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 The guard scored nine of his team-high 22 points in the fourth
quarter as the Mavericks extended their winning streak to three
games with a 103-93 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
The victory moved the Mavs (18-13) a season-best five games over
.500.
"My teammates were finding me," Matthews said. "It's one of those
games you have to take what the defense is giving you. Play within
the system but look to be aggressive. I think I was able to do that
tonight. The team was finding me, just letting it fly."
After trailing by as many as 13 in the third quarter, the Bucks were
able to tie the game up at 89 with 4:48 to go in the fourth quarter.
Despite the effort, they didn't have quite enough to get over the
hump.
Matthews fended off Milwaukee's comeback attempt as he rattled off
back-to-back 3-point buckets. His scoring helped fuel an 11-2 run
over the final 3:50 of the game, and the Mavs never relinquished the
lead.
The ball was moving rapidly, as the Mavericks recorded 25 assists on
38 made field goals. Guard J.J. Barea, again in the starting lineup
for the injured Deron Williams, led Dallas with five assists.
Dallas also protected the basketball, committing just four turnovers
to tie the franchise low for a game.
"We got timely stops when we needed them. The key to the game was we
only turned the ball over four times," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle
said. "We got outrebounded badly, which is not good, but our low
turnovers mitigated that somewhat.
"We survived a difficult game ... but we knew it was going to be
this kind of game. They are a young, aggressive, attacking team, and
you have to admire the way they play."
Milwaukee guard Jerryd Bayless scored eight of his 19 points in the
fourth quarter. It was his first game back after missing the
previous 11 due to a left ankle sprain. Guard Khris Middleton added
15 points for the Bucks -- his seventh consecutive game with 15 or
more.
Carlisle continued to tinker with his lineup as the team was without
the services of Williams for the third consecutive game. He
reinserted forward Chandler Parsons into the first unit. The move
appeared to have favorable results, as Parsons looked comfortable on
the court, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
It was a reunion game for Dallas' Zaza Pachulia. The center spent
the previous two seasons in Milwaukee and appeared in 200 games (92
starts) for the Bucks. Pachulia continued his solid play this
season, scoring 17 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
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Dallas won despite a subpar game from forward Dirk Nowitzki. In his
worst shooting performance of the season, Nowitzki made just three
of 15 attempts from the field and scored just seven points.
Former Mavs guard O.J. Mayo played well against his former team,
scoring 13 points off the bench for the Bucks.
Milwaukee was without the services of forward John Henson, as he was
dealing with an elbow issue.
The Bucks (12-20) lost their sixth consecutive meeting with the
Mavericks and 14th in the past 19 in the series, including 11 of the
past 13 in Dallas.
"We fought back. We didn't quit. The whole team didn't quit,"
Bayless said. "We kept on fighting. We just have to do that for 48
minutes. Not 24 or 37. We have to go the whole 48 every night.
The Bucks fell for the 13th time in their past 14 road games.
NOTES: The Mavericks went 16-for-33 (.485) from beyond the arc
against Chicago on Saturday. It marked their second straight game
with 16 made 3-pointers. They went 10-for-22 from long range Monday.
... Bucks PF Greg Monroe has posted seven double-doubles in his past
11 games, including a four-game streak from Dec. 4 through Dec. 9.
Monroe is tied for the seventh-most double-doubles recorded in the
NBA this season with 15. ... The Mavericks improved to 6-0 when C
Zaza Pachulia scores 15-plus points. Pachulia has recorded 16
double-doubles through his first 31 games this season after he had a
total of 15 double-doubles in 73 games with Milwaukee last season.
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