The Mavericks outscored the Raptors 64-39 in the 2nd half last night and that did them in.  Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks last night with 31 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Shawn Marion (20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) and Jason Terry (19 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists) also had solid games last night.  Ian Mahinmi (13 points, 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in 23 minutes) and J.J. Barea (12 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists) pitched in for the Mavs last night off the bench.  The Mavericks are now 43-16 on the season.

The Mavericks were just the better team last night, plain and simple.  Jason Terry led the way for the Mavericks in this game with 25 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists off the bench.  Tyson Chandler (23 points, 13 rebounds and 1 blocked shot) and Dirk Nowitzki (21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists) also had solid games for the Mavs last night.  Shawn Marion pitched in with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot off the bench.  The Mavericks are now 42-16 on the season.

33-year old small forward Peja Stojakovic and 23-year old shooting guard Rodrigue Beaubois are off to nice starts this year with the Mavericks.  Stojakovic has played in 7 games (all starts) since signing as a free agent with the Mavs and he is averaging 21.0 minutes, 10.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  He is also shooting pretty well this year, hitting 47.5% of his shots from the floor, 39.4% of his shots from 3-point range and 87.5% from the free throw line.  With Caron Butler down for the season, Stojakovic will keep starting at small forward for the Mavericks as long as he is playing well.   Rodrigue Beaubois started late this season due to injury but he has already bumped DeShawn Stevenson to the bench.  Beaubois has played in 3 games (2 starts) for the Mavs so far this year and he is averaging 21.0 minutes, 10.7 points, 0.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Look for Beaubois to run with his new starting gig.  Stojakovic & Beaubois give the Mavericks more firepower on offense and that’s a good thing going forward.

The Mavericks shot 57.9% from the floor and they outrebounded the Jazz 43-33 which helps explain the very easy win last night.  Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks in this game with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.  Peja Stojakovic (18 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Shawn Marion (16 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist) also had solid games for the Mavs last night.  Jason Terry (13 points), J.J. Barea (13 points), Brendan Haywood (12 points) and Rodrigue Beaubois (10 points) also pitched in for the Mavs last night.  The Mavericks are now 41-16 on the season.

The Dallas Mavericks are 40-16 on the season which has them in second place in both the Southwest Division and the Western Conference, six games behind the Spurs.  The Mavericks need to stay hot the rest of the way because they can catch the Spurs if they go into a cold streak. 

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  28-year old Tyson Chandler was acquired in a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats over the summer.  No one thought much of the deal when it happened but Tyson Chandler has been one of the best players on the Mavs so far this year.  Chandler has played in 53 games (all starts) for the Mavericks so far this season and he is averaging 28.3 minutes, 10.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  The Mavericks need Chandler to keep up the good work on the boards and defensively as he is the best player on the team at those two parts of the game.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  37-year old Jason Kidd is running on fumes.  He has played in 56 games (all starts) for the Mavericks in this game and he is averaging 33.7 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.  He is only shooting 36.5% from the floor this season as he’s looking like a player that’s near the end of the line.  The Mavericks are looking to replace Kidd as the trade deadline approaches.

The Mavericks shot 52.4% from the floor last night which helped them beat the Suns at their own game in Phoenix.  Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks in this game with 35 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 1 steal.  Jason Terry (16 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists and 3 steals) and Tyson Chandler (12 points and 12 rebounds) also had very solid games for the Mavs last night.  Shawn Marion (12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots) and Peja Stojakovic (10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) also pitched in last night.  The Mavericks are now 40-16 on the year.

The Mavericks shot 55.6% from the floor last night and they hit 13 of 26 shots from three point range which helped them beat the Kings last night.  Jason Kidd led the way for the Mavericks last night with 20 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.  Shawn Marion (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal), Dirk Nowitzki (13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in 23 minutes) and Rodrigue Beaubois (13 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists and 3 steals in 21 minutes) also had solid games for the Mavs last night.  Peja Stojakovic (12 points), Jason Terry (12 points), Brendan Haywood (12 points and 10 rebounds) and Jose Juan Barea (11 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 steal) also had nice games for the Mavericks last night.  The Mavericks are now 39-16 on the season.

The Mavericks shot 55.1% from the floor last night but they had to hold off the Rockets who outscored them 35-24 in the 4th quarter.  Peja Stojakovic (22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 28 minutes) and Dirk Nowitzki (22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Mavericks last night.  Shawn Marion also had a solid night with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in this game.  Tyson Chandler (12 points), Jason Kidd (11 points) and Jose Juan Barea (11 points) also had decent games for the Mavericks last night.  The Mavericks are now 38-16 on the year.

The Mavericks shot 53.6% from the floor last night but it just wasn’t good enough to win.  Jason Terry (25 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 1 steal) and Tyson Chandler (20 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals) led the way for the Mavericks last night.  Shawn Marion filled up the stat sheet in this game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot in 28 minutes off the bench.  Jose Juan Barea (17 points), Dirk Nowitzki (16 points) and Jason Kidd (10 points) each helped the Mavs’ cause last night.  The Mavericks are now 37-16 on the year.

The Mavericks were outrebounded 48-39 last night but they still prevailed on the road, but not by much.  Jason Terry (22 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists) and Jose Juan Barea (20 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 22 minutes) led the way for the Mavericks last night.  Jason Kidd also had a solid game with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.  Tyson Chandler (13 points) and Dirk Nowitzki (10 points on 4 of 14 shooting from the floor) also pitched in last night.  The Mavericks are now 37-15 on the year.