Mavericks 99 Raptors 92: Game 59 Recap

The Lead
Harris and Barea key a second half comeback, as the Mavericks win again against one of the East's best.

Box Score 

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Ellis, 20
Rebounds: Aminu, 12
Assists: Harris, 5
+-: Nowitzki, Chandler, +10
Raptors
Points: DeRozan, 18
Rebounds: Valanciunas, 9
Assists: Lowry, 6
+-: J. Johnson, +6

Game Ball
Devin Harris
14 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 5-10 FG

X-Factor
J.J. Barea
13 points, 3 assists, 5-8 FG, 3-4 3PT

Goat Horns
Kyle Lowry
11 points, 4-15 FG, 2-9 3PT

Play of the Game
J.J. Barea hit a three 1:07 into the 4th quarter to give the Mavs a 79-77 lead, their first lead since it was 21-19 with 3:41 left in the first quarter.

Stat of the Game
The Mavs defense held the Raptors star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to a combined 11-36 from the field.

Of Note

• Rajon Rondo got into a heated argument with Rick Carlisle in the third quarter after being removed from the game during a timeout. He would not return to the game, as the Mavs rallied without him.
• The Mavs outrebounded Toronto 40-37, the third straight game they have won the battle of the boards.
• Richard Jefferson had another produtive outing with 11 points as he  replaces the injured Chandler Parsons in the starting lineup.
• The Mavericks bench was extremely productive as the foursome of Harris, Barea, Aminu and Stoudemire combined for 42 points, 19 rebounds and 8 assists.
• At 39-20 the Mavericks are 19 games over .500 for the first since the end of the 2010-11 season.

Grades
Nowitzki: B+
Jefferson: B+
Chandler: B
Ellis: A-
Rondo: D
Aminu: A
Harris: A
Stoudemrie: B
Barea: A

Quote of Note
"We won the game, but stuff like that is never good. It's unfortunate, but it does happen. It's how the team responds, it's how the team moves forward, how both sides move forward and make the best out of it."
Dirk on the Rondo-Carlisle dustup

They Tweeted It

JJ Barea is having basketball sex right now!!!!!!!
— Jeff Wade (@SkinWade) February 25, 2015

Next Up
The Mavericks (39-20) go from playing the team with the second best record in the East, to the team with the best record when they face the Hawks (44-12) in Atlanta tomorrow night.