Mavericks-Hornets: Dallas Puts the Swat on New Orleans

Wrap Up

The Mavericks got the playoff matchup they were hoping for by beating New Orleans 111-98 in Dallas tonight.  New Orleans was locked in the 2nd seed, but Dallas got another big home win against a playoff team as they are really hitting their stride for the playoffs.  Dirk Nowitzki was cold the whole game, only scoring 12 on 4 of 16 shooting and grabbing 5 boards, but the two Jasons were the story.  Jason Terry had 30 off the bench, being very aggressive getting to the rim and shooting very well from the short corner on pick and roll with Dirk late in the fourth quarter.  Jason Kidd grabbed his 100th career triple double with his 10th rebound late in the fourth quarter.  Kidd also had 10 assists and 28 points, while hitting 5 of 8 three point attempts.

The Hornets struggled with foul trouble from their big men, with both Tyson Chandler and Hilton Armstrong struggling with 3 fouls early in the game.  However, Chris Paul picked up his fourth and 5th fouls late in the 3rd quarter, during which the Mavs went on an 18-4 run.  Paul ended with 20 points and 10 assists, while David West led the Hornets with 23 points and 8 rebounds.

 Keys to the Game

1. Kidd's and Terry's lights out shooting-8 of 14 from 3 combined
2. Brandon Bass, Eddie Jones, and Kidd's energy-you can't really quantify hustle, but these three got to so many loose balls and long rebounds, drew offensive fouls and blocked shots
3. Half-court Trap of Paul-I wrote about this yesterday, and it really seemed to rattle Paul.  David West did take advantage of this when he got the ball out of the trap, but he didn't make up for the turnovers and points the Mavs got out of this.
4. Hornet Foul Trouble/Mistakes-Too many fouls and missed dunks.

My Observations

• The Hornets didn't look very focused tonight.  Lots of missed dunks and bad fouls.  Surely they realized not too much was on the line.
• Byron Scott played his starters way more than I expected.  When the Mavs were ahead by 9 with 8 minutes to go, I was sure he'd get everyone out of there.  Reminds me of how Avery Johnson kept grinding away at his guys in some of the meaningless games last year.  The Hornets/Mavs series is starting to look similar to the Mavs/Warriors last year.
• The Mavs are really getting to the rim now.  They are a very good jump shooting team, but they are so solid offensively when they get the easy baskets in the paint.  Without a low post scorer, the Mavs have to get in the paint and get to the line.

Can't wait for the first game in New Orleans!