Mavericks knock off Pistons, complete Eastern road sweep
One night after beating up on a very bad New York Knicks team, the Dallas Mavericks beat up on an equally bad Detroit Pistons squad Wednesday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Now that this rather soft portion of their schedule is behind them, the Mavericks can turn their attention to Saturday when they play host to the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs as Dallas attempts to beat one of the Western Conference’s elite teams for the first time this season.
Chandler Parsons scored a season-high 32 points and Monta Ellis pumped in 25 points and handed out eight assists as the Mavericks strolled to a 117-106 victory over the Pistons (5-21). The win padded the Mavericks’ record to 19-8 and 8-0 on the road against teams from the Eastern Conference.
“We wanted to get both games on this trip, we had to get both to be quite honest with you,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who registered his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 boards. “We have another opportunity to beat a good team in the West, so you’ve got to love it, you’ve got to embrace the competition and hopefully put a full game together on both ends of the floor.”
After a few bumps out of the starting gate when they fell behind Detroit 16-8, the Mavericks, who swept this two-game road trip, slowly started putting their game together. It all turned in the third quarter when Parsons scored 15 points and Ellis added eight.
That duo combined for 23 of the Mavericks’ 30 third-quarter points when Dallas’ 53-51 halftime lead swelled to 83-73 entering the fourth quarter.
“I’m just in a good rhythm right now,” said Parsons, who was 10-of-17 from the field. “My teammates are doing a great job of finding me. I’m playing with confidence. I knew it was going to happen and it was going to be a matter of time. The longer I play with these guys the more comfortable I’m going to get.”
The Mavericks moved out to a 99-82 lead midway through the fourth period after a three-point play and a pair of 3-pointers by Parsons. Then after the Pistons crawled to within 101-95 after a basket by Texas-ex D.J. Augustin, Nowitzki rose up and settled things back down for the Mavericks.
Nowitzki drained a pair of free throws, buried a jumper and added a 3-point dagger to increase Dallas’ cushion to 111-100 with 1:33 remaining.
“Parsons hit big ones late-clock,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Dirk’s last one was probably the one that sealed the game, so that was huge. Hey, we’ll take them all.”
Nowitzki was an efficient 5-of-10 from the field, and the Mavericks shot 50.6 percent from the field, including a robust 65.7 percent in the second half.
“I thought they had a strong game plan on our pick and rolls,” said Nowitzki, whose right eye was dark following a collision with Josh Smith. “I felt like they didn’t leave me much. I didn’t really have a lot of great looks out there.”
Besides Parsons, Ellis and Nowitzki, the Mavericks got 16 points and nine rebounds from Tyson Chandler, and 10 points and five boards from Brandan Wright as they improved to 5-1 on the second leg of back-to-back games.
“This was a back-to-back, so the biggest thing was making sure we secured the win out there,” Chandler said. “But I like the way we’re playing out there.
“I like the way we’re playing defensively and offensively. The ball is moving, and I personally feel good.”
Parsons, who after the game wore an ice pack to aid his sore lower back and another one to support his left arm — he hyperextended it Tuesday during a collision with Carmelo Anthony — couldn’t help but think of Saturday’s game against the Spurs.
“They’re having a good year and everybody knows how competitive the Western Conference is,” Parsons said. “So we’ve got something to prove and have to go out there and get our first win over a really good team.”
Dwain Price, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published December 17, 2014 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Mavericks knock off Pistons, complete Eastern road sweep."