Defensive bounce-back, Seth Curry lift Mavericks by Hornets 95-88
His defense answered the call Monday night and gave coach Rick Carlisle what he so desperately wanted.
The sterling performance by the Dallas defense enabled the Mavericks to roll to a 95-88 triumph over the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Center.
The Mavs are 1-1 on the preseason and will next play the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night in Madison, Wis.
The Mavs played without Dirk Nowitzki, Andrew Bogut, Deron Williams, Devin Harris and Salah Mejri. Those five also missed the preseason opener, and Carlisle has given no indication on when they’ll see some playing time.
Carlisle was livid after New Orleans shot a sizzling 57.3 percent from the field and spanked the Mavs 116-102 on Saturday. The Pelicans also were 12 of 21 from behind the 3-point arc.
On Monday, the Mavs got down and dirty on defense.
Against the Mavs’ sticky defenders, the Hornets shot 36.8 percent from the field and were just 4 of 22 from 3-point range.
The energy, the culture, the chemistry, the skills, the basketball IQ. From one to 15, everybody’s got a decent basketball IQ or better.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban
on what he likes about this team“It was better,” Carlisle said of his defense. “I have to look at the film first. “They missed a lot of shots, but [the defense] was better. The tempo was better.”
Owner Mark Cuban has sized up his squad and likes what he’s seen so far.
“The energy, the culture, the chemistry, the skills, the basketball IQ,” Cuban said. “From one to 15, everybody’s got a decent basketball IQ or better.”
Seth Curry again was the offensive juggernaut. Curry scored a game-high 20 points, including 13 in the third period when he made all three of his 3-point attempts. For the game, Curry made 7 of 13 shots, including 5 of 6 from downtown.
“He can get it going quick,” Carlisle said. “I love his aggression and he is showing that he can play both guard positions, so there are a lot of positives.
“He’s gearing up his posture and disposition on defense. He’s been picked on for a couple of years and I have talked to him a lot about it.”
Meanwhile, J.J. Barea played only 17 first-half minutes and collected 11 points on 5 of 9 shots.
On the flip side, Harrison Barnes struggled mightily. Signed to a four-year, $94 millon free-agent contact in July, Barnes finished with only three points, two rebounds, two assists and four fouls, and was 1-of-10 from the field in 17 first-half minutes.
Rookie center A.J. Hammons had six points and a game-high nine rebounds in just 20 minutes. And Wesley Matthews finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in 17 minutes.
The Mavs were clinging to a slim lead until C.J. Williams buried a 3-pointer to put them ahead 94-88 with 41.4 seconds left. Williams is one of seven players vying for the final two roster spots.
“A lot of it is positional and how we’re stocked at certain positions,” Carlisle said. “That will be part of it, and then it’s about daily production in practice and then in the games.’’
And that’s not all.
“A lot of people watching these games,” Carlisle said. “In Shreveport the other night there were at least a half dozen scouts.
“Teams get a hold of the film even though the games aren’t on TV. Those young players that are playing extremely well, and somebody has the numbers crunched, they got a chance to hook on with another team, so every minute and every second really counts.”
Charlotte | 26 | 12 | 23 | 27 | — | 88 |
Dallas | 23 | 25 | 26 | 21 | — | 95 |
CHARLOTTE (88)—Batum 3-6 1-3 9, Kidd-Gilchrist 3-8 2-4 8, M.Williams 4-10 0-0 8, Hibbert 1-3 8-10 10, Sessions 0-8 3-4 3, Harrison 1-1 0-1 2, Wood 2-2 0-0 4, Hawes 2-8 0-0 5, Kaminsky 4-12 5-6 13, Andrews 2-2 5-6 10, Lamb 3-7 1-2 7, Sulaimon 0-1 2-2 2, Belinelli 3-8 1-1 7. Totals 28-76 28-39 88.
DALLAS (95)—Barnes 1-10 0-0 3, Acy 2-4 1-1 6, Powell 3-5 2-2 8, Barea 5-9 0-0 11, Matthews 4-6 0-0 9, Anderson 4-11 1-2 9, Finney-Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Brussino 2-4 0-0 5, Warney 2-2 0-0 4, Hammons 3-6 0-0 6, Hornsby 0-2 0-0 0, Curry 7-13 1-1 20, Gibson 2-7 0-2 5, C.Williams 3-7 0-0 8, Collinsworth 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 38-90 6-10 95.
3-Point Goals—Charlotte 4-22 (Batum 2-3, Andrews 1-1, Hawes 1-2, Sulaimon 0-1, Kidd-Gilchrist 0-1, Lamb 0-3, Sessions 0-3, Kaminsky 0-4, M.Williams 0-4), Dallas 13-33 (Curry 5-6, C.Williams 2-4, Brussino 1-1, Matthews 1-3, Acy 1-3, Barea 1-3, Gibson 1-4, Barnes 1-4, Finney-Smith 0-1, Anderson 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Charlotte 48 (Hibbert 8), Dallas 49 (Hammons 9). Assists—Charlotte 14 (Hawes, Sessions 4), Dallas 21 (Gibson, Brussino 3). Total Fouls—Charlotte 18, Dallas 27. A—19,219 (19,200).
This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 11:07 PM with the headline "Defensive bounce-back, Seth Curry lift Mavericks by Hornets 95-88."