The Dallas Mavericks were able to grab their seventh straight victory Tuesday night as they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-93. It was a battle of the top two benches in the league in terms of scoring production. Philadelphia came into the game leading the league with 40.1 points/game from their bench. The Mavericks bench ranked second in the league at 39.3 points/game. Off of the bench, Jason Terry led all players with 30 points, a new season-high for points. Shawn Marion also chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds, marking his seventh double-double of the season. The Mavericks are 6-1 when Marion records a double-double. Dallas is 36-8 when its bench outscores the opposing team’s bench. The Mavericks are 32-3 when at least two reserves score in double figures.
Jason Kidd collected his second triple-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. It was the 107th triple-double of Kidd's career. An impressive part of Kidd's stat-sheet, 13 assists and zero turnovers.
The victory ended the Sixers longest winning streak of the season at four games. Dallas continues to go streaking as they have now won 17 of their last 18 games. The road warrior Mavericks team has now won five in a row and 10 of 11 on the road. With the 101 points in the victory, Dallas has scored 100-plus points in 16 of its last 17 games. The Mavericks are 33-2 when they reach the century mark. Dallas recorded its 22nd road win of the season and the 22 wins away from home, paired with the San Antonio loss in Memphis, breaks the tie between the two teams in terms of road records. Now, Dallas has the best road record in the NBA.
Did THAT Just Happen?!
- With just over a minute to go in the first half, Tyson Chandler attempted to block Spencer Hawes' shot and his right foot landed on Hawes' right foot, twisting his ankle in the process. He stayed on the ground for a few moments before walking to the locker room. Chandler walked back to the locker without any assistance, but he did grimace in pain as he limped to the back. The diagnosis came back as a sprained right ankle and he would not return to the game. No immediate update was given on Chandler's status going forward. He should be re-evaluated on Wednesday as the team arrives back in Dallas.
- The first half saw an incredibly high amount of back and forth action between the two teams. Before the Mavericks pulled away in the later stages of the second quarter, neither team was able to build a lead bigger than four points. There were 18 lead changes in the first half. Philadelphia had several opportunities to take the lead after tying the game up in the second half, they just could not get over the hump.
- Jason Terry came alive in the third quarter. He scored 11 points in the third quarter on 5-5 shooting. Jason Terry was scoring in a variety of way as he was taking jump shots and attacking the basket, The Mavericks needed every single point he could give them as they had to fight off surges from the 76ers. He finished the game with a season-high 30 points and Dallas is 13-2 when Terry scores 20-plus points in a game.
- Rick Carlisle was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for the month of February. It was the fourth time he has won the award (Feb. '02, Nov. '03, Apr. '10 & Feb. '11.). He was given the award after guiding the Mavericks to an 11-1 record during February (best record in the NBA for the month of February). Of those 12 games, the Mavs were on the road for nine of them, with the lone loss coming in a 121-120 loss to Denver.
Box Score Revelations
- In the battle of the benches, the Mavericks bench outscored the Sixers bench 54-29. Since January 19, the Mavs record was 17-2 and a large part of the success was due to the bench scoring as they averaged 48.3 points/game during that stretch. In the 19 games, Jason Terry averaged 17.5 points (top bench scorer in the NBA). Shawn Marion added an average of 12.5 points (7th best bench scorer in the NBA).
- The Mavs were doing work in the paint during the early part of the game. 14 of their first 22 field goals came inside the painted area. They finished with 40 points in the paint and Philadelphia had 28 points in the paint.
- The Mavericks finished the game with 26 assists on 41 made field goals. Jason Kidd led the Mavs with 13 assists. Dallas was averaging 28.7 assists per game over the last six contests.
- Dallas left a lot of points on the court as they shot 13-24 from the free throw line, way below Maverick standards. Brendan Haywood stepped up due to Tyson Chandler's injury, but he did not do the Mavericks any favors as he shot 1-6 from the charity stripe. Philadelphia shot 3-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. I am sure free throws will be haunting the Sixers in their sleep.
- Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry combined for 11 of the 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Mavs. Coming into the game against Philadelphia, the Nowitzki/Terry duo ranks second in the league in terms of fourth quarter scoring. Lebron James/Dwyane Wade led all duos in fourth quarter scoring (13.1 points). They were followed by Dirk Nowitzki/Jason Terry (12.7), Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook (12.5) and Amare Stoudemire/Carmelo Anthony (12.5). Dirk Nowitzki finished the game with 22 points on 9-15 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.
Tweetings From the Mavs Universe
- "Mavs have missed two lobs to Tyson up high...That's normally an automatic slam."
@EKS_MavsNBA
- "Good to see someone finally get to B Haywood. Dude looks like a different player the past few weeks."
@sbass1310
- "After 1 period Mavs lead the Sixers 23-22. Thinking Haywood is wanting to know when his "Day in the Life" series going to start!"
@dallasmavs
- "Tyson Chandler leaves game w/ankle injury....proceed to lifeboats in orderly fashion"
@p1ktown
- "I shoot better free throws than Haywood...starting my own clinic!"
@JeffZimmerman71
- "This one was all about the Jasons. Terry drops 30 and Kidd puts up a triple-double in Mavs' 7th straight W."
@espn_macmahon
BG's Baller of the Game:
Baller status has been granted to Jason Eugene Terry. The Jet was on the runway as he led the charge with his scoring in the second half. Without his scoring outburst in the third quarter, the Mavericks do not win this game. Jason Terry is the leader off of the bench, a bench that continues to be a major advantage the Mavericks have amongst most teams in the NBA. The depth on this team is legitimate and Jason Terry is doing everything is power to regain the Sixth Man of the Year Award that he desperately wants.
The Mavs completed their three-game East Coast road trip with a record of 3-0. The boys in blue are now done playing road games against the Eastern Conference. Dallas will now head home and have another break before their next game. The Mavericks will take on the Indiana Pacers on Friday evening. Dallas has won nine of the last 11 meetings with Indiana. The Mavericks have won six in a row at home against the Pacers. The Pacers snapped a five-game losing streak against the Mavericks with a 102-89 win in Indiana on January 12, 2011. Dirk Nowitzki, who averaged 27.0 points and 5.5 rebounds against the Pacers in 2009-10, was inactive (sprained right knee) for the first match-up with Indiana this season. Alexis Ajinca (remember him?) started at power forward for the Mavericks. Jason Terry led Dallas in scoring with 18 points off the bench. The game between the Mavericks and the Pacers will tip off at 7:30 pm CST.
Be sure to keep checking MMB for any updates that come up in regards to Tyson Chandler's ankle and anything on Corey Brewer on whether or not he lands on the Dallas Mavericks' roster.
Twitter? I don't even know her! Oh......
You can stay connected with all things Dallas Mavericks by following Bryan Gutierrez on twitter @BallinWithBryan