Shawn Marion did his best to provide Dirk Nowitzki with a second star scorer to pump up the numbers, but the Dallas Mavericks still weren't able to beat the Denver Nuggets as the team's defense fell apart, giving visiting Denver a 104-96 win. Marion scored 21 on 10-14 shooting to go with Nowitzki's 20; J.R. Smith of the Nuggets shined a bit brighter with 23, including 13 on 5-6 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Nuggets Vs. Mavericks: Shawn Marion Stars, But Dallas Still Can’t Beat Denver
Rick Carlisle replaced one zero in the starting lineup with another, as Jason Kidd was inactive and DeShawn Stevenson entered the starting lineup. Stevenson had a completely unproductive five minutes on the court, missing all three of his shots, picking up two fouls and a turnover. Corey Brewer got the third quarter start over Stevenson and performed much better, with 13 points and three steals in 20 minutes.
The Mavericks are one game ahead of the Thunder for the No. 3 seed. If Dallas falls to OKC in the standings, the Nuggets would get the Mavs again in the first round.
In other action:
Warriors 95, Lakers 87: I'm not sure if Phil Jackson is being serious, but after the loss -- which eliminated L.A.'s hopes for the No. 1 seed -- the coach was asked whether he'd rest his players for the final four games now that nothing is at stake. His response: "They rested tonight." Zing!
Thunder 112, Clippers 108: Blake Griffin scored 35 in his return to Oklahoma, but the Thunder held on for the contested win. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 55.
Knicks 97, Sixers 92: Carmelo Anthony won his battle with Andre Iguodala (31 points on 12-23 shooting), but Elton Brand won his battle with Amar'e Stoudemire (24/9 to 18/6). But the Knicks won. Spencer Hawes with a spectacular 0 points on 0-5 shooting performance.
Magic 111, Bobcats 102: Dwight Howard will be benched for his next game with his 18th technical foul. Gilbert Arenas had a mammoth game with 25 on 9-14 shooting (including six three-pointers). Gerald Henderson dropped a game-high 32 for Charlotte.
Pacers 136, Wizards 112: The Zards' streak ends at three. Danny Granger had 25 and Paul George had 23. Jordan Crawford had 29 (on a True Shooting percentage of .529, which is below league average) and Baltche had 23-10.
The following games had nothing to do with anything, and are presented without comment.
Suns 108, Wolves 98
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