By the Numbers: Mavericks Fall to Memphis

The Dallas Mavericks wrapped up their five-game home stand with a 112-101 loss to Zach Randolph and the Memphis Grizzlies. The defeat snapped Dallas’ three-game winning streak and didn’t leave much doubt that the Mavericks would like to avoid Memphis in the first round of the playoffs.

Memphis won the season series 3-1, and their big, talented front court poses major problems for the Mavericks. As it stands now the Mavericks would indeed face the Grizzlies in the opening round, but that can change quickly in the wild West. But if the Mavericks want to avoid the Grizzlies they had better move up rather than down. As daunting a matchup as Memphis is, Dallas wouldn’t want to face Golden State, either.

The Mavericks still have 12 games left to play, and it’s likely we won’t know their opponent until the last few days of the regular season. But for now, check out the highlights and the standout numbers from their most recent game.

32%: Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, and Monta Ellis combined to shoot 32% from the field against the Grizzlies. Nowitzki was 4-14, Parsons 4-11, and Ellis 3-9. Run DMC has to score for the Mavericks to have a shot, since Rajon Rondo and Tyson Chandler aren’t known for lighting up the scoreboard and the bench can be inconsistent. Frankly, it’s surprising that it was “only” a 11-point loss with Dallas’ top three scorers struggling to produce.

21: In our preview of the game we stated that slowing Zach Randolph down would be a key to winning the game. Unfortunately the Mavericks weren’t able to do so. Z-Bo scored 21 points on 8-13 shooting, and did a good job finding open teammates when the Mavericks were forced to help on him. He had five assists. Randolph has averaged 19.5 points on 54% shooting in four games against Dallas this year.

That might have been one of the finest all around games I've ever seen Zach Randolph play. His handling of the double teams was just superb
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs) March 21, 2015

7: Amar’e Stoudemire played only 7 minutes. I thought going in Stoudemire would play a big role in the outcome, and in a way he did. It just wasn’t positive. He was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with officials after Tony Allen egregiously flopped on the pick seen below. Stoudemire was ineffective when he was on the floor, scoring four points, committing three fouls, and turning the ball over twice.

The Mavericks will look to bounce back against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Things should be a bit easier against a team that surrenders 103.8 points per game.

Next: Mavericks' Recipe for Deep Postseason Run

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