Mavericks 107 Magic 102: Game 69 Recap

The Lead
After building a 22 point early third quarter lead, the Mavs hold on for dear life in the fourth for their third straight win.

Box Score

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Nowitzki, 25
Rebounds: Nowitzki, Chandler, Aminu, 8
Assists: Rondo, 11
+-: Ellis, +12
Magic
Points: Oladipo, 19
Rebounds: Payton, 10
Asissts: Payton, 12
+-: O'Quinn, +7

Game Ball
Dirk Nowitzki
25 points, 8 rebounds, 9-15 FG, 5-6 3PT

X-Factor
Al-Farouq Aminu
7 points, 8 rebounds, 5-6 FT

Play of the Game
Late in the first half, Rajon Rondo threw a no-look pass over his head from the backcourt that found a streaking  Monta Ellis for the easy layup.

Stat of the Game
The Mavericks shot 69% in the first half, enabling them to take a 65-48 lead going into the break.

Of Note

• With Dirk's 5-6 effort from behind the three point stripe, he is now 16-27 on threes in the last 6 games.
• Monta Ellis scored 17 points on 8-9 shooting in the first half but had only 4 points on 1-8 shooting in the second half.
• The Mavericks committed an out of character 20 turnovers, 8 of which were by Rajon Rondo who did also have 11 assists.
• The Mavs finished the season 8-7 at home against the East. They are 13-1 on the road with a game at Indiana still remaining.
• Dallas had its full compliment of players available with Al-Farouq Aminu returning from his shoulder injury. Dwight Powell and Greg Smith were inactive.

Grades
Nowitzki: A+
Parsons: C
Chandler: B
Ellis: B
Rondo: B
Villanueva:A-
Harris: A-
Stoudmire: B-
Barea: B
Aminu: A-

Quote of Note
 "To me, it's not disappointing at all. They put their pants on just like we do. We knew they weren't going to lay down, but we got the win. It's tough to get wins in this league. The Spurs lost to the Knicks the other night. It's easy for teams to let their guards down. You have to give them credit. It's not like we're the best defensive team in the league. We struggled at times and they made plays. They made shots when needed and we didn't. ... They stuck with it, hung in it. That's just basketball."
Rajon Rondo on if it was disappointing the game got so close.

They Tweeted It

The next F Rondo gives will be his first: https://t.co/z3jtWof8Lb
— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) March 19, 2015

Next Up
The Mavericks (44-25) finish up their homestand with a Southwest Division showdown on Friday with the Memphis Grizzlies (47-21).