wow i just got home from the Dallas Mavericks v.s. the L.A. Clippers game. Awesome night, i sat courtside and ate soooooooo much haha everyone kept calling saying they saw us eating everytime the camera was on us. Mavs won 107-102 and boy were the Clippers mad. The ref called many techs on account of their swearing...
When almost 12 percent of your games have been against the Los Angeles Clippers, you probably ought to be in pretty good shape, especially when Tuesday's game was against LA's junior varsity.
And yet, the Mavericks somehow were staring at a five-point deficit with under three minutes to go at American Airlines Center.
They seemed to have no inclination for putting away a depleted bunch of Clippers. They were hoisting bad 3-pointers and giving up easy buckets.
Then, their shooting eyes cleared up just long enough to eke out a win.
They emerged with a 107-102 victory over the Clippers, winning the final meeting of the season between the two and finishing with a 3-1 record against the Clips.
But it was by no means easy, even though they had an 18-point lead in the second quarter. But they were ahead by only a point late in the game before the Clippers got a trio of Al Thornton buckets to go ahead 101-96 with 3:30 to go.
The Mavericks then continued a bad trend. They heaved five consecutive 3-point shots, making just one. They still trailed by three with 1:15 to go.
Amazingly, they figured something out after a 20-second timeout. Josh Howard swished a 16-footer. Then after Eric Gordon, who burned the Mavericks for 32 points, missed, Dirk Nowitzki got into the lane for a 12 footer that dropped through.
Interesting that the closer you get to the basket, the more the shots go in.
At any rate, that put the Mavericks up 103-102.
Then Jason Kidd took some candy from a baby. He was guarding Gordon one on one and flicked a hand in to knock the ball away. The steal led to Jason Terry's drive with 6.1 seconds left that put the Mavericks up 105-102.
It was a hard-fought win that, on paper, shouldn't have been that tough.The Clippers were missing 58.6 points from their lineup. That would be the combined averages of Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph and Ricky Davis.
"They've been really decimated the last few games and they played two exceptionally good games,'' Rick Carlisle said before the game. "At Indiana, we were down to six or seven guys a couple times. The team tends to bond together.''
Or not. The Clippers in the first half looked like a team that was missing it's heart, kidney, lungs, and a few other necessary body parts.
The Mavericks were up 16-5 in no time and had a season-best 37 points in the first quarter, blasting open a 13-point lead.
It reached 18 points in the second quarter, and the Mavericks still were up by 10 in spite of a boneheaded finish to the half. They gave up four points in the final second, thanks to a bucket by the Clippers and a silly pass out of bounds that nobody touched, giving the Clips the ball back under their offensive basket. Devean George fouled before the inbounds pass and two free throws were awarded.
Still, at the time, it seemed like the Mavericks were just toying with the visitors.
But it's amazing how toying with an injured animal can turn ugly.
Late in the third quarter, the Clippers rallied within a point as the strong shooting of rookie Eric Gordon and second-year forward Al Thornton befuddled the indifferent Mavericks' defense.
As the fourth quarter unfolded, the Mavericks played as if they were just assuming a win was inevitable. They never put any real space between themselves and the Clippers. via:http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/
And yet, the Mavericks somehow were staring at a five-point deficit with under three minutes to go at American Airlines Center.
They seemed to have no inclination for putting away a depleted bunch of Clippers. They were hoisting bad 3-pointers and giving up easy buckets.
Then, their shooting eyes cleared up just long enough to eke out a win.
They emerged with a 107-102 victory over the Clippers, winning the final meeting of the season between the two and finishing with a 3-1 record against the Clips.
But it was by no means easy, even though they had an 18-point lead in the second quarter. But they were ahead by only a point late in the game before the Clippers got a trio of Al Thornton buckets to go ahead 101-96 with 3:30 to go.
The Mavericks then continued a bad trend. They heaved five consecutive 3-point shots, making just one. They still trailed by three with 1:15 to go.
Amazingly, they figured something out after a 20-second timeout. Josh Howard swished a 16-footer. Then after Eric Gordon, who burned the Mavericks for 32 points, missed, Dirk Nowitzki got into the lane for a 12 footer that dropped through.
Interesting that the closer you get to the basket, the more the shots go in.
At any rate, that put the Mavericks up 103-102.
Then Jason Kidd took some candy from a baby. He was guarding Gordon one on one and flicked a hand in to knock the ball away. The steal led to Jason Terry's drive with 6.1 seconds left that put the Mavericks up 105-102.
It was a hard-fought win that, on paper, shouldn't have been that tough.The Clippers were missing 58.6 points from their lineup. That would be the combined averages of Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph and Ricky Davis.
"They've been really decimated the last few games and they played two exceptionally good games,'' Rick Carlisle said before the game. "At Indiana, we were down to six or seven guys a couple times. The team tends to bond together.''
Or not. The Clippers in the first half looked like a team that was missing it's heart, kidney, lungs, and a few other necessary body parts.
The Mavericks were up 16-5 in no time and had a season-best 37 points in the first quarter, blasting open a 13-point lead.
It reached 18 points in the second quarter, and the Mavericks still were up by 10 in spite of a boneheaded finish to the half. They gave up four points in the final second, thanks to a bucket by the Clippers and a silly pass out of bounds that nobody touched, giving the Clips the ball back under their offensive basket. Devean George fouled before the inbounds pass and two free throws were awarded.
Still, at the time, it seemed like the Mavericks were just toying with the visitors.
But it's amazing how toying with an injured animal can turn ugly.
Late in the third quarter, the Clippers rallied within a point as the strong shooting of rookie Eric Gordon and second-year forward Al Thornton befuddled the indifferent Mavericks' defense.
As the fourth quarter unfolded, the Mavericks played as if they were just assuming a win was inevitable. They never put any real space between themselves and the Clippers. via:http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/
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