Mavericks 105 Wizards 95: Game 8 Review

When you pass the man who's silhouette is the NBA logo you know you've had a legendary career ,and the career of Dirk Nowitzki has certainly been that. As the years go by the legend grows and the man wearing the 41 for the Mavericks continues to produce and help his team rack up victories. Tuesday night was no expection as Dirk's 19 points help lead the Mavs to a 105-95 win over the Wizards.

The game began with both teams scoring at will, the Mavs led by a strong start from Samuel
Dalembert who scored 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter. The key possession of the quarter netted Dallas 7 points and turned what was a 29-23 deficit into a 30-29 lead. Free throws were missed on and one opportunities by Jae Crowder and Dejuan Blair but both rebounds were controlled by the Mavs and the possession was closed on a Vince Carter 3.

The Mavs dominated the 2nd period outscoring Washington 28-15 in route to a 12 point halftime lead. Once again the Mavericks reserves were able to take advantage against their opponents suspect bench led by Carter's 16 points and Blair's 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Late in the third period Dirk hit back-to-back threes that put him ahead of Jerry West for 16th on the NBA's all-time scoring list., finishing the evening with 25, 197 points. The Wizards however were able to hang around for a good portion of the second half led by Trevor Ariza who scored 27 points and hit 5-11 on threes.

In the fourth after a quiet first three quarters Monta Ellis got hot hitting four shots in a row, to give the Mavs a double-digit cushion that they would ride home to victory. In all Ellis ended up scoring 10 of his 19 points the fourth.

After a rocky defensive start Dallas held Washington to only 61 points in last 3 periods including 16 in the 4th. The Wizards dynamic young backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal was kept in check combining for only 23 points. Beal who was coming off a career-high 34 point effort against Oklahoma City really couldn't find his rhythm scoring only 9 points on 2-10 shooting.

The win gave the Mavs a 4-0 record at home to start the season for the first time since 2007. Now more road tests await as the team travels to Florida for a back-to-back against Miami and Orlando over the weekend.

We know we definitely see a lot more milestones reached in the career of Dirk Nowitzki. If the Mavs continue their domination at home and can hold their own away from the AAC hopefully more playoff basketball will be in the cards as well.

Team Leaders
Points: Nowitzki, Ellis, 19
Rebounds: Blair, 11
Assists:7

Player of the Game: Despite shooting only 8-19 to get his 19 points, its hard to go against Dirk on a night where he surpasses a true NBA icon like Jerry West.

Quote of Note:  "He was obviously a little before my time, but I love the history of the game. I've watched plenty of games and watched him shoot and he's really the first guy to have a pure jump shot like that. He's the man. He's the logo." Dirk on Jerry West

Next Up: The 5-3 Mavs open up their two game Florida back-to-back when they return to the site where they clinched the 2011 championship, Miami's American Airlines Arena, to face the 5-3 Heat at 6:30.