Dallas Mavericks: Game 29 Reaction

The second regular season meeting between these two teams, Mavs and Clippers, proved equally as entertaining as their first meeting in LA back in mid-January. While the Mavs having home court might have given a little lift to the team, I think the real difference between the two games, as close as they both were, was with the Mavs gelling as a team. Defense at the forefront.

The Clips walked away with a buzzer-beating win in the last match-up, off a Chauncey Billups three. Chris Paul was the one to sit-out that first meeting. Fast-forward to Feb. 13 and Chauncey and Paul switch places; Billups presumably, out for the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles.

The 96-92 final score in favor of the Mavs, from my viewing, can be attributed to:

1) Great first half from Brendan Heywood. I don't see any official blocks attributed to him in the final box score, but he seemed to have his hands all over the Clippers' possessions and tallied nine big rebounds.
2) Shawn Marion and Delonte West did a great job of controlling Chris Paul as much as anyone can. And when Paul was double-covered, the Mavs still prevented Griffin and DeAndre Jordan from putting up uncontested, score-at-will lobs and/or dunks.
3) Odom showed some life! A total of nine points isn't amazing by any means, but the big man brought a combined offensive/defensive spark when the Mavs needed one in the second quarter. Flashes of the Odom we all know is in there!
4) Griffin going 1/8 at the free throw line. Thank you!
5) Vince Carter is playing like a veteran who thinks he has a shot at a title and, more importantly, wants one. That's just the sort of infectious attitude that a fan hopes spreads.

In the weeks since the first game between these two, Dirk has taken his training break and returned, Kidd has gotten healthy, and the new pieces of the team have clearly bought into the defensive system that Coach Carlisle is preaching. It's working. When the Mavs slow on scoring in the fourth, their defense has been keeping them in close ones.

It was entertaining to hear the Clippers' FOX Sports play-by-play crew pontificate that we could be witnessing a preview of a Western Conference match-up, if not the Western Finals. The way the first two meetings have played out, it would promise to be a hell of a series: great defense, clutch shooting, high-flying spectacle, and close scores.

In the pre-game festivities, it was great to hear Carlisle give a passionate talk to the AAC's crowd regarding the character and determination of Caron Butler, a key player in the Mavs' successes last year. Great to see him receive his ring in front of the appreciative Dallas crowd.