Pachulia held his own against Lopez

DALLAS – Zaza Pachulia returned to the Dallas Mavericks’ lineup Friday night just in the nick of time.

With the Mavs fearful of another menacing performance from Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez, Pachulia at least was able to counter some of the damage.

Pachulia tallied 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out three assists as the Mavs dethroned the Nets, 91-79, at American Airlines Center. It was Pachulia’s career-high tying 21^st double-double and also his first game after he missed the previous three with a sore left Achilles.

Lopez has a history of having monster games against the Mavs. But Pachulia was prepared to face the 7-foot, 275-pound center.

"I played in the Eastern Conference for a long time and faced him a lot of times,’’ Pachulia said. "He can shoot form both sides and has really soft hands with a soft touch.

"He’s loaded and I had to make him work, and at the end of the day it’s a team effort – five against five. It’s not a one-on-one game, and defensively we helped each other and did a good job.’’

Coach Rick Carlisle was impressed with the way Pachulia stood up and handled Lopez, who still managed 28 points and 12 rebounds.

"It was a really important thing for us tonight because of his strength and experience versus Lopez, and they put some on the other end putting the ball in the basket,’’ Carlisle said of Pachulia. "Sixteen and 12, those are gaudy numbers at our center position, so it was production we needed.

"Lopez has averaged a bunch of points here – he’s averaged 28 the last four games he’s played here and he’s had two 38-point games here. He’s a load.’’

Pachulia, though, battled Lopez as if this was some sort of heavyweight fight. Often, the two players found themselves on the floor battling for loose balls.

"Yeah, that’s what he does and that’s what we’ve been missing,’’ forward Chandler Parsons said of Pachulia. "He’s one of the smartest and highest IQ centers ever.

"Just the way he can pass the ball, he has a really good feel for the game. It’s almost like a guard at that (center) position. The way we play and get up and down the floor in our offense and the way we flow in half court, he’s textbook for the way he can find guys and pass the ball.’’

Pachulia played 32 minutes and was 6-of-10 from the field. His performance was precisely what the Mavs needed after they went 1-2 on a recent road trip which included a win against the Los Angeles Lakers and losses to Houston and Golden State.

"It was a good game for us and we needed this one,’’ Pachulia said. ‘It was a tough road trip for us in this conference.

"Here we are with two games back home with Brooklyn and the next game (Sunday at home against the Phoenix Suns) is very important for us as well. It’s always hard to play coming off a road trip, and defensively we did a great job.’’

Dwain Price can be heard every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m. on dfwiradio.com

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 11:36 PM with the headline "Pachulia held his own against Lopez."