Jazz-Mavericks Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jan 26 2012 6:47PM

The Dallas Mavericks seem happy they don't have to worry about any more ceremonies honoring their first NBA championship.

Another disheartening defeat followed a night when the Mavericks received their rings, and they'll try to regroup Friday night as they continue to play without Dirk Nowitzki when they host the Utah Jazz.

Dallas (11-8) raised its championship banner before falling behind by as many as 35 points in a season-opening loss to Miami. The Mavericks then received their rings before Wednesday's 105-90 defeat to Minnesota.

"I think we're all happy that we don't have anymore ceremonies for our championship," guard Jason Kidd told the Mavericks' official website. "We can just concentrate on basketball."

Dallas had its seven-game home win streak snapped as Jason Terry scored 17 points and Shawn Marion added 15.

"We still needed to win this game," Marion said. "That's what we're trying to do right now. We're trying to focus on what's at hand right now and the current season and focus on trying to take our baby steps to get to where we want to be. Tonight we just took a hop back."

Nowitzki has not played since a 94-91 victory at Utah (10-6) last Thursday. This was projected as a four-game stretch to work on his conditioning and allow his sore right knee to improve.

With Nowitzki aiming to possibly return Sunday against San Antonio, Vince Carter could be back after missing five games with a sprained left foot.

"Dirk's out, (but) they have very good players on that team," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. "They're the defending champions and they're going to be ready to play."

Marion is averaging 20.0 points on 55.0 percent shooting in his last four games, beginning with a 22-point effort against Utah.

The Mavs could use some better play from Lamar Odom, who is shooting a career-low 32.9 percent after last season's career-best 53.0 with the Lakers. Odom had five points on 2-of-14 shooting Wednesday.

The Jazz have dropped five straight to the Mavs after last week's defeat. Al Jefferson led Utah with 22 points to go with nine boards in that contest.

Jefferson, though, missed Wednesday's 111-106 double-overtime loss to Toronto because of an inflamed right ankle he re-injured in the team's morning shootaround. Second-year forward Derrick Favors started in Jefferson's place and had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

"I think starting, you gotta be ready off the jump," Favors said. "You don't have time to wait around and watch the game."

Jefferson didn't practice Thursday and is a game-time decision against Dallas.

The Jazz made 4 of 18 3-pointers against the Raptors as they continue to struggle with the NBA's fourth-worst mark at 28.1 percent. They are seeing more zone defense due to those woes, and Corbin expects more of the same from Dallas.

"They tried it here the first game we played them, we scored on it, they got out of it," Corbin said. "But they'll go to it, come back and go to it. We've just got to be prepared for it."

The Mavs, who have won 16 of their last 19 home matchups with the Jazz, are also faring poorly on 3s with the league's sixth-worst percentage at 30.2.

Utah's Josh Howard returned to action Wednesday after missing four games with a left quad strain and was held scoreless, missing all five shots. This will be Howard's first game as a visitor in Dallas, where he spent his first six full seasons with the Mavs and was an All-Star in 2007.

Beaubois, Odom lead Mavs past Jazz

Posted Jan 28 2012 1:14AM

DALLAS (AP) With three starters out, the Dallas Mavericks were searching for offense from other sources.

Reserve guard Roddy Beaubois and slumping Lamar Odom delivered.

Beaubois had a season-high 22 points and Odom added 19 points, his most since joining the Mavericks at the start of the season, to lead Dallas to a 116-101 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.

Beaubois made his first start of the season, subbing for Delonte West, who was out with a strained right hamstring.

"Tonight was a good night," said Beaubois, who went 9 for 15 from the floor and also had seven assists, six rebounds and four blocked shots. "When they give you a good shot, you've got to be ready to shoot it. ... I'm just trying to be aggressive."

Odom has been struggling since his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers, entering the game averaging 7.7 points with and hitting 33 percent of his field goal attempts.

Making the transition from Phil Jackson's Triangle offense with the Lakers to a Dallas attack that takes more of a fastbreak approach has been a tough adjustment for Odom.

This time, Odom was more aggressive on offense, converting three 3-pointers and going 7 for 12 from the floor to help the Mavs to a season-high for points.

Odom was more eager to talk about his defense, however.

"It's not all about making shots," Odom said. "It's about making the right play, making stops, making defensive plays. Tonight I played a better all-around game."

Odom has been starting in place of the team's top scorer, Dirk Nowitzki, sidelined for a fourth straight game while he improves his conditioning and gets treatment for a sore right knee.

Nowitzki has been through multiple conditioning sessions each day and could be back for Sunday's home game against San Antonio.

"I'd think (on Saturday) we'll know more for sure where we're at," coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki's status for Sunday.

Carlisle has said Nowitzki could be sidelined longer than the projected four games if he doesn't show enough progress.

Jason Terry contributed 18 points, Shawn Marion had 16 points and Brendan Haywood added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas.

Paul Millsap's 20 points and Al Jefferson's 19 paced the Jazz, who've lost six in a row to the Mavericks and three of four overall.

Dallas starting point guard Jason Kidd left in the first quarter with a strained right calf and did not return.

Kidd, who missed four games earlier in the season with a back injury, went to the bench less then three minutes after the opening tip and headed for the locker room. He was soon ruled out for the rest of the night, with Beaubois taking over at the point.

Reserve Vince Carter returned for the Mavericks after missing five games with a sprained left foot. He chipped in with 12 points.

The Mavs surged to a 77-63 lead early in the third quarter on Terry's 3-pointer.

But Millsap scored nine points during his team's 13-4 run to narrow the deficit to 81-76 with 1:58 remaining in the third.

Dallas carried an 88-82 lead into the final quarter, then put the game away with a 17-7 run.

The spurt included consecutive 3-pointers by Odom and was capped by Marion's runner in the lane with 5:15 remaining for a 105-89 lead.

Dallas went 45 for 82 (55 percent) from the floor, 11 for 19 from beyond the arc. The Mavs shot 43 percent in their first 19 games.

"They shot the ball well," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "They hadn't been shooting well. You've got to give them credit. They made the shots when they needed to and we didn't."

Beaubois scored 16 points in the first half - going 7 for 9 from the field and hitting both 3-point tries - to lead the Mavs to a 58-50 edge at the break.

Beaubois' previous season high was 17 points in a 94-91 victory at Utah on Jan. 19.

Carlisle said Beaubois was in the flow early on both ends of the court.

"I thought he played the point position as well as he's ever played it in terms of running the team, making reads," Carlisle said. "...He made important plays time and time again."

NOTES: G Raja Bell (sore right knee and back) and Jefferson (sore right ankle) had been questionable for the Jazz, but both started. ... Beaubois' career high is 40 points at Golden State on March 27, 2010 at Golden State. ... Dallas has won eight of nine at home since opening the season with consecutive losses.

Notebook: Mavs 116, Jazz 101

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Friday January 27, 2012 11:47PM

THE FACTS: Missing three starters due to injuries Friday, Dallas used a deep bench and deep shots to deep-six the visiting Utah Jazz 116-101. Six Mavericks scored in double figures, led by a season-high 22 points from Rodrigue Beaubois, a season-high 19 from Lamar Odom and 18 off the bench from Jason Terry. Dallas drained a season-high 11 3-pointers and notched its sixth straight win against the Jazz, who got 20 points from Paul Millsap and 19 from Al Jefferson.

Already playing without Dirk Nowitzki and Delonte West, the Mavericks lost Jason Kidd just 2:13 into the game with a strained right calf. Everyone pitched in to fill the void, as Shawn Marion scored 16, Vince Carter added 12 points and Brendan Haywood posted his first double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "The Jazz are a great team, but my teammates pushed me. Everybody was pitching in, so yeah, I've had some good games against the Jazz because of my teammates."
--Rodrigue Beaubois, whose previous season high came at Utah on Jan. 19 with 17 points in 18 minutes off the bench.

THE STAT: Coming off a 6-for-22 effort from downtown in Wednesday's loss to Minnesota, Dallas shot 58 percent from 3-point range (11-for-19). That topped the previous high of 10 treys set in a victory over Milwaukee on Jan. 13. Odom was 3-for-4 and Beaubois and Terry were both 3-for-5.

TURNING POINT: After the Jazz narrowed the gap to 82-80 with a 17-5 run that included 11 points by Millsap, the Mavericks answered with a decisive 28-9 run. The spurt featured two 3-pointers by Odom, a 3-pointer and a three-point play from Beaubois, and 3-pointers by Marion and Terry. Utah shot just 35 percent (7-for-20) in the final quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "He was in the paint a lot. He broke us down a little bit and he made some shots early. He was able to get his teammates involved by collapsing the defense and kicking it out to the 3-point shooters. He did a really good job for them."
-- Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin on Beaubois.

GOOD MOVE: Giving Beaubois his first start of the season (43rd career) to replace the injured West worked out pretty well for the Mavericks. He scored 16 in the first half alone. Beaubois also set career highs in assists (seven) and blocked shots (four) and tied his season high with six rebounds. The 6-foot-2 guard has seven blocks in his last two games.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Odom followed up his worst outing of the season with his best. Benched in the third quarter after going 2-for-14 from the field against the Timberwolves, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year finished 7-for-12 in this one with five rebounds. His previous high was 16 points at New Orleans on Jan. 21. ... Haywood is averaging 9.0 points and 9.5 boards in his last four games.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The Oak Ridge Boys sang the national anthem.

ROOKIE WATCH: Jazz center Enes Kanter didn't check into the game until the 5:09 mark of the third period, but finished with a season-best 12 points in 12-plus minutes on 5-for-8 shooting. His seven boards matched Millsap for the team lead.

NOTABLE: Kidd is day-to-day, while West (right hamstring strain) said he hopes to return to the lineup Sunday along with Nowitzki (sore right knee). ... This was the second time Dallas has had six double-digit scorers (vs. the Hornets on Jan. 7). ... It was the highest-scoring game for Beaubois since a 40-point game at Golden State on March 27, 2010. ... Carter had missed the previous five games with a sprained left foot. ... The Mavericks' previous season high was 102 points (two times).

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Sunday vs. San Antonio, Monday @ Phoenix, Wednesday vs. Oklahoma City. For the Jazz, Saturday vs. Sacramento, Monday vs. Portland, Wednesday vs. Los Angeles Clippers.

• Jazz: --
• Mavericks: Nowitzki, Williams

• Jazz: Harris
• Mavericks: Carter

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #18 Matt Boland, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 20096
• Duration: 2:07