J.J. Barea provides big lift again as Mavericks overcome Bulls
J. J. Barea proved once again that the Dallas Mavericks are in capable hands when he’s running the offense.
For the second straight game while filling in for the injured Deron Williams, Barea set a career high. This time, his outstanding performance helped the Mavs roll to an impressive 118-111 victory over the gritty Chicago Bulls in front of a sellout crowd of 20,392 at American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks (17-13) opened a three-game homestand on a positive note going into Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. And they can thank Barea for helping tip the scales in their favor.
After scoring a career-high 32 points with 11 assists in Wednesday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets, Barea bounced back with a game-high 26 points and five assists Saturday. The 58 points are the best two-game performance in Barea’s 10-year career.
Barea also was 7-of-8 from 3-point range, the most he’s made in an NBA game.
“The coaches and my teammates, they just give me the confidence,” Barea said. “They want me to be aggressive, especially early in games, and I was able to get in a rhythm tonight again early, and that helped us win the game tonight.”
Overall, Barea was 9-of-14 from the field in 33 minutes. And once he got it going early, his teammates kept feeding him the ball.
“Our team is a lot about finding the hot guy, riding him when we have to,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s a little bit of the way we’re built.
“Tonight, J.J. was red hot again. We kept trying to get him the ball and guys kept finding him.”
The coaches and my teammates, they just give me the confidence. They want me to be aggressive, especially early in games, and I was able to get in a rhythm tonight again early, and that helped us win the game tonight.
Mavericks point guard J.J. Barea
Despite Barea’s hot hand, the Mavs needed some help from the Bulls to pull this one out. And it came when Derrick Rose was whistled for a 5-second violation with 11.2 seconds left and the Mavs up 114-111.
Raymond Felton then nailed a pair of free throws — he hit six down the stretch — and Chandler Parsons added a dunk to close out the victory.
Parsons came off the bench again and finished with 20 points, Zaza Pachulia (17 points, 12 rebounds) registered his 16th double-double, and Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and six rebounds.
Barea connected on his seventh 3-pointer — in as many attempts — as Dallas took a 75-66 lead midway through the third period.
His previous high was five 3-pointers, which he had accomplished nine times.
The Bulls were so hot that they scored on 10 consecutive possessions during one second-quarter stretch until Jimmy Butler missed a 15-footer in front of the Mavs’ bench with 34.9 seconds remaining in the first half. From there, Barea darted downcourt and fired in his fifth 3-pointer in as many tries.
That woke up the crowd — again — and shook up the Bulls. On Chicago’s ensuing possession, Parsons stole a Rose pass near midcourt and zipped down the floor for a fast-break dunk with 1.9 seconds left as the Mavs trailed 60-59 at halftime.
Dallas had fallen behind 54-43 following a hook shot by Taj Gibson with 2:38 left in the second quarter. But the Mavs ended the final 1:11 of the quarter on an 11-2 run for a wave of confidence.
The start of the game was delayed 20 minutes due to stormy weather. But once it started, Chicago blew out to a 12-3 lead less than three minutes into the game after Pau Gasol scored inside the paint.
The Mavs called timeout, and a video tribute commemorating Dirk Nowitzki passing Shaquille O’Neal for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list was shown on the Jumbotron.
Tonight, J.J. was red hot again. We kept trying to get him the ball and guys kept finding him.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle
Nowitzki stood up and waved to the crowd, then proceeded to bury a jumper from the corner coming out of the timeout. That ignited a rally that — following a 3-pointer by Nowitzki and another by Wesley Matthews — helped the Mavs soar to a 23-20 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Raymond Felton and Nowitzki hit 3-pointers as the Mavs to a 33-26 lead entering the second period.
Felton started, but Parsons quickly replaced him with 10:15 to go in the first period because of matchup problems. With those issues resolved, the Mavs got their act together on both ends of the floor and began to apply some pressure on the Bulls.
Dwain Price: 817-390-7760, @dwainprice
This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "J.J. Barea provides big lift again as Mavericks overcome Bulls."