Ellis the star, Amar’e supports as Mavericks stifle Hornets
If these were the Academy Awards, Monta Ellis would have taken home the Oscar for the Best Actor in a leading role Sunday night.
And the Best Supporting Actor would have easily gone to Amar’e Stoudemire.
Ellis scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, and Stoudemire sparkled in his Mavericks debut while helping Dallas emerge with a workmanlike 92-81 triumph over the Charlotte Hornets before a sellout crowd of 20,347 at American Airlines Center.
The victory was the second in a row for the Mavs (38-20) on this three-game homestand that ends Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors.
After the pesky Hornets rallied from a 17-point deficit to inch to within 75-68, Ellis scored 15 of his team’s final 17 points over the last 6:42 of the game. And he assisted on the other two points when he fired a pass that Tyson Chandler converted into a flying dunk.
It was indeed an Oscar-worthy performance by Ellis.
“We were stuck in the mud there,” coach Rick Carlisle said, referring to his offense. “We were having trouble scoring.
“Monta had a frustrating first three quarters, but he stayed with it and he found something that got us a little bit of traction. He put the ball in the basket four or five times in a row and that got the game sealed for us.”
Stoudemire also helped rescue the Mavs. In his first game after he signed a free-agent contract with Dallas on Wednesday, Stoudemire played 11 meaningful minutes and collected 14 points and three rebounds while showing a lot of promise for the future.
“I felt a little winded at the end of the first quarter, but other than that I felt good,” said Stoudemire, who was 5 of 8 from the field and powered his way to three dunks. “I think when you’re playing with good basketball players the game becomes easy.
“It’s a matter of finding the right spots on the court to get open and take advantage of your opportunity and go for it.”
Stoudemire received a standing ovation when he entered the game for the first time with 5:26 remaining in the opening quarter. And he gave the fans what they were longing for, instant production.
Shortly after getting in the game, Stoudemire grabbed an offensive rebound and proceeded to score with a left-handed putback. He then brought the crowd to its feet with back-to-back dunks, first off a feed from Devin Harris, and then one of the alley-oop variety via a pass from J.J. Barea to give Dallas a 28-16 lead.
“I thought it was very good, very solid,” Carlisle said of Stoudemire’s output. “He showed how he can help us pretty clearly.
“It’s pretty clear the guy knows how to play the game, he’s got a lot of skill, and he still got a lot of juice.”
Richard Jefferson also showed he’s still got as lot of juice. Starting in place of the injured Chandler Parsons, who’s out three games with a sprained left ankle, Jefferson picked up his second double-double of the season after he finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Jefferson also got the highlight reel play of the game when he motored inside, skied high and threw down a hammer dunk over Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Jefferson was whistled for an offensive foul, but that didn’t stop the loud chatter in the locker room about the tremendous dunk.
“I don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Jefferson said. “I’m an old man. It happens every now and then. You get lucky once in a while.”
The Mavs, who led 45-35 at the half, just hope what they got from Ellis, Stoudemire and Jefferson will be repeated multiple times over the season’s final 24 games.
Dwain Price, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Ellis the star, Amar’e supports as Mavericks stifle Hornets."