Nuggets 110 Mavericks 96: Game 15 Review

Coming off the Mavericks 102-100 loss to Denver last Saturday, the team although disappointed by the loss, could take some solace in that they had gone down to the wire in a tough environment on the second night of a back-to-back. The chances for payback seemed to look good entering last night's return game with the Nuggets, but instead the Mavs got beat a lot worse on their home floor, falling for the first time at the AAC by a 110-96 score.

Things got off to a great start for Dallas, as they made 9 of their first 10 shots en route to an early 19-8 lead. Unfortunately things only went downhill from there. The Nuggets caught fire on offense and eventually opened up a double-figure lead by early in the 2nd quarter. The Mavs did trim the margin to 5 at halftime, but they could never wrestle much momentum away Denver all night, as the Nuggets were able to get to the rim at will, on there way shooting nearly 55% from the field. The fourth quarter saw no change as Denver continued to hit timely shots as they kept there lead over 10 much of the quarter.

The Mavs got good games from their starting lineup from the most part. Monta Ellis led the team with 22 points on 8-15 shooting. Dirk scored 18 and passed Kevin Garnett for 14th on the all-time scoring list and Shawn Marion contributed a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. On the flip side the bench struggled again led by another poor shooting night by Vince Carter who was only 3-13 from the field.

The Mavs defense was the most troubling aspect of the game however as Denver carved them up all night led by J.J. Hickson's 22 points on 8-11 shooting and Ty Lawson double-double of 19 points and 11 assists.  To close things out Nate Robinson scored 11 straight points in the 4th quarer to finish off the Mavs for good.

For the Mavericks to become a true contender in the West they must find a way to play better on the defensive end. Though they might not have the best personnel on that end of the floor, they must avoid efforts like last that will get you beat most times against good team like Denver, that will be their competition for playoff spots. Another high powered offense comes to town Wednesday with Golden State, and for the Mavs to win they must be able to slow teams down just enough so that their offense at least has a chance to win them games.

Team Leaders
Points: Ellis, 22
Rebounds: Marion, 12
Assists: Ellis, Calderon and Marion, 4

Mavs Player of the Game: Marion

Play of the Game: Dirk's 2 free throws in the 2nd quarter that passed Garnett.

Stat of the Game: Denver goes 41-75 (.547%) from the field for the game.

Quote of Note: ''We didn't have much competitive energy tonight, and the guys on the bench are the guys that have got to give it to us." Rick Carlisle

Next Up: The Mavericks (9-6) welcome Stephen Curry and the Golden St. Warriors (8-6) to town Wednesday at 7:30.