Mavericks roll over Wizards behind complete effort
While the new year brought hopes of a late surge to the playoffs, the Mavericks are hurtling quickly toward the NBA lottery.
But Monday night at American Airlines Center, at least a little flame flickered during a 98-75 victory over the Washington Wizards in what has been a fairly dim season.
Throw in some good old-fashioned chippiness between the two teams and the AAC had plenty of spirit to go with the mood.
Dallas played complete from start to finish, getting 20 points from Harrison Barnes, 17 from Dennis Smith, Jr. and 14 each from Wesley Matthews and Yogi Ferrell to snap a three-game losing streak and complete a season sweep of the Wizards.
The Mavs (16-31) knocked off Washington 113-99 back in November and Barnes matched his season-high with 31 points in that game.
With guard Devin Harris out for concussion protocol, coach Rick Carlisle went with a different mix of lineups and deeper into the bench to fill the void.
Tack on a third-quarter ejection of center Salah Mejri and the minutes got longer for every player considering Dallas will play four more games in the next seven days.
The game also showcased another dynamic duel for Smith, the rookie point guard.
He matched up with veteran John Wall, who scored 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting and had four turnovers.
Smith was 7-of-16 from the floor with six assists, two steals and a show-stopping 360-degree dunk early in the game.
But the rotating lineups helped produce a strong defensive effort and coupled with some poor shooting by Washington contributed to a 53-37 lead at the break.
The final score was Washington’s second lowest point total of the season, and it was Dallas’ largest halftime lead since Dec. 29 against New Orleans.
The Mavs held the Wizards (26-21) to the lowest total for a Dallas opponent this season in the first half.
Closing offensive runs helped apply the pressure as well.
A 7-0 run to close the second quarter helped stretch things out and an 8-0 run at the end of the third quarter helped make it 71-54.
Washington never threatened in the second half.
Mejri was tossed with 3:19 to go in the third quarter after arguing a loose ball foul with official David Guthrie.
In pleading his case, Mejri was hit with a second technical and automatically ejected, drawing the ire of Carlisle as well.
Carlisle expressed his displeasure with Mejri as he headed off the floor.
Still, the effort had some bright spots.
Maxi Kleber was back in the starting lineup for the third straight game, giving Carlisle the matchup he likes to take pressure off veteran Dirk Nowitzki.
The Mavs’ all-time scoring leader had eight points in 22 minutes.
Washington | 22 | 15 | 17 | 21 | — | 75 |
Dallas | 22 | 31 | 18 | 27 | — | 98 |
WASHINGTON (75)—Porter Jr. 2-8 0-0 4, Morris 2-8 0-0 5, Gortat 2-7 2-4 6, Wall 4-15 3-4 11, Beal 4-14 7-12 18, Oubre Jr. 2-11 2-2 7, Satoransky 1-3 0-0 2, McCullough 0-1 1-2 1, Scott 0-2 0-0 0, Smith 2-4 1-3 5, Mahinmi 2-3 0-0 4, Frazier 2-2 0-0 5, Meeks 3-7 0-0 7. Totals 26-85 16-27 75.
DALLAS (98)—Barnes 9-16 1-1 20, Kleber 1-4 1-2 3, Nowitzki 2-7 3-3 8, Smith Jr. 7-16 1-2 17, Matthews 5-12 0-0 14, McRoberts 0-0 0-0 0, Powell 2-3 3-4 7, Mejri 1-2 0-2 2, Barea 2-7 3-3 7, Ferrell 6-16 0-0 14, Collinsworth 2-2 0-0 4, Jones 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 38-86 12-17 98.
3-Point Goals—Washington 7-32 (Beal 3-8, Frazier 1-1, Morris 1-4, Meeks 1-4, Oubre Jr. 1-5, Satoransky 0-1, Scott 0-1, Wall 0-4, Porter Jr. 0-4), Dallas 10-31 (Matthews 4-8, Ferrell 2-6, Smith Jr. 2-6, Nowitzki 1-3, Barnes 1-4, Barea 0-2, Kleber 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Washington 45 (Gortat 10), Dallas 52 (Barnes 10). Assists—Washington 15 (Wall 5), Dallas 20 (Smith Jr. 6). Total Fouls—Washington 18, Dallas 21. Technicals—Morris, Washington coach Scott Brooks, Mejri 2, Barea. Ejected—Mejri. A—19,328 (19,200).
This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Mavericks roll over Wizards behind complete effort."