Dallas Mavericks trounce Denver Nuggets for 102 – 84 win – NBA Recap
Fuelled with high octane defensive play and 6 players in double figures, the Dallas Mavericks trounced the visiting Denver Nuggets 102-84 at American Airlines Centre.
Nuggets offense was completely shut down as they confronted their nemesis, Shawn Marion, who netted game high 16 points and grabbed 10 boards while also handing out 6 assists in a terrific all round display.
The veteran forward also frustrated Denver’s top scoring threat Ty Lawson; Marion held him to just 3 points in the entire game.
"I'm just doing what I do every game. Y'all are just not paying attention to me”. Marion said. “I'm just playing my game and I pride myself in being the best basketball player I can. Not position-wise, but as a player as a whole. I do it all."
To help Dallas match their longest winning streak of the season at 5 straight games, five other players also played a pivotal role.
Vince Carter scored 15 and had 6 rebounds while the veteran Lamar Odom netted 14 and Jason Kidd had 13 points. Forward Dirk Nowitzki and Brandan Wright recorded 12 and 10 points respectively in their team’s 19th victory of season.
Dallas dominated the game completely; with zero ties and no lead changes. They had a decent shooting rate, hitting 46.2% from the floor and 81.8% from the charity stripe.
On the other hand, Denver Nuggets, who trailed throughout the game, had a poor shooting night as they netted 35.7% from the field and 58.1% from the free throw line.
Before this encounter Nuggets had won three straight games in Dallas, with an average of 104.1 points per game. However, they lost that spark in this game.
Although 5 players hit twin digits, the Nuggets still couldn’t avoid their 13th loss of the season.
Rudy Fernandez was the top scorer for Denver in the match as he scored 14 points, all in the first half. Kosta Koufos recorded his double-double with 12 points and 14 boards, while Al Harrington netted 13.
The two rookies, Kenneth Faried and Jordan Hamilton, had 12 and 10 points respectively.
This game was a completely one sided affair as the Mavericks sprinted to a huge 21-9 lead from the jump ball. The away side tried to narrow the gap; adding 8 points before the quarter ended but Dallas netted 6 more, remaining in control at 27-17.
With a 9-4 early run in 2nd stanza Denver tried to make a comeback, scratching down the gap to 5 points, 31-26. However, with a freebie and a layup from Odom combined with a picturesque running slam dunk from Wright, Dallas regained the twin figure
lead at 36-26.
The Mavericks continued to attack, two back to back 3-pointers from Carter along with a couple of consecutive dunks from Wright and pair of freebies from Jones, they augmented the lead to 49-33 with 01:52 left in the quarter. By the end of Segment they were
up 51-39.
Things didn’t change after the break. Nuggets could only score 15 points in the third segment as it turned out be a complete nightmare for their offense, while the Mavericks netted 32 in this period.
Dallas made an early 16-8 run that brought the score to 69-47. They finished the quarter with Odom’s jump shot bringing their lead to 83 – 54.
Mavericks went cold in the last stanza and the away side strived to make an impact as they netted 30. Denver had a 12-1 run that brought the scores at 94-72 with 04:20 in hand and another 8-3 to concluded the game, but they still endured a massive 102-84
defeat.
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