The Mavericks had a host of memorable moments last season. Over the next couple of weeks we’ll rewind the tape and take a look back at five of our favorite games from the 2013-14 campaign. Comments? Suggestions? Drop us a line below.
The Mavericks’ win against the Houston Rockets in November was thrilling on so many levels. Dirk Nowitzki passed Reggie Miller for 15th on the all-time scoring list, Nowitzki and Monta Ellis combined to score 72 points in what was their first of many “1 and 1A” performances, Shawn Marion hit a game-winner, and, most importantly, Dallas won the game in comeback fashion. The Mavs trailed Houston by 17 in the third quarter and 12 to begin the fourth before roaring back late in the final frame.
Shawn Marion hit a three-pointer from the corner with 47 seconds left to give Dallas a 121-119 lead, the Mavs’ first since the 11:06 mark of the opening quarter. All told, the Mavs led for just 1:25 in the entire game — 38 seconds at the beginning of the first, and for the final 47 of the fourth.
Marion brought back his three-point shot this season in a big way, hitting more bombs this season (58) than he did during his first four years in Dallas combined. His go-ahead shot, which also proved to be the game-winner, was a reminder that he had reintroduced himself as a long-range threat. “If I get open looks, I’m going to knock them down,” he said after the win. “There was a point in my career when I stopped shooting them. It’s always been there. When I came here, I really didn’t have to (shoot threes). It’s there and I’ve always had them.”
The story of the game, however, was how Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki were able to partner up to force Dallas back into the contest. The 72 points Monta (37) and Dirk (35) scored represented the first time any two Mavericks scored at least 35 points each in the same game since Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd accomplished the feat in 1995 — also against the Rockets. Ellis’s 37 points would also ultimately tie for his season-high. The Mavs’ dynamic duo scored 22 of the team’s 36 fourth-quarter points (hitting 9-of-11 from the field), and 28 of the final 45 overall. Ellis also contributed three assists in the fourth.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Nowitzki, who passed Miller by hitting a technical free throw in the third quarter, said about his teammate after the win. “I don’t know how he does it. He plays 40 minutes a night and we probably run about 100 pick-and-rolls for him. The energy he has to attack, attack, attack, all game long, is special. He’s one of a kind.”
WATCH DIRK NOWITZKI’S POSTGAME INTERVIEW >>
Said Ellis: “If me and Dirk are going like that, the other teams have a problem.”
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