Mavs After Fifth Straight
Dallas, TX – Rick Carlisle led the Indiana Pacers to one of their most successful seasons in franchise history.
But he was fired three years later after the first of what is now three straight seasons without a postseason berth.
Carlisle faces his former team for the first time Tuesday when he and the Dallas Mavericks look to win their fifth straight.
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Carlisle is in his first season with the Mavericks (6-7) after replacing Avery Johnson. The job was his first since being fired by the Pacers (5-7) following a 35-47 season in 2006-07. Carlisle had taken over the Pacers three years earlier, leading them to a franchise-record 61 victories in his first season before they lost in the conference finals to eventual NBA champion Detroit. Indiana had two more playoff berths after that but were unable to have the same success.
His start with the Mavericks has been slow, but they are starting to pick things up, winning four straight, including their first home victory of 2008-09 in a 91-76 victory over Memphis on Friday.
Dallas has been one of the NBA’s best teams when playing at home, going 104-19 at the American Airlines Arena over the previous three seasons, so its 0-4 start under Carlisle was surprising.
"This has been such a strong home court for so many years, so to start out with losses was difficult, but the team has responded in the last four games and we just have to build momentum," Carlisle said.
It helps that Dirk Nowitzki is heating up. He scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds Friday, while Jason Kidd added 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Nowitzki is averaging 24.7 points and 8.3 rebounds this season, and 30.0 points and 10.5 rebounds during the winning streak.
"That’s why you have star players, to play like stars," Carlisle said.
Nowitzki is heating up at a good time for the Mavericks, who have played without Josh Howard the last two games. Howard, who is averaging 20.3 points and 8.2 rebounds, remains day-to-day with a sprained ankle.
Even if he’s unavailable on Tuesday, the Mavs might not need him as the face a struggling Pacers team which has lost two in a row and four of five, including a 109-100 loss to Miami on Saturday. Marquis Daniels scored 25 points and Danny Granger added 23. The Heat outscored the Pacers by 21 points after halftime.
"That’s the NBA for you," point guard T.J. Ford said. "You’re up one minute and have momentum, and it shifts in a heartbeat."
It was the second straight game the Pacers failed to build on their first-half momentum. On Friday against Orlando, they scored 54 first-half points before losing 100-98 in overtime.
"I couldn’t tell you what it is," Granger said. "I don’t know if we should let the other teams start winning first, so we can come back in the end."
Dallas and Indiana split last season’s two meetings with each winning at home. The Mavs have won eight of their last nine home games against the Pacers, including the last four.
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Posted: 11/25/08 1:06PM