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.
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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.
Antoine Walker charged with DUI
The AP reports: Former NBA player Antoine Walker was charged with suspicion of drunk driving in Miami Beach early Monday morning, further hurting his chances of playing again this season. Walker was driving a black Mercedes without the lights on when he was pulled over at 5:39 a.m., according to the arrest report. Officers detected a strong odor of alcohol and wrote in the report that Walker had a sleepy look on his face. He refused a breathalyzer test… Walker was being held Monday on a $1,000 bond and jail officials said they did not immediately know if he has attorney.
InsideHoops.com reader Goose says: Any word on the secondary charge of making a career out of jacking up careless jumpers?
Mayo leads Grizzlies over Mavericks, 102-82
The AP reports: The Grizzlies came out determined to finally beat the Mavericks, and O.J. Mayo made sure they finished off the win. Mayo scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, and Memphis snapped a 13-game losing streak to Dallas with a 102-82 victory Sunday… Marc Gasol had 19 points for Memphis, which ended a four-game skid overall. Rudy Gay and Warrick added 18 apiece. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 28 points, hitting 11 of 21 shots. Jason Terry scored 18, and Josh Howard finished with 12 points, including 10 in the third period.
Mavericks rally from 29 down to stun Timberwolves
The AP reports: Jason Terry scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half, and Dallas rallied from a 29-point deficit to beat the Timberwolves 107-100 on Tuesday night. “The first half was ugly,” said Nowitzki, who had a bloody nose after being hit by Craig Smith on a drive to the basket in the third quarter… The Timberwolves led 70-41 early in the third quarter when the Mavericks started their comeback, the largest in franchise history… Al Jefferson scored 21 points, Ryan Gomes added 19 and Randy Foye had 18 for the Timberwolves, who blew the largest lead in franchise history… Josh Howard scored 23 and Kidd had 14 points and a season-high 16 assists for Dallas.