Mavs Coach Carlisle "There Are No Excuses" For Loss To Clippers
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Los Angeles Clippers extended their win streak to six Monday night with a 94-75 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. With the playoffs approaching, the loss denies the Mavs another attempt at a sustained run, something they haven't had since their four-game win streak in March.
Lacking energy on the court, Dallas did all they could to get going by shifting players in and out of the lineup to no avail. The Mavs were beaten in every statistical category, especially in rebounds where the differential was double digits, 49-38.
"We were poor in virtually every area of the game," said Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. "Sometimes you just get your ass kicked that bad. We were poor and there are no excuses."
Dallas scored eight second chance points, up from two against Orlando in their previous game, but allowed 14 points to LA. Rebounding was clearly an issue.
"I've got to look at it. Maybe I've got to play Haywood more, play our bigger guys more. Maybe that's part of it, but it's going to put you behind the eight ball without question because it's possessions of the ball. Rebounding was a problem," suggested Carlisle.
The Mavs' main issue was defense. Beyond the arch, Clippers guard Randy Foye was 8 of 15 and led the team with 28 points. Some of his shot attempts were uncontested and shot from the same location on the court.
"I think when a guy goes out there and gets three or four consecutive wide-open shots in the same spot, something is wrong. Either we're going to get it right or we're not," claimed Mavs guard Shawn Marion.
Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks in shooting with 19 points. The team as a whole shot 39% and allowed the Clippers to shoot 47% - the Mavs know that's a recipe for disaster.
"I don't think we were very good and it was obvious. We weren't shooting the ball well. We shot in the low 30s all night. We couldn't score and on the other end; we couldn't get any stops, either. That is a bad combination," explained Nowitzki.
The lack of execution when shooting and rebounding led to LA scoring 32 points in the paint compared to Dallas' 22 points. Dallas also surrendered eight fast break opportunities to LA for a total of 16 points.
"We struggled. The first half we had a lot of good shots that didn't go in. Some of the problem was there. They've got big guys that cover the rim well. When you stink, you stink, and we've got to bounce back," said Carlisle.
The Mavericks were without Jason Kidd (groin) and Lamar Odom (illness). Both had an impact on the game by not being in the lineup.
"You don't have Jason Kidd or Lamar Odom. I told everybody how important the presence of Lamar Odom was. You guys are looking at the statistics; I'm looking at the player and obviously what that gives us and what that does for our depth. We truly missed it and then you don't have Jason Kidd," claimed Mavericks guard Jason Terry.
The Mavs lack of execution gave the Clippers their longest win streak since 1992. To put that into perspective, the Mavs have had 30 streaks of six or more wins since 1996. The Mavericks host the Memphis Grizzles Wednesday.
Brian Waddle is the Producer for the K&C Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan Sundays from 10am to 2pm.
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