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The result of the Dallas Mavericks’ first-round series with the San Antonio Spurs will not affect the job security of coach Rick Carlisle, owner Mark Cuban said Tuesday night.

“I mean, it’s not something we’ll evaluate now,” Cuban said before the Mavericks’ 103-81 victory in Game 5. “It’s not something we’ll evaluate this summer. I don’t see what would change anything.”

The Mavericks trail 3-2 in the best-of-7 series. Game 6 is Thursday night at San Antonio.

The Mavericks have a 105-59 record in two seasons under Carlisle, extending the franchise’s streak to 10 consecutive 50-win campaigns. In 2009, Carlisle guided the Mavs to their first playoff series win since they advanced to the 2006 NBA Finals.

Click here to read the full article – By Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com

Tony Parker saw the crowd gathered around Richard Jefferson and couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Man, one big game,” Parker said, smiling. “Look at all this.”
Jefferson took it in stride. After all, he was probably glad Parker didn’t woof or bark.

Knowing he was among the guys Spurs coach Gregg Popovich thought “played like dogs” in the opener, Jefferson bounced back by scoring 17 of his 19 points in the first half to help San Antonio beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-88 in Game 2 on Wednesday night. The win ties their first-round series at a game apiece, with the next two games in the Alamo City.
“You could see it in his eyes that he was motivated,” Parker said. “Nobody likes to play bad and he knew he didn’t have a good first game. Knowing his mentality, we knew he was going to come back.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Dirk Nowitzki was amazed. Even after hitting nearly every shot he took, the San Antonio Spurs still weren’t sending more defenders at him.

So he kept shooting. And scoring.

Nowitzki made 12 of 14 shots and all 12 of his free throws, coming up with 36 points to carry the Dallas Mavericks to a 100-94 victory over the rival Spurs on Sunday night in Game 1 of their first-round series.
“Sometimes,” Nowitzki said, “you have one of those nights where the basket is big.”
The Spurs slowed Nowitzki in the first round last year by swarming him with two and sometimes three defenders. He was expecting it again this series and practically begged them to bring it on with the way he attacked whoever was covering him.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Yao Ming will never again be the 37-minute workhorse he has been in recent seasons. At this point, the Rockets would happily settle for 25 quality minutes a night next season.

So there’s your new reality. On the positive side, they’ll have one of the NBA’s best centers back on the floor.
His presence will be especially critical on the defensive end, where the Rockets have been — how can we phrase this gently? — not very good.
He’s also a dominant low-post scorer, a great teammate and all-around good person. In other words, the Rockets are lucky to have him. If you ever thought they would be better off without him, this season probably convinced you otherwise.

Click here to read the full article – By RICHARD JUSTICE of Houston Chronicle

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The Mavericks are one of the smartest teams in the NBA, thanks largely to Jason Kidd, but when it comes to finishing out the regular season tonight, there’s one thing they cannot do.

Don’t over think it.

They very well could be seeing their first-round opponent when San Antonio steps on the floor at American Airlines Center. At least, part of their first-round opponent, given that Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich has been known to sit his heavy lifters in situations like this.

But for the Mavericks, they have been on such an impressive run lately, the last thing they want to do is change anything.

Oh, maybe the minutes get a little shorter for Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki. But beyond that, they would like nothing better than to finish the season on a five-game winning streak and head into the playoffs with a mountain of momentum.

Click here to read the full article – By EDDIE SEFKO of The Dallas Morning News

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Tom Penders resigned as coach at Houston on Monday, ending a six-year tenure that culminated in the Cougars’ first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1992.

The Cougars qualified after winning the Conference USA tournament, but lost to Maryland 89-77 in the first round Friday night.

“I came to the University of Houston in 2004 with the goal of getting UH back to the NCAA tournament,” he said. “We achieved this goal and now it is time for me to move on.”

The 64-year-old Penders became just the eighth coach to take four different schools to the NCAA tournament. He had also led George Washington, Rhode Island and Texas there.

Penders has won 648 games in his more than 30-year head coaching career. He went 121-77 at Houston.

Penders has spent the majority of his career turning around struggling programs, including those at Tufts, Columbia, Fordham and Rhode Island. He took great pleasure in leading the once-proud Houston program back to the tournament for the first time in almost two decades.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Top scorer Dirk Nowitzki was struggling, and the Dallas Mavericks needed points from other sources.

Jason Kidd, Caron Butler, rookie Roddy Beaubois and Shawn Marion picked up the slack.

Kidd had 20 points and nine assists, hitting 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and the Mavericks recovered from a lethargic start to match the NBA’s longest winning streak this season with their 13th straight victory, 96-87 over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night.
Butler and Beaubois each added 16 points and Marion had 14 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Mavericks equal Cleveland’s winning streak from Jan. 10-Feb. 11.
Nowitzki, who’s had 16 games this season with 30 or more points and two with 40-plus, went 3 for 16 from the field and finished with 12 points.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks rookie Rodrigue Beaubois’ playing status is in question after the guard suffered a bruised back during a hard fall against the Utah Jazz on Monday night.


Beaubois soared to try to swat away a layup attempt by Utah’s Paul Millsap on a fast break. The Mavs’ first-round draft pick fouled Millsap but got the worst of the collision, crashing to the hardwood and landing with a thud.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Beaubois might have been able to return in the first half, but the rookie’s back stiffened up during halftime of the Mavs’ 104-92 loss. He’ll spend Tuesday getting treatment in Dallas.

“Hopefully by Wednesday, he’ll be OK,” Carlisle said.

Click here to read the full article – By Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com

Dirk Nowitzki became the 34th player in NBA history — and the first European — to hit the 20,000-point milestone.

The Dallas Mavericks’ perennial All-Star power forward passed the milestone at the 10:57 mark of the fourth quarter Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, the 876th game of Nowitzki’s career. He hit a 14-foot baseline jumper off a pass from Jason Terry, giving him 17 points for the game and 20,001 in his career.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant is one of five other active players with at least 20,000 points. The others are Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal, Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson and Boston’s Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Click here to read the full article – By Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com

Tracy McGrady has been cleared to take an indefinite leave from the Houston Rockets after the former All-Star’s representatives and Rockets management agreed to work together in search of a trade for the disgruntled guard, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources close to the process told ESPN.com that multiple phone discussions Monday between Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and coach Rick Adelman in conjunction with McGrady’s lead agent, Arn Tellem, led to a mutual agreement that both sides would try to hatch a workable trade before the league’s annual trading deadline on Feb. 18.

McGrady was allowed to return to Houston over the weekend, while the team completed a road trip, when his request for increased minutes in his comeback from microfracture knee surgery was denied by Adelman.

When McGrady’s camp pressed Monday for firm promises about when his playing time would be extended — McGrady has averaged just 7.7 minutes in his six appearances this season — sources say that the Rockets were not prepared to make any such commitments, leading both sides to conclude that combining their efforts to try to facilitate a trade was the best option.


Click here to read the full article – By Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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