Mavericks 132 Bulls 129 Final/2OT Its just one NBA regular season game, but the Mavericks should just transfer half of Chandler Parsons salary and add it to Monta Ellis salary. I know Ive been bashing and smashing Parsons all season due to the high expectations (I mean, he gets paid twice as much as Dirk and I want the Mavericks to look smart in taking Parsons from the Houston Rockets), but I will give credit to Chandler Parsons for contributing 24 points and 7 rebounds, even in a double overtime game. Many teams would want and could need a player like Chandler Parsons and so I am just glad he is with us and I know he will come up big later on in times the Mavericks most needed him. I dont know where to start because I could probably write three to four pages on this rollercoaster-type game. I will say that this is a make-or-miss league; both teams could have easily won or lost this game just a single made or miss. Seemingly simple I know, but what if Ray Allen missed that shot in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals? The Spurs would finally have their repeat and would be playing for a three-peat. Many more examples can be thought up. Coming into this game, the Mavericks had a day extra of rest to prepare for the Chicago Bulls and I am glad they had that for this double-overtime game. Both of these teams are somewhat opposites of each other; the Mavericks rely on their shooting offense to power them through, while the Bulls rely on a more balanced approach, leaning toward physical defense while having a moderate-powered offense with the inclusion of Pau Gasol, who had a great game tonight (29 points 12-25 from the field and 11 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (8 points, 14 boards, and 6 assists), a great defender and passer as well. The Mavericks needed to do better rebounding-wise and shooting-wise as well, compared to the last couple of games, to beat the Bulls defense at the United Center. The first half featured the Mavericks taking the lead in the middle of the second quarter after a tight first quarter between the two teams and from that point on, it was a game of runs, going back and forth and back and forth and eventually the game worked itself to a tied game at 96 with five minutes and change left in the game and then the Bulls had a six point lead with about two minutes to go, which is tough to overcome against a good team; they just need to knock down some free throw shots and not turnover the ball. But, Jimmy Butler (23 points with 8 rebounds and 7 assists but 5-9 from the charity stripe) missed a free throw that would have most likely clinched the victory for the Bulls and instead became the catalyst to a dramatic finish to this game Then Kirk Hinrich (8 points off the bench and a good shooter and defender as well) committed an ill-advised and untimely foul against Monta Ellis, who needed to launch a three point shot to save the Mavericks and continue the game. Fouling can be effective in that situation where the opponent has no timeouts and need to travel the length of the court to get a good chance at a made 3-points shot to tie the game. However, the Bulls should probably have fouled much earlier and let the Mavs only have two free throws instead of three. The referees (they were plain awful in officiating; even Helen Keller from the nosebleed section could have seen the ball go off of Gasols hand and also, Derrick Rose bumped Monta Ellis for sure) I think had to call the foul a shooting one without a doubt because Ellis was not jumping up to make a pass; he had to shoot and thankfully, the refs saw that. Derrick Rose is back, and he played a so-so game (18 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds, but 6-20 shooting and 4-11 from long range). He hit a buzzer-beating game-tying 3 point shot in like one would see in a game of horse; he just flung the ball up one-handed and banked it off the board into the basket, like a 25-foot floater while under pressure. A clutch shot for the Rose and the Bulls but this isnt a game of horse. I will take the win, anytime and anywhere. Monta Ellis was simply outstanding in MVP-like fashion (38 points on 16-35 shooting and 1-4 from downtown). He really relishes these kinds of moments and I think you just have to have that mindset and be fearless to take the big shot and accept the consequences, win or lose. Tonight, he raced out of the gates after halftime and struck fire up for half of the 3rd quarter, and then got ice cold for the remainder of the game until the last two minutes of so (hes going to be the rise and fall of the Mavs throughout the season if he plays like that). At that point, he decides to make up for his poor play to end the game by sinking three huge free throws (heart rate was sky high at that point) and would not be denied the rest of the game. I think he was pretty agitated at Roses shot to send the game to double overtime and put the team on his back and while the Mavericks and Ellis could have folded up against the Bulls momentum coming into the 2OT period, they fought and would not settle for a loss. They did control the game for the majority of regulation, and I felt that a loss coming out of here would be a waste of their effort against a good team on the road. Ellis shot to give the Mavericks the lead for good was clutch and could simply not have come at a better time; it was his only made three but it was the game-winner and thats what ultimately counts. Devin Harris had a huge impact on the game from the bench, with 20 points, 7-10 shooting, and a perfect 6-6 from the land of triples. I know he can be active in getting to the rim, but if he can shoot like this and work on it more, then it will open up more opportunities to get to the rim. J.J Barea was helpful from the bench with 13 points on 5-8 shooting. The Mavericks have a lot of good guards and if Jameer Nelson (3 points and 4 assists) can get into the mix after he shakes off the back spasms, that would be pretty cool in helping out Monta. I will give credit to Richard Jefferson in not fouling Derrick Rose and not committing the foul and the same mistake the Bulls did to give the Mavericks life to pull this one out. Learning from your own mistakes is smart, but learning from others mistakes is wise. Dirk Nowitzki had a solid game (24 points, 10 ast, and 7 rebounds) despite not shooting the ball well. The depth of the Mavericks is an asset and will be essential down the stretch; who is going to step up and contribute will be different on a game-to-game basis, and as long as the Mavericks can avoid saying No one stepped up then they can legitimate contenders. The Mavericks play the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night; both teams will be on the second night of a back-to-back. The Bucks are not the Bucks of old; they competed well against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, have good players in Jabari Parker and Brandon Knight, and have Jason Kidd has their coach, who has played with the Mavericks and so has some knowledge of how they work and play. The Mavericks dont have to travel too much though, though they did play a double overtime game. I just hope that this hard-earned win will instill more confidence in this team and get them to gel and become cohesive. Its what brought them the championship in 2011 and it will be needed if they want a crack at a second title in four years. Happy Holidays; if all of the Mavericks games are like this in December my heart probably wont be able to make it to 2015. -MFFL
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 06:51:50 +0000
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