Mavs Gag In 114-107 OT Loss At New Orleans

   There is no gentle way to say this: The Mavs gagged away an opportunity in New Orleans, missing three of four free throws in the final 13 seconds that allowed the Hornets to survive and then thrive, 114-107 in overtime.

   Straight gagged.

   We’ll break down this potentially landmark game item-by-item, in increasingly frustrating chronological order:

   He had another go-around in the game and while the numbers didn’t escalate (he finished 4-of-6 shooting and stayed stuck on nine points), our belief in his future did. On the same court with Chris Paul, Roddy wasn’t the equal to CP3 … but he was close enough that we are thinking of calling him “RB3.’’

   ITEM: Erick Dampier, playing in front of a collection of hometown family and friends from nearby Mississippi, was once again a horse. Damp put up yet another double-double-range game (this time contributing 16 points on with 14 rebounds) and was single-handedly responsible for every single one of Dallas’ second-chance points.

   That’s right. The Mavs extended possessions and converted them into baskets six times – and every time, a Damp tap-in was that basket.

   ITEM: An exhaustion factor after having played the night before in that now-epic 27-point-swing home win over Utah? Well, maybe Dirk’s right arm was tired after having scored 40 in that game and 29 in the final quarter. We think Shawn Marion lacked a certain spring in his step. And Carlisle’s decision to give Roddy 13 minutes and to stick James Singleton in there for 10 more was probably a concession to the team’s 27-hour workload.

   On the other hand, the biggest man on the floor, Erick Dampier, played 39 minutes on Tuesday and logged heavy minutes here. So if he can drag his 6-11 and his 265 up and down the floor for two straight days and still seem fresh well into a ninth period, we’re not sure why anybody else needs an excuse.

   ITEM: Shawn Marion is suffering from Fumbleitus.

   Dallas is usually so efficient with the ball due to the control of Jason Kidd. (Who had his 10 assists and his 3-point stroke but by God couldn't make a knuckleball layup). But the Mavs let this one get terribly sloppy. A major culprit was The Matrix, who tried in earnest to work his way into the paint … but attempted to do so not as a cutter but instead as a dribbler.

   That ain’t his thing.

   At least four times, Marion went into traffic and “put the ball on the ground’’ (that’s football talk). At least two more times, his attempts to rise above the traffic for a shot were blocked. In total, Marion contributed an uneventful eight points... but an eventful total of five turnovers.

    ITEM:  Especially as Dirk was accumulating fouls (he was given his sixth and final one on a ticky-tack moving-screen whistle and exited with 2:38 remaining in regulation) it was imperative for Jason Terry to de-funk himself.

    Jet did so just in time.

    The UberMan finished with a modest 12 points (we await today’s critics who say, “See, that proves Dirk can’t score 40 points in back-to-back games!’’), so Batman needed a Robin. Terry was that sidekick, with 35 in the game and 18 in the fourth quarter and eventually earning enough respect from Hornets coach Byron Scott that his MVP candidate, Chris Paul, was charged with the responsibility of chasing Terry.

     Really, Jet’s only failure here was from 15 feet away from the basket, with nobody guarding him, with … well, we’ll get to that momentarily.

     ITEM:  On the flip side for CP3, nobody can guard him. (Though let us make a point about CP3 vs. RB3: We wonder if the Mavs had been able to sustain, say, a seven-point second-half lead whether Carlisle might’ve given the kid a little more rope – which would’ve given us a little more CP3 vs. RB3. …)

    One time, though – one time – J.J. Barea did guard Paul. It worked, it was clever, it was ballsy, and it should’ve won the game.

    First, with 13.1 seconds left, Jet went to the line to shoot two. He made just one. Too bad, because Dallas could’ve had a four-point lead.

    Then, with 9.5 seconds left and Dallas still up three, Paul began a drive from the top of the key. The squatty JJB – gaining a reputation as the NBA’s very best at drawing a charge – scooted into Paul’s path, absorbed what was really a rather subtle forearm, and went flying backwards, halfway to Puerto Rico.

     The call against Paul (39 points) might have been accurate, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking.  And heck, maybe shock is exactly what the two littlest Mavs were feeling as they toed the free-throw line in those final moments of regulation.

     After the JJB call, Scott committed an attempted suicide on his own team, earning a technical. Dallas is up three with nine seconds left, getting ready to try to make two free throws, and the other coach gives the Mavs permission to try to make three free throws?

   Genius.

    So Jet goes to the line to shoot the T. Make it, Dallas is up four with nine ticks left. It’s over. … ‘Cept he misses, his second clank in three tries. With Dirk sidelined, Terry is the best FT’er on the team, but it’s going to be OK. It’s going to be OK because now JJB – also a fine free-thrower -- is going to the line, and he and Jet and everybody else with the Mavs, they’ve got this free-throw thing down to a science. They study it, the mentality of it and the technique of it, they are mentored by a special coach in assistant Gary Boren, and in this decade, they are one of the best FT-shooting teams of all time.

   JJB missed. BOTH OF THEM.

   If Jet and JJB handle their business, the Mavs are up, what? Seven? And they can come on home with a few days rest, Toronto coming into town for a Saturday meeting, the hopes that J-Ho is coming back, and a sweet 4-1 record.

   Instead …

   ITEM: The Mavs have to play defense in the final moments and Peja – who’d been 0-of-7 from the arc and if he’s not doing that well he’s useless – lifts awkwardly from the floor to somehow nail a 3 with 6.7 seconds left. (Anybody wanna foul the Hornets before he gets the shot off? Anybody?) So we’re tied.

   And then. …

   ITEM: The Mavs are forced to trudge into overtime … and they are tired and they are on the road and they don’t have Dirk. … and by this time, the results are predictable. The three-game win streak ends and the Mavs – who only needed a free throw to taste success, instead gagged on it.