DALLAS -- Monta Ellis dribbled near midcourt with the clock winding down in a sluggish first half for the Dallas Mavericks.
Nicolas Batum Jersey . He made a pullup jumper off that isolation play, triggering a big finish for Dallas new
playmaker. Ellis scored 24 points, including 13 in the third quarter when Dallas
took its first lead, and the Mavericks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 97-94 Monday
night. Ellis had 19 points in the second half and added a game-high 10 assists
and two of Dallas 11 blocked shots. "I dont think I was being aggressive enough
in the first half," said Ellis, who has scored at least 18 points in all 11
games with the Mavericks, the longest streak to start a career in Dallas. "We
werent clicking as a team. They took us out of our game." Two nights after a
37-point loss in New Orleans and playing without budding star
Michael Carter-Williams for the fourth straight game because of a foot injury,
the Sixers held the Mavericks scoreless for the first 5 minutes and led by 10 in
the first half. Even after losing its lead for good late in the third quarter,
Philadelphia stayed close behind Evan Turner, Tony Wroten and some late
3-pointers from James Anderson. Turner had 26 points, nine rebounds and seven
assists while Wroten had 19 points and five steals. The Sixers were down six
with just 30 seconds left, but one of 20 Dallas turnovers kept them alive. The
outcome wasnt settled until the Mavericks inbounded with 4.8 seconds left and
Shawn Marion had a breakaway dunk that came just after the final buzzer, leaving
the final margin at three. "I thought we battled and showed a lot of heart to
come back from arguably our worst performance in New Orleans, and we lost to a
good team," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. Dirk Nowitzki and Marion had 20
points apiece for the Mavericks, who began a stretch of seven of nine games in
Dallas. Nowitzki had 10 rebounds, and Marion chipped in seven. The Mavericks
pulled even twice in the third quarter before finally taking their first lead
when Vince Carter knocked the ball loose as Hollis Thompson was going up for a
layup. Jae Crowder ended up with the ball on a breakaway but gave it up to
Marion for the dunk and a 70-69 Dallas lead with 1:44 remaining. Philadelphia
had the ball down just 90-87 in the fourth, but Samuel Dalembert had one of his
three blocks on a drive by Turner. Jose Calderon was wide open for a short
jumper on the other end but passed before getting the ball back beyond the arc
and hitting for a 93-87 lead. Calderon had 14 points and was 4 of 10 from long
range. Coming off the bench for the first time this season, Dalembert also had
eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds. "I explained the situation this
morning," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "He was great about it. Its a case of
a guy who didnt let that affect him. He came in and he was a big factor."
Anderson finished with 14 points, including 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.
Thaddeus Young struggled from the field at 6 of 18 but still finished with a
double-double at 12 points and 11 rebounds. Spencer Hawes had 10 points and 11
boards. The Sixers shot just 38 per cent and made only 12 of 22 free throws,
numbers best illustrated by a sequence of three missed shots, four missed free
throws and four offensive rebounds all in the same possession when they trailed
86-81 midway through the fourth quarter. "I think we played our hearts out,"
Turner said. "Once again, we didnt help ourselves at the free-throw line but we
just have to keep up the intensity." Ellis didnt get his first basket until the
2:12 mark of the second quarter. But it wasnt because he was missing. He was
just 2 of 4 from the field before halftime. Carlisles move to replace Dalembert,
his centre, with Crowder, a forward, in the starting lineup backfired at first.
Crowder went 0 for 5 with two turnovers while Dallas went scoreless in the first
5 minutes before Nowitzki hit a baseline jumper after Marion rebounded a missed
3-pointer by Crowder, who scored two points on 1-of-8 shooting but did have six
rebounds. NOTES: Dallas rookie PG Shane Larkin made his NBA debut late in the
first quarter, four months after breaking his right ankle in the final practice
before summer league. He immediately had a steal, and his first assist was on a
bucket by Nowitzki. He finished three points, three assists and three steals.
... The teams combined for 12 missed shots to start the game before Turner hit a
jump shot with 9:10 left in the first quarter.
Nicolas Batum Hornets Jersey .Y. - OK, it is done.
Marvin Williams Hornets Jersey . Kyle Shanahan was hired as offensive co-ordinator Monday after spending the previous
four years in the same role with the Washington Redskins. ATLANTA -- Kyle Korver
said Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer "laid into us" at halftime. The response
from Korver and the Hawks, especially in the third quarter, earned postgame
praise from the first-year coach. Korver scored 24 points, including a trio of
3-pointers in a third-quarter stretch that gave Atlanta the lead, and the Hawks
overcame Kevin Loves 43 points to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-113 on
Saturday night. Korver hit each of his four shots and had 12 points in the
third, when the Hawks outscored the Timberwolves 38-21. "I thought the guys
responded," Korver said. "Obviously, it was a great third quarter for us.
Hopefully he doesnt have to talk to us like that all the time. It worked
tonight." Budenholzer said defence sparked Atlantas comeback from an 11-point
deficit in the second period. "I think the third quarter tonight was something
we can reference going forward on how we want to play, particularly defensively,
to hold them to 21 points in a quarter with the way they can score," Budenholzer
said. Budenholzer said guard DeMarre Carroll, who had 19 points, "set a
defensive tone for us and I think everybody else follows that." Paul Millsap,
guarded by Love much of the night in a matchup of All-Stars, had 20 points and
13 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Even with the dominant third
quarter, the Hawks had to hold on late. A jam by Minnesotas Corey Brewer with
2:55 remaining cut Atlantas lead to 107-104. Jeff Teague, who had 19 points,
drove for a layup and Carrolls free throws pushed the lead to seven points.
Loves 3-pointer again trimmed the margin to three before Atlantas Gustavo Ayon
banked in an unlikely scoop shot to thwart the comeback attempt. Love, who
grabbed 19 rebounds while playing with a sore left ankle, had 21 points in the
final period and finished two points shy of his season high. "I didnt even know
I had (43) to be honest," Love said. "I think (Kevin Martin) told me after the
game. I was just trying to get us back in the game by aany means.
Alonzo Mourning Hornets Jersey. My teammates set me up with a lot of good shots but, yeah, a loss right now, its just tough."
Love said the Timberwolves missed centre Nikola Pekovic, who sat out his third
straight game with bursitis in his right ankle. Pekovic could have been
especially important against the undersized Hawks. "To not have Peck in a game
like this, really the last (three) games, its really tough, just because he
takes up so much space," Love said. "Youre having to make up for 20 points and
10 rebounds." Martin had 17 points for the Timberwolves (23-24), who fell under
.500 with their second straight loss. Korver, guarded closely by Brewer much of
the game, missed his only 3-point attempt in the first half. Korver finally
broke free to sink his first 3 with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter for a
60-all tie, extending his NBA record to 115 consecutive games with a 3. Korver
added another 3-pointer about a minute later and sank his third with 4:20
remaining in the quarter, giving Atlanta a 73-62 lead. "Once he got one, its
tough," Brewer said. "I tried to chase him and make it tough on him all night.
... But hes a great shooter. He has the record for a reason." Minnesota opened
the final period with quick 3s by J.J. Barea and Alexey Shved to trim Atlantas
lead to 86-81. Barea was ejected with 6:43 remaining. He was called for a
technical foul on Minnesotas end of the court and argued his case at the other
end, stepping inside the 3-point arc before finally being tossed as Korver was
setting up for a free throw. NOTES: Millsap fouled out with 4:19 remaining. ...
Ricky Rubio had 11 assists for Minnesota. ... The Hawks signed F Cartier Martin
to a 10-day contract and he was active to start his second stint with the team.
He appeared in 25 games with the Hawks before he was waived on Jan. 7 and then
signed two 10-day contracts with the Bulls. ... The Hawks played their first
home game since Wednesday nights game against Detroit was postponed until April
8 due to the winter storm that paralyzed the city.
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