Arena Stats
The Dallas Mavericks led the game as they moved past the Houston Rockets on Monday night in a 101-91 victory at the American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX.
Game Stats
The Houston Rockets grabbed 39 rebounds whereas the Mavericks had 47. Houston had 11 offensive rebounds whereas Dallas had nine. Houston gave away 13 turnovers and Dallas gave away 15. Houston Rockets had 14 fast break points and Mavericks had 13. The Houston
Rockets took the biggest lead with four points whereas Dallas proved to be the real mavericks as they led by 22. Houston scored 28 points in the paint and Dallas 34.
Box score
The Houston Rockets had 29 for 81 from the field whereas the Dallas Mavericks had 39 for 79 from the field. They had an edge in rebounding as they went 47-39.
Carton Butler made his 13 of 19 points in the third quarter run, Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds as the Mavericks succeeded and extended their winning streak to six games.
The Rockets were closing in on the Mavericks and that’s when Butler jumped in to light up a spark in the third quarter. He played just the perfect moves and gave the Mavericks the fuel up they really needed.
Butler was in full action and he responded to each ball made by the Rockets blow by blow. He had a spurt in the third quarter and he used it to his best advantage by scoring 11 straight points that gave the Mavericks a seven point edge 77-59 in halftime.
Quotable
"I was in the flow, one of those zones you get in, and your teammates keep feeding you," Butler sure was starved. He was all on jumpers as he hit six of his seven shots that also included a three pointer. Jason Kidd dished out 11 assists as he assisted Butler’s
buckets in the third quarter.
"It's fun to watch," referring to Butler, Nowitzki said later. "Kidd did a great job getting him the ball. When a guy is hot like that, you've got to milk it. He's one of the best mid-range jump shooters in the league."
Shawn Marrion had 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jose Juan Barea added 11 to the box score of Mavericks.
Kevin Martin tried his best to fuel up the Rockets as he scored 17 points and he did succeed to some extent. Luis Scola added 15 points but that couldn’t save the team that has already lost six out of eight games.
The Mavericks were followed by their 83-71 lead into the fourth quarter and they quickly added 22 more to steal the stretch back.
Barea is the one who the Mavericks should be thankful to, as he scored nine points to add to the final 19 points that they scored in the second quarter.
Yao Ming wasn’t there and was sorely missed. It seems like ages now since he stopped playing for rest as he was last declared injured with a bruise on his left ankle. Aaron Brooks was also not there to defend the Rockets because of a sprained left ankle.
It’s still not known when both will return and play for their team.
"I've stopped asking," coach Rick Adelman sounded a little disappointed as he said this. "It's just what the doctor sees as they progress...They both have to get on the floor before we'll know how long it will be."
The Mavericks were constantly fueling their offensive powers and the Rockets could not match their reeling power despite high expectations.
Coming Up
For the Mavericks, Wednesday vs. Minnesota, Friday @ Utah, Saturday @ Sacramento. For the Rockets, Wednesday vs. L.A. Lakers, Friday @ Memphis, Saturday @ Chicago.
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