Mavs defeat Magic behind a team-high 21 points from Wes Matthews

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After a sluggish start, falling behind by as much as nine points in the first quarter, the Dallas Mavericks (33-28) picked up the intensity and eventually walked away with a 120-108 win over the Orlando Magic (26-33) at the American Airlines Center.

 

“We hung in there for sure,” Chandler Parsons said.” We weren’t getting back in transition to start the game and they exposed us a little bit, but we kept playing.” 

 

A David Lee dunk with 1:50 left in the first quarter gave the Mavs the lead and they never looked back en route to their third straight win. Lee continued to make a positive impact with his new team, finishing the game with 7 points and 4 rebounds, including a plus-10 efficiency rating in just 14 minutes in his fourth appearance for the Mavs.

 

It was all about offense tonight for Dallas as they took their highest-scoring half of the season into the break with a 69-61 advantage led behind 13 points each from Dirk Nowitzki and Wesley Matthews in the half. Dallas shot 63 percent through the first two quarters, missing just 13 shots on 37 field-goal attempts.

 

The Mavs used a 13-0 run to begin the second half, building their lead to as much as 21 points. Despite a late third quarter run by the Orlando to cut into the lead, but Dallas remained in control and ultimately put the game away.

 

Five Mavericks finished in double figures, including 19 points from Dirk Nowitzki, 17 points a piece from Chandler Parsons and JJ Barea, and a team-high 21 points from Wesley Matthews. Zaza Pachulia added another double-double to his 2015-16 Mavs’ campaign with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

 

“Obviously, it’s what we needed to do,” Parsons said after the game. “We can’t get too high. We understand the teams that we’re playing. We want to be up there in the top of the league. It’s obviously good anytime you can get a win because it’s important, but you can’t get too high.”

 

Up Next: Rajon Rondo makes another un-triumphant return to the AAC on Thursday night as the Mavericks battle the Sacramento Kings.