Rockets 113 Mavericks 105: Game 2 Review

The 82-0 dream is over. In all seriousness it seemed like it would be a tough challenge for the Mavericks to go into Houston and come out with a win. And that is exactly what it was. The Mavs could not overcome a  dismal start to game, and although they fought hard throughout and even pulled close at certain points they ultimately fell short to a superior team 113-105.

Early on the Mavs could not stop the Rockets from getting to the basket and on the rare occasion Houston actually missed, they were able to grab the offensive board. Meanwhile the Mavericks could not find the same efficiency on offense they enjoyed against Atlanta spending pretty much the entire game shooting below 40%.
Jose Calderon again surprisingly  could not find his shot going 0-8 from the field. Monta Ellis was good when he attacked the basket but too often settled for long jump shots which he constantly missed. The only offense the Mavs could consistently count came from Dirk (22 points), but he found himself in foul trouble and he eventually fouled out midway the fourth on a dubious call on James Harden.
Speaking of Harden, he had his normal amazing game scoring 34 points on only 17 shots. With Houston shooters like Omri Casspi and Francisco Garcia knocking down shots Dallas only found mild defensive success by going zone to muck up the Rockets attack. They also went to the Hack-a-Dwight strategy which was effective as Howard was only 5-12 from the line.
After it looked like the outcome was decided the end of the Mavericks bench staged a last minute rally cutting the margin to only 6, led by an onslaught of Jae Crowder threes. Ultimately the Mavericks ran out of time, but it was nice to see the youngsters make the Rockets sweat a little.
It seemed like Houston would be a tough matchup for the Mavs and that turned out to be case. Another tough test awaits them when they face a tough Memphis team tommorow night, who at least are a far less potent offensive attack.

Team Leaders
Points: Nowitzki, 22 Rebounds: Marion, Blair, 10 Assists: Calderon, Mekel, 6
Player of the Game: Dirk
Quote of Note:  "Honestly, we didn't deserve to win. We didn't play good defense and we shot 38 percent." Dirk
Next up: The Mavs return home tomorrow night to face the Memphis Grizzlies at 7:30. The Grizzlies will also be on the second night of a back-to-back as they defeated Detroit 111-108 in overtime at home.