Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Monta Ellis scored 31 points, Al-Farouq Aminu had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks handled the Houston Rockets 121-109 at the American Airlines Center on Sunday night to force a Game 5 in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
The Mavericks fell behind by 10 points in the second quarter, and it appeared that the Rockets were about to take control of the game. However, Dallas closed the half on a 30-12 run and took a 61-53 lead into halftime.
From that point on, it was all Mavericks.
Dallas led by as many as 24 points, and while Houston did cut the deficit to nine late, the Mavericks were never in any danger of losing this contest in the second half.
Ellis was superb, and Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle praised him after the game, per Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle:
Carlisle, who was fined $25,000 for criticizing the officiating after Game 3, also provided us with this little gem:
Rockets head coach Kevin McHale felt the loud home crowd was definitely a factor, per Creech:
James Harden led the Rockets with 24 points. Josh Smith added 23.
Dallas shot 54 percent from the floor and overcame terrible free-throw shooting (9-of-21) to get the win. Hitting 10 three-pointers definitely helped.
Houston shot 47 percent overall but went just 7-of-31 from long distance. It also struggled at the charity stripe, making just 26 of its 40 attempts from the line.
Game 5 will be on Tuesday night at the Toyota Center at 8 p.m. ET. Catch the action on TNT.
| James Harden | A- |
| Dwight Howard | B |
| Josh Smith | A |
| Trevor Ariza | F |
| Terrence Jones | B |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
| Dirk Nowitzki | B+ |
| Tyson Chandler | A- |
| Monta Ellis | A+ |
| Amar'e Stoudemire | A- |
| J.J. Barea | A |
| Rest of Team | A- |
Houston Rockets
James Harden: A-
James Harden had a good outing. Not a Game 3-type outing (42 points, nine assists), but a good one.
The star shooting guard scored 24 points on a 7-of-15 clip, going 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. He went just 1-of-7 from distance but was very efficient near the rim and did a great job of drawing contact as always.
Harden chipped in five rebounds and five assists to go with his point total. Plus, he committed only one turnover.
He may not have been dominant, but he was good enough. His teammates just could not follow suit.
Dwight Howard's performance in Game 4 was a far cry from his dominant 26-rebound contest in Game 3.
The center tallied 13 points and seven rebounds while struggling mightily from the free-throw line, going just 3-of-13.
Howard appeared to let the Mavericks get into his head, as there was a lot of talking going on between the big man and the Dallas players.
He wasn't even much of a rim deterrent, as the Mavs were able to get to the rack and finish regularly in the second half.
Howard shot 5-of-7 in 36 minutes.
Josh Smith: A
Josh Smith was the Rockets' best player on Sunday night.
He nearly single-handedly brought Houston back into the game late, scoring 18 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter.
Smith went 8-of-10 from the field and buried four of his five three-point attempts. No, that is not a typo. The forward was simply everywhere down the stretch and was the Rockets' go-to guy over the final 12 minuets.
Smith also grabbed six rebounds in his 28 minutes.
Trevor Ariza: F
Trevor Ariza had a tough night.
He went just 2-of-10 from the floor, missing all five of his three-point tries. It wasn't like he wasn't getting good looks, either. He was just missing them.
Ariza scored seven points and grabbed five boards. The forward also made minimal impact defensively. Generally, Ariza plays passing lanes well, which leads to fast-break points. He didn't do that in Game 4.
Terrence Jones: B
Terrence Jones was solid.
He didn't shoot the ball particularly well, going 5-of-12, but he managed 13 points and six boards and played some decent defense on Nowitzki when given the chance.
Jones only played 18 minutes, as the red-hot Smith got the nod for most of the way. The fact that Jones was able to put up those numbers in that limited time is pretty impressive.
Rest of Team: B+
Shooting guard Corey Brewer was sensational off the bench, pouring in 22 points off 9-of-15 shooting. He only hit one triple but attacked the rim all evening, finishing around the basket and keeping the Mavericks defense on its heels.
Brewer also pulled down five rebounds.
Other than Brewer, it was slim pickings.
Fellow guard Jason Terry was brutal, going just 1-of-5 for three points. Point guard Pablo Prigioni did hand out five assists, but he went 0-of-4. All of those misses came from downtown.
Dallas Mavericks
Dirk Nowitzki: B+
Dirk Nowitzki may not have been vintage Dirk in the win, but he had a nice game.
The German forward scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, knocking down his patented mid-range jumpers and even getting to the cup.
He wasn't afraid to mix it up with Howard and ended up bringing down eight rebounds, some of which he fought Howard for.
Dirk handed out four dimes as well.
Tyson Chandler: A-
Tyson Chandler had a solid outing.
The big man went a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, throwing down some thunderous dunks and setting good screens up top.
He was also a force on the glass, hauling in 14 rebounds, one of which was a vicious putback slam late in the second half.
Chandler's only blemish is that he was 2-of-6 from the free-throw line.
He had 10 points.
Monta Ellis: A+
Monta Ellis took over this game.
The high-octane guard scored 31 points on a 13-of-21 clip, getting into the lane at will and finishing in style at the basket.
He was outstanding in transition, keeping the Rockets defense off balance and slashing through it for easy buckets.
Ellis added six rebounds to go along with his scoring outburst.
Amar'e Stoudemire: A-
Amar'e Stoudemire was terrific off the bench.
The former All-Star dropped in 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, bullying Rockets defenders inside and putting down monster slams.
He flashed great quickness in the post and took advantage of mismatches—particularly against the younger, lighter Clint Capela.
Stoudemire did all of that in 18 minutes.
J.J. Barea: A
J.J. Barea was outstanding.
The diminutive guard posted a double-double with 17 points and 13 assists, fearlessly slicing through the Houston defense and either finishing or kicking the ball back out to open shooters.
The way Barea ran the offense was incredibly impressive and not something we are used to seeing from him.
He shot 7-of-15.
Rest of Team: A-
How about Aminu?
The forward was absolutely sensational in this one, posting 16 points, 12 rebounds and flying all over the court. Aminu threw down ferocious dunks, played pestering defense on Harden and got the crowd into the game. He shot 6-of-10 and even buried three triples, which is not normally his forte.
Charlie Villanueva gave the Mavs a lift, too, scoring eight points and knocking down a pair of triples. The backup forward also pulled down six boards in just 12 minutes.
Devin Harris and Richard Jefferson may not have scored much (four points apiece), but they provided some more veteran leadership in the win.
