Star-Telegram.com: Mavericks/NBA

Jerry Stackhouse ready to move on from Dallas Mavericks

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:07 CST

By JEFF CAPLAN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A pillar of the Dallas Mavericks for the past half-decade, veteran Jerry Stackhouse, disillusioned with his diminished role just 10 games into the season, wants to rediscover happiness somewhere else.

Stating his style clashes with coach Rick Carlisle’s motion offense, a scheme based more on freelance movement than structured plays, and a reluctance to sacrifice minutes for mentoring, the 14-year swingman said his agent is exploring options for him to depart Dallas, possibly through a buyout or trade.

"The key part is there’s really no conflict with us," Stackhouse said Monday of him and Carlisle. "It’s understood that it’s his job to coach the team, but it’s my job to protect my future. I’ve got to have some say-so and dictate with the role that I’m kind of in now, that I’m ready to accept that. I don’t think I’m ready to fully accept that at this point."

Stackhouse said he believes he can thrive elsewhere, as he once did in Dallas, as a potent sixth man. Although his contract status, virtually an expiring contract, is favorable for a trade, his value is murky because he remains mired in a deep shooting freeze (29.1 percent overall) and bothered by a heel injury.

In fact, Stackhouse won’t play tonight in Charlotte or perhaps for some time. He’s removing himself from the active roster indefinitely to rest his heel and allow time for a resolution.

"I’m exploring options," Stackhouse said. "The team is always going to protect itself. I can’t force their hand to do anything. I don’t really know all the options right now. I think it’s to the point now where it’s time to start researching some things and seeing if there’s other possibilities that make more sense for me right now."

Stackhouse said his agent, Jeff Schwartz, who also represents Josh Howard and Jason Kidd, is gauging interest around the league. Schwartz did not return messages.

"Now it’s time to take that discovery to [Mavs president] Donnie [Nelson] and to [owner] Mark [Cuban]," Stackhouse said. "And hopefully it adds up."

Cuban said via e-mail that the team is working with Stackhouse, who the club believes "can be a valuable contributor to the organization on the court and off."

Stackhouse was adamant that he’s not demanding a trade, nor does he desire to burn bridges in hopes of one day returning to the franchise in a coaching or front-office capacity. Still, his plea puts management in an awkward position. The Mavs would prefer Stackhouse, who turned 34 on Nov. 5, accept a lighter workload and embrace, for the good of the franchise, a mentorship of would-be successors Antoine Wright and Gerald Green.

"Our first choice would be for what Jerry brings to the team, with his experience and playoff skins, toughness and intensity. Those things are valuable," Nelson said. "It’s just that during this period of time, we’ve got to be able to bring some of our younger players along as well. Therein lies the conflict.

"With our relationship and openly and honestly communicating, we’ll be able to come up with a game plan and hopefully that game plan will be one that includes Jerry in a Maverick uniform. If it’s just not a comfortable situation, if it’s a situation where the minutes are just not there, then we’ll work together with his agent and see if there’s some win-win together for both of us."

Simmering since he did not play against Cleveland on Nov. 3, things came to a head Sunday at New York when Stackhouse was inactive. Carlisle informed him that morning, part of a communication plan to allow Stackhouse the option of being inactive if his minutes will be limited.

Carlisle said the matchup against the up-tempo Knicks, who the Mavs defeated to end a five-game skid, didn’t favor Stackhouse. On Monday, Stackhouse took issue with that assessment.

"I play a lot of summer basketball," he said. "When I see [Knicks players] Wilson Chandler, Quentin Richardson and Jamal Crawford scared to guard me in the summertime, but it’s not a matchup, a particular game that I should play in, then ..."

Nelson said if the process drags out, he doesn’t see Stackhouse, who describes himself as disappointed, but not despondent, becoming a worrisome distraction.

"There’s always going to be a piece of me that’s a Dallas Maverick, regardless of what happens from this day on," Stackhouse said. "As it stands right now, I just think we’re drifting in different directions."

Mavs at Bobcats

6 tonight, FSN SW

No demand, but Jerry Stackhouse seeks change of scenery

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:06 CST

Barea, bench pitch in for Mavericks

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:27 CST

By JEFF CAPLAN

NEW YORK — J.J. Barea, struggling to earn trust and minutes, walked into coach Rick Carlisle’s office the other day for a chat.

"I thought he was going to come in and ask about his playing time and he comes in and I said, 'What’s going on?’ and he said, 'I just want to talk to you, coach," Carlisle said.

"He goes, 'You OK?’ I said, 'Yeah, I’m OK, you doing all right?’ He said, 'I just want to tell you everything’s going to be OK.’ And that was it. He left."

Barea helped make Sunday OK for the Dallas Mavericks, contributing 14 solid minutes — equaling his time in the past five games — in the hard-fought, desperately needed 124-114 overtime victory against the New York Knicks.

"It’s great for the team, the organization, for everything," a smiling Barea said, "from the top guy down to the little guy."

The 5-foot-11 Barea made just 2 of 7 shots, but they were big, a 3-pointer each in the third and fourth quarters. He aggressively attacked the basket, notched four assists and a steal and had no turnovers.

"He’s a guy whose heart is in the right place and he’s kept working and he’s stayed ready," Carlisle said. "So I was happy for him. He made some very big plays in the game."

Barea was one part of a complete bench effort, a rarity this season. Led by Jason Terry’s 20 points, five reserves recorded 51 points and 22 rebounds.

Forward James Singleton, finally getting his moment, finished with his fourth career double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, six on the offensive glass, in 27 minutes.

Carlisle chose to match up with the down-sized Knicks by sitting centers DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier and going with the more agile, 6-foot-9 Singleton and Brandon Bass (12 points, seven rebounds).

"All the coaches kept telling me to stay ready, stay ready, stay ready," Singleton said. "I was just patient and waited."

Mark and Marbury

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and marinating Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury shared a smile and a hug Sunday.

Marbury could be looking for a new team soon if he and Knicks president Donnie Walsh can negotiate a buyout of Marbury’s $21.9 million contract, a process reportedly crawling along.

Cuban praised Marbury as a good person and still a good player.

Cuban then sounded a lot like his billionaire counterpart at Valley Ranch on Sunday when discussing the potential of bringing a notorious problem player to his team.

"We’ve got guys like [psychology coach] Don Kalkstein, guys we have in the organization that we put in place that have babysitting skills — and that’s not in reference to any specific player," Cuban said. "But, different ages, different maturity levels, different skill sets, you have to put an organization around them that hopefully puts them in a position to succeed.

"Some guys are higher profile than others and unless we think it’s going to be a negative, we’re willing to take a chance."

Stackhouse inactive

Mavericks veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse was inactive for Sunday’s game, a decision not based on health.

Dallas Mavericks storm back, beat New York Knicks in overtime

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:04 CST

By JEFF CAPLAN

NEW YORK — Mark Cuban articulated his team’s 124-114 overtime victory Sunday over the New York Knicks succinctly and accurately.

"Never before has the 10th game of the season," the Dallas Mavericks owner said, "felt like a playoff game."

Desperation will do that. And it didn’t come easily. In fact, the Mavs appeared to be in big trouble again in the final minutes, down 112-105 with 2:26 to go and the Knicks, so new to this winning thing under coach Mike D’Antoni, seemingly reclaiming the momentum they held nearly the entire way.

An all-too-familiar series of missed shots and a charging foul on Brandon Bass allowed the Knicks another surge, and suddenly it felt like Friday night’s blown chance at home against Orlando.

But, the Mavs (3-7) snapped a five-game losing skid with a strong effort from their reserves, big plays from their stars and a late defensive stand, something the team has talked about but hadn’t been able to complete until Sunday.

New York (6-4) scored two points on free throws in the final 7:26 of regulation and overtime after a night of big shot-making from long range.

"I think maybe we were fed up with losing," Jason Kidd said. "The offensive call that Bass had when we were down by two, I think in the past we might have folded tent, but guys just stayed the course, we got stops and rebounds and Josh [Howard] and Dirk [Nowitzki] were great tonight."

Howard and Nowitzki combined for seven of the Mavs’ final nine points in the fourth quarter and Jason Terry sank an 11-foot runner for the tie, although his 16-foot jumper to win in the final seconds wouldn’t fall.

In overtime, Howard, who finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Nowitzki, who had a game-high 39 points and 15 rebounds, scored 11 of the Mavs’ 12 points. Nowitzki had 26 at halftime but struggled to knock down shots in the second half.

Still, in the final minutes, he took control, wanting the ball, wanting to take the big shots. Coach Rick Carlisle said Nowitzki willed the team to the win.

"We had to get off this losing streak, so whatever I had to do, stay aggressive, the team told me to keep shooting and stay aggressive," Nowitzki said. "I was able to get a couple shots in there in overtime, so that was good."

The new-look Knicks led 50-35 in the second quarter and seemed to have an answer for every Dallas run. New York was 11-of-30 from 3-point range, shot 53.2 percent from the floor in the first half and carried a 64-57 lead into halftime.

The Mavs, as in most games so far this season, opened slowly, clawed back and tied it at 86-86 in the third quarter. They wouldn’t take their first lead since 6-4 until Nowitzki made two free throws to open overtime.

"It was just like, find a way," Carlisle said. "We hung in. The fact that it went to overtime was probably appropriate given the situation."

Zach Randolph led six Knicks in double figures with 27 points and added 18 rebounds. Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler, Quentin Richardson and David Lee hit big shots each time the Mavs moved within three or four points. But the Knicks missed all nine shots in overtime.

"To a team that’s used to winning, it felt like we hadn’t won in two or three months," Nowitzki said. "We had to stop the bleeding. We’re happy to get this win and hopefully turn this thing around a little bit."

Mark Cuban says Jason Kidd-Devin Harris 'a win-win trade’

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:03 CST

The Dallas Mavericks were in New York where Stephon Marbury plays but doesn’t, and where Mark Cuban extolled the virtues of Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s least favorite point guard.

Cuban’s favorite point guard, Jason Kidd, made his first return to the area since the February trade, yet it was that other guy in the Mavs-Nets trade drawing as much or more interest as Marbury and Kidd.

Former Mavs point guard Devin Harris, who’s now leading Kidd’s former team across the Hudson River, is off to a rousing start, averaging 23.0 points and 6.2 assists.

He’s coming off a 33-point, 10-assist game Saturday and Friday he had 30 and eight. So, the local media horde asked Cuban — more than once — any regrets?

"I’m happy for Devin," Cuban said. "It is what it is. Jason Kidd has been our best player by far. There’s no question about. It’s a win-win. J-Kidd has just been phenomenal, so it’s been a win-win trade."

— Jeff Caplan

Byron Scott working to keep New Orleans Hornets focused

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:32 CST

By JAN HUBBARD

Early in the season, New Orleans coach Byron Scott crossed the line with his players. Upset with their effort in the opening games, Scott accused them of taking their excellence for granted.

The Hornets are the fashionable pick to meet the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals this season, and for good reason. They had the second-best record in the West, only one game behind the Lakers, last season and forced the Spurs to seven games before losing in the second round.

But after opening this season with three victories, the Hornets lost a home game to Atlanta and a road game to Charlotte. While that was happening, Scott was issuing edicts.

"I told 14 guys if they’re subscribing to that newspaper, I don’t want them reading it," Scott said, unhappy with his players believing their press clippings.

That part was OK. But then Scott said:

"I told them to get rid of their subscriptions because I think they’re starting to feel that everyone has written them [in] against the Lakers in the Western Conference and we haven’t accomplished one damn thing."

On behalf of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and actually all newspapers, that’s crossing the line. If you don’t want to read it, fine. But don’t cancel your subscription. That hurts business. It would be like reporters suggesting that no one should buy tickets to basketball games.

Scott still has a young team and his concerns of overconfidence are understandable. The Hornets were 5-3 before playing Houston on Saturday night. They also dropped a home game to the Lakers last week, which led Scott to tell reporters after the game:

"I’m disappointed, period. But I like the way we kept fighting and coming back in the game. Every time we seemed to have a great opportunity, we either turned the ball over or we would commit a stupid foul. The effort was there. But we’ve got to play a lot smarter, and we have to understand we have to cherish that ball a lot better than we have in the last four or five games."

The Hornets are blessed with a wonderful schedule. Their next four games are at home against the Kings, a home-and-home with Oklahoma City, and a visit to the Clippers. Six of their next nine games are against teams worse than .500.

Of course, at some point, the schedule will get much tougher, but in winning 56 games last season, the Hornets proved they are one of the league’s elite teams. And with 23-year-old Chris Paul at point guard, the Hornets will be good for many years to come.

In his first seven games this season, Paul had more than 20 points and 10 assists until he tailed off with 17 points and 9 rebounds in a 87-82 victory over Portland.

The Hornets still have most of the crew that knocked the Mavericks out of the first round last season, and they added free agent James Posey, who won championship rings with Miami and Boston, and is averaging 10.4 points as the Hornets’ fourth-leading scorer.

More importantly, however, is that he brings defense. Posey spent a lot of time guarding Kobe Bryant on Wednesday, and even though the Lakers won the game, Kobe had only 20 points on 5-of-15 from the field.

Scott is determined to keep the Hornets focused on the short-term during the season, and that’s understandable. But let them read the paper, Byron. It’s always good to be informed, even when people are writing nice things about you.

The Kids Are All Right: Al Horford edition

1. Horford, 22, could have left school after his sophomore year and been a lottery pick, but he stayed one more year to help the University of Florida win its second consecutive NCAA title.

2. Instead of seeking commercial opportunities or vacationing after his rookie year, Horford went to summer school at Florida and plans to eventually finish his degree in telecommunications.

3. Horford’s father, Tito, played three seasons in the NBA, appeared in 63 games and scored 93 points. Horford played in 81 games and scored 824 points as a rookie.

4. Horford, 6-10, 245, averaged 10.9 points and 9.1 rebounds in his first seven games this season, but was awesome in a game against the Bulls. He had 27 points and 17 rebounds, but his primary value was as a defender.

Dallas Mavericks still can’t avoid late-game collapse

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:32 CST

By JAN HUBBARD

For more than 45 of the 48 minutes played Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks were either tied or led the Orlando Magic on the scoreboard.

The exact total time the Magic had a lead was 2 minutes, 29.9 seconds.

And Dallas lost its fifth consecutive game.

It’s been that kind of a season.

The 2-7 Mavericks departed for New York on Saturday, where they will meet the Isiah Thomas-less Knicks, who, as it turns out, are not bad at all.

After winning only 23 games last year, the Knicks, under new coach Mike D’Antoni, are 6-3, and even though they have only one quality victory — a 107-99 win over Utah in New York — they are at least beating up on the bad teams.

The Knicks’ other five victories are against teams that were a combined 8-26 before Saturday’s games.

The Mavericks have beaten a struggling team only once, with a victory in Minnesota. And since their 98-81 victory over the Spurs, who played without Manu Ginobili, in San Antonio on Nov. 4, the Mavericks have lost five consecutive games — their longest losing streak since the 1999-2000 season.

"We’ve got to get a win somehow," Dirk Nowitzki said. "Scratch, fight, whatever it takes. It’s not pretty. We’ve got to find a way to win this game in New York. New York has got incredibly better and they’re a run-and-gun team now. We’ve got to find a way to get in there, get some stops and find a way to win the game."

The Mavericks thought they had found that Friday night. The defense was solid for much of the game. The Magic made only 38.5 percent of its shots, and the Mavericks led by as many as 15 midway through the third quarter.

But the Mavericks continued their season-long trend of fourth-quarter breakdowns. They were outscored 30-20 by the Magic in the last period, and though Orlando made only 8-of-20 shots in the final period, the Mavericks shot only 6-of-22 (27.3 percent).

"When you’re this close to winning," said a shaken Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle after the game, "you’ve got to draw a line in the sand and decide to get over the hump."

The Mavericks have been unable to do that late in games. They have been outscored in the fourth quarter by opponents 238-198. And although they have allowed opponents to make only 44.7 percent of their shots from the field in the last period, the Mavericks have made only 37.3 percent.

Nowitzki said the Mavericks have done a 180 from two years ago, when they finished 67-15.

"In the 67-game winning season, we just knew down the stretch that we were going to come away with the plays we needed to win," he said. "So far, we just don’t have it.

"When you’ve got swagger down the stretch ... you’ve got confidence that no matter what happens you know you’re going to win. You get that through working, through executing down the stretch, getting one win at a time and hopefully getting that first one here soon and then building on that."

For the Mavericks, who did not practice Saturday and took an afternoon flight to New York, the loss to Orlando was maddening. They had a one-point lead with 15 seconds left when Jason Terry got a rebound but was in the air and landed out of bounds.

If Terry had been able to control the rebound, the Mavericks would have had the ball and Orlando would have had to foul. Instead, the Magic kept the ball and Jason Kidd committed his sixth foul.

The Magic took a one-point lead and then on a botched play, Josh Howard threw the inbounds pass directly to Jameer Nelson. With Kidd in the game, Howard likely would have still inbounded the ball, but Kidd probably could have come to get it and prevented the turnover.

No matter. The game was a loss, and although most of the Mavericks were somber after the game, Howard said the team still believes in itself.

Familiar (sorry) ending for Dallas Mavericks

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:42 CST

By JAN HUBBARD

DALLAS — See if this sounds familiar.

The Dallas Mavericks entered the fourth quarter Friday night with a decent lead ... but lost.

This one, perhaps, was the most painful because they were 15 seconds away from a victory.

In that short period, however, they had three plays they could not make and the result was a 102-100 Orlando victory — the Mavericks’ fifth consecutive loss.

And the schedule is not kind. They leave today for a three-game trip to New York, Charlotte and Houston and they know the basketball gods are not smiling upon them.

"I guess once you’re in a funk, just everything else seems to go against you," Dirk Nowitzki said. "We have to battle ourselves to that first win. I think once we get the win, the bounces will go our way. But I think to get that first win is going to be tough."

The Mavericks were so close. They trailed for only 38 seconds of the first three periods and went into the fourth quarter with a lead at 80-72.

Orlando mounted a comeback led by guard Jameer Nelson, who had nine points in the period and took the lead at 96-94 with 2:32 left on a 10-foot jumper by Nelson.

The Mavericks regained the lead, however, and when Nelson missed a shot with 14.8 seconds left, Jason Terry got the rebound. But he was in the air, unable to stay in bounds, and the Magic retained possession of the ball.

After that, it was all bad news for the Mavericks, who did not score a field goal from the 6:26 mark in the fourth period until 1:27 remained.

After the Magic inbounded the ball, Jason Kidd fouled Rashard Lewis, who made two free throws to give the Magic a lead at 101-100 with 10.9 seconds left. It was Kidd’s sixth foul and he would be missed.

The Mavericks called timeout and inbounded the ball in the front court. But Josh Howard inexplicably threw the ball to Nelson, who was guarding Terry and the Mavericks had to foul immediately.

Howard was asked after the game if Terry had gone a different way than he thought, but Howard had a short reply.

"It was a tough play," said Howard, who led Dallas with 25 points. "We can correct it. We’ve got to turn the page and get ready. We fought hard throughout the whole game. And that’s what we need to base this off of."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was clearly distraught after the game. Speaking almost in a whisper, Carlisle said: "It was a turnover. I’ll take the blame for it. I’ll take the blame because I’m the coach and when you throw it to the other team, I’ll take the blame for that."

But a few minutes later, Carlisle said: "They all should be able to inbounds the ball. I don’t want to use that as an excuse."

Nelson gave the Mavericks one more chance, however, when he made only one of two free throws. The Mavericks inbounded the ball with 7.6 seconds left and Terry managed to get to the lane for a 10-foot shot with Nelson on him. But the shot did not go down and the Mavericks’ record dropped to 2-7, 0-4 at home.

The victory by Orlando broke a 10-game losing streak in Dallas for the Magic. Orlando had all five starters score in double figures with Lewis leading with 23. Nelson had 21 and Mickael Pietrus had 20.

For the Mavericks, it was a close call and not typical of their recent fourth-quarter losses. But it was still a loss.

"We’re up one, we had the rebound, unfortunately stepped out of bounds giving them a chance," said Nowitzki, who had 24 points. "We had a tie again and just threw the ball away. So just didn’t execute great down the stretch. To get out of a losing streak, you gave to do everything right down the stretch."

Mavs can’t win for losing, a bitter pill they choke on

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:37 CST

JIM REEVES

DALLAS — Five times Rick Carlisle went straight to the chase in his pregame media briefing Friday night before his exceedingly desperate Dallas Mavericks squared off against the Orlando Magic at the AAC.

"We just gotta get a win," was Carlisle’s answer for almost every question thrown his way.

He’s going to have to try saying it six times before the next game. All five did was match the Mavs’ current losing streak after they again blew a fourth-quarter lead. They fell 102-100 when Jason Terry’s bid for a game-tying jumper slipped over the front rim, hit the back iron and rattled out in the final seconds.

This wasn’t about fight, or will, or effort, all those things we’ve been talking about, believe it or not.

This was simply about choking.

This was about stupid mistakes in crunch time.

This was about Josh Howard obviously having spent too much time watching Brad Johnson quarterbacking the Cowboys and throwing to guys in the wrong jersey.

Most of all, this is about a team that’s forgotten how to close.

But, hey, there’s good news even at the worst of times. Dirk remembered how to score again in the fourth quarter.

Three times in the final minute the Mavs had a chance to win the game, first with a defensive rebound that Terry couldn’t control — he stepped on the end line as he grabbed the ball — with 15.9 seconds left and the Mavs leading 100-99.

Jason Kidd fouled out with 10.9 seconds to play and his absence proved critical even before the clock started again. First, Rashard Lewis hit two free throws to put the Magic up by 1. Then Howard, trying to get the ball in to Terry from the front court after a Mavs timeout, threw it right into Jameer Nelson’s hands instead.

It was as if Howard’s intended receiver broke one way and the defender went the other. Guess who Josh hit in the numbers with the ball? Kidd very likely would have been the one making the inbounds pass if he hadn’t just picked up his sixth foul.

"Possibly, but we have 12 guys on the active roster, and my feeling is that some would be better than others, but they all should be able to in-bounds the ball," a glum Carlisle said in his post-mortem address. "I don’t want to use that as an excuse."

There are no more excuses for this team, and Howard’s faux pas certainly doesn’t qualify as anything close.

The Mavs played well against a good team, led by as many as 15 midway in the third quarter and again found a way to lose. They still haven’t won a home game this season and are foundering at an eye-rubbing 2-7.

"It’s like when you’re this close to winning, as a team you have to draw a line in the sand and get over the hump somehow," Carlisle said. "We were just about there and just didn’t have it, so ... I thought we played well and battled and all that, but there are no moral victories on this night."

Carlisle was dead right before the game. The Mavs don’t need a moral victory. They need a real, live win, period.

The Mavs again led throughout and it was 83-72 when the Magic began its run early in the fourth quarter.

Over the next 8 1/2 minutes Orlando outscored Dallas 22-11, tying it 94-94 on Mickael Pietrus’ 3-pointer with 3:04 to play.

Dirk tried to take over then, but needed a little more help from his friends. He grabbed a huge rebound off a Terry miss with 2:17 left and the Mavs trailing 96-94, but Kidd missed a short jumper, Howard rolled out a running layup, Terry clanged a 9-footer off the rim and DeSagana Diop missed a tip.

Cuban thanks Dallas Mavericks fans 'for hanging in there with us’

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:28 CST

By JAN HUBBARD

DALLAS — Before the Mavericks-Magic game Friday night, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban restated what he posted on his blog Friday morning.

"I’d rather play bad at the beginning of the year than at the end," Cuban said as he worked out on the Stairmaster.

On his blog site, Cuban did not ask fans to not lose faith; he thanked them in advance because he assumed they had not.

"I hate to lose, and we are going to do everything we can to get everyone on the same page so we can finish games the same way we have been starting them," Cuban wrote. "Thanks to all Mavs fans for hanging in there with us. I hate to lose games as much as you do, but the season is just starting. We have gone through struggles before, and I’m sure we will go through them again. As will every team."

It’s all relative

The Mavericks have, no doubt, struggled on the road and at home this season. But everything is relative. Dallas dropped its first three home games of the year for the first time since the 1993-94 season. But it hardly stopped at three that year. The Mavericks went on to lose their first 19 home games. The road wasn’t much better. They finished the season at 13-69. That was Quinn Buckner’s only year as a head coach.

Losing streak snapped

The Magic had not won in Dallas since the 1997-98 season, losing 10 consecutive game before the victory on Friday. Jamie Aron of the Associated Press did some research and discovered the leading Orlando scorer in the 100-90 victory that night was Mark Price with 18 points. The second leading scorer? Former Maverick Derek Harper, who had 16 points. Harper played one year in Orlando before finishing his career the next season as a Laker.

Great play, but ...

One of the flashiest plays of the night went for naught. Late in the third quarter, Brandon Bass drove down the left side of the land and slammed a dunk over three Magic players. The play, however, was waved off because the shot clock had expired a fraction of a second earlier. So instead of 10, the Mavericks led by eight at 80-72 going into the last period.

Winning rebounds

The Mavericks were outrebounded in the first three games of the season but now have outrebounded opponents in six consecutive games. They won the battle of the boards with Orlando 54-47 Friday night.

Cheeks in seats

The Mavericks have sold out 280 consecutive games and 338 when counting pre- and post-season. Dallas has the longest sellout streak in the league.

Wright sits

Antoine Wright continues to get inconsistent playing time. For the third time this season, he did not play because of a coach’s decision. He has started two games and played in the previous two games. J.J. Barea and James Singleton also did not play Friday.