DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks cruised to a 118-71 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at the American Airlines Center behind a bounce-back performance from rookie Dennis Smith Jr. and a solid outing from Harrison Barnes.

After a jittery 1-for-5 outing in Monday’s opener, Dennis Smith Jr. responded with a much more solid performance in Wednesday’s game. In the first quarter, he had six points on a three, another deep jump shot and his first made free throw on an aggressive drive to the basket, something that the Mavericks are depending on offensively this season. That was just the beginning.

He finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three assists, two steals and four turnovers in 18 total minutes. After one turnover, Smith Jr. hustled down and broke up a fast break with a steal, earning an enthusiastic response from the Mavs’ bench. Two of the biggest question marks for Smith Jr. coming in to this season were his long-distance shooting (he shot 36% at N.C. State) and his defense. So far, so good.

In the opening period, Dallas broke out another version of the three-guard lineup but this time, Dirk played at the 4 spot with Nerlens Noel remaining at the five. It’s a look that coach Rick Carlisle later said is “doable” and it generated plenty of open looks on the perimeter. Wesley Matthews and Devin Harris both connected from deep to give Dallas a 30-26 lead to start the second quarter.

Noel also had solid performance with six points on 2-of-5 shooting and he made himself felt on the defensive end by picking up a steal and poking several other balls away.

Unlike Monday, the Mavericks played their starters well into the second quarter and then in to the second half. Harrison Barnes looked especially solid in scoring 17 first-half points. While Seth Curry struggled to a 1-for-7 outing from the field, he recorded a steal and a block in the win. P.J. Dozier saw his first action and hit a 3 as the Mavs pulled away.

“I’m just trying to make the most of the opportunity,” Dozier said. “The Mavericks have been great.”

Gian Clavell, one of several Mavericks fighting for a roster spot, finished with 12 points. It was enough to catch the attention of Carlisle.

“I was impressed,” he said. “He’s a fiery competitor.”

The preseason is clearly an opportunity for the Mavericks to get more and more on the same page with each other as well as an opportunity for new faces, like Smith Jr., to get familiar with the style and pace Carlisle will set going forward. If Wednesday was any indication, the quality of a Bulls team projected to win 22 games notwithstanding, Dallas appears to be trending in the right direction.

Photos:

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”11″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_horizontal_filmstrip” image_crop=”0″ image_pan=”1″ show_playback_controls=”1″ show_captions=”0″ caption_class=”caption_overlay_bottom” caption_height=”70″ aspect_ratio=”1.5″ width=”100″ width_unit=”%” transition=”fade” transition_speed=”1″ slideshow_speed=”5″ border_size=”0″ border_color=”#ffffff” override_thumbnail_settings=”1″ thumbnail_width=”120″ thumbnail_height=”90″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ ngg_triggers_display=”always” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

Postgame Press Conferences and Interviews: