Mavs falter in 109-104 loss to Nets
DALLAS—In the past dozen games, the Mavericks have played some of the NBA’s best teams with relentless gusto.
They were either winners or pushed the opponent to the brink against Washington, Cleveland, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee and Boston.
Against another team that appears headed to the lottery? The Mavericks slipped back into some bad habits, particularly on the defensive end of the court and with their rebounding, and it was no surprise that they paid a steep price for their lax play against Brooklyn.
The Nets, with a cast of characters that aren’t exactly household names, had a field day chopping up the Mavericks’ defense and left town with a 109-104 victory, dropping the Mavericks to 5-17.
The Nets aren’t exactly title contenders at 8-13, but the Mavericks made them look that way at times.
Spencer Dinwiddie, DeMarre Carroll and Trevor Booker made up the Nets’ three-pronged attack that scored all of the Nets’ points as they turned an 88-87 lead into a 103-95 advantage with 2 minutes to play.
And so, the Mavericks fell to a dismal 3-10 on their home floor and the bad news is that there are two more games coming on this stay in their own house.
The Mavericks’ biggest problem—rebounding—bit them twice down the stretch and may have cost them this game.
When J.J. Barea scored five quick points, the Mavericks were within 106-102 and they forced a missed shot by Carroll with 43.3 seconds left. But the
Mavericks could not clutch the rebound as it went out of bounds off Harrison Barnes.
Dinwiddie missed and the Mavericks had 22 seconds to try to get four points or more and force overtime or win it.
Devin Harris needed only 3.5 seconds to push in a layup and make it 106104. Joe Harris hit the first of two free throws, but then had the second rim out. Again, the Mavericks could not garner the rebound.
When Dinwiddie was fouled, he missed both shots, and for the third time in the final two minutes, the Mavericks couldn’t get a rebound.
This time, Dinwiddie made the shots and the game was done. The Mavericks had only themselves to blame for this one. They wasted good nights by Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber. But the Nets, who went 2-1 on their road trip to Memphis, Houston and Dallas, had an answer for everything.
ROCKETS 118, PACERS 97
HOUSTON—James Harden had 29 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and the Houston Rockets rolled past the Indiana Pacers 118-97 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory.
Thaddeus Young cut the lead to 10 with a hook shot with about eight minutes left. The Rockets put it away with a 16-4 run that made it 110-88 with about four minutes left.
Trevor Ariza made a 3-pointer in that stretch and Ryan Anderson added two finished with 19 points.
The Pacers missed numerous shots, were called for defensive three seconds and committed an offensive foul to allow the Rockets to pad the lead.
The Rockets improved to 12-1 this month, with the only loss coming on Nov. 14 against Toronto.
Young had 23 points for the Pacers.
SPURS 104, GRIZZLIES 95
SAN ANTONIO—LaMarcus Aldridge set his San Antonio high with 41 points and the Spurs spoiled J.B. Bickerstaff’s debut as Memphis coach, handing the Grizzlies their ninth straight loss.
Aldridge established a season best for the second consecutive game, topping his 33-point outing Monday against Dallas. Tony Parker had 10 points and five assists while playing 18 minutes in his second game back since undergoing surgery to repair a torn left quadriceps tendon.
San Antonio is the first NBA team with 10 home wins this season. It has won three in a row overall.
The Grizzlies continued to play short-handed in their first game since coach David Fizdale was fired. Memphis was without Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons, Mario Chalmers and Brandan Wright. Tyreke Evans led Memphis with 22 points.
MAGIC 121, THUNDER 108
ORLANDO, Fla.—Aaron Gordon had 40 points and 15 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic end a nine-game losing streak with a victory over struggling Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook hit five 3-pointers and scored 20 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter for the Thunder. He shot 7 for 10 on 3s and added 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Oklahoma City lost for the fifth time in six games and dropped its seventh straight on the road.
Elfrid Payton added 19 points for the Magic, and Evan Fournier had 16.
The Thunder went without a field goal for more than five minutes late in the third period, then went scoreless for the first 3 1/2 minutes of the fourth. They were outscored 28-5 during that span.
TIMBERWOLVES 120, PELICANS 102
NEW ORLEANS—Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points to help Minnesota beat New Orleans in a game that saw Pelicans forward Anthony Davis ejected for the first time in his career.
Jimmy Butler and Gorgui Dieng had 19 points each for the Timberwolves.
With Minnesota leading 45-43 in the second quarter, Davis was called for a technical foul. Fifteen seconds later, he picked up his second tech and was ejected. Minnesota responded by finishing the half on a 17-6 run to take a 62-49 lead into the halftime locker room.
Davis finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 27 points.
KNICKS 115, HEAT 86
NEW YORK—Enes Kanter had 22 points and 14 rebounds and New York beat Miami despite losing Kristaps Porzingis to a sprained right ankle after 2 1/2 minutes.
Back after missing three games with back spasms, Kanter had his way against a Heat team missing starting center Hassan Whiteside because of left knee soreness, going 7 of 9 from the field.
The Knicks lost all three games Kanter missed, their longest skid since starting 0-3, but shot 60 percent and led by as much as 30 points with their center back.
Porzingis had started quickly, making his first two shots before he was hurt chasing the ball near the baseline by the Miami bench. Justise Winslow stepped on his foot, causing Porzingis’ ankle to turn awkwardly, and he was helped to the locker room during a timeout.
The Knicks said X-rays were negative and that their leading scorer was available to return, but they later ruled out a return in the third quarter. There was no need by then the way they were playing.
Courtney Lee added 17 points for the Knicks. Kelly Olynyk had 18 for the Heat.
76ERS 118, WIZARDS 113
PHILADELPHIA—Ben Simmons had 31 points and a career-high 18 rebounds and overcame a Hack-a-Shaq strategy, leading Philadelphia past Washington.
Joel Embiid had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Dario Saric added 24 points to help the Sixers win for the sixth time in eight games. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 22 points for the Wizards.
Washington nearly overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter and spent the final five minutes intentionally fouling Simmons, who entered the game shooting 56.6 percent. He went 15 for 29.
PISTONS 131, SUNS 107
DETROIT—Reggie Jackson scored 23 points and Detroit beat Phoenix for its third straight victory.
Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley each scored 20 points, and Andre Drummond had 13 points and matched a career best with seven assists in Detroit’s highest-scoring game of the season.
The Pistons improved to 14-6 overall, 8-2 at home in their first season at Little Caesars Arena, and 7-1 against the Western Conference.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 22 points, and rookie Josh Jackson had a career-high 20. Phoenix has lost four out of five and is 1-2 on a six-game trip.
RAPTORS 126, HORNETS 113
TORONTO—Kyle Lowry scored a season-high 36 points, DeMar DeRozan had 30 and Toronto beat Charlotte to improve to 7-1 at home.
Lowry made career-high eight 3-pointers.
Dwight Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets. They lost their seventh straight road game and dropped to 1-9 away from home.