Rondo returns, but short-handed Mavericks lose at home to Nets

After a one-game suspension, Rajon Rondo was back in the starting lineup Saturday night. Unfortunately, he and the Dallas Mavericks failed to show up.

Deron Williams returned home and scored 25 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 104-94 victory over the Mavericks before a sellout crowd of 20,367 at American Airlines Center. Williams, who hails from The Colony, made 9 of 14 shots as the Nets completely frustrated the Mavericks.

Dallas (39-22) was trying to join Atlanta, Golden State, Memphis and Houston as the only teams who have won at least 40 games so far this season. But the Mavericks fell flat on their faces while dropping to a disappointing 20-10 at home, including 7-6 against the East in Dallas.

The Mavericks will finish this two-game homestand Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans before they open a three-game road trip Thursday in Portland.

This was the first game for Rondo since he got into a heated cursing match with coach Rick Carlisle in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game against Toronto. The Mavericks suspended Rondo from Wednesday’s game in Atlanta, and have repeatedly said that whatever issues Rondo and Carlisle had with each other concerning play-calling were over.

Rondo, who becomes a free agent on July 1, came out on fire. He collected four points, four assists and two rebounds in the first quarter, which ended with the Mavericks clinging to a 26-23 lead.

But with center Tyson Chandler (left hip flexor) and small forward Chandler Parsons (sprain and bone bruise to is left ankle) sidelined, the Mavericks suffered from a manpower shortage.

Dallas went with a small lineup that included starting power forward Dirk Nowitzki at center, Richard Jefferson and point guard J.J. Barea at the forward spots, and Monta Ellis and Rondo in the backcourt.

It was the fourth consecutive game Parsons has missed and the second in a row for Chandler.

“I’m getting better,” Parsons said. “I’m doing more and more every day.

“I was able to get some shots up today, and I did a lot of conditioning today. I just continue to rehab it and hopefully I can get back out there soon.”

Against the Nets, the Mavericks definitely missed the 15.4 points per game Parsons had been giving them on a regular basis. And they could have used the production they’ve been receiving from Chandler, who averages 10.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

Thaddeus Young scored seven straight points to give the Nets an 80-67 lead late in the third period. Devin Harris’ half-court shot at the buzzer got the Mavs within 82-72 of Brooklyn going into the fourth quarter.

But a jumper by Joe Johnson kept the Nets ahead 92-80 with 7:08 remaining in a game that could cost the Mavericks a higher playoff seeding. This was a night on which the Nets simply got almost whatever they wanted, whether it was on the inside or from the perimeter.

The pressure will continue to mount for the Mavericks, who have 22 games remaining in the regular season, and 17 of those are against teams in the thick of a playoff race.

“I think it’s good to be playing high-level competition,” Carlisle said. “It may not be the best thing for our overall record in the end, but everybody plays the same teams — it’s just a matter of when you play them.

“You can’t look at it and say, ‘Yeah, I wish we had their schedule.’ The schedule is what it is and you’ve got to take stuff as it comes.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Rondo returns, but short-handed Mavericks lose at home to Nets."