Shawn Marion and the Mavs have started December with two wins out of three games.
Only Chris Paul is too much as Mavericks start off December well
Posted on December 7th 2012 11:14PM
After and underwhelming November finishing with 6-10, the Mavericks have picked up the slack as the team started off December with two wins out of three games.
"Things seem to be more clicking, more plugging now, especially on offense", veteran center Chris Kaman described the Mavericks' decent output of 104.3 points per game over the first three games of December.
Coming of a win against the Chicago Bulls to finish of November, the Mavericks seemed to profit from the return of guard Darren Collison. "What Darren has been doing when he is healthy is enormous for us", forward Shawn Marion told media after the win over the Phoenix Suns yesterday. Since his return to the lineup, Collison has averaged 16 points and 8 assists as the Mavs won three ouf of this five games.
Against the Detroit Pistons Collison again shined, dishing out 9 assists and scoring 15 points as the Mavericks offense showed it's best result of the season scoring 111 points in a 86-111 blowout. Five Mavericks scored in double-figures with Detroit-native Chris Kaman leading the charge with 18. "We gave them no chance to beat us", Kaman stated afterwards as the Pistons fell to .500 (9-9) after the game.
Chris Paul is too much for Dallas
Only the Clippers prevented Dallas to start December on a three-game winning streak but the way the Clippers and their star point guard Chris Paul solved the Mavericks let no doubts about which team should have won that game. "He destroyed us single-handedly. I haven't seen somebody lighting us up like that since I am a Maverick", Shawn Marion was baffled.
Chris Paul scored a season-high 38 points and added 10 assists to secure the 15-5 Clippers a 102-128 win at home. Jamal Crawford added 30 as the Clippers outscored the Mavericks by 17 in the third to pull away. Mavericks top-scorer O.J. Mayo (23 points) also dished out five assists in only 24 minutes of action as Rick Carisle pulled out his starters with two minutes played in the fourth to rest them for the upcoming road match against Phoenix. "We know Chris Paul, we know what he can do so I think we just have to do a better job defensively and also crashing the boards", Carisle stated. The Clippers outrebounded the Mavs 55-41 with Blake Griffin pulling down 13 rebounds and adding 18 points.
"This is a top-team in the West whilst we still have to grind for being a Playoff-team with Dirk out. You can lose on the road against the Clippers", Carisle downplayed the loss.
Vince Carter revving it up. The veteran scored 20 points against Phoenix.
Beating Phoenix on the road
Resting his starters definitely paid dividends for Rick Carisle as the Mavericks showed a concentrated effort to pull away with a win from a Playoff competitor as Dallas beat Phoenix 100-93 on the road.
Vince Carter scored 20 points and Darren Collison added 21 shooting 4-7 from three point range as the Mavericks used a team effort to beat Phoenix.
The Suns had to play without starting point guard Goran Dragic who was still missing games with a broken hand. Shannon Brown did his best to fill in as he scored 15 points and showed a surprising playmaking ability with 11 assists but also lost the ball five times. Alvin Gentry did not show trust in rookie Kendall Marshall, a floor general out of UNC who only played ten minutes in the ball game.
Michael Beasley scored a team-high 19 points but saw himself well defended by Shawn Marions resulting in bad shooting numbers (5-19). Luis Scola added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Mavericks found their bench being a difference make with Brendan Wright pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds and veteran Derek Fisher adding a team-high six assists and hitting 2-3 from down town.
Dirk looking to be back by end of December. Jared Cunningham injures ankle
As for injury problems, the Mavs are still waiting for Dirk Nowitzki being cleared for his comeback. "There is no swelling anymore but right now it is important to strenghten the knee and not go out and play too early", the german forward told Mavs.com in an exclusive interview. "End of December or maybe beginn of 2013", Nowitzki outlined a comeback date.
Meanwhile Rookie Jared Cunningham injured his ankle against the Clippers and will be out for at least two weeks. Jae Crowder, who has been in the D-league for most of the season will take Cunninghams roster spot for the Mavericks.
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