Josh Howard’s return sparks Dallas Mavericks to win

Posted Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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By BRANDON GEORGE

Special to the Star-Telegram

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks’ inconsistent offense received a big boost Saturday night with the return of swingman Josh Howard.

And the Toronto Raptors received an up-close look at just how potent the Mavericks’ new-look lineup can be with Howard in the mix.

Howard made his season debut and helped spark a 129-101 rout of the Raptors at the American Airlines Center.

Howard missed the Mavericks’ first five games while recovering from off-season surgery on his left ankle. He started Saturday and finished with 16 points in 25 minutes.

"I think it’s important to understand what he’s been through and make sure expectations are somewhat tempered," coach Rick Carlisle said, "but this is obviously a day we’ve been looking forward to for a while."

Howard didn’t play the fourth quarter because the Mavericks (4-2) didn’t need him. They put it on cruise control early in the final quarter against a Toronto team (3-3) playing on back-to-back nights for the first time this year.

The Mavericks had struggled shooting the ball and scoring all season with Howard watching from the bench.

In his return, the Mavericks shot a season-high 62.4 percent from the field and scored a season-high 129 points.

Dirk Nowitzki had 13 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter, and Jason Terry finished with 19 while Shawn Marion added 18.

The Mavericks, who hadn’t scored more than 97 points in regulation all season, had 100 points by 8:09 of the fourth quarter after Terry made a 3-pointer from the left corner to expand Dallas’ lead to 22 points.

Toronto All-Star forward Chris Bosh — the Dallas Lincoln High School product who leads the Raptors in scoring and rebounding — finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, and 7-foot center Andrea Bargnani added 22.

The Mavericks closed their best offensive night of the season with a 44-point fourth quarter with mostly reserves on the floor. They shot a blistering 74.4 percent in the second half.

Howard must have been itching to get back on the court. He came out aggressive and never let up.

Howard drove to the basket early and often and worked his way to the free-throw line. He scored five of the team’s first seven points and played the entire first quarter.

In the last minute of the first half, Howard nabbed his third steal and took the ball coast to coast for a driving layup into traffic to give him 13 points at halftime.

Howard was in pain throughout last season and had surgery May 22 on his left ankle and left wrist. He wasn’t cleared for contact drills until Oct. 14.

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