Minnesota's 88 points were the fewest Dallas had allowed since January 2nd against Philadelphia. It was only the third time in 2009 that they held an opponent under 90. During that time, they've given up 101.9 ppg which would be 21st in the NBA and had a defensive efficiency of 108.2 (22nd).
This was the Mavs seventh win of 20 or more points compared to ten last season.
Bob Ortegel almost made what would have been a hilarious gaffe. In the second quarter when criticizing Bobby Brown's selfishness on a fast break he said, "if you want to play by yourself then go home and play....... go home and shoot until 3AM." Followill was amused.
Josh Howard - 16 points (6-12) and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes. A nice return. Here's what everyone had to say about Howard working his way back into things.
Rick Carlisle
On Josh Howard's return...
You can tell he's been working. This was the best situation for him to come back because of the way the off days fell. In previous situations where he's come back from injury, because he's so athletic and in such good shape naturally, it isn't as hard for him to come back as other guys I've seen. All those things tonight were positive. We've got to hold our breath and hope he's doing alright tomorrow.
Jason Kidd
Surprised to see Josh Howard sort of pick up where he left off after such a long time out?
He's a true professional and he's worked extremely hard while he's been out. We're all happy to see him back and seeing what he's done for us all season, to come back tonight and give us a spark in the first and in the third.
Dirk Nowitzki
On Josh Howard's return...
I think he really moved well. I think that's really the main thing when a guy is coming back from injury after a long time. You don't necessarily look at does he make or miss a shot. You look at how does he move, how does he look out there, is he being active, is he confident taking off off his leg. That's more what you look at, and he's still got some time to get into a rhythm before the playoffs. But he looked great to me, and hopefully his foot responds the right way. Back to backs are never easy to come back on, but hopefully it responds the right way and we'll have him back for a nice little playoff run hopefully.