Mavs Beat Grizzlies
DALLAS — It wasn’t that long ago that the playoffs appeared a dim possibility for the Dallas Mavericks.
What a difference 12 days can make.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points and the Mavericks are closing in on a playoff spot after pulling away from the Memphis Grizzlies 103-93 on Friday at American Airlines Center.
Dallas (41-38) has won six in a row to reduce its magic number to clinch a Western Conference postseason berth to one with three regular season games remaining.
Still, the work isn’t quite done.
“I’m not proud of anything yet,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ve got to get to the playoffs and we’ve got to get the best possible seeding. That’s what this is about. This is no time to pat ourselves on the back.”
“The rest of the games are at Clippers, at Utah and at San Antonio. Three really good, really tough teams. We just have to keep our eye on the ball. I like what we’ve done, I like the physical and mental disposition that we’ve adopted here over the past 10 to 12 days, but we aren’t there yet.”
The Mavericks’ surge since March 28 could also lead to an unlikely move up the West standings. Dallas is one game behind Memphis (42-37) for sixth place in the conference.
The Grizzlies, already in the playoffs, are in a free fall. Memphis has
dropped seven of eight with NBA-leading Golden State up next Saturday at home.
Nowitzki came into the game in one of the worst five-game shooting stretches of his career, but made 6 of 12 shots to post his highest scoring game since March 23.
Reserve guards Devin Harris and Raymond Felton each come up big for Dallas’ injury-depleted backcourt. Not only is point guard Deron Williams out, but red-hot J.J. Barea was lost in the first half with a groin injury.
“Hopefully not serious,” Carlisle said of Barea’s injury. “We don’t know a timetable. He did try to come back, but it was pretty clear that he couldn’t finish the game.”
Harris scored all 16 of his points in the second half, including 12 in the third quarter. Felton had 11 points and dished out 14 assists — a high for any Maverick this season.
“I just need to try to make something happen and try to get some shots up for guys and try to make it easy,” Felton said. “My shots weren’t necessarily falling tonight, but at the same time I was getting into the paint, getting shots for other guys and just being aggressive. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
Dallas rookie shooting guard Justin Anderson scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 10 boards for his first double-double.
The Mavericks, up 74-68 going into the fourth, opened up as much as a 17-point lead in the final period. Memphis couldn’t get any closer than five down the stretch.
“I thought (the Mavericks) had a collective effort in spreading and opening the floor, getting deflections, using Dirk in the pick and roll,” Memphis shooting guard Tony Allen said. “Guys like Anderson crashed the glass when they missed and got offensive put-backs. They hit some end of the clock shots they were deadly.”
Allen led five Grizzlies with 25 points and had seven rebounds. Power forward Zach Randolph suffered through a 6-for-20 shooting night for 13 points.
Memphis shot only 40.2 percent from the floor and 7-for-22 from 3-point territory.
“We won the points in the point 44-26,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said. “We won the second chance points 21-8. We won fast break points 14-5. What can you say? That is a good team.
“They have four or five point guards on their roster, they’ve got plenty of shooting, and we fought and we battled. And then we went 0-for-10 on 3s during the second half. That was a problem.”
The Grizzlies fell behind 30-21 in the second quarter after a 13-0 run by Dallas. Memphis fought back and led 49-46 at halftime.
Allen, guard Jordan Farmar and small forward Matt Barnes each scored in double figures in the first half and combined for 34 points. Nowitzki paced Dallas with 10 points at the break.
The Mavericks’ final road trip of the season opens Sunday at the Los Angeles Clippers with a visit to Utah the following night.
