All good things must come to an end. The Dallas Mavericks were not going to go undefeated for the rest of the season. The Memphis Grizzlies were able to secure a 104-103 over the Dallas Mavericks to end Dallas' eight-game winning streak. The key stretch of the game saw Memphis trailing, 55-38, at the half, but opened the third quarter on a 42-23 run to take a two-point lead (80-78) with 11:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. The win-streak fell short due to Zach Randolph's rainbow jumper from the baseline with three-tenths of a second left in the game. The Mavericks tried to steal the win away but Jason Terry's 34-foot Hail Marry heave clanged off the backboard. The last two losses the Mavericks have suffered have been due to last-second baskets. Arron Afflalo hit a 19-footer at the buzzer that capped a massive rally, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks 121-120 on February 10, ending the Mavericks' 10-game win streak.
Jason Terry led the Mavericks with 26 points in the losing effort. Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and Rodrigue Beaubois chipped in a season-high 15 points. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that Shawn Marion collected his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Mavericks went to 6-2 when Marion records a double-double. With the one-point loss, the Mavericks fell to 9-4 in games decided by three points or less. The Mavericks went 9-2 in games decided by three points or less in 2009-10, which was the highest winning percentage in the league in such games.
With the victory, Memphis won the season series 3-1. The Grizzlies are just 51-13 all-time against the Mavericks, but 6-4 in their last 10 meetings with Dallas. The Mavericks won the season series 3-1 in 2009-10. In what could be a potential first-round preview, the Mavericks were looking to make a statement but left the door wide open for the Grizzlies to gain confidence. The Mavericks know far too well what happens when you give a team confidence (Golden State Warriors 2006-2007). That Warriors team is completely different compared to this Grizzlies team, but you would rather not give a team momentum if you can avoid it.
Did THAT Just Happen?!
- Rodrigue Beaubois' game was a performance fans were dying to see. He was aggressive early and often and finished the game with a season-high 15 points in 15 minutes of action. His aggression led to him taking his first free throws of the season as he went 3-5 from the line. The five free throw attempts for Beaubois marked a new career high. He had four free throw attempts against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 23, 2010. He gave the team some much-needed offense in the first half. The Mavericks' problem was the lack of offense, the problem was the lack of defense.
- The Mavericks gave up 41 points in the third quarter. Dallas held Memphis to 38 points in the first half. Rick Carlisle mentioned prior to the game that someone was going to be the aggressor and it was up to the other team to respond. The Mavericks did not respond to the Grizzlies' attack coming out of the half. The 41 points allowed Memphis to make up a 17-point deficit the Mavericks were able to create.
- Corey Brewer was a bright spot in his second game as a Maverick. He played under control and was a factor on both sides of the floor. The former Florida Gator finished with six points on 50 percent shooting from the floor. The fouls remain a problem as he collected three fouls in just under of 10 minutes of action, but the forward looked dramatically better compared to the game against the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
- To put it bluntly, Peja Stojakovic stunk up the joint. He was held scoreless for the first time as a Maverick and he did not have much of an impact with other aspects of the game. Rick Carlisle went to a lineup of Jason Kidd, Rodrigue Beaubois, Corey Brewer, Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood. That is arguably one of the most athletic lineups the Mavericks have thrown out over the course of the season. It will be an interesting situation over the next handful of games to see whether or not Carlisle will make a switch in the starting lineup.
- Mark Cuban and Charlie Sheen could be business partners? Cuban confirmed on Sunday evening that he's had several conversations with Sheen recently about developing programming for Cuban's HDNet cable network. Cuban said there have been discussions about Sheen hosting a talk show or starring in a reality show on HDNet, but nothing is set in stone. Cuban mentioned that he is interested in developing interesting programming with interesting personalities; Sheen would clearly be a match. Now, whether or not the combination is a winning match, only time will tell.
Box Score Revelations
- Jason Kidd recorded a steal on Marc Gasol at the 9:55 mark of the first quarter. That steal gave him 2,446 career steals and broke a tie between Kidd and Gary Payton. You could say Kidd stole sole possession of third place on the All-Time Steals List. Kidd is now behind Michael Jordan (2,514) and John Stockton (3,265). The jumbotron showed a retrospective video chronicling steals over Kidd's career. The crowd responded with a standing ovation for the point guard.
-In the crippling third quarter, the Mavericks allowed the Grizzlies to shoot 18-25 (72 percent) from the field. The 41 points allowed in the quarter marked the most points the Mavericks have allowed in any quarter this season. 30 of the 41-third quarter points came in the painted area. Memphis finished the game with 66 points in the paint, the most allowed by the Mavericks this season. In the third quarter, Dallas had six turnovers which translated into 10 points for Memphis.
- Dirk Nowitzki finished the game with 23 points on 9-17 shooting from the field. He filled out the stat-sheet with five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Nowitzki hit a 15-foot jumper over Shane Battier to give Dallas a 103-102 lead. It appeared that was going to be the game winner, but Zach Randolph knocked down the corner jumper on the Grizzlies’ next possession that proved to be the actual game-winner for Memphis.
- Jason Terry totaled a team-high 26 points on 9-15 shooting (4-7 from three-point range) off the bench for Dallas. Terry was one basket short of hitting 10 points for the quarter which would have been the 11th time this season Terry accomplished that feat. The Mavericks are 9-1 when Terry scores 10-plus points in the final frame
- The Mavericks went 10-of-21 (.476) from beyond the arc against the Grizzlies on Sunday (7-of-15 in the first half alone). It marked their 32nd straight game with six-plus 3-pointers made, which is the longest active streak in the NBA. It also marked their 1,000th consecutive game with at least one 3-pointer made. The streak, which began on Feb. 27, 1999, is the longest in NBA history. The Mavericks have made 6,467 triples during that span. Dallas has recorded 14 games with only one 3-pointer made during that stretch. The last time the Mavericks failed to hit at least one three in a game was on February 26, 1999 (against Utah). The Toronto Raptors went 986 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made, but had their streak (which began on February 26, 1999) come to an end against Memphis on January 24, 2011. The Los Angeles Lakers have the second-longest active streak in the NBA. They have gone 627 straight games with at least one 3-point basket (November 18, 2003-present).
Tweetings From the Mavs Universe
- "I think Roddy is feelin' it tonight."
@EKS_MavsNBA
- "White chocolate is playing for Memphis? Wow"
@jthig32
- "Roddy B "up the floor like a cosmic fastball!" Mavs are winning!"
@apswink
- "I really hope the Mavs don't have to play the #grizzlies in the first round..."
@MrDonQuixote
- "That might have been the ugliest shot of Peja Stojakovic's career. It was a 10-foot floater that only went 7 feet."
@espn_macmahon
- "When you give up 41 pts in one quarter at home, you don't deserve 2 win."
@DwainPrice
If You Don't Like What I Said, Read What They Said
- Rick Carlisle on what led to the defeat, "We didn't take the challenge at either end. The whole game is the third quarter. You give up 41 points and turn it over six times and basically don't take the challenge, I mean, you get what you deserve."
- Rick Carlisle pointing everyone in the right direction, "The magnifying glass goes on the last play, but it shouldn’t. It should go on the third quarter."
- Dirk Nowitzki on giving up the 17-point lead, "If you give up big leads all the time, at some point it's going to come back and bite you.
- Jason Kidd on the moral of the story, "You've gotta play 48 minutes, we didn't do that tonight. It's a lesson learned. We've gotta treasure those leads."
- Corey Brewer is catching on quick, "We gave up a lot of easy things, we've gotta stay focused. We had the lead, we gotta keep the lead."
- Brendan Haywood on the last basket for the Grizzlies, "I got up as high as I could and cut off his left hand, but that’s what Zach (Randolph) does. He makes tough shots. He’s made a career out of that."
BG's Baller of the Game:
Baller status is granted to Jason Terry. Dallas' sixth man gave the team everything he had as he led the Mavericks with 26 points. Terry was averaging 24.2 points per game over the last five games leading up to the Grizzlies game. The Mavericks came into the game 20-2 when at least two of their players score 20-plus points. The huge scoring nights from Terry (26) and Dirk Nowitzki (23) were not enough on Sunday night.
If the Mavericks and the Grizzlies were to meet in the playoffs, you would have to think the Mavericks would win the series. There are not any easy match-ups in the playoffs, but a series against Memphis would still favor the Mavericks as a whole. They were without their anchor on defense, Tyson Chandler, and Peja Stojakovic could not throw a penny into the ocean if you begged him to. Ian Mahinmi was placed into a tough spot based on the fact that the big men for Memphis outmatch the French big man. Along with productivity on the defensive end of the floor, complacency appears to be a major issue for the Mavericks. Once they grab a significant lead, they took the foot off the pedal. The killer instinct needs to be in place so the Mavericks can avoid getting bit like they were against Memphis.
The Mavericks began their four games in five nights adventure with loss against the Memphis Grizzlies. They will head north to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday evening. Corey Brewer will have his first opportunity to play the team that drafted him seventh overall in the 2007 NBA Draft. The Mavericks have won 16 of the last 17 meetings with the Timberwolves, including 19 of the last 21. Their one loss to Minnesota during that span came at home last season on February 5, 2010 (lost 117-108). Dallas has won 10 of the last 11 games on the road against Minnesota. The two teams met earlier this season (December 1, 2010) and the Mavericks recorded a 100-86 win. Minnesota entered the game as the top rebounding team in the league (46.8 rebounds per game), but was out-rebounded 50-46 by Dallas. Tyson Chandler grabbed 14 of his game-high 18 boards in the third quarter. It set a franchise record for the most rebounds in a period. Popeye Jones (third quarter vs. LAC 4/6/96) and Lorenzo Williams (second quarter vs. Sacramento 2/21/96) shared the Dallas record for the most rebounds in a quarter prior to Chandler snatching 14 in the third against the Timberwolves.
The Mavericks will also be going up against Kevin Love. The first-time All-Star has been a double-double machine this year for the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring at least 10 points and grabbing 10 or more rebounds in 59 of the Timberwolves' 74 games. What is even more impressive is the streak Love currently has going. On Saturday night against the Washington Wizards, Love recorded his 50th-straight double-double, with 20 points and 21 rebounds. Love is one-game shy of tying Moses Malone's NBA record, set in the 1978-1979 season, for consecutive games with double-figure points and rebounds. In the game on December 1, Kevin Love had 12 points and 15 rebounds against Dallas. The Mavericks will hopefully have Tyson Chandler (sprained right ankle) back in the lineup to help go up against Love. The game against the Mavericks and the Timberwolves will tip off at 7:00 pm CST.
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