Injuries have affected many teams in the NBA and on a second night of a back to back game the Dallas Mavericks yet again could not find a way to win as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Mavs, 96-85.
With an early injury to Dirk Nowitzki and Lamar Odom still sidelined the Mavs suffered their third straight loss, their second in a row after the All-Star break. In the second quarter Dirk Nowitzki left the game and wouldn't return again after suffering from lower back tightness.
Nowitzki managed to score only one point in 10 minutes of play. It was clearly obvious someone would have to pick up the slack.
After one quarter Memphis led Dallas 25-17, the second quarter gave the Mavericks hope that a victory was not to far fetched even with their star player being absent for the night. As a team the Mavs shot 76.5 percent on the floor in the quarter. Roddy Beaubois provided a spark off the bench scoring quick 12 points. Vince Carter added nine first half points, and the Mavs suddenly found themselves with a 49-47 lead at the break.
Leading into the third, after a layup by Brendan Haywood the Mavs saw their biggest lead of the night, a six point cushion, 53-47. A Mike Conley free throw and a layup though allowed the Grizzlies to regain the lead with 6:22 remaining, and they wouldn't look back.
Memphis scored in bunches in the final quarter extending their lead to as much as 15 points. After Jason Kidd hit a three-pointer and a Jason Terry three of his own with 6:24 left in regulation, the Mavs cut the lead to nine points. Terry led the team with 18 points and five assists.
In many instances they were able to narrow the lead to as little as seven points, however at the end of the day it just wasn't enough. Tony Allen put in the dagger layup with 1:41 left in the game.
Dallas only scored 36 points in the second half while shooting 34.1 percent. A big story of the game was the turnovers. Memphis managed to score 19 points of 18 Dallas turnovers.
The best news for Mavs fans is that Nowitzki stated he does expect to play Friday night when the Mavs travel to New Orleans to face off against the Hornets.
Game Notes:
The Memphis Grizzlies were without F Zach Randolph who is still recovering from a torn MCL.
Dallas now holds a record of 21-15 for the year. They are third in the Southwest Division trailing the San Antonio Spurs by 3 ½ games. They are in sixth place in the Western Conference.
