Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell/US Presswire
After a very sluggish start to the season, the defending NBA champs Dallas Mavericks have finally got things clicking again. After losing Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea and gaining Lamar Odom during the offseason, the Mavs are picking up from where they left off last year. Dallas has improved to a 7-5 record for the year coming off an impressive win last against the Milwaukee Bucks, 102-76. The Bucks have yet to win an away game.
It was a personal victory for the face of the Mavericks franchise, Dirk Nowitzski. He joined the 23,000 club meaning he has scored over 23,000 points. He became the 23rd player in history to reach this milestone. He is third in most points behind Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. Jason Kidd, another all-star, missed his fourth straight game with a back injury.
Things are not looking quite as nice for the Mavs’ opponent in the finals, Miami Heat. They lost their third game in a row last night to Denver. The Nuggets looked like the better team and came out much more energized than their opponent. Lebron James did have an impressive night scoring 35 points for his team, but they just could not get it going. One of Miami’s ‘Big 3’ Dwyane Wade was injured during the game, spraining his ankle, and that appeared to affect the Heat’s flow for the rest of the game. He said the x-ray was negative, but he was in serious pain. The Heat have not been able to beat the Nuggets in almost ten years.
