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Nowitzki's triple-double helps Mavs jump into 2nd in West


By Mike Fisher, for NBA.com
Posted Tuesday March 30, 2010 12:26AM

DALLAS (NBA.com exclusive) -- Assorted members of the Mavericks termed Monday's 109-93 victory over visiting Denver "a statement game.''

A statement? That underselling is one of the few errors any of the Mavs committed in this showdown for second place in the Western Conference standings. In fact, Dallas made dozens of "statements'' in the meeting at American Airlines Center, outperforming Denver at virtually every position up and down the roster and in virtually every category up and down the stat sheet.

"This was definitely a fun win,'' said Dirk Nowitzki, who led the charge in three of those categories with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, the second triple-double of the All-NBA player's career. "We share the ball, we play off each other with a lot of energy and we love to play together.''

"It was Dirk,'' added teammate Jason Terry, "and it was everybody.''

The win vaults Dallas nearer control of the No. 2 slot in the Western Conference playoff race. The Mavs are 49-25 and now have a half-game lead over their nearest competitor -- but now that nearest competitor is Utah, with a 49-26 record. The Nuggets -- the team that ousted Dallas in last season's conference semifinals -- are in a tailspin. Denver finished this road trip (demanding in part because this game was the second of a back-to-back) 1-4 and has lost five of their last six contests. The Nuggets are now 48-27and with this loss tumbled to fifth place in the West, all the way behind Phoenix.

Before tipoff, Denver interim coach Adrian Dantley said the second-place showdown was arguably the biggest game of the season. Denver (with the exception of J.R. Smith, who scored 27) did not play at a level befitting the importance of the game. Among the Nuggets who fell short: Carmelo Anthony, who was badly outplayed by Shawn Marion.

Said Nowitzki: "To me, the game ball really belongs to Marion. He was fantastic tonight. Carmelo is one of the best scorers in the league and he did a phenomenal job on him. [Marion] was the player of the game.''

Anthony entered the game as the NBA's third-leading scorer at 28.9 points per game. But he made just three of his 16 shots and finished with 10 points, largely due to Marion's defense. Marion scored 21 points himself, but his defensive work has been the constant.

Notably, since the All-Star Break trade that brought new starters Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood in trade from Washington, the Mavs are 17-5. Despite their recent tribulations (Dallas had dropped four of seven before Monday), the Mavs since the break are playing at a .773 clip that is second only to Phoenix' 16-4 record in that time.

Terry contributed 15 points off the bench for Dallas, which also got an emotional lift from the contributions of rookie Roddy Beaubois. The French speaking youngster from Guadeloupe didn't come close to matching his 40-point explosion from Saturday at Golden State. But he was among the many contributing factors as the Mavs controlled the pace (with 23 fast break points) while also limiting the Denver offense.

The Nuggets average 107.1 points per game; that's the third-highest scoring offense in the NBA. However, the Nuggets have fallen short of 100 points in four straight games and in seven of their last eight games.

Denver did make a fourth-quarter run, pulling to within 82-75 with 10:08 remaining. But Terry -- who engaged Smith all night in a game that got chippy -- then scored eight consecutive points, including a pair of 3's.

"That Denver team has always been a thorn in our side,'' Terry said, "so it means something to beat them, especially given the situation [with the standings]. And if you don't fight back, if you get lax at all, they will sense it and they will kill you. In that sense, yes, we fought back and we made a statement.''

Or, really, dozens of them.

http://www.nba.com/games/20100329/DE...s=iref:nbahpt1