It was really nice to see Dallas play a lesser team and convincingly "take care of business" (Dallas never trailed). It's the type of performance Mavs fans have grown to expect but had been absent this season.
Charlotte's starters tonight average 16.2, 13.0, 4.4, 9.4, and 3.5ppg.
On a related note, Dallas started the game with a 15-0 run, and the Bobcats didn't score until 6 minutes and 48 seconds had passed.
Announced attendance was 10,935, and I don't buy it.
Josh Howard and Gerald Wallace always draw a lot of comparisons and occasionally generate some debate as to who is better. Tonight it was easily Josh -- 21 points on 9/15 compared to Wallace's 8 points on 3-13.
This is a lazy comp, but James Singleton reminds me of Josh Powell.
Know your demographic: Middle of a Mavs game and there's a commercial for T.O and Sam Hurd's radio show. No big deal, except the whole commercial was T.O talking about how he's a Lakers fan (really?) and Sam Hurd saying he's a Spurs fan. Oh, well now I have to tune in.
Jason Kidd's first field goal attempt came with four minutes left in the game.
Jason Terry was 0-6 behind the arc tonight. After one particularly awful brick, Bob Ortegel asked, "What was that? Was that Jason Terry?" Well, Jason Terry is now shooting 27% from 3 this season. So it appears the answer is yes, that was Jason Terry.
DJ Augustin is really good. I wish he played for Dallas.
Dirk scored over 30 for the fifth time in just eleven games. He also has games of 8, 12, and 14. Odd.
Rick Carlisle after the game:
"We had it going from the beginning and played fairly well except for about a four minute stretch in the 4th. We just... I'm not sure what we were doing out there. You can't complain about a win with the way things have been going so far. It's important to just get the win and get out of here for tomorrow."
"We're one of the best running teams in the league statistically when we get stops. A lot of that has to do with the defense, and a lot has to do with Jason Kidd. Our best offense is a stop. 40% of our points come from transition and early offense, and the efficiency of those two areas is by far our highest."
"We were showing signs in recent games of being better on the boards. We played small tonight and it didn't hurt us. We still had good activity. Bass and Singleton are both strong, active, and dynamic guys. As long as they can pull down their share, we'll be able to look at those lineups."
