Mavericks 102 Pelicans 93: Game 62 Recap

The Lead
Behind an aggressive Rondo and strong second half defense, the Mavs get a key win to break a two game losing streak.

Box Score

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Ellis, 20
Rebounds: Nowitzki, 8
Assists: Rondo, Ellis, Stoudemire, Harris, 2
+-: James, +23
Pelicans
Points: Cole, 19
Rebounds: Ajinca, 12
Assists: Evans, 7
+-: Ajinca, +10

Game Ball
Rajon Rondo
19 points, 5 rebounds, 9-15 FG

X-Factor
Richard Jefferson
16 points, 5 rebounds, 5-6 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-4 FT

Goat Horns
Omer Asik
2 points, 3 turnovers, -16

Play of the Game
With the Mavericks up 8 with two minutes to go, Bernard James hustles to recover a loose ball and then finds Dirk open for a dagger three.

Stat of the Game
After getting burned by 9 Pelicans threes in the first half, the Mavs holds New Orleans to only one three in the second half on their way to allowing only 35 points for the half.

Of Note

• Chandler Parsons missed his fifth straight game with a sprained ankle and Tyson Chandler missed his third straight with a hip pointer. The hope is for both players to be ready by the next game on Thursday.
• Rondo scored 13 of his 19 points in the first quarter.
• The Mavs dominated inside in the absence of Anthony Davis, outscoring the Pelicans in the paint 50-24.
• The Mavericks seven turnovers tied a season low.
• The Mavs took the season series from the Pelicans 3-1. They are now 6-6 in games inside the Southwest Division.

Grades
Nowitzki: B
Jefferson: A
James: B+
Ellis: B+
Rondo: A
Aminu: B
Stoudemire: B+
Barea: C
Harris: A-

Quote of Note
"Well, I'm not going to disagree with my teammates, so I agree."
Rajon Rondo after Devin Harris said the team is better when he attacks like he did tonight.

They Tweeted It
 

Amar'e Stoudemire on wine baths in Dallas: "I researched that. I couldn't find one anywhere."
— Bryan Gutierrez (@BallinWithBryan) March 3, 2015

Next Up
The Mavericks (40-22) start a three game West Coast trip in Portland against the Trail Blazers (39-19) on Thursday night.