Mavs Go Back To Back In The Heartland!

Photo by Willie Martin "Mr. Will"

With one more week of exhibition games remaining before the 2014-2015 season commences the Dallas Mavericks were able to enjoy a four day break from play prior to a back to back road run in Ohio and Indiana.

A reunion of sorts with Shawn Marion now a Cavalier.

No action for the Matrix nor Kevin Love (knee) as Dallas would get 19 points each from Jameer Nelson and Chandler Parsons en route to a 108-102 victory over the team many now believe will win the East.

Dallas improved to 2-2 with the win while Cleveland fell to 4-1.

“We did some good things,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ve got a ways to go with the chemistry, but at times the ball was really moving and we were screening and doing good things on offense. We played a lot of zone tonight so we knew there were going to be some tough stretches with that, because this is a very skilled team. But all and all, without looking at the film, I’d say it’s positive.”

“I thought we did some good stuff. I thought in the first quarter we moved the ball beautifully, shared it and shot it well,” Dirk Nowitzki added.

Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Mavs.

“Second half, I thought we got a little stagnant. They picked up their defense a little bit, so we’ve got some stuff definitely to work on at the offensive end,” Nowitzki imparted. “On the defensive end, we tried a lot of zone today. That’s a good weapon for us in previous years, and it’s a great game-changer for us if our man-to-man is struggling. So, today was a game we really wanted to work on it and we made some mistakes, especially when they threw their smaller lineup out there with LeBron at the four. They picked us apart a little bit, but overall it was OK. It was a game where I felt like we played hard, we competed and tried to get better.”

After being out of the lineup for three games with ankle problems Kyrie Irving started and contributed 23 points in three quarters of play while LeBron James and Tristan Thompson added 12 and 17 points respectively.

The Mavericks roared to a 16 point lead early while employing a zone defense most of the night. Rick Carlisle kept his Mavs starters through a good part of the fourth stanza while LeBron, Kyrie, and Tristan sat after three periods.

While both teams shot precisely 46 percent it was Dallas who had the rebound advantage 44-37 en route to victory.

Cleveland got as close as three points in the 4th period before Brandan Wright provided some needed insurance buckets.

“You know, we did a lot of experimentation, going zone pretty much 95 percent of the game. And that was the first time I think in my whole career playing zone pretty much the whole game,” Brandan Wright said. “We did some good things, but we did some things that we need to work on. Overall, we got the win and that’s the best thing.”

Of course a win is always nice but one ought not place too much emphasis on the exhibition season as teams put pieces together.

“I mean, it’s preseason and it’s a time to work on what you need to work on,” Chandler Parsons offered. “We’re obviously pretty new to each other, so anytime we get a chance to go out there and play we’re going to get better. Cleveland is very talented. They had some guys out tonight, but it’s fun to go up against a guy like LeBron. And they’re going to be a strong team and a heavy favorite in the East, so it was good to come out here and play well.”

Saturday night in Indiana Gal Mekel and Richard Jefferson would each pour in 19 points apiece while Al-Farouq-Aminu notched a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds as Dallas opened up a 14 point lead going into the 4th period before the Pacers fired off an 18-3 run as the Pacers pulled away with the lead and the win 98-93.

Fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse were treated to an offensive rhythm as David Sloan would lay in twelve of his fifteen points in the fourth quarter.

Chris Copeland added 22 points in 31 minutes of play. George Hill added 10 points while David West added 10.

The Pacers won the fast break points battle 14-8. Dallas dominated the points in the paint battle 42-36.

Something Rick Carlisle hopes not to see in the regular season. Getting outscored 37-19 in the final stanza.

Dirk, Tyson, Jameer, Monta, and Chandler all got the night off.

So what did Rick Carlisle take from the loss to his former team?

“I thought there were a lot of positives,” Carlisle said. “The first three quarters were very good. Fourth quarter, we didn’t do a good job defensively and the shot making wasn’t there. You know, Indiana is a good team, but I thought overall some good things.”

The Mavericks coach also very content with the play of Gal Mekel.

“Mekel’s playing great,” Carlisle said. “He’s really playing extremely well, and he had really good command of the game. He got a little tired at the end. You know, 42 minutes is a lot for a guy that’s been playing 12 or less most of the time, but he did a great job and there were a lot of good things.”

“We wanted to win,” Mekel  conceded. “It’s one of those games that you feel bad that you had the lead the whole game and lose in the end, but we had a lot of good stuff and we can take a lot of good things from this game moving on.”

With a split of this back to back the Mavericks now come home for a home game with the Memphis Grizzlies October 20 at the American Airlines Center. Tipoff at 7:30pm CST. It will also be a return for Vince Carter. A longtime Maverick favorite.