Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 55 – NBA Blog

Mavs beat Bucks 115-108 for 4th straight win

Vince Carter may not be able to throw down big dunks like he used to, though he can still knock down big shots.

Carter hit three key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 23 points off the bench as the Dallas Mavericks won their fourth straight with a 115-108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.

”I felt in the groove,” Carter said. ”The basket just seemed extremely big, and I felt comfortable with my shot. I was just in the flow of the game. A couple of shots, once I let them go, I happened to look down and see the 3-point line was up there. Oops. I know if I don’t make them, Coach is going to yell. But I was just prepared. I had my feet set, in rhythm, just in attack mode.” …

The Mavericks, who are three games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race, know now is the time to get going if they are to make the postseason for the 13th consecutive time…

Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points, 17 in the first half, and 11 rebounds, while O.J. Mayo had 14 points. Mavericks rookie and former Marquette star Jae Crowder, last year’s Big East player of the year, was one off his career high with 14 points.

Monta Ellis scored 32 points for the Bucks, giving him 20 or more in all six of Milwaukee’s games this month. Ellis has been putting up big numbers since the All-Star break, averaging 23.7 points.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Mavericks in danger of missing playoffs

The Dallas Mavericks are trying to climb into the Western Conference playoff picture, and more big performances from Vince Carter could help them reach that goal.

Dallas looks to match its longest winning streak of the season at four games Tuesday night as it visits the surging Milwaukee Bucks.

After 12 consecutive postseason appearances, the Mavericks (29-33) are in danger of missing the playoffs. They sit in a 10th-place tie with Portland in the West, three games out of the eighth and final spot.

Dallas, though, appears to be getting hot at just the right time thanks in large part to Carter. The 36-year-old former All-Star has gone 12 for 23 from 3-point range and averaged 16.0 points in helping the Mavericks win four of five this month.

“It’s not necessarily just scoring, but, in general, I understand what’s going on and I just made it my business to be locked in and want to do whatever is needed,” he said.

— Reported by Noey Kupchan of STATS/Associated Press

Brandan Wright hopes to remain with Mavericks

Because Dallas is the place where his career took off, center Brandan Wright would like to re-sign with the Mavericks when he becomes a free agent this summer.

Originally signed as a free agent by the Mavs on Dec. 9, 2011, Wright is appreciative that owner Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations, gave him a chance to find his game.

Wright played with the Golden State Warriors from 2007 until he played 16 games for the New Jersey Nets in the latter half of the 2010-’11 campaign.

Wright then hooked up with the Mavs, where he has been mostly healthy following an injury-proned start to his career.

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Mavs could be in for another busy summer

Just like last summer, this is shaping up to be a very busy summer for the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs are still in search of a top-flight talent who will make Dirk Nowitzki the team’s second-best player. But whether they can lure Dwight Howard, Chris Paul — or any superstar — to Dallas remains to be seen.

“The challenge is the same annual things since I got here,” said Donnie Nelson’ the Mavs’ president of basketball operations. “Whether it’s through the draft, trade or free agency, to get the most and right kind of talent and give the talent an opportunity to come together.

“And hopefully there’s not too much change. But that’s part of our industry, especially with the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement).”

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Blog)

Chris Kaman hopes to stick with Mavs

For the Mavericks, that’s 60 percent of the team — nine of 15 players, assuming O.J. Mayo doesn’t exercise his player option for next season, which would seem unlikely.

Chris Kaman is one of those players. He signed a one-year deal last summer at $8 million and as far as he’s concerned, he’d like to stick around longer. But he knows now is not the time to make an issue of it.

“Hopefully, I’ll have an option to come back here next year,” he said. “I like Dallas. The people here do a real good job. It’s one of the most professional organizations I’ve ever been a part of. For me, the top one. I like how they do things and maintain their professionalism throughout the whole year, whether we’re up or down.”

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News

Dirk 21 points, 20 rebounds but Mavs lose to Bucks

Monta Ellis made sure the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t lose another close game.

Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t do the same, even with a stat line the Dallas Mavericks had not seen from their star in nearly 10 years.

Ellis scored 22 points, and the Bucks spoiled Nowitzki’s first game since April 2003 with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a 95-90 victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Playing point guard with struggling backcourt mate Brandon Jennings on the bench, Ellis twice put the Bucks ahead in the final 2 minutes, the last time on a jumper for a 92-90 lead with 1:03 remaining. Milwaukee snapped a three-game losing streak – all by three points or fewer, just the third time that’s happened in franchise history.

”We can put that behind us now and build off of that,” said Ellis, who also had game highs with nine assists and six steals.

Nowitzki had 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had two chances to tie after Ellis’ go-ahead basket. Vince Carter missed a 3-pointer, and after Nowitzki’s 20th rebound at the other end, Darren Collison’s wild shot on a drive wasn’t close…

J.J. Redick, playing his second game in Dallas in six days but in a different uniform after he was traded from Orlando to Milwaukee, had nine points at halftime, tied with Mike Dunleavy for the team lead, and finished with 14. Dunleavy had 13…

Larry Sanders had 11 of his 13 points in the second half and led Milwaukee with 13 rebounds…

O.J. Mayo, Dallas’ leading scorer, bounced back with 18 points after scoring just eight on 2-of-9 shooting while Kobe Bryant dominated with 38 in the Lakers’ win Sunday. Elton Brand had 12 points and 14 rebounds.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Thunder sign Derek Fisher, again

The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed guard Derek Fisher, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

“We are excited to welcome Derek back to the Thunder organization,” said Presti. “He contributed to our team in various ways last season, and we are looking forward to him joining us again.”

Fisher appeared in 20 regular season games with Oklahoma City last season after signing with the Thunder on March 21. The guard averaged 4.9 points, 1.4 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game. In 20 playoff games with the Thunder, he averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 22.3 minutes per game.

A five-time NBA champion, Fisher has appeared in 229 career playoff games (158 starts) averaging 8.6 points, 2.5 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 27.5 minutes per contest.

Dirk Nowitzki hopes to keep re-signing with Mavericks

After his most dominant performance of a frustrating season, Dirk Nowitzki declared he has no doubt he’ll play for the Dallas Mavericks at least through the 2015-16 season.

“When my [current] contract’s up, I’m 36 and I’ll definitely sign a couple more years,” Nowitzki said after recording season highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s still fun, but I don’t know if I’ll play until 40. But when I’m 36, definitely sign one more deal, maybe two or three years.”

That reiterates the comments Nowitzki, whose contract expires after next season, made in November. However, Nowitzki acknowledged Sunday that he had doubts about continuing his career while struggling this season following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, a significant factor in the Mavs being in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons.

“Honestly, I had some doubts here when I came back,” Nowitzki said. “It took so long. Is it ever going to come back? It was a tough stretch for me coming back from the surgery, but the way I feel now, I still think I can play a couple of years.”

The 34-year-old Nowitzki missed the season’s first 27 games and had his 11-year All-Star streak snapped.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Bryant outscores Nowitzki as Lakers top Mavs

Kobe Bryant had 38 points to win a scoring duel with Dirk Nowitzki, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 103-99 Sunday in a matchup of teams fighting to get in the playoff race.

With chants of MVP from a strong contingent of Lakers fans, Bryant scored 14 in the fourth, including seven in the final 3 minutes to hold off a spirited Dallas effort.

Nowitzki finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had a chance to pull virtually even with the Lakers for ninth place in the Western Conference. Houston is in eighth, with a cushion of several games.

Bryant, who also had 12 rebounds and seven assists, was playing in Mark Cuban’s building two days after the outspoken Dallas owner suggested in a radio interview that the Lakers might have to consider dumping the five-time NBA champion through the amnesty clause.

Steve Nash had 13 of his 20 in the second half against his former team in a game that neither team led by more than six.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Chris Kaman available again for Mavs

Dallas Mavericks center Chris Kaman is available to play Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing the last 10 games due to a concussion.

Kaman, who continued to experience headaches for several days after passing the cognitive testing portion of the NBA’s concussion protocol that he referred to as “the stupidest test ever,” declared himself ready after Saturday’s practice.

“Hopefully, I’ll get a few minutes tomorrow,” Kaman told reporters. “The headaches are gone, so I’m clear. I’m going to play. It’s been too long.”

Kaman, who was injured during the Mavs’ Jan. 28 practice, fully participated in two practices this week after being medically cleared. The Mavs wanted him to practice twice before playing in a game.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas