The Mavs approached their third out of four straight away games taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. Dallas came into the game on a 3-game winning streak and just a few games from reaching .500. The Mavs have been playing great basketball lately; averaging about 104 points per game in the last four games.
The Mavs starting out the first period with cold shooting, making 0 field goals from the first 6 attempts. Milwaukee capitalized with an 8-0 start. Dirk was 3-of-5 from the field with 7 points. The Bucks score 35 points, a season-high in the first quarter. Dallas trailed 35-28.
Darren Collison in the second quarter left the game to the locker room after getting driving to the basket and gets hit in the eye by the Bucks’ Larry Sanders. The Mavs trailed by at most 8 points, but ended the second quarter strong 27-10 run. Dallas’ point guards Mike James and Roddy Beaubois combined for 13 points.
Dallas took a 63-55 lead going into halftime. Dirk led the team with 17 points and 6 rebounds.
The Mavs opened the third strong shooting 11-for-20 from the field (55%), to jump out to their biggest lead of 18 points. The Bucks would gain some momentum from a 13-2 run coming from J.J. Redick’s 7 points. Elton Brand stepped up with 8 points in the final two minutes of the third quarter, helping the Mavs to being the fourth with a 12 point lead.
Dallas began the fourth quarter looking to close out the Bucks. The Bucks would not give in to defeat easily starting with a 10-4 before a Rick Carlisle timeout. Bucks’ Larry Sanders and Monta Ellis combined for 12 points to cut the Mavs’ lead to just 6 points midway through the quarter. Vince Carter showed he can still be “Half Man, Half Amazing” in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points. He activated his ‘clutch genes’ with 2 three-pointers and an acrobatic contact layup to seal the Mavs the victory.
The Mavs get their fourth win beating the Bucks 115-108.
Vince Carter was the team’s leading scorer with 23 points, with his 13 points in the fourth quarter. Dirk recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds; his 17 points came in only the first half. Rookie Jae Crowder and veteran Mike James both scored 14 points, along with OJ Mayo’s 13 points.
The Bucks had five guys in double figures as Monta Ellis was the leading scorer of the game with 32 points. Bucks’ center Larry Sanders also had a double-double, 13 points and 12 rebounds. Mike Dunleavy was 4-for-5 from behind the arc, giving him 18 points. J.J. Redick came off the bench with 17 points, but 1-for-7 in three-point shots.
The Mavs are on the outside looking knocking on the door for the 8th seed. We can say they are finally in the playoff being just 3 games out of .500 with 19 games left in the regular season.
Dallas takes on the Spurs in San Antonio on Thursday night at 8 PM (ET). Tony Parker is still out with an ankle sprain.
The Mavs are really close to finally shaving those beards. GO MAVS!
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