Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 112 – NBA Blog

NBA fines Mark Cuban 25k

The Denver Post (Benjamin Hochman) reports: The Cuban Missed Elbow Crisis has finally come to an end. The NBA decided to fine Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $25,000 for “improper interaction” with Nuggets players at halftime of Tuesday’s game at the Pepsi Center. Cuban walked onto the court and yelled at Nuggets guard J.R. Smith, who earlier threw an elbow that missed the face of Dallas forward Antoine Wright. Smith was not penalized for his actions.

The AP reports: Cuban was angered Tuesday in a 99-97 Denver victory over Dallas and stepped onto the court as the second quarter ended to complain about an elbow thrown by Smith that did not result in a foul, interaction that brought the fine. Cuban also had to be escorted off the court afte the game when he complained about a foul call that set up Chauncey Billups’ game-winning free throws in the final seconds.

Bobcats trade Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins to Mavericks for DeSagana Diop

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has acquired center DeSagana Diop from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for guard Matt Carroll and center Ryan Hollins.

“DeSagana is the type of player that has a natural athletic ability to block shots, rebound and defend,” Higgins said. “This is a nice complement to our roster and someone we feel will add size, depth and experience to our power positions.”

The 7-0 Diop has appeared in 468 career NBA games spread between Cleveland, New Jersey and Dallas. He has career averages of 2.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, while shooting .430 from the field. In 34 games with the Mavericks this season he averaged 1.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.3 minutes.

Originally drafted by the Cavaliers with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft, Diop had his best season as a professional during the 2005-06 season in Dallas, when he appeared in 81 games (45 starts) with averages of 2.3 points and 4.6 rebounds, while shooting a team-best .487 from the field and leading the Mavericks with 146 blocks. During that season he also ranked 14th in the NBA in blocks per game and set a career high with 16 rebounds and tied a career high with six blocks in 37 minutes of action versus Denver on Nov.15, 2005. Diop also appeared in 28 career postseason games in Dallas, with 22 of them coming during the Mavericks run to the 2006 NBA Finals before falling to eventual champion Miami in six games.

Carroll signed with the Bobcats as a free agent on Feb. 23, 2005 and has appeared in 289 games, averaging 8.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. His career three-point field goal percentage of .411 (302-735) coming into the 2008-09 season had him tied for 11th among the NBA’s all-time leaders and fifth among active players. In 34 games this season, he averaged 4.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13.9 minutes.

Hollins is in his third NBA season and averaged 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 18 games played for Charlotte this season. In 105 career games, Hollins has averaged 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds for the Bobcats, who selected him with the 50th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.

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No suspension for J.R. Smith

The AP reports: The NBA said Thursday that Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith won’t be suspended for throwing an elbow that angered Dallas Mavericks coach Mark Cuban. The excitable owner might still face punishment for going onto the court to voice his displeasure with Smith. NBA spokesman Tim Frank told The Associated Press on Thursday that Smith has been cleared of any wrongdoing and “Cuban is still being reviewed.” Cuban took offense when Smith threw an elbow that barely missed Mavericks forward Antoine Wright late in the first half of Dallas’ game at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.

Paul outplays Kidd, leads Hornets past Mavs

The AP reports: Facing triple-double master Jason Kidd, Chris Paul nearly did him one better. With 33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals, Paul narrowly missed a rare quadruple double, but it was still enough to pull the New Orleans Hornets to a 104-97 victory over the slumping Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night… Paul also guarded Jason Terry in the second half. Terry had 18 points before Paul took over, 10 after… Peja Stojakovic and David West each scored 16 points for New Orleans, and Devin Brown had 12. It was the Hornets’ first regular-season victory in Dallas since Jan. 24, 1998. The skid was 13 straight, although they won a playoff game here last spring. “We really didn’t want to double-team (Paul) that much and leave all the shooters open and he used that freedom and killed us,” said Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Nuggets overcome Dirk’s 44, win on Billups’ FTs

The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets needed two big nights from role players and one veteran move from Chauncey Billups to hold off Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. Billups drew a late foul on Jason Terry and made two free throws with 2.2 seconds left, and the Nuggets overcame 44 points from Nowitzki to beat the Mavericks 99-97 on Tuesday night. Billups scored 23 points and Nene had 20 to lead a balanced attack that helped Denver recover after blowing a 17-point lead. The Mavericks were upset a foul was called on Terry, who came over to try and block Billups’ jumper… Dahntay Jones had 16 points and Chris Andersen added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Denver.

Kings beat Mavericks 102-95 for first win of 2009

The AP reports: The Sacramento Kings will take whatever bright spots they can find. Beating a short-handed Dallas team counts as one. Kevin Martin scored 21 points, Francisco Garcia had seven during a key fourth-quarter stretch, and the Kings ended their five-game losing streak with a 102-95 victory over the Mavericks on Sunday night… Beno Udrih had 16 points, five rebounds and six assists for Sacramento, which hadn’t won since beating the Los Angeles Clippers 92-90 on Dec. 30. John Salmons and Brad Miller added 13 points apiece for the Kings in only their second win in the last 10 games against the Mavericks… Jason Terry scored a season-high 33 points for Dallas, including 15 in the third quarter. Dirk Nowitzki added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, who were coming off their most lopsided defeat of the season, a 128-100 loss to Phoenix on Friday.

Josh Howard didn’t play.

Rick Carlisle wants aggressive Brandon Bass

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Jeff Caplan) reports: Rick Carlisle has pressed Mavs forward Brandon Bass to use his aggressiveness to draw fouls. Thursday against the New York Knicks, Bass finally did, getting to the free-throw line a season-high 12 times. It was the first time Bass had taken more than four foul shots in a game. “That’s a by-product of aggression and just persistence,” Carlisle said. “When you’re moving your feet and you’re that aggressive, opportunity at the free-throw line is going to follow. He’s got to continue with that.” An 84.2 percent free-throw shooter, Bass missed four. “He’s the kind of guy,” Carlisle said, “that if he misses four free throws out of 12, he’ll go to the gym and shoot 2,000 the next day.”

O’Neal leads Suns to 128-100 rout of Dallas

The AP reports: The Suns outscored the Mavericks 40-19 in the third quarter and went on to a 128-100 rout on Friday night. Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points and 10 rebounds in just under 27 minutes for the Suns… Jason Richardson added 21 points and Leandro Barbosa had 20 in the Suns’ highest-scoring game of the season… Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 for Dallas, and Josh Howard had 16 before departing with a sprained left wrist in the third quarter. X-rays were negative. Amare Stoudemire scored 16 in Phoenix’s fourth win in five games. Grant Hill added 10 points, eight in the third quarter, as the Suns shot 63 percent for the night. Steve Nash had nine points and 12 assists.

Kidd, Mavericks hold on late to beat Knicks 99-94

The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer, was 3-of-13 from the floor and scored 10 points, just two more than his season low… One of Nowitzki’s seven assists gave Dallas the lead for good… Eddy Curry entered with 2:42 left in the first quarter and scored on a layup just more than a minute later. That’s was Curry’s only shot attempt in 2 1/2 minutes of action. He also grabbed two rebounds… Chris Duhon hit his first nine shots and scored 24 points, and Wilson Chandler added 20 for the Knicks, who have lost two in a row since beating defending champion Boston on Sunday. New York’s David Lee had 13 points and 15 rebounds—his seventh consecutive double-double. Duhon finished 10-of-14 from the field… Josh Howard led six Dallas players in double figures with 19 points. Antoine Wright had 13 points, Brandon Bass added 12 and Jason Terry 10.

Nowtizki leads Mavericks over hurting Clippers

The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki made the game-saving plays on both ends of the court for the Dallas Mavericks. That was the easy part for the star forward. Just don’t ask the frustrated Nowitzki to explain how the Mavericks even got into the position that his blocked shot and go-ahead jumper were needed in the final minute against the short-handed and hurting Los Angeles Clippers. “Terrible. We had a good lead and we let up,” Nowitzki said. “They got whatever they wanted offensively. We couldn’t get any stops.” Until Nowitzki, who had 34 points, blocked a shot and then scored with 37 seconds remaining in a 107-102 victory Tuesday night… Eric Gordon, who scored 32 points, had a turnover on the next possession when the ball was knocked from his hands by Jason Kidd—though the rookie and his coach both thought there was a foul on the play.