Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 58 – NBA Blog

Kevin Durant scores 52 points in Thunder OT win over Mavericks

Kevin Durant’s miserable fourth quarter ended with a final miss that gave Dallas a chance to finish a rally in overtime Friday night.

The Oklahoma City star took care of things in the extra period instead, and ended up with a career high and the first 50-point game in the NBA this season.

Durant scored 52 points, including the go-ahead basket with 16.9 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Thunder held on for a 117-114 victory that extended their winning streak to six games and ended the Mavericks’ season-best run of four straight.

A night after getting voted a starter for the All-Star game, Durant missed six straight shots and was 2 of 11 from the field while the Mavericks were rallying in the fourth quarter. When Durant missed at the buzzer after O.J. Mayo’s tying 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in regulation, he had to remind himself to keep shooting.

”In overtime, I knew if I got down on myself that I was going to put my team in a tough position to win,” said Durant, whose previous career high was 51 against Denver last February. ”They look at me in crunch time to come through for them. When I don’t have confidence in myself, they make sure they pump me up a little.”

Durant was still scoring because he couldn’t miss at the free throw line. He was 19 of 19 in regulation, which he finished with 43 points.

Vince Carter, who kept the Mavericks close when Oklahoma City threatened to blow them out in the first half, had a season-high 29 points. He hit three free throws to start overtime when he was fouled on a 3-pointer, but Durant answered with a pair on the other end.

Durant went on to score nine of Oklahoma City’s 12 points in overtime and had three go-ahead buckets to help the Thunder avoid losing for the first time in 28 games when leading after three quarters. The Thunder blew a 14-point lead in the second half.

”Experience has helped me a lot,” said Durant, who was 13 of 31 from the field but made all 21 of his free throws and also had nine rebounds.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Mavs sign guard Mike James to second 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed guard Mike James to a second 10-day contract.

James (6-2, 188) signed his first 10-day contract with the Mavericks on Jan. 8 and played in all five games during the length of that contract. He averaged 1.6 points, 1.0 assists and 8.2 minutes in five games off the bench.

The Copiague, N.Y., native is a 10-year veteran and has played in 544 games (263 starts) with Miami, Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Houston, Toronto, Minnesota, New Orleans, Washington, Chicago and Dallas. He holds career averages of 10.3 points, 3.5 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 24.8 minutes per game.

Dallas Mavericks open to making trades

Memo to the rest of the NBA: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is in “Let’s Make a Deal” mode.

“We’re letting everybody know that the “Bank of Cuban” is open,” Cuban said Monday night, a couple of days after declaring that there was a “100 percent chance” the Mavs would aggressively pursue trade opportunities before the Feb. 21 deadline.

“If it’s the right deal, we don’t mind taking back money. But we’re not going to do a trade just to do a trade. It’s got to be worthwhile.”

The Mavs have the ability to take back significantly more salary in trades because they are under the salary cap. Cuban has continually insisted that is a primary reason he opted for financial flexibility instead of re-signing several key contributors to the Mavs’ 2010-11 title team, not just because they wanted to have enough salary cap space to sign a superstar in free agency.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Darren Collison leads balanced Mavs over Wolves

Darren Collison now runs the floor where J.J. Barea was the spark that helped rally the Dallas Mavericks to their first championship two seasons ago.

Dallas’ new point guard made sure one of his predecessors didn’t finish off another comeback Monday night.

Collison led six players in double figures with 23 points and the Mavericks matched their season high with a third straight win, holding off a pair of Barea-engineered surges in a 113-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

”I felt like we were going to attack,” said Collison, who also had nine assists and three steals.

That used to be Barea’s job coming off the bench in Dallas, until he became a starter midway through the 2011 NBA finals on Dallas’ home court and helped erase a 2-1 series deficit against Miami.

He was finally back on that floor after sitting out Minnesota’s first two trips with injuries since signing as a free agent when Mavericks owner Mark Cuban decided not to bring back several key pieces of the title team.

The diminutive guard is a reserve again, and he had former teammate Dirk Nowitzki and others chasing him all over the court while running the pick-and-roll and scoring 11 second-quarter points. He led the Timberwolves with 21 and was on the floor for a second-half rally that cut a 23-point deficit to eight…

O.J. Mayo and Elton Brand had 20 points each for Dallas. It was a season high for Brand. Mayo matched Collison’s nine assists, and the Maverick had a season-high 33 as a team. Nowitzki, Chris Kaman and Vince Carter had 10 points apiece…

Interim Minnesota coach Terry Porter said there was nothing new on the status of Adelman, who has been out since the last home game, Jan. 8 against Atlanta, attending to his wife, who was hospitalized. Minnesota plays at home Thursday against the Clippers.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Mavs step up and beat Grizzlies 104-83

Dirk Nowitzki is coming along gradually. Maybe the Dallas Mavericks are, too.

Nowitzki scored 17 points and was one of three Dallas starters who didn’t miss from 3-point range, and Shawn Marion had a season-high 20 to lead the Mavericks to consecutive wins for the first time in a month with a 104-83 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

The Mavericks, three days removed from dropping 10 games under .500 for the first time in 13 years, beat a team with a winning record for just the fourth time this season. They did it soundly, too, taking their first 30-point lead of the season and coasting through the fourth quarter.

”It’s the kind of game we need,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. ”We need more of these, but they’re hard to come by.”

The Grizzlies were ragged a night after a big overtime win against Southwest Division-leading San Antonio. Memphis shot 38 percent and Rudy Gay was the only starter in double figures, in part because all five of them sat out the entire fourth quarter. Gay led the Grizzlies with 12 points…

All five starters scored in double figures for Dallas, with Chris Kaman stringing together eight straight in the third quarter and finishing with 14. O.J. Mayo had 11 and Darren Collison 10.

The Mavericks were 11 of 17 from 3-point range, and the starters made eight of nine. Nowitzki hit three, Mayo two and Collison had one. Marion was the only starter to miss, going 2 of 3…

Randolph, who entered the game leading the NBA with 24 double-doubles, had six points and four rebounds.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Mavs snap 4-game skid, beat Kings in OT

An elbow from DeMarcus Cousins helped hand the Dallas Mavericks a win and gave Sacramento fans another stinger.

O.J. Mayo had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 23 points off the bench and the Mavericks took advantage of a flagrant foul by Cousins to rally from 17 points down to beat the Kings 117-112 in overtime Thursday night.

With the franchise’s possible sale and relocation to Seattle on the minds of Kings fans, Cousins finished with 29 points and nine rebounds before getting ejected in overtime for elbowing Carter in the face. Officials reviewed the played and upgraded the call from a flagrant 1 to a flagrant 2 foul. It also was Cousins’ sixth personal foul.

”It’s one of those things that you see coming but you can’t move fast enough,” Carter said.

Shawn Marion added 19 points and 10 rebounds to help the Mavericks snap a four-game losing streak. Dallas, which had lost 10 of 11, finished its short road trip 1-2.

Tyreke Evans scored 20 points and Isaiah Thomas had 18 points for the Kings, who dropped their third straight game. Sacramento outshot the Mavericks 49 to 42 percent but finished just 5 for 21 on 3-pointers and committed 20 turnovers. Dallas also outrebounded the Kings 52 to 41…

The game marked the first time the Kings played since the latest – and perhaps most serious – round of relocation talks began a day earlier, when word spread that Seattle investor Chris Hansen has contacted the Maloof family about buying the Kings. No deal has been reached yet.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Dallas Mavericks sign guard Mike James to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent guard Mike James to a 10-day contract.

James (6-2, 188) is a 10-year veteran and has played in 539 games (263 starts) with Miami, Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Houston, Toronto, Minnesota, New Orleans, Washington and Chicago. He holds career averages of 10.4 points, 3.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 24.9 minutes per game.

James spent his most successful season as a professional with the Toronto Raptors where, in 2005-06, he averaged 20.3 points and 5.8 assists while starting 79 games. In 2011-12, James played in 11 games for the Chicago Bulls. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.6 assists and 10.9 minutes while helping to carry the load at point guard for an injured Derrick Rose.

Most recently, James played in two games with the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League. He averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals in 34.0 minutes per contest.

The Copiague, N.Y., native played collegiately at Duquesne where he was All-Atlantic 10 as a senior before going undrafted in the 1998 NBA Draft.

The Mavericks roster now stands at 15.

Gordon Hayward scores 27 to lift Jazz over Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks had no answer for Gordon Hayward.

Hayward scored a season-high 27 points, including four 3-pointers [plus six rebounds and five assists], to lead the Utah Jazz past Dallas 100-94 on Monday night.

”He hurt us all night long,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said of Hayward. ”He’s a very athletic player. He is very skilled and he understands how to play. He got to us time and time again.”

Hayward hit back-to-back 3s and Marvin Williams followed with another to get the Jazz even at halftime. Hayward drained another with 2:19 left in the fourth to bump Utah’s lead to 93-86.

Dirk Nowitzki scored six straight for Dallas after that but also was called for a charge with 32 seconds remaining as he tried to get Dallas within two…

Nowitzki led the Mavs with 20 points in his second start this season after missing the first 27 games because of offseason knee surgery…

Derrick Favors tangled with Nowitzki in the lane, leaving him in a heap on the floor. The 14th-year pro had others swiping at him…

Al Jefferson added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Utah (18-18), which has won both meetings with Dallas this season.

— Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press

Mavericks waive Chris Douglas-Roberts

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have requested waivers on guard Chris Douglas-Roberts. He was signed as a free agent by Dallas on Dec. 23, 2012.

Douglas-Roberts (6-7, 210) played in six games for Dallas and averaged 2.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 10.5 minutes.

Prior to his stint with the Mavericks, Douglas-Roberts (6-7, 210) played in 11 games (all starts) for the NBA D-League’s Texas Legends. He averaged a league-high 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals in 38.5 minutes per game. In those 11 contests, he shot 49.4 percent (79-160 FGs) from the field, 39.5 percent (15-38 3FGs) from 3-point range and 90.4 percent (75-83 FTs) from the line.

The Mavericks’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Mark Cuban mad at officiating

With his team eight games under .500 for the first time since his first few months as the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, Mark Cuban is firing away at one of his favorite targets: NBA officials.

“Im sorry NBA fans. Ive tried for 13 yrs to fix the officiating in this league and I have failed miserably. Any Suggestions ? I need help,” Cuban tweeted after the Mavs’ 99-96 overtime loss Saturday night to the New Orleans Hornets, the team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

After Vince Carter’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim and to the hardwood, Cuban marched to midcourt and engaged in an animated discussion with referee Bill Kennedy.

Via email, Cuban declined to specify why he was upset with the officiating after the Mavs’ eighth loss in nine games or otherwise elaborate on the incident.

However, prior to the game, Cuban complained about the officiating late in regulation of the Mavs’ overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, a game he watched from his vacation home in the Cayman Islands.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas