Dallas Mavericks: Win Over Bulls Shows Toughness

The Dallas Mavericks picked up a huge win over the Chicago Bulls and put their toughness on display on a night where they needed it.

The Dallas Mavericks have had some very memorable games with the Chicago Bulls in the past. Whether it was a bearded Dirk Nowitzki hitting the game-winning three late on a Saturday afternoon or Monta Ellis exploding for 38 points in Chicago to help the Mavs win in double overtime, it seems like every meeting is special.

The storyline was no different Saturday night in Dallas. The Mavs came into the game looking to start another win streak since their last was broken up on Nov. 22 and they did just that in a wild 118-111 home win over the Bulls.

The Mavs learned that they would be without Deron Williams for the second straight game, so J.J. Barea got the starting nod. Again, he was huge to the Mavs’ success, adding in a team-high 26 points along with five assists and seven three-pointers. It was just his second start of the season. with his first including a career-high 32 points against the Nets on Wednesday night.

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After coach Rick Carlisle made his statement regarding the team’s lack of production, Barea has been huge for the Mavs by showing his ability to hit threes and score efficiently.

Chandler Parsons‘ minutes continued to climb as he tied Wesley Matthews for most playing time on the team at 35 minutes. He was coming off of his first back-to-back of the season as he continues to recover from knee surgery in the offseason. He added 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in one of his best games of the year so far.

Zaza Pachulia continued to exceed expectations with his 16th double-double of the year (17 points, 12 rebounds) while keeping his double-double average together (10.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG).

One word that comes to mind when thinking about the Bulls is “tough.” When a team has players like Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson, it is always going to be difficult for the opposition to match up. However, the Mavs were able to keep up on two levels: physically and mentally.

The Mavs used pieces like Devin Harris and Pachulia to counter the Bulls’ style of gritty defense in the paint and on the three-point line. That kept total rebounding numbers (42-41 Dallas) and points in the paint (44-38 Dallas) close.

By doing that, the Mavs were able to play a little faster than the Bulls all night long, forcing 17 Bulls turnovers leading to 17 fast-break points.

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Mentally, the Mavs did not let a big lead get to them, coming back from 11 points down at one time and overcoming small leads of one and two in the final minutes of the game. They also gave up a lead of nine but they came back and capitalized on mistakes that could’ve spelled disaster.

The fourth quarter was another one to remember for the Mavs. After Derrick Rose tied the game at 108, the Mavs went on a 10-3 run, with the only Bulls score coming in the form of a deep Butler three. At the time, it cut the lead to just three but the Mavs were able to make their free throws and complete their win.

This win in particular was a boost for their morale because it was their second win against a team ahead of them in the overall league standings. Their only other win of this caliber came against the Los Angeles Clippers back on Nov. 11.

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The Mavs have an improved defense with players in just about every position that can play a physical game. They got big performances from some of their most important players and their ability to play tough and match the Bulls’ output got them the win.