Mavericks 122 Nuggets 106: Game 70 Review

Headline
A strong offensive performance helps Mavs avoid being a victim of a season sweep by Denver.

Leaders

Mavs
Points: Ellis, 26
Rebounds: Dalembert, 10
Assists: Ellis, 7
+-: Wright, +20
Nuggets
Points: Hickson, 18
Rebounds: Hickson, 8
Assists: Lawson, 9
+-: Mozgov, +9

Game Ball
Monta Ellis
26 pts., 7 ast., 11-14 FG

X-Factor
Jae Crowder
12 pts., 4 rbs., 4-4 3PT all in the 2nd quarter

Goat
Kenneth Faried
6 pts., 5 rbs., 2-10 FG

Play of the Game
Brandan Wright finds a wide-open Shawn Marion for a dunk with the shot clock running down, to put the Mavs up 10 with less than 4 minutes to go.

Stat of the Game
Mavs win the rebounding battle 48-35, including 15 offensive rebounds even though they shot 54%.

Mavs Grades
Dirk Nowitzki: A-
Shawn Marion: B+
Samuel Dalembert: B
Monta Ellis: A
Jose Calderon: B
Vince Carter: B+
Devin Harris: B-
Brandan Wright: A-
Jae Crowder: A
DeJuan Blair: C

Additional Notes
Monta Ellis scord 14 points in the 4th quarter on  perfect 6-6 shooting, including 10 points as part of a 22-6 Dallas run after the Nuggets had pulled within three.
The win and a Memphis loss in Miami put the Mavs a game ahead of the Grizzlies for seventh place in the West. A Phoenix win over Detroit kept Dallas a game and a half up on the ninth place Suns.
 Vince Carter dislocated his pinkie in the first quarter but returned soon after and showed no ill efffects on his way to 13 points.
J.J. Hickson led Denver is scoring (18) and rebounding (8), but was an anemic 2-9 from the line including missing his first seven. He eventually left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained knee.

Quote of Note
“He’s got the confidence to do it. Confidence in this league is like 80 percent (of success). There’s obviously some skill involved. But if you have that confidence, then you’ve arrived. And he’s been great all season for us when we do give him the ball attacking. And he’s been shooting the 3-ball well lately. That makes him tough to guard.”
Dirk on Monta

Next Up
The Mavericks (42-28) continue the homestand when Jason Kidd makes his AAC coaching debut when he leads his surging Brooklyn Nets (36-31) into town, Sunday at 6:30.