By the Numbers: Mavericks snap slide against Spurs

The Mavericks needed this one. Their 101-94 victory over the San Antonio Spurs came on the heels of two demoralizing losses, head coach Rick Carlisle calling out his team for a lack of consistent effort, and Monta Ellis serving as the media’s whipping boy for nearly 48 hours.

Dallas started off slow, and trailed by double digits after the first quarter. But they turned things around and eventually built leads as large as 15 in the third and fourth quarters. So how did they do it? The notable stats from the game help give us the answer.

38: Monta Ellis scored 38 points, tying a season-high, one game after scoring 11 on 4-22 shooting. He shot nearly 60% from the field, going 16-27, and probably could have cracked 40 if he had gotten a few calls on his relentless slashes to the rim.

13: Speaking of slashes to the rim, Ellis dd a great job attacking the paint. 13 of his shot attempts came in that area. He connected on nine of them. Ellis is one of the top scoring players in the league on drives to the hoop. When he’s able to keep defenders on their heels with the threat to drive it really opens things up for his jump shot. This wasn’t lost on Mavs guru Bobby Karalla.

Make sure to check out his work, if you don’t already. I really enjoyed this recent piece.

49: The Mavericks came down with 49 rebounds against the Spurs, including 10 on the offensive end. When they outrebound their opponent, which they did against the Spurs, they become a lot harder to beat. Dirk Nowitzki led the team with 13 rebounds, eclipsing the 10,000 mark for his career, and Rajon Rondo contributed nine of his own. Five players had at least five boards, and the team total was their most in over a month.

The Spurs get another shot at the Mavericks on Friday, wrapping up the season series. The two teams are essentially deadlocked in the standings, and with the regular season winding down the game could have major playoff implications. If Dallas can control the boards and get the same effort on the defensive end that they had Tuesday they have a good shot at beating San Antonio again.

Next: Mavericks: Game Grades for Win over Spurs

By the Numbers: Mavericks snap slide against Spurs

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