Nuggets 114 Mavericks 107: Game 40 Recap

The Lead
Without Dirk, Tyson and Rondo, the Mavs bench makes it interesting down the stretch but falls short in the end.

Box Score

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Barea, 17
Rebounds: Jefferson, 6
Assists: Barea, 6
+-: Aminu, +10
Nuggets
Points: Lawson, 29
Rebounds: Faried, 14
Assists: Lawson, 12
+-: Nurkic, +13

Game Ball
Ty Lawson
29 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 10-18 FG

X-Factor
Dwight Powell
11 points, 5 rebounds, 5-8 FG

Goat Horns
Mavericks 3 point shooting
9-37

Play of the Game
After blocking the shot on one end, Dwight Powell runs the floor and blows by Kenneth Faried for an explosive jam, early in the 2nd quarter.

Stat of the Game
Of the 10 Mavs who played, 8 scored in double figures, including all 5 bench players.

Of Note

• On the second of a back-to-back and coming off an overtime game, the Mavs sat Dirk due to rest, Chandler due to a sore ankle and Rondo due to a sore achilles.
• Monta Ellis, struggled scoring only 5 points on 1-11 shooting and sat out the last quarter and a half.
• Raymond Felton started his first game of the year in Rondo's place and scored 10 points in 29 minutes.
• Once again the Mavs were beaten up on the glass, getting outrebounded 51-39.
• Starting at center, Greg Smith was a disappointment, scoring only one point in 17 minutes.

Grades
Jefferson: B+
Parsons: C
Smith: D-
Ellis: D
Felton: C+
Harris: C+
Villanueva: B+
Powell: A
Aminu: A-
Barea: B

Quote of Note
"I should have rested Ellis. I should have insisted that he didn’t play. He looked tired.”
Rick Carlisle on Monta

Tweet of the Night

Psst. Cavs! The Mavericks are without  Rondo, Dirk, and Chandler and are competitive on a back to back in Denver!
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) January 15, 2015

Next Up
The Mavs (27-13) will get another shot at the Nuggets (18-20) at home on Friday, this time with a full roster.