It wasn’t pretty, but the Mavericks won a game they were supposed to win Monday night at American Airlines Center.
The final score of 91-82 was deceptively close as the Mavs led by as many as 22 in the fourth quarter and maintained a double digit lead from early in the second half on.
A Dirk Nowitzki jump shot gave the Mavericks a 57-46 lead at the 8:34 mark of the third quarter. But Jason Kidd really got the team rolling just over a minute later with his second 3-pointer of the game to put the Mavs up 64-48. The Mavs never looked back from that point and at times led by more than 20. Kidd’s first 3-pointer of the game was also significant as it was the 1,600th of his career.
Having spiraled downward since then-Pacers coach Rick Carlisle took them to the Eastern Conference finals in 2004, the Pacers are still in search of their 20th win this season. Games against such teams lend themselves to flexibility with the lineup. Rodrigue Beaubois, who hadn’t seen any time on court since before the All-Star Break, logged 17:49 minutes and 6 points. DeShawn Stevenson, who was recently acquired from the Wizards, hadn’t played in the past two games either, He scored 7 points, including a 3 in 22:52 minutes Monday.
Playing heavy minutes in every game since becoming a Maverick, Brendan Haywood tied his career high with 20 rebounds. That statistic and his 13 points gave him his second straight double-double. He also added to his block total with three more of those. In a 97-91 win over the Heat on Saturday, Haywood compiled 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The win was the fourth straight for the Mavericks.
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