Your half time Maverick MVP is Brandon Bass with 12 points, 8 rebounds (6 of them offensive) and a block. He was busy cleaning up all those Maverick misses and was in-control aggressive when everyone else seemed to be in too big of a hurry to catch up.
Jason Terry was good also with 12 points, but disappeared for quite a stretch.
The Mavs shot terribly in the second quarter and were a putrid 7-24 from the field.
-Scooter Hendon
Jason Terry hit two big back-to-back threes, and if he starts heating up, it should open the Mavs up on other spots on the floor. It can also make the Hornets desperate to catch up, and thus get them off their game like they did in Game 3.
-Scooter Hendon
That was a big hustle play from the Mavs with Dirk getting the block, the Hornets recovering and Jet getting the block on Pargo. Jet saved the ball to Devean and they hurled it up court, where Peja Stojakovic fouled Stack. Now, Peja has three fouls, so that hustle play will likely play dividends for the rest of the game.
-Scooter Hendon
Dirk Nowitzki is the playoffs franchise leader in 15 statistical categories, several of which he earned in the Mavs short stint in the playoffs last year. But, he has a few more he can grab in these playoffs, and there are several other Mavs that are closing in on records as well. A look at how close some of them are to moving up the franchise ladder after the jump:
The ESPN analyst had this to say about Jason Kidd and the Mavs:
Right before the trade deadline, the Mavs brought in Jason Kidd to keep up with the top teams in the West. They do have a winning record (9-7) since that trade. However, a closer look at the numbers shows every win they have has come against sub-.500 teams and every loss has come to teams with records above .500. At the time of the trade, I was in favor of the move. I still believe the Mavs are a better team with Kidd than with Devin Harris. Unfortunately one thing has become very clear; Kidd is no longer a threat to score. He has lost that quick burst to blow past defenders. He looks like he has lost the confidence to make an open jumper.
There in lies Dallas' problem. Other teams have recognized this and have begun to shade Kidd's defender towards either Dirk Nowitzki or Josh Howard. This creates some cramping and doesn't allow the offense to flow as freely as it did under Harris. The key for the Mavs to break out of this is simple. Kidd is not going to become a jump-shooter overnight. That means Howard and especially Jason Terry need to start stepping up their play.
jason terry picked up two fouls in less than a minute, but then hit a big 3 to tie the game at 10. the mavs desperately need his production off the bench, so he needs to be careful with those fouls.
-- garza, mavs lite
One of the biggest swings of the game occurred with 3:44 left in the third quarter after Jason Terry's shot was goal-tended by Robert Horry, giving the Mavs a 67-57 lead. Well, Terry then picked up a technical -- apparently claiming he was elbowed by Bruce Bowen -- and former Mav Michael Finley calmly hit the free throw, which sparked an 11-1 Spurs run that included an Avery Johnson technical. Finley had nine points in the run, which -- pardon the pun -- was definitely spurred by the Mavs' lack of composure. It was a shocking display by a veteran team.
While Jason Kidd did have 10 hard-earned assists, the Spurs won that battle, too, 19-17.
The Mavs did a great job on the boards, winning the rebounding game 44-36, and they did a fantastic job getting to the line, where they shot 26-of-31.
But it was easy to see how they still labored to score and get easy buckets. Sure, the Spurs are a good defensive team, but there weren't many instances in which Jason Kidd made things easier for his teammates. Jet shot 2-of-10 and Dirk went 5-of-15 with a steady dose of Finley-Bowen defense. At least Josh Howard almost shot 50 percent (6-of-14) and made a few nice cuts to the hoop.
-- Garza, Mavs Lite
The newest All-Star returns are in and Dirk Nowitzki remains third among Western Conference forwards. But Tim Duncan and Carmelo have such a big lead that it's doubtful Dirk can catch up. Here are the returns:
East Forwards:
Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,756,251
LeBron James (Cle) 1,564,974;
Chris Bosh (Tor) 516,669
Paul Pierce (Bos) 411,231
Yi Jianlian (Mil) 342,669
Caron Butler (Was) 213,924
Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 196,362;
Tayshaun Prince (Det) 178,122
Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 168,287
Josh Smith (Atl) 163,384.
East guards
Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,179,889
Jason Kidd (NJ) 868,069
Ray Allen (Bos) 733,440
Vince Carter (NJ) 708,409
Gilbert Arenas (Was) 585,345
Chauncey Billups (Det) 402,787
Michael Redd (Mil) 247,384
Richard Hamilton (Det) 193,618
Joe Johnson (Atl) 171,500
T.J. Ford (Tor) 164,342
East Centers
Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,456,898
Shaquille O'Neal (Mia) 701,253
Rasheed Wallace (Det) 190,684
Ben Wallace (Chi) 172,147
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle) 163,518
Andrew Bogut (Mil) 156,012
Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 143,026
Emeka Okafor (Cha) 85,340
Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 66,705
Eddy Curry (NY) 64,896.
West forwards
Tim Duncan (SA) 1,246,125
Carmelo Anthony (Den) 1,218,106
Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 946,421
Carlos Boozer (Utah) 402,917
Shawn Marion (Pho) 345,400
Shane Battier (Hou) 341,621
Josh Howard (Dal) 324,267
Luis Scola (Hou) 309,994
Kevin Durant (Sea) 299,481
Grant Hill (Pho) 248,273.
West guards
Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,441,333
Tracy McGrady (Hou) 907,639
Allen Iverson (Den) 827,273
Steve Nash (Pho) 808,995
Manu Ginobili (SA) 418,442
Tony Parker (SA) 374,340
Chris Paul (NO) 330,902
Baron Davis (GS) 298,827
Jason Terry (Dal) 241,839
Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 212,320
West centers
Yao Ming (Hou) 1,255,263
Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 685,772
Marcus Camby (Den) 265,830
Erick Dampier (Dal) 207,354
Pau Gasol (Mem) 154,741
Tyson Chandler (NO) 135,388
Mehmet Okur (Utah) 132,310
LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 117,508
Andris Biedrins (GS) 98,460
Chris Kaman )LAC) 97,569
-- Jan Hubbard
Tonight, Game No. 26, could be called the re-start of the season for the Mavs. It appears this could be the night that Eddie Jones returns to the starting lineup and Jason Terry heads back to the bench as the sixth man, where he really thrived earlier in the season.
But, this is the plan Avery Johnson's wanted all along. Now we'll see if it has legs. For Terry's part, he's continuing to be all about team and ready to do whatever it takes.
"I'm ready for whatever role they put me in. I embrace it," Terry said Monday morning. "You've got to go out there with a passion and a love for the game, especially where we're at now as a team, everyone's healthy now. We really want to put this thing together and get a good rhythm."
As far as tonight being the time Johnson reverts back to the opening-night lineup, Terry said: "You never know. Just keep your eyes open, stay prepared. We'll see, just don't be surprised."
-- Jeff Caplan
And Josh Howard is not doing badly, either. Here are the first returns and, yes, it helps the Dallas players that Kevin Garnett has gone East. I've listed the top five players at each position and a few extra to cover the Mavericks in the West.
Forwards
Carmelo Anthony (Den) 482,127
Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 443,117
Tim Duncan (SA) 423,608
Carlos Boozer (Utah) 175,248
Shawn Marion (Pho) 154,641
Josh Howard (Dal) 146,909
Kevin Durant (Sea) 113,314
Guards
Kobe Bryant (LAL) 569,302
Tracy McGrady (Hou) 388,959
Steve Nash (Pho) 317,091
Allen Iverson (Den) 292,565
Manu Ginobili (SA) 141,891
Jason Terry (Dal) 121,397
Tony Parker (SA) 117,881
Chris Paul (NO) 110,688
Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 103,307
Baron Davis (GS) 100,422.
Centers
Yao Ming (Hou) 439,125
Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 286,401
Erick Dampier (Dal) 101,878
Marcus Camby (Den) 94,473
Pau Gasol (Mem) 73,461
Forwards
Kevin Garnett (Bos) 735,664
LeBron James (Clev) 597,768
Chris Bosh (185,294)
Paul Pierce (Bos) 164,346
Yi Jianlian (Mil) 98,507
Guards
Dwyane Wade (Mia) 470,921
Jason Kidd (NJ) 343,468
Vince Carter (NJ) 277,705
Ray Allen (Bos) 270,114
Gilbert Arenas (Wash)) 256,994;
Centers
Dwight Howard (Orl) 596,187
Shaquille O'Neal (Mia) 282,727
Rasheed Wallace (Det) 69,331
Ben Wallace (Chi) 68,871
Jermaine O'Neal (Ind) 53,107
