Dallas Mavericks 119, Denver Nuggets 117

Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 12, 2009 under Recaps | 18 Comments to Read

Photo by AP Photo/Matt Slocum.

Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“Little strokes fell great oaks.”
-Benjamin Franklin

Our man Dirk sure knows how to put on a show.

In a game where the anarchy of flagrant and technical fouls ruled, Dirk was able to make order out of chaos.  He was never involved in the game’s numerous entanglements, not once caught fuming with uncontrollable anger or demonstrating anything but the desperation and calculated resolve that makes him such a force.  The result?  Dirk poured in for 19 in the fourth quarter, the importance of which is amplified by the Mavs’ narrow margin of victory.  The Mavs needed every single point to reel in a victory that desperately tried to escape their grasp.  Though this time, no near-foul, heart-breaking shot, or referee could stand in their way.

Plus, how’s this for irony: the Mavs were feeding off of the energy of Antoine Wright wrapping up Carmelo Anthony in the way that he was ‘supposed to’ at the end of Game 3.  After Anthony grabbed an offensive rebound early in the second quarter with the Nuggets nursing a 14-point lead, Antoine Wright wrapped up his arms to foul him on the floor.  For seconds after the whistle blew, Wright refused to let go of Anthony’s arm.  Carmelo wasn’t all too pleased about that, and responded by trying to push AW off, only to maybe possibly kind of catch a bit of Wright’s cheek.  The implications of which were much more significant than a simple technical foul; the Mavs and the crowd were awakened to fight off the surging Nuggs, and a game that seemed destined for a blowout was suddenly altered into a competitive affair.

The Dirk takeover had commenced, and it was really one of those nights.  One of those nights where Dirk’s greatness can hardly be quantified, but also one of those nights where the numbers (44 points on 25 shots, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 16-17 FT) turn out quite beautifully.  Dirk’s attack was as captivating as it was methodical, as he used every trick in his book and then some to lure the Nuggets’ defenders into fouls, including an insatiable desire to score at the rim.  K-Mart, Nene, Melo, whatever; Dirk took advantage of whoever was guarding him, turning every matchup into a problem with his footwork, balance, and silky smooth jumper.  More coming on Dirk in a later post.

Carmelo Anthony (41 points on 29 shots, 11 rebounds, 5 steals) provided the perfect foil for Dirk.  Whereas Dirk’s moves were calm, planned, and deliberate, Melo’s game represented the brash improvisation and spontaneity that makes him such an effective scorer.  His pull-up jumpers were exclamation points, and each steal and subsequent fast break dunk a flurry of its own.  Melo’s night was exemplified by his clutch, hard-hitting three pointer with just seconds remaining, a chilling reenactment of his Game 3 shot that pulled a seeminglysafe four-point lead into an ever-vulnerable two-point one.  I’m just glad that this time around, that shot was dangerous and not deadly.  It’s also certainly worth noting that J.R. Smith went absolutely hog wild on huge, game-changing jumpers.  Some of his attempts deserved to go in and other’s didn’t (a certain straight-on bank shot, perhaps?), but Smith bailed the Nuggs out of many a shot clock violation by hitting important shot after important shot.

Though Dirk was undoubtedly the shining star (and the Gold Star, hint-hint), he couldn’t have done it without some help from his friends.  Josh Howard gimped his way to 21 points and 11 rebounds, and though his shot selection in the fourth very nearly cost the Mavs the game, they couldn’t have even been in this game without him.  J.J. Barea (10 points, 5-8 FG) and Brandon Bass (11 points, 4-6 FG) were able to get easy baskets at difficult times, and Jason Terry (12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) made his presence felt in spite of foul trouble.  Roll all of that up into a ball with superior team defense (though you’d never guess it based on Carmelo’s totals), a much more dependable Jason Kidd, and world’s finest Dirk Nowitzki, and you’ve got yourself a win.

Sad team defense is often tough to point out in the box score, but it was clear that in these last two games, the Mavs were much more willing to prevent Denver’s transition attack and contest many (notably not all) of the Nuggets’ attempts in the paint.  Of course that starts with the perimeter guys — Kidd, Howard, Wright, Terry, Barea — but relies on the rotation of bigs like Dampier, Bass, and Dirk to make things work.  This is one area in particular where I thought Dirk Nowitzki excelled, and though his individual defense may not have received any of the spotlight, his effectiveness on that end should not go unnoticed.  He and Bass proved that they can work together as a defensive tandem and still be effective, which means quite a bit for the team’s most efficient offensive frontcourt.

Closing thoughts:

• Please, please, please, NBA, have some consistency with the flagrant calls.  The Mavs were called for two very iffy flagrants to finish the 2nd quarter, one of which, combined with a technical arguing the play and a Melo bucket, turned a 5-point deficit into a 10-point one at the buzzer.  I remain convinced the fouls on Kleiza and J.R. Smith were just that, fouls.
• The Birdman didn’t suit up for this one due to some severe stomach cramps.
• I’d feel bad if I didn’t single out Brandon Bass by name for praise for his defense.  Erick Dampier racked up six fouls in just 23 minutes, so Bass played a huge role in keeping Nene to a very mortal 9 points and 8 rebounds.  Essentially, Nene has been the difference between a nail-biter and a blowout for the Nuggets.  When he’s on his A-game, they can just roll over teams.  But when a physical defender really digs in and gives him trouble, their offense can really struggle.
• The Mavs won the battle of the offensive boards 9-6 and got the win.  That’s no coincidence.

GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: Come on.  Seriously?  Do you have to ask?  Dirk Nowitzki.  No-brainer.