Quoteboard: Dallas Mavericks 109, Los Angeles Clippers 102 (Overtime)

Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on March 27, 2013 under Interviews | Read the First Comment

The Dallas Mavericks had their most impressive victory of the season with a 109-102 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Mavericks moved to 2-8 in overtime games this season. They also beat a top-5 team in the West for the first time since they beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 12. Dallas must have gotten a blood transfusion leading up to the game as it appears they now have alligator blood running their veins. Breaking the rut that seemed to haunt them all season long, the Mavericks found a way to execute when they needed to and got clutch performances out of Dirk Nowitzki and OJ Mayo.

Nowitzki tallied a season-high 33 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds in 39 minutes against the Clippers (previous high: 30 vs. L.A. Lakers Mar. 24). Chris Paul, who finished with a season-high 33 points, hit a potential dagger basket with 5.3 seconds remaining in regulation. OJ Mayo got the ball along the baseline and had Paul defending him. Mayo spun away from the second defender and found daylight for an easy layup, forcing overtime. Mayo actually used Paul’s aggression against him as Paul over-committed and sacrificed the baseline and the easiest path to the basket.

Mayo went 5-of-15 from the field for only 11 points, but stepped up with some incredible defense on Paul. The point guard for the Clippers was still able to break through but he had to earn everything he got against the Mavericks.

Some notes before the quotes:

- Dirk Nowitzki passed Patrick Ewing (24,815) for 17^th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a jumper at the 8:51 mark of the first quarter. The basket gave him four points for the game and 24,816 for his career. Nowitzki finished with 33 points against Los Angeles and now has 24,845 career points. Jerry West ranks 16^th all-time with 25,192 career points.

- Nowitzki went 12-of-21 from the field against the Clippers on Tuesday. With his 11^th field goal of the game (8,694^th career) at the 4-minute mark of overtime, he passed Elgin Baylor (8,693) for 20^th place on the NBA’s all-time field goals made list. Nowitzki now has 8,695 career field goals. Gary Payton ranks 19^th all-time with 8,708 career field goals.

- Lamar Odom got the business from the fans. He was booed every single time he touched the ball.

- The Clippers went 10-for-22 on 3-point baskets through three quarters. They went 0-for-11 on three-pointers in the fourth quarter and overtime.

- With the win, Dallas is now one game back of the the Los Angeles Lakers for the 8th spot in the Western Conference. They are also one game under .500 for the first time since Dec. 14.

Here is the quoteboard for Dallas’ potentially season-changing victory over the Clippers.

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Setting the Table: Los Angeles Clippers (Game 36)

Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on January 9, 2013 under Previews | Be the First to Comment

The road trip continues to get worse for the Dallas Mavericks (13-22) as they head to STAPLES Center to take on the red hot Los Angeles Clippers (27-8). The Mavericks are trying to get out of a funk that has caused them to lose nine out of their last 10 games. You have to go all the way back to Dec. 1999 and Jan. 2000 to find a time where the Mavericks had a stretch where they lost nine of 10 games.

The pace should be rather fast as both teams are proficient in scoring in transition. Not only are the Clippers and Mavericks two of the top scoring teams in the NBA but both like to score their points on the break. The Clippers and Mavericks represent two of the top five teams in the NBA in fast break points. The Clippers rank fourth in the league with 17.62 fast-break points. The Mavericks rank fifth in the league with 16.68 fast-break points.

With the Clippers, it starts with trying to cut the head off the snake and that’s trying to contain Chris Paul. That won’t be an easy challenge for the Mavericks as Paul usually has his way with Dallas. Paul has played in 24 games against Dallas averaging 21.5 points, 8.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 36.2 minutes per game. His 21.5 points per game average against Dallas is the second highest against any opponent. Over his career against the Golden State Warriors, Paul has averaged 23.6 points per game.

Here are the notes for the game between the Mavericks and the Clippers.

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