Dallas must be happy that the All-Star break will soon be upon us.  After losing their winning ways in January, the Mavericks are looking to save some face by winning their last two games.  The Golden State Warriors welcome the Mavericks to Oracle Arena looking to avenge the nine-point loss they suffered less than a week ago.

Does Monta Ellis go for 40+ again or is it the Mavericks who find a way to play defense? 

Game as a Whole

Sure, it was a bit hairy at times but Dallas eventually found the stops it needed to dig out a win.  Even with the win, the Maverick team that looked so good early this year is a thing of the past.  The defense, which was once stout gave up 117 points and had to play zone for long stretches to actually stay in the game.  

On the bright side, Howard helped keep the Mavericks in the game by chipping in 25 points.  Terry’s shooting stroke returned as he dropped a season high 36 points with six three pointers on the night.  Finally, the Mavericks end up with 41 fast break points against the Warriors, which is amazing when you consider how much Golden State likes to run.  

Dallas has its problems but a win is a win.  Maybe a long break is all the Mavericks really need.   

Let’s look at the quarters…

1st Quarter:

• Monta Ellis gets a quick basket to put Golden State on the board.  Here we go again.
• 10:45, Never like to see Kidd taking a contested three.  There has to be a better shot on the floor than that. 
• Dirk Nowitzki has not touched the ball yet. 
• Najera can’t even stay on the floor for a full two minutes before Drew Gooden replaces him. 
• How long until Beaubois comes into the game? 
• 9:03, Mavericks show a match up zone.  You can’t concede on defense that early. If I were Rick Carlisle, I would bench my starters if they didn’t come out with intensity.
• 7:01, Jason Terry puts up the first official points for the Mavericks.  Golden State answers with a three pointer. 
• 6:32, Gooden gets the roll and the Mavericks might break 15 in this quarter. 
• 5:28, Beaubois comes in and gives up a turnover to Monta Ellis.  Not the best way to impress the coach. 
• 4:45, Lane violation and Josh Howard gets another try on his missed free throw (he makes it).
• 4:04, Two quick fouls and Barea gets a chance to come in after a DNP the other night.  
• Nowitzki already has two fouls and has to take a seat on the bench. 
• 2:45, Back-to-back buckets by Terry are clawing the Mavericks into the game. 
• 1:41, Howard gets in the paint for two bringing the Mavericks to within 4. 
• The Warriors have already picked up 9 fouls in the first quarter.  On the flip side, they have picked up 30 points. 
• :00.7, Barea hits the three to end the quarter.  The Mavericks are now only down 5. 

2nd Quarter:

• 11:30, Nowitzki grabs his third foul and goes back to the bench.  I don’t understand how Monta Ellis is averaging 26 points a game.  Seems to get a ton of calls.
• Mavericks give the Warriors consecutive shooting fouls. 
• 10:32, Dallas just refuses to play defense anymore.  They are already back down by 12 points after only a minute and a half. 
• 10:01, Gooden saves an errant shot allowing Kidd to hit a three pointer. 
• 9:04, Curry makes a bad decision to take an extremely deep three.  He looks like he is trying to be Monta Ellis. 
• 7:50, Howard throws it down off of a Kidd bounce pass.  He is the only one who looks pretty angry. 
•  6:20, Don Nelson takes a timeout as the Mavericks bring the game to within 8.  Gooden seems to do extremely well when he gets to play major minutes. 
• 5:21, Monta Ellis fails on a dunk attempt and Terry gets the leak out basket thanks to the Marion assist. 
• 3:25, Every time the Mavericks make a little run, the Warriors storm back with multiple baskets.
• 2:49, Kidd hits consecutive baskets to pull the Mavs to within four.  Not one Warrior defender tried to contest Kidd’s last three.
• 1:03, Howard been doing exactly what the Mavericks need all night, taking it to the rim and getting fouled.
• Wow, Dallas gets three free throws to end the half.  You can’t get a better break than that.  Plus Monta Ellis picks up his second foul.

3rd Quarter:

• 11:07, Kidd deflects what would have been a fast break dunk, earns the Mavericks a Marion slam. 
• 9:45, Kidd deflects his second pass of the quarter. Active hands can go a long way on defense.
• 9:07, Terry makes a smart move and forces Ellis to foul him.  The way to slow Ellis down on the offensive end is to continue to make him work on defense. 
• 7:40, Nowitzki has missed the two attempts he has taken tonight.  Dallas can’t get back into the game without another scorer. 
• 7:09, Nowitzki hard to the basket for his first score. 
• 6:11, Mavericks are now only down six due to the short Nowitzki jumper. 
• Still surprised we have seen Beaubois again in this game. 
• 4:05, Now it’s a track meet.  Both teams are running up and down the floor scoring at will.
• Kidd is a game changer just with the way he thinks about the game.  Who would have thought of trying a touch pass to get the ball to Terry?
• 2:18, Dallas gets close, the Warriors go back up by 12.  You can’t keep leaving the three point shooters open. 
• :34.6, Terry hits his fourth three to bring the Mavericks to within six.  Unfortunately, Dallas gives up a basket on the other end. 

4th Quarter:

• 11:32, Gooden with basket interference.  Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. 
• 11:01, Ellis already has more points in the fourth than he had in the third (2 versus 1). 
• 10:18, Gooden looks like Dirk as he hits the basket trailing the play. 
• 9:29, Kidd is giving Golden State a lot of hesitation moves in this quarter. 
• 9:12, Gooden is emerging as Dallas’ second scorer tonight.  He is going to have to pour on the points this quarter.
• 8:24, Gooden and Nowitzki both get the block on Biedrins.  That’s team defense. 
• 7:51, Terry hits the three and the Mavericks have cut the lead to one. 
• Howard is looking a lot better.  He already has 23 tonight and there is still seven minutes left in the game. 
• 6:40, In the "what were you thinking" play of the game, Tolliver fouls Nowitzki even though he has an open lay up. Nowitzki gladly takes the bucket plus the foul. 
• Carlisle chose a very interesting point to call for a time out.  The group on the floor seemed to be getting ahead (only down two) with possession. 
• 5:34, Terry with another three, gives the Mavericks the 1-point lead.
• 5:03, Nowitzki pulls up for a three but instead rifles a pass to Howard for the score. 
• 4:51, The Turiaf foul allows the Mavericks to go up by six. 
• 4:04, The Warriors cannot stop fouling now.  Terry goes to the line for two shots as he is fouled while trying to run up the floor.
• Ellis goes down with some sort of knee injury.  Never want to see a guy go down like that. 
• 2:36, Gooden attacks the glass and picks up a couple of foul shots for his effort.
• 1:18, Kidd drops in a three pointer and that should do it for the Warriors. 

Some Choice Statistics:

• Every player in the starting lineup tonight has played at least 10 years.  Seems to be the definition of veteran.  
• Jason Terry is the only Maverick to play every game this year. 
• Terry’s career high for made three-pointers in a game is seven, which he has done twice. 

Closing Thoughts:

Unless the Mavs have a catastrophic meltdown, they will make the playoffs.  As everyone knows, it’s a whole different game when you get to the post season and the Mavericks will be right there competing.