Mavs Beat Magic
Dallas outscored Orlando 71-51 in the second half en route to a 114-99 win.
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle recorded his 708th career win (he improved to 708-548, .564, all-time as a head coach), passing John MacLeod (707) for sole possession of 17th place on the NBA’s all-time wins list. Gene Shue ranks 16th with 784 career wins.
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki tallied a season-high-tying (team-high-tying) 20 points (6-13 FGs, 1-3 3FGs, 7-7 FTs) in 24 minutes (also had 20 at Miami 12/22). He led Dallas in scoring for the fifth time this year (including ties). Nowitzki went a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line and is now tied with Jerry West (7,160) for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time free throws made list. Michael Jordan ranks fifth with 7,327 career made foul shots.
Mavericks rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr. produced 20 points, including 15 in the second half, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 34 minutes. It was sixth career 20-point game. Dallas improved to 4-2 when he posts 20-plus points. Guard Wesley Matthews totaled 16 points (5-10 FGs, 2-6 3FGs, 4-5 FTs), five rebounds, three assists and one steal in 33 minutes. He scored at least 16 points for the fourth time in his last six games and at least 12 points for the sixth time in his last seven contests.
Mavericks guard Yogi Ferrell had 15 points (6-9 FGs, 2-3 3FGs, 1-1 FTs), a team-high eight rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes off the bench. It was his third game with eight-plus boards this year. Ferrell produced his ninth game with 15-plus points this season and his 19th game with 10-plus points this year. J.J. Barea dished out a game-high 12 assists to go along with eight points and two boards in 25 minutes off the bench. It marked his sixth double-digit assist game of the season. His six games with 10-plus helpers are his most in any one season with the Mavericks (previous: 4 in 2010-11) and the second-most in any one season in his career (8 in 2011-12 with Minnesota). Dallas improved to 4-2 this season when he drops 10-plus dimes.
Five players scored in double figures for Orlando in the loss: Aaron Gordon (19), D.J. Augustin (18), Mario Hezonja (14), Marreese Speights (13) and Evan Fournier (12). Gordon (19 points, eight rebounds, two assists), Augustin (18 points, three rebounds, five assists) and Speights (13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists) combined for 50 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists off the Magic’s bench. Speights notched his first double-double of the season (24th career).
The Mavericks used a 16-2 run in the opening quarter to turn a five-point deficit (9-4) into a nine-point advantage (20-11). Dallas led 25-19 after one. The Magic began the second quarter on a 13-2 run and went up by five (32-27) less than 4 minutes into the start of the period. Orlando outscored Dallas 29-18 in the second stanza and led 48-43 at the half.
The Mavericks began the third quarter on a 14-3 run and turned a five-point half-time deficit (48-43) into a six-point advantage (57-51). Dallas outscored Orlando 39-27 in the third period and took an 82-75 lead into the fourth.
Nerlens Noel (left thumb surgery), Dorian Finney-Smith (left knee quadriceps tendinitis) and Seth Curry (stress reaction, left tibia) remained out for Dallas. Johnathan Motley (G League) was not with the team. Jonathan Isaac (sore right ankle), Terrence Ross (sprained right MCL, non-displaced fracture of right tibial plateau) and Nikola Vucevic (fractured second metacarpal, left hand) all missed the game for Orlando due to injury.
The attendance was 19,306. The Mavericks have now sold out 660 consecutive regular-season home games, which is an NBA-best sellout streak. The streak began on 12/15/01 and Dallas has sold out an additional 67 playoff games during that same stretch.
The Mavericks’ next game is at Charlotte on Jan. 10 at 6:00 p.m. CT
