Mavericks Come From Behind To Win – Twice

The Dallas Mavericks fight hard against silence and early boos to defeat the Denver Nuggets in their 10th overtime contest of the season.

For the first time this season, the Dallas Mavericks heard boos coming from a frustrated home crowd at American Airlines Center. This is what happens when you’ve lost six of eight games and you fall behind by 23 points against a Denver Nuggets team that entered with a record of 22-36.

The Mavericks looked dead in the water following a 3-for-7 start from the floor that included three turnovers to start the game. Suffering 10-straight misses in the second period brought about obvious irritation from an AAC crowd that’s growing tired of poor starts by a Dallas team loaded with seasoned veterans.

The Mavs eventually started hitting shots and were able to trim the deficit to just 12 points at halftime.

To open the second half, head coach Rick Carlisle sat center Zaza Pachulia on the bench and left him there in favor of a smaller, more athletic lineup, which included more playing time for recently acquired power forward David Lee.

Impressive was the fact that the Mavericks were able to get their first lead at 67-66 only 11 minutes after having trailed by 23 points before the half.

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Befuddling was the fact that Dallas ended up trailing again by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter despite some 3-point shots finally falling after intermission – the Mavericks were 0-for-10 from long range in the first half.

With small forward Chandler Parsons fueling the Mavericks offense with 21 points in the third quarter, Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews heated up down the stretch as Dallas was able to force overtime following a clutch drive to the hoops by guard Raymond Felton, who’s late heroics were far from complete.

Entering overtime at 108-all, Felton scored the first four points in the extra period to keep pace with Denver at 112 apiece. His next four points, following a Matthews three-pointer, which gave the Mavs a one-point lead, were enough to push this team to a desperate 122-116 victory.

Six Mavericks reached double-digits scoring, led by Parsons and his 27 points, which led all scorers.

If there’s a turning point for this Mavericks team this season, Friday night’s win over the Nuggets might be the intersection. Not lost on anyone was the fact that Pachulia played just 8:11 in this game – backup center Salah Mejri played only 2:07.

What does it mean?

Well, can you say ‘small-ball?’

Carlisle’s use of Lee, Felton and Devin Harris showed a back and forth between more forwards and guards than usual. The Mavericks seemed more athletic and quicker to the rim. A game in which Denver had dominated in the paint early on ended up only a 54-52 advantage for the younger Nuggets.

From there, Dallas’ eventual 37.9-percent from beyond the arc and 51.1-percent shooting from the floor ended up being enough to outlast a Nuggets team that was feeling pretty good about itself following a big road win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Next: Cowboys: Should Dallas Trade for DeMarco Murray?

Dallas maintains a slim lead over the Portland Trail Blazers for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The Houston Rockets aren’t far behind while holding the eighth seed.

The Mavericks play their next three games at AAC, beginning with a meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday with a tip-off at 6:00pm CST.

• Published on 02/27/2016 at 15:01 PM
• Last updated at 02/29/2016 at 18:02 PM