved his recognition of pick and rolls, being able to see the shot opportunity or the teammate on the roll at the top. He works hard at it and he wants to be really good.’’

-- Dwain Price

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Carlisle likes Mayo's overall game

DALLAS -– Although OJ Mayo tallied just 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting during Sunday’s 113-108 victory over the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle likes the way his two-guard performed.

“Generally our team functions better when he plays an efficient all-around game,’’ Carlisle said. “There are nights we need him to step up his scoring, but it’s not a situation where he needs to come into each game thinking he’s got to score 20 or 25.

 “When he’s in an all-around play and ball movement mode and finding people, he does a really nice job of playing it.’’

Since scoring 22 points on Mar. 8 against Detroit, Mayo has eclipsed the 14-point barrier just once over the past nine games. Carlisle, however, is more concerned with Mayo displaying his overall game instead of just showing what he can produce on the offensive end of the floor.

“He’s always going to be aggressive to score,’’ Carlisle said. “When the shots are there he takes them, when he sees both the shot opportunity and the open teammates, that’s when we’re in business.

“He’s improved his recognition of the overall game, he’s improved his recognition of pick and rolls, being able to see the shot opportunity or the teammate on the roll at the top. He works hard at it and he wants to be really good.’’

-- Dwain Price

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@dwainprice

Carlisle very impressed with the Clippers

DALLAS -- Rick Carlisle knows his team will have to be at their optimum best Tuesday night when the Dallas Mavericks play host to the Los Angeles Clippers at 8:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center.

Lob City -- one of the monikers associated with the Clippers because of their penchant for dunking -- has been known to embarrass a team or two with their innate ability to play above the rim.

"From top to bottom they’re as an athletic team and a talented team as you’re going to find in this league,'' Carlisle, the Mavs' coach, said after Monday's practice. "Chris Paul is the best point guard in basketball in my opinion.

"There are some other guys that are really good, too. But the game comes down to our ability to mitigate some of their paint activity, and keep him out of there, keep them from lobbing the ball, and keep them from getting a lot of second shots.''

The Clippers dunked their way to a 112-90 victory over the Mavs on Dec. 5. The Mavs played better when they met on Jan. 9, but still lost, 99-93.

"We played a better game the second game against them, but in the end the rebounding got us and the untimely turnovers are always a problem,'' Carlisle said. "Taking care of the ball is huge in this game -- it sets up a lot of things.

"Defensively we’re going to have to throw a lot of different guys at Chris Paul. (Blake) Griffin is getting better and better.''

While Carlisle is obviously impressed with the Clippers' starting lineup, he also heaped high praise on their reserves.

"Their depth is, I think, very underrated if you look at this whole league,'' Carlisle said. "They have a 10-man rotation and their second team off the bench is a very formidable group.

"It could be a starting team in a lot of situations in this league.''

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs tune out the Jazz, 113-108

DALLAS -- Mike James scored a season-high 19 points and handed out five assists to pace the Dallas Mavericks to a 113-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs and Jazz are now in a tie for the ninth spot in the Western Conference playoff race, both with 34-36 records and both just a mere two games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot. But the Jazz hold the tiebreaker over the Mavs because they won the season series, 2-1. 

Utah has now lost nine road games in a row and haven't won a road game since it captured a 97-93 victory at Minnesota on Feb. 13. In fact, the Jazz haven't won two road games in a row all season, which is incredible for a team still in the playoff hunt.

The Jazz have lost four straight games and 12 of their last 15 games. That includes going 0-3 on this Texas three-step, which also includes a 100-93 loss this past Wednesday in Houston and a 104-97 overtime loss in San Antonio this past Friday.  

The Mavs are now 2-1 on this six-game home stand which resumes Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, and still has games remaining on Thursday against Indiana and Saturday against Chicago.

Other than James, the Mavs got 17 points and six rebounds from Dirk Nowitzki, 15 points and six rebounds from Shawn Marion, 15 points from Vince Carter, 12 points from Darren Collison and 10 points apiece from OJ Mayo and Elton Brand.

Enes Kanter led the Jazz with 17 points, and Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson each popped in 15 points.

Dallas used a blistering 20-2 run to shake free from a 69-69 tie and bolt ahead, 89-71, with 9:55 left in the game

The Mavs held a 104-87 lead with 3:12 remaining in the game. But the Jazz employed a 21-7 rally to get within 111-108 on a Gordon Hayward three-point play with 7.3 seconds to go.

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs tune out the Jazz, 113-108

DALLAS -- Mike James scored a season-high 19 points and handed out five assists to pace the Dallas Mavericks to a 113-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs and Jazz are now in a tie for the ninth spot in the Western Conference playoff race, both with 34-36 records and both just a mere two games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot. But the Jazz hold the tiebreaker over the Mavs because they won the season series, 2-1. 

Utah has now lost nine road games in a row and haven't won a road game since it captured a 97-93 victory at Minnesota on Feb. 13. In fact, the Jazz haven't won two road games in a row all season, which is incredible for a team still in the playoff hunt.

The Jazz have lost four straight games and 12 of their last 15 games. That includes going 0-3 on this Texas three-step, which also includes a 100-93 loss this past Wednesday in Houston and a 104-97 overtime loss in San Antonio this past Friday.  

The Mavs are now 2-1 on this six-game home stand which resumes Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, and still has games remaining on Thursday against Indiana and Saturday against Chicago.

Other than James, the Mavs got 17 points and six rebounds from Dirk Nowitzki, 15 points and six rebounds from Shawn Marion, 15 points from Vince Carter, 12 points from Darren Collison and 10 points apiece from OJ Mayo and Elton Brand.

Enes Kanter led the Jazz with 17 points, and Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson each popped in 15 points.

Dallas used a blistering 20-2 run to shake free from a 69-69 tie and bolt ahead, 89-71, with 9:55 left in the game

The Mavs held a 104-87 lead with 3:12 remaining in the game. But the Jazz employed a 21-7 rally to get within 111-108 on a Gordon Hayward three-point play with 7.3 seconds to go.

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs to add an ex-MVP to their roster

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks are on the verge of adidng a former Most Valuable Player to their roster.

On Monday, the Mavs will sign point guard Justin Dentmon to a 10-day contract to fill the spot vacated when Dallas released point guard Chris Wright this past Friday. Dentmon plays for the Texas Legends of the National Basketball Developmental League in Frisco.

Also, while starting all 40 games for the Austin Toros and averaging 22.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 37.2 minutes per game, Dentmon was named the MVP of the D-League for his performance during the 2011-'12 season. 

"We obviously like him -- we had him in our summer progrm -- otherwise we wouldn't be looking at him,'' coach Rick Carlisle said after Sunday morning's shoot around at American Airlines Center. "We'll get him as ready as we can to go as quickly as we can.''

Undrafted out of Washington in 2009, Dentmon stands six feet tall and weighs 185 pounds and will be signed once he passes a physical on Monday. He averaged 22.3 points, four rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season for the Legends.

Dentmon also has been well-traveled, having played professional basketball in Israel, Venezuela, Italy and the Dominican Republic. In addition, Dentmon signed a 10-day contract with the San Antonio Spurs and a 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors in 2012.

To make room for Dentmon, the Mavs released point guard Chris Wright this past Friday. Wright played in three games and tallied two points on 1-of-2 shooting while becoming the first known person with multiple sclerosis to play in the NBA.

"We liked his game, but we're at a point now where this is an opportunity for us to look at some different guys,'' Carlisle said of Wright. "We know Dentmon in a context of the D-League team.

"But to get a chance to look at him close up with our guys in practices -- potentially in games -- is something we feel is valuable.''

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs spoil Terry's homecoming, beat the Celts, 104-94

DALLAS -- Brandan Wright scored 23 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 104-94 triumph over the Boston Celtics on Frdiay night at American Airlines Center.

The win spoiled the homecoming of Celtics guard Jason Terry, who played the previous eight years for the Mavs before signing a three-year, $15.675 million free agent contract with Boston last summer.

The Mavs are now 1-1 on this six-game home stand and 33-36 for the season going into Sunday's home game against the Utah Jazz.

Boston trailed by as many as 14 points, but crawled within five (97-92) on a Jeff Green layup with 1:51 remaining in the game. But OJ Mayo drained a three-pointer to pad the Mavs' lead to 100-92 with 1:21 to go.

Other than Wright, the Mavs got 22 points from Dirk Nowitzki, 19 points from Vince Carter, and 10 points and nine assists from Mayo. Meanwhile, Shawn Marion played for the first time after missing the last eight games with a strained left calf and finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett led the Celts with 16 points apiece.

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs miss Terry's ability to close games

DALLAS -- Theorically speaking, the Dallas Mavericks replaced Jason Terry last summer with OJ Mayo. But realistically speaking, coach Rick Carlisle knows there's no substitute for what Terry gave the Mavs over the last eight seasons. 

"You can’t just replace his kind of experience over an eight-year period,'' Carlisle said. "I think one of the really distinguishing characteristics of Jet’s impact is he came from Atlanta where they were not a winning team.

"(The Hawks were) a younger team that was trying to build the club up, and he came here and he became known as a winner. To turn that perception around in a relatively short period of
time. . .he’s one of the best fourth-quarter scorers in the league over a long period.''

Closing games was Terry's forte when he was with the Mavs, who have lacked in that precious area this season.

"That’s an element that is important on any club,'' Carlisle said. "We’ve been able to close games this year certainly in a lot of instances, but there's been times when you miss that kind of experience.''

-- Dwain Price

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Can Mayo learn from Terry?

DALLAS -- Watching Jason Terry and watching OJ Mayo, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes the latter can pick up a few nuggets from the former.

"I think OJ can learn a lot from Jet,'' Cuban said. "Jet really got better when he became catch and shoot, or one dribble and shoot.

"I think that’s something OJ need to add to his game, and I told that to him. But OJ is 25, so he's going to get better. Much, much better.''

-- Dwain Price

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Jason Terry still bleeds Mavericks blue

DALLAS -– Jason Terry bleeds Dallas Mavericks blue.

For those who didn’t know it before, Terry reiterated it Friday morning a few minutes after he walked into the American Airlines Center for the first time since he left the Mavs last summer to sign a three-year, $15.675 contract with the Boston Celtics.

Asked about the Mavs’ struggles, Terry quickly said: “It’s tough (to see the Mavs struggle), because I’m still a Mavs fan at heart. Again, when you break up the team, that’s what happens.’’

Terry played a key role in the Mavs winning the 2011 NBA title. But Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Rodrigue Beaubois are the only players currently with the Mavs who were on that championship team.

Since then, the Mavs were 36-30 and swept in the first round of last year’s lockout-shortened by the Oklahoma City Thunder in four games. And this season they’re 32-36 and in jeopardy of not making the playoffs at all.

Terry felt there’s “no question’’ the Mavs could have made another run at another title had all the key pieces been brought back last season.

“And we probably would have gotten better, we probably would have added a couple more pieces, but it didn’t happen,’’ Terry said. “So you can’t cry about it now.’’

Still, Terry was disappointed how players like Tyson Chandler, JJ Barea, Caron Butler, Corey Brewer and DeShawn Stevenson were so easily dispatched. Especially since he felt the Mavs were on the verge of possibly building a dynasty.

“You like to have a chance to fight for what you’ve earned, and we didn’t get that opportunity,’’ Terry said. “I mean, it’s over now.

“We’re past the disappointment and we have to move on.’’

Because of what Terry has meant to the Mavs and to the Dallas community, owner Mark Cuban has said he’ll have a job available for Terry whenever he retires. When told that on Friday, Terry said:

“I was going to take him up on it at the All-Star break (last month in Houston), but I didn’t see him. So we’ll see what he says tonight.’’

Terry isn’t particularly motivated to show Cuban what he missed out on tonight. Especially, since this has been a particularly tough week for Terry, who got dunked on by LeBron James on Monday, then went scoreless when the Celtics lost at New Orleans by one point on Wednesday.

“I’ve got to do something,’’ Terry said. “I was oh for the last game.

“I didn’t score any points and I had a lot of turnovers, so you best believe I’m going to be aggressive tonight.’’

Terry described this trip to Dallas as all positive. Since the Celtics are in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference and appear well on their way to the playoffs, he has nothing to complain about.

“Again, we’re in a good place,’’ Terry said. “We’re fighting for a playoff positioning, and so again we are focused on getting a win.

“But it will be good to come back home.’’

Coming back home also meant Terry had to get back to his second job as coach of his youth basketball teams in Far North Dallas.

“I coached my kids (Thursday night),’’ Terry said. “I’ve got a boys eight grade team, and a girls sixth grade (team).

“I went up, we had practice, then had a parent meeting. Same old Jet.’’

That “same old Jet’’ will be sitting in the opposing locker room for the first time since the 2003-’04 season when he was a member of the Atlanta Hawks. Indeed, it will be a surreal scene.

“I know how to get over there,’’ Terry said. “It’s not quite as nice and friendly over there.

“I’m sure afterwards I’m going to go check out my old locker.’’

-- Dwain Price

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