The Dallas Mavericks are coming off a tough loss but have another game on Wednesday, a chance to grab a win.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Ellis Playing Hurt
Monta Ellis has an right elbow injury, but it isn’t expected to force him to miss the game.
“We hope not,” coach Rick Carlisle said when asked if it was anything serious. Ellis was icing the elbow after Tuesday’s shootaround.
Ellis shot just 1-for-11 from the field in the loss to the Grizzlies, and may have to be watched closely. He’s played all 104 games since arriving in Dallas.
“I don’t know if he'll say it, but it’s obvious it was. Most guys in this league wouldn’t have even attempted to play. It’s a very tough situation for him. Hopefully, it’s more of a day-to-day thing,” Carlisle said later, noting that Ellis might not play on Wednesday.
“If Monta Ellis is limited Wednesday night like he was against the Grizzlies, it’s up to the medical and coaching staff to step in. Ellis will never voluntarily sit to rest an injury. He'd rather give whatever he can to the cause,” noted the Dallas Morning News.
“On Tuesday, he gave 1-for-11 from the field. It was clear the elbow injury he suffered against Milwaukee was bothering him. If there’s not significant improvement, he won’t be able to help the team on the court. Better to give him three days to rest it before Golden State arrives Saturday.”
Meanwhile, owner Mark Cuban told ESPN recently that Ellis doesn’t get respect from referees.
“Monta gets no respect on his drives ever,” Cuban said. “He gets hit on his body all the time and it’s like nothing. I told him he’s got to flail like all these other guys. I mean, I don’t know how he doesn’t get to the line. It’s crazy.”
The team’s video crew got instruction from Cuban to put together a video of Ellis drives that the team thinks should have resulted in fouls, and will then send it to the league office.
“One off is easy to dismiss,” Cuban said. “When you have a history, it’s more impactful.”
Harris Leading 3-Point Shooting
Devin Harris is surprisingly the Mavs best 3-point shooter so far this year, shooting 37.9 percent before Tuesday’s game.
The rest of the team isn’t doing so well, collectively shooting 34.2 percent.
That’s a contrast from last season, when they hit 38.4 percent, good for second in the league.
But Carlisle told Sports Day he’s not concerned about it.
“I think we go through phases where we’re a little hot and cold, unfortunately,” added Dirk Nowitzki, who is hitting 36.4 percent.
“We'd love to be better. I haven’t been great. What you got to do is keep stepping into them. Don’t force any bad 3’s. If they’re there, step into them with confidence. We got good enough shooters that eventually the percentage is going to go back up. But if not, we still want our shooters to shoot them.”
The team did shoot well against the Grizzlies, going 18-40 (45 percent) from behind the arc.
Although Nowitzki was 0-6 and Ellis was 0-3, Chandler Parsons was 6-10 and Jameer Nelson was 3-6.
Off the bench, Jae Crowder was 3-3, J.J. Barea was 3-8, and Harris was 1-3.
Mavs Lose to Grizzlies
The “MVP!” chants started as Marc Gasol stepped to the line for two free throws in the waning seconds.
After the 7-foot-1 center from Spain sank both shots, the chants had grown louder and he had reached 30 points, helping the Memphis Grizzlies capture a 114-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
“I don’t know who started it. It was funny,” Gasol said of the chants. When prodded, he added that it was “overwhelming.”
Gasol was limited to only two points in Sunday’s victory over Miami, and Memphis coach Dave Joerger wanted to get Gasol involved in the offense early. The result was 14 first-quarter points, including 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
“He didn’t feel like he probably played a great game the other night,” Joerger said. “We tried to go to him early and feed off of him, and I thought it was pretty effective for our offense.”
Gasol’s inside play, coupled with 17 points and 13 rebounds from frontcourt mate Zach Randolph, helped Memphis dominate the paint 52-26. Memphis also committed just five turnovers.
Mike Conley added 22 points for Memphis, while Tony Allen scored 13. Gasol, who was 9 of 14 from the field and 12 of 13 from the line, said while the Grizzlies were successful with outside shooting in the Miami win, he prefers their identity of inside play.
“I would rather have one way and play out of that, instead of guessing and gambling on trying to be somebody we’re not,” said Gasol, who had six assists.
Dallas stayed within striking distance with 3-point shooting, connecting on 18 from long range. Chandler Parsons led the Mavericks with 30 points, going 10 of 18 from the field and 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Jameer Nelson had a season-high 18 points, while J.J. Barea finished with a season-best 17, including 12 in the fourth quarter as Dallas tried to rally.
Devin Harris’ long-range jumper pulled Dallas within 101-99 with 4:35 left.
But Memphis closed the game on a 13-6 run.
“We were battling, but we just gave up too many points,” said Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who shot 4 of 17 and was held to 11 points. “.We gave up 114 to a team that’s a slower team, a team that plays a grind-out kind of style. It’s too many points.”
Monta Ellis, Dallas’ leading scorer, was limited to two points, missing 10 of his 11 shots, while dealing with a sore right elbow.
The Mavericks held a 62-56 lead at the half, but coach Rick Carlisle noted Dallas lost its momentum in the third. Memphis went inside to Randolph, who had 13 points and nine rebounds in the frame.
Dallas shot 35 percent in the second half, and the 3-pointers were not as kind as they had been in the first half. Nowitzki missed all five of his shots from outside the arc after halftime.
“We stayed aggressive,” Carlisle said. “Everyone was trying to do the right things. I thought we fought hard. We just didn’t get the ball in the basket enough.”
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Nowitzki has played in 1,209 games, tied with Dale Ellis for 28th on the NBA career list. ... Dallas, which matched its season high with 14 steals against Milwaukee last time out, managed four against Memphis. ... The Mavericks’ 18 3-pointers were a season-best for a Memphis opponent.
Grizzlies: The Grizzlies, who were 15-2 through November, are 2-2 in December. ...The Grizzlies avoided being swept by the three Texas teams in a week. Houston and San Antonio are the teams who have defeated the Grizzlies this month.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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