Parsons Reportedly Needs Season-Ending Knee Surgery

According to a report from ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon, Chandler Parsons will likely need season-ending knee surgery because of a torn meniscus on his right knee. Parsons will seek a second opinion before having the surgery. If he has the surgery he should be fully recovered in time for off-season basketball activities.
Parsons had a hybrid microfracture surgery on the same knee last May. This injury however is not as severe. Parsons can opt-out of the final year of his contract to become a free agent this Summer. He had been playing perhaps the best basketball of his career the last couple months, averaging 18.9 points per game while shooting 51.9% from the field and 47.7% on threes.

Mavericks 132 Blazers 120 (OT): Game 70 Recap

The Lead
Dirk's 40 points and a monster day from D-Will help the Mavs pull out a huge overtime win.

Box Score

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Nowitzki, 40
Rebounds: Mejri, 14
Assists: Williams, 16
+-: Mejri, +30
Blazers
Points: Lillard, 26
Rebounds: Plumlee, 19
Assists: Lillard, McCollum, 8
+-: Davis, +7

Game Balls
Dirk Nowitzki
40 points, 8 rebounds, 16-26 FG, 3-5 3PT
Deron Williams
31 points, 16 assists, 11-18 FG, 4-6 3PT

X-Factor
Salah Mejri
13 points, 14 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4-6 FG

Stat of the Game
Dirk became the 4th player in NBA history to score at least 40 points at age 37 or older. The other are Michael Jordan (8x), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (4x) and Karl Malone (2x).

Play of the Game


Of Note

• It was Dirk's 20th career 40 point game and first since Jan. 11, 2014.
• Deron Williams was the first Mav to have at least 30 points and 15 assists in a game since Jason Kidd in 1996.
• Chandler Parsons missed the game with a sore right hamstring he injured against Golden State on Friday.
• The Mavs shot 15-25 on threes including making 11 out of their first 13 attempts. Wesley Matthews was 5-7 from deep against his old team.
• The Mavericks won the season series against Portland which could be a crucial playoff tiebreaker.
• Dallas has now played 12 overtime games which is the most in franchise history and tied for the 5th most in NBA history. They have an 8-4 record in those games.

Quote of Note
"He just keeps on doing it. You know, Father Time just can't catch up with him."
D-Will on Dirk

Tweet of the Night

this is a god dream pic.twitter.com/yFqzQik0Ek

— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) March 20, 2016

Next Up
The Mavericks (35-35) face off once against the Blazers (36-35) on Wednesday, this time in Portland.

Mavericks 107 Hornets 96: Game 67 Recap

The Lead
The Mavs break a 5 game losing streak behind a new smallball starting lineup.

Box Score

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Parsons, 24
Rebounds: Nowitzki, 11
Assists: Felton, 12
+-: Nowitzki, +24
Hornets
Points: Walker, 25
Rebounds: Zeller, 9
Assists: Walker, 9
+-: Walker, -3

Game Ball
Dirk Nowitzki
23 points, 11 rebounds, +24

X-Factor
Devin Harris
12 points, 5-8 FG

Stat of the Game
After shooting only 3-20 on threes in the first three quarters, the Mavs went 6-10 from deep in the fourth quarter.

Play of the Game

What a play by @JusAnderson1 😱 #DALatCHA https://t.co/SI4Teycver

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 14, 2016

Of Note

• Looking for a spark, Rick Carlisle changed up his starting lineup with Raymond Felton replacing Zaza Pachulia. The small lineup had Chandler Parsons playing power forward and Dirk at center.
• The Mavs came out strong, taking a 52-33 lead into halftime. That big lead would disappear as the Hornets would take the lead early in the 4th quarter.
• Dallas fought back to retake control as Parsons and Deron Williams would both score 11 points in the final stanza.
• The Mavericks held an opponent under 100 points for the first time since Feb. 3 against Miami. 13 straight teams had scored triple figures against the Mavs since.
• Devin Harris scored in double figures for the first time since he scored 15 against Minnesota on Jan. 20.
• Dirk has scored at least 22 points in 5 straight games, averaging 26.0 points per game over that stretch.

Quote of Note
 "The defense was great. We just had really good energy, focus, togetherness. We were playing relatively small, so we needed everybody to be very vigilant about being on the boards. That's our best chance to win and we did that tonight."
Rick Carlisle

Tweet of the Night

But Wes' defense on Kemba Walker in the fourth was critical. Kemba looked like he was going into takeover mode. https://t.co/uDWh7jbnnn

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 15, 2016

Next Up
The Mavericks (34-33) head to Cleveland for a Wednesday night game with LeBron and the Cavaliers (47-18).

Mavericks vs. Kings: Game 62 Preview

Dallas Mavericks (33-28) vs. Sacramento Kings (24-35)
Thu. Mar. 3, 7:30 at the AAC
TV: FSSW, NBALP
Line: Mavs by 7.5

2015-16 Matchups

Nov. 30 at Sacramento
Kings 112 Mavs 98

Jan. 5 at Dallas
Mavericks 117 Kings 116 (2OT)

All-Time Series
Mavs 90 Kings 63

Team Stats
Mavs
Off. Rating: 104.7 (8th)
Def. Rating: 103.8 (16th)
Point Differential: +0.1
Kings
Offense: 103.3 (13th)
Defense: 106.5 (25th)
Point Differential: -2.5

Projected Starters
Mavs
PG: Deron Williams
SG: Wesley Matthews
SF: Chandler Parsons
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Zaza Pachulia
Kings
PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Ben McLemore
SF: Omri Casspi
PF: Quincy Acy
C: DeMarcus Cousins

Team Leaders
Mavs
PPG: Nowitzki, 17.7
RPG: Pachulia, 10.6
APG: Williams, 5.5
PER: Nowitzki, 19.1
Kings
PPG: Cousins, 27.3
RPG: Cousins, 11.3
APG: Rondo, 12.0
PER: Cousins, 23.4

Of Note

• The Mavs have won 22 in a row at home against the Kings, a streak that dates back to Feb.  27, 2003.
• The Mavericks rank first in the league in offensive efficiency since the All-Star break with a rating of 116.9, well ahead of 2nd place Toronto at 113.8.
• Dallas now sits alone in 6th place in the West after Portland lost in Boston Wednesday night.
• Rudy Gay is questionable for the Kings with a shoulder injury. He missed their game vs. Memphis on Wednesday. 
•  In the first 5 games of the current homestand the Mavs wing duo has come up big. Wesley Matthews has averaged 17.8 ppg with a 51.7/45.7/86.7 shooting line while Chandler Parsons is averaging 18.8 ppg with a 51.6/44.0/94.4 shooting line. (h/t Tim MacMahon)

Mavericks 121 Magic 108: Game 61 Recap

The Lead
The Mavs' best shooting night of the season leads to a third straight win.

Box Score

Leaders
Mavs
Points: Matthews, 21
Rebounds: Pachulia, 10
Assists: Williams, 6
+-: Nowitzki, +23
Magic
Points: Ilyasova, 22
Rebounds: Ilyasova, 10
Assists: Watson, Jennings, 6
+-: Dedmon, +6

Game Ball
Wesley Matthews
21 points, 5 rebounds, 8-12 FG

X-Factor
J.J. Barea
17 points, 4 assists, 6-9 FG, 3-4 3PT

Stat of the Game
The Mavericks shot 43-77 from the field (55.8%), their best field goal shooting night of the season so far.

Play of the Game
http://www.nba.com/video/games/mavericks/2016/03/01/0021500894-orl-dal-play1.nba/

Of Note

• After falling behind by as much much as 10 in the first quarter, the Mavs finished the quarter with a 11-0 run for a 35-27 lead. They would not trail for the remainder of the game.
• The Mavericks held the Magic without a point for the first 6:07 of the third quarter. They turned a 69-61 halftime lead into a 82-61 advantage during that time.
• Zaza Pachulia extended his career high with his 24th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Magic big man Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points in the first half, but was held scoreless in the second half.
• The Mavs have averaged 117.5 points over their last 8 games, including scoring over 120 in the last 3 games.
• Dallas remains in a 6th place tie in the West with Portland at 33-28. Right now the Mavericks have the tiebreaker as they won the only meeting of the season between the teams.

Quote of Note
“We’ve got to continue to ride this and continue to get our swagger and find our groove, continuing to gain confidence.”

Wesley Matthews

 

Tweet of the Night

dirk hits an impossibly awkward fadeaway. no way this guy can make a career shooting shots like that.

— Austin (@garooya) March 2, 2016

Next Up

The Mavericks (33-28) finish up their 6 game homestand against DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings (24-34) on Thursday.

Mavericks vs. Magic: Game 61 Preview

Dallas Mavericks (32-28) vs Orlando Magic (26-32)
Tue. Mar. 1, 7:30 at the AAC
TV: FSSW, NBALP
Line: Mavs by 5.5

2015-16 Matchups
Feb. 19 at Orlando

Magic 110 Mavs 104 (OT)

All-Time Series
Mavs 30 Magic 24

Team Stats
Mavs
Off. Rating: 104.4 (8th)
Def. Rating: 103.7 (17th)
Point Differential: -0.1
Magic
Offense: 101.7 (22th)
Defense: 103.5 (16th)
Point Differential: -1.3

Projected Starters
Mavs
PG: Deron Williams
SG: Wesley Matthews
SF: Chandler Parsons
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Zaza Pachulia
Magic
PG: Elfird Payton
SG: Victor Oladipo
SF: Evan Fournier
PF: Aaron Gordon
C: Nikola Vucevic

Team Leaders

Mavs
PPG: Nowitzki, 17.6
RPG: Pachulia, 10.6
APG: Williams, 5.5
PER: Nowitzki, 19.1
Magic
PPG: Vucevic, 17.7
RPG: Vucevic, 9.0
APG: Payton, 5.9
PER: Vucevic, 20.6

Of Note

• The Magic's overtime win over the Mavs on Feb. 19 broke a Dallas 9 game winning streak over Orlando.
• Chandler Parsons has scored at 24 points and shot 50% or better from the field in 5 out of the last 7 games.  
• The Mavericks have scored over 100 points in 7 straight games after failing to score 100 in the prior 5 games.
• After starting the season 19-13, the Magic have gone 7-19 since Jan. 1.
• After a 3 game stretch where he made only 4-19 three pointers, Dirk has shot 9-19 from behind the arc in the last 4 games.