Mavericks At Pistons Final Score: Balanced Mavs Take Down Pistons 113-102

Feb 22, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) guards Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Vince Carter (25) during the third quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Dallas won 113-102. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Game 57: Mavericks AT Pistons Recap- Feb. 22

There’s no better feeling in the world for an owner, a coach, or even fans to watch every player on their team contribute in a very satisfying win. That’s just what happened during the Mavericks 113-102 road win in Detroit on Feb. 22.

Dallas gave up a season-high 32 points to Josh Smith and Greg Monroe added 17 and 17, but just like its win over the Pacers back on Feb. 12, the Mavs stood their ground on the glass against a top-10 team.

The Mavs, 28th in the league in rebounds, went toe-to-toe with the 4th-ranked Pacers at 47-47, and outrebounded the 8th-ranked Pistons 50-39.

Whatever You Can Do, I Can Do Better: For the second straight game, the Mavericks scored over 110 points (Dallas scored 124 vs Philly on Feb. 21). The defense, whatever the case, gave up 112 to the Sixers and 102 to the Pistons, but the offense stepped up big time to overcome all odds and still get two wins to start this road trip. Dallas, winners in eight of its last 10 games, is outscoring its opponents by six in that span (106-100). The Mavs have scored at least 100 in seven of those wins.

Everybody Get In On The Action: Every Dallas Maverick player who came in contributed in their own way. Dirk Nowitzki led six players in double figures with 24 points, his third straight game of at least 22 points. Monta Ellis scored 12 points and dished out 13 dimes while Samuel Dalembert and Shawn Marion each recorded a double-double with 12 and 11, and 10 and 11, respectively. It was the first game of the season that three different players had a double-double in the same game. Vince Carter had 18 points, six boards, five dimes in 30 minutes off the bench. Jose Calderon added 11, Brandan Wright had nine, and Devin Harris scored six. All three grabbed four rebounds. DeJuan Blair had four points and three rebounds in 10 minutes and even Wayne Ellington got in on the action with seven points in 16 minutes. Ellington played in 32 minutes in Dallas’ last seven games, not playing in three.

Best Of The West: With the win, the Mavericks upped their record to a season-best 11 games over .500 at 34-23. With the Suns not playing, the Mavs moved within a half game of Phoenix for the 6th seed. The Mavs are one game ahead in the win column, but two games back in the loss column to the Suns. Upon the conclusion of the Warriors and Nets game, Dallas is tied with Golden State for 7th, 9.5 games back of 1st-place Oklahoma City. If Golden State holds on to win, nothing will change, but if the Nets win, Dallas will have sole possession of the 7th spot. Memphis lost in Charlotte and now sits two games back of Dallas.

Up Next: The Mavericks finish up their 3-game road trip when they visit the New York Knicks on Feb. 24. After Monday’s game, Dallas will play two at home before its next five of seven will be back on the road. Dallas fell flat when it hosted the Knicks back on Jan. 5, 92-80. Hopefully this time around, the Mavs will be ready. The two teams are exact opposites at the moment with the Mavs winning eight of their last 10 while the Knicks have lost eight of their last 10. Dallas ranks 8th in the NBA with 104.5 points per game while giving up 102 (21st). The Knicks are scoring 98 points and giving up 100 which ranks them 21st and 11th.