The night wasn't looking too bright for the Mavs about midway through the third quarter.
Dallas had started the game off well, leading 24-14 in the 1st after Jet knocked down a three pointer. Houston came back though. Mainly from hook shots by Yao Ming. It was frustrating watching Dampier out there on Yao and Dirk didn't make things much better. I just don't understand why Dirk so easily gives up against big men.
Behind Yao's dominance the Rockets led 50-42 at the half. There came a particularly difficult moment for me as a Mavericks fan to accept in the 2nd quarter that Bob Ortegel correctly pointed out on the broadcast here locally. There was about a 3 or 4 minute stretch where the Rockets were passing the Mavs with Yao on the bench. Dirk was the biggest player on the floor for either side and yet Dirk probably touched the ball once in that stretch. Barea would try and take it in the paint and he'd get blocked as usual down there. Or Josh Howard was taking a jumper and missing. Or Kidd was trying to bank a layup off the glass and missing. Dirk had such a size advantage at that point and the Mavs did themselves a disservice by not working the ball to him on those possessions. Even if he doesn't take the shot...he at least needs to touch the ball when he's got such an advantage over the opponent, ESPECIALLY when he's knocking down shots like he was this evening (Going 7 for 8 to start the game)
The game was looking to be a downer as Houston increased their halftime lead to 60-46 with just over 7 minutes remaining. The switch flipped on for Dallas at that point. Ryan Hollins played some good D on Yao and had a nice little alley-oop and 1 that got the crowd on their feet. Josh Howard, who realized his shot wasn't falling, did what you need to in order to chip away at a deficit...drive the lane and draw the foul. 14 of Howard's 15 points came in the third quarter and he got to the line 8 times in that frame. Good recognition by J-Ho.
The 4th quarter rolled around and Jason Terry took over once more. Jet has been so clutch in recent weeks.
The Mavs had trimmed the lead down to 1 from 5 at the start of the quarter and then Jason Kidd (Toe inched towards the line as it always is) knocked down a crucial 3 ball. Dallas up 78-76.
After the game was tied up at 80, Jason Terry scored 7 consecutive points to put the Mavericks up 87-80. You have to love the way Jet has been begging for the ball in the clutch. It's nice to see him step up and want to put the team on his shoulders. He hasn't disappointed. 5 of 6 shooting in the 4th scoring 12 of his 23.
Kidd with a triple double, Jet with the 12 4th quarter points, Dirk with 30 and 15 and the Mavs win by 11.
With so many great performances, the one that stood out to me as the most important was that of Brandon Bass. 6 points and 4 boards doesn't look like a great line, and it's not, but what Bass did goes beyond statistics. Bass fought the entire fourth quarter against Yao Ming. He's 10 inches taller but scrapped with him and specifically tried to front him on every possession. Yao got off only one shot in the 4th quarter and he missed. Bass did such a tremendous job of denying the ball and really made a difference as Yao was hitting bucket after bucket in the paint for the first 3 quarters. Brandon Bass was tonight's MVP to me.
With the victory, Dallas moved into the 6th spot since San Antonio was able to defeat New Orleans in overtime.
Thank you, Michael Finley. With the Hornets loss and Dallas win, New Orleans drops to 7th in the West. Mavericks will get the Spurs and the Hornets will get the Nuggets.
I think it is more than reasonable to think that Dallas and New Orleans will both win. If that happens, this night is all the more important as the Mavericks would have home court in that matchup. Big deal for the Mavs who are 32-9 at home and 18-23 on the road.
I don't want to think too far ahead, but things set up about as well as you could have hoped for the Mavs when thinking back two weeks ago.
Mavericks 95, Rockets 84
The Mavericks weren't the only North Texas team with a great night. Rangers had a pretty good one as well.
Rangers fans needed something to get excited about. 5 straight losses, 4 of which Rangers fans feel like were well within their reach. Texas gave their fans something to enjoy tonight, crushing the Orioles 19-6.
Some encouraging things in the game tonight.
Ian Kinsler continues to torch the baseball. Hit for the cycle and went 6 for 6. That's the first time that has been done since 1890. Lonesome company for Ian. Along with Ian, Nelly Cruz had 6 RBIs tonight, doubling his total and giving him 12 on the season. His 5 home runs lead the team, as he hit a Grand Slam in an 8 run 4th inning. He just missed a second Grand Slam in the 8th inning, getting a two run double instead. Cruz and Kinsler are both hitting well right now.
It was nice to see Kris Benson calm down after a shaky opening two innings. He did give up one more run after the first 3 in innings 1 and 2, but Benson was able to get better control as the game wore on. He gets his first win as a Ranger.
I'm not worried as much as I am perplexed by Josh Hamilton's lack of power in his swing so far this season. He is hovering around a .300 batting average, so I'm not complaining, but he isn't getting much power behind his swing in the opening 9 games.
Andruw Jones was solid again this evening going 1 for 3 with a double and two walks. Jones has only appeared in 3 games, but it's quite impressive to look at some of his numbers. 4 RBIs, 3 doubles and 8 runs scored. He has 11 official plate appearances and 8 runs scored. That's terrific efficiency for the Rangers offense when he's up to bat.
This game means little, but it's still exciting to see the Rangers bats come alive and the pitching do some decent things as well. Kudos to Willie Eyre and his two scoreless innings of pitching.
Rangers have the Royals tomorrow night. Matt Harrison will take the hill at 7:05 as the Rangers look to get to .500
Hopefully the bats continue their pace and we won't have to rely on the pitching, but even still...I hope this bullpen and rotation can start getting their act together.
I'll blog tomorrow about the Spurs/Mavericks matchup and the Rangers win. ;)
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