Mavericks stagger through 30K hangover before disposing of lowly Nets

Looking like they had some lingering effects from Dirk Nowitzki’s historical 30,000-point game three days ago, the Dallas Mavericks suddenly found themselves having to grind out a game against the lowly Brooklyn Nets.

In a fight for most of the game Friday night at American Airlines Center, the Mavs finally mustered enough energy in the fourth quarter to win a pretty ugly 105-96 contest over the Nets. It was the 12th victory in their last 14 home games for the Mavs, who won for the fourth time in a row – tying a season-high.

The victory also kept the Mavs (28-36) one-and-a-half games behind the Denver Nuggets in the heated race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

In order to wiggle their way out of their struggles against the Nets, the Mavs resorted to using a zone defense and also took advantage of the return of guard J.J. Barea as a welcomed boost. Sidelined the previous 20 games with a strained left calf, Barea scored eight of his nine points in the second half.

“I thought he was the key, particularly in the second half,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He gave us some leadership at the offensive end, got us organized, out the ball in the basket a few times and he played smart in the zone.

“He knows the zone better than a lot of our guys because he’s played it a lot over the years with the international team. The key tonight was to get him a reasonable stretch of minutes and then get him shut down and try to get him ready for tomorrow.”

Barea played just 14 minutes, but was very effective. He made 3-of-6 baskets and also handed out three assists while getting the struggling Mavs upright.

“I’m excited to be back, it’s been awhile, but it felt good,” Barea said. “I was helping my team out and we got a win, so it’s good to be back and get a win and help my teammates out.”

The Nets have the worst record in the NBA at 11-53, and have lost 36 of their last 40 games. But they pushed the Mavs nearly to the brink, leading by eight in the second quarter and trailing 83-80 early in the fourth quarter.

Brooklyn even led 49-46 at the half and kept applying tons of pressure to the Mavs.

“They played hard, they’re a tough team, they kept coming at us,” Barea said. “But I think at the end of the third and fourth quarter, I think we adjusted and we made our run.”

The Mavs employed a 13-1 run to go up 96-81 after a pair of free throws from Seth Curry (18 points) and two more by Yogi Ferrell (17 points).

Harrison Barnes led the Mavs with 21 points, but Nowitzki struggled and finished with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Nowitzki missed his first four shots of the game, but then fired in two 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter.

Now the Mavs will close their five-game home stand on Saturday at 8 against the Phoenix Suns. And they’re hoping for another boost from Barea.

“I’ll get my rest and I’ll kept doing my work and get ready for tomorrow,” Barea said. “I think it’s a must-win game for us and we’ll see if we can finish strong.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Mavericks stagger through 30K hangover before disposing of lowly Nets."