2015 NBA scores: Monta Ellis bounces back, scores 38 in win over Spurs

The Mavericks guard reminded everyone how good he can be, plus the Bucks beat the Heat at the buzzer and everything else that happened in the NBA Tuesday night.

by Yaron Weitzman

Mar 25, 2015, 1:00 PM UTC

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

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On Monday, the day after the Mavericks' 92-86 road loss to the Suns, ESPN Dallas posted a story titled "Too much Monta? Mavs might have to move on." Ellis, the night before, had missed 18-of-22 shots and scored just 11 points. Even more problematic was that such a performance was pretty much in line with how Ellis had been playing in the month of March. His field goal percentage over the previous nine games had been a putrid 38 percent.

The hook of that ESPN article was self-explanatory. "The Dallas Mavericks have a major problem with Monta Ellis," Tim MacMahon wrote. "Actually, the Mavs have multiple Monta problems, both short term and long term. To put it bluntly, he's a pain in the butt who isn't producing." This wasn't, according to MacMahon, just the opinion of one writer, either. "Folks in the Mavs organization," he added, "have been fretting for weeks about the impact Ellis' moodiness has on the team's soul."

Of course, there's a reason Ellis was getting so many looks in the first place. He's the Mavericks best shot creator -- a point Rick Carlisle made Sunday night when asked about Ellis' struggles -- and Dallas is at its best when Ellis is at his best. Case in point: the Mavericks' 101-94 home win over the Spurs Tuesday night. Ellis scored a game-high 38 points on 16-of-27 shooting, to go along with five assists. He scored 23 of his points came in the second half and his ability to get into the paint late in the game is what put the Spurs, who mounted a mini-last minute comeback, away for good.

Dirk Nowitzki, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday, is an all-time great, and remains a capable scorer. But, at 36, he can no longer carry an offense by himself. Chandler Parsons is an excellent shooter and creates matchup problems, but he can't consistently get into the paint. Rajon Rondo can run a team but still struggles making shots.

Ellis can do all of the above. It’s why he’s become Dallas’ best offensive player. He can pressure an opposing defense in a way no other Maverick can. He’s still lightning quick and can get anywhere on the court. He can score at the rim, in the paint or on pull-ups off pick-and-rolls.

Ellis is the player who makes Carlisle's beautiful offense go. He's the one who allows Dallas to do everything it wants to. With him the Mavericks, who improved to 45-27 with the win and now stand just a half-game back of the fifth place Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, are a team capable of beating anyone. That includes the defending champions. Dallas took San Antonio to seven games in the playoffs last year and Tuesday night showed that they could put up a fight again if the two were to meet once again this year.

But without an efficient and effective Ellis, the Mavericks are just another team. Yeah, they’re well coached, and, yeah, they have some other guys. But none of that is enough. Ellis won’t lead Dallas to the NBA Finals. But at his best he can turn the Mavericks into a team that, come playoff time, no one will want to face.

3 other thing we learned

The Raptors don't know what to do at the end of games. Here was the situation: Toronto trailed Detroit, 104-102, with about 20 seconds remaining in the game. Raptors guard Lou Williams was bringing the ball up the court after a missed jump shot from Reggie Jackson. Toronto coach Dwane Casey elected not to call a timeout. Instead he decided to just leave the ball in Williams' hands. Would the Raptors run a play? Nah. How about a pick-and-roll at least? Nah, Williams didn't want one of those. OK, that's fine. He'll probably be able to get to the basket on Jodie Meeks, right? Nah. Williams took a 30-foot three with a hand in his face. The shot, predictably, clanked off the back rim. You can watch it here:

The loss dropped the Raptors to 42-29. They’re now just two games ahead of fifth-place Washington and in serious danger of losing a round of home court advantage. At this point of the year, with how much they have on the line, the Raptors should not be losing to the Pistons. They shouldn’t be giving up a combined 54 points and 13 assists to Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. And they certainly shouldn’t be looking clueless during the final possession of a one score game. Toronto’s got a lot of work to do before the playoffs start if it plans on getting further than it did last year.

The Bucks are going to be the six seed in the East. It's not official yet, but we're pretty close to that point. With its 89-88 buzzer-beating (more on that below) home win over the Heat on Tuesday, Milwaukee improved to 35-36. The Heat, with the loss, fell to 32-38, and are currently seventh in the East. Just 2.5 games separate these two teams, and Milwaukee owns the season series, with "owns" probably not being a strong enough word since we're talking about a 4-0 record against Miami this season. It's unclear who the No. 3 seed in the East will be, but with the way Toronto is playing, the good bet is Chicago. A Bulls-Bucks series would not be particularly exciting. You know what would be, though? Cavs-Heat. If the playoffs started today that's what we would get. It's time to start praying to the basketball gods.

The Enes Kanter trade could be remembered as the move that saved the Thunder’s season. Kanter had 25 points, on 10-of-15 shooting, and 16 rebounds despite playing just 27 minutes on Tuesday in Oklahoma City’s 127-117 home win over the Lakers. Since Serge Ibaka went down with a knee injury six games ago, Kanter is averaging 22.2 points and 13.8 rebounds and has helped OKC win four games in a row. The Thunder are now 41-30, and three games ahead of the ninth-place Suns. It looks like the Western Conference’s final playoff spot with be theirs, and if that holds, Kanter will have been a major reason why.

Play of the Night

Remember that Bucks buzzer-beater mentioned above? Well here it is, courtesy of Khris Middleton. Also, shout out to Zaza Pachulia for making the great save.