February 3rd- Mavericks vs. Trail Blazers

The Mavs returned to action in Portland on Friday night as they faced the Portland Trail Blazers who are led by their high scoring backcourt with players C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard. The Mavs started off on fire as they took an early 17-4 lead by shooting seven for seven from the field. Point guard, Yogi Ferrell, led the Mavs with 11 points in the first quarter and helped the team get out to a 35-22 lead. The offense continued in the second quarter where Ferrell and former Trail Blazer Wesley Matthews each stayed hot from the field combining for 17 points in the second quarter alone. The Blazers also heated up in the second, led by C.J McCollum’s hot shooting, but trailed the Mavs 60-47 at the half. The Blazers stayed hot in the third quarter behind the strong play of former number two pick Evan Turner. The Mavs were able to combat the Blazers with great offense by Ferrell, Matthews and Seth Curry. The Mavs were able to go into the fourth quarter with a 84-76 lead. The fourth quarter was a back and forth battle. The Blazers tied it at 92 with a big three by former Maverick Al-Farouq Aminu. On the possession after the Aminu three, Dirk Nowitzki hit a huge three pointer to give the Mavs a three-point lead. Seth Curry and C.J. Mccollum traded baskets for the next two minutes but Curry stayed hot and gave the Mavs a six-point lead with two minutes left. With a just over a minute left the Blazers came down the court looking for a big shot down by six. Aminu was able to hit a clutch three and on the possession after that, Evan Turner was able to get a clutch layup to fall. With 30 seconds left, the Mavs led 102-101 with the ball. As the shot clock ran out, Yogi Ferrell pulled up and swished a top of the key three pointer to give the Mavs a 105-101 lead. After a few free throws the game was over, giving the Mavs their 4th win in a row. Final Score: 108-104 Mavs.

February 6th- Mavericks vs. Nuggets

The Mavs traveled to Denver on Monday night, going up against the Nuggets who are 22-28 on the season. They are led by big man Nikola Jokic and highflyers Will Barton and Gary Harris. Barton came out of the gate on fire scoring 13 1st quarter points. The Mavs trailed 29-24 at the end of the first. The Nuggets dominated the second quarter and took a 59-37 lead into the second half. Despite strong play by the Mavs in the third quarter, the Nuggets continued to stay hot and were up 82-67 at the end of the quarter. Behind great offense by Dwight Powell and Yogi Ferrell the Mavs were able to cut the lead down to 13, but behind Wilson Chandler and Will Barton, the Nuggets were able to keep the lead over 10 throughout the fourth quarter. Yogi Ferrell and Seth Curry each had 15 points for the Mavs. Denvers’ leading scorer was Will Barton who had five three pointers which propelled him to 31 points, which is a season high for him. Final Score: 110-87 Nuggets.

The Mavericks signed Yogi Ferrell to a two-year deal on Tuesday after his 10-day contract ran out. He has sparked the team’s offense and has been a key factor to the team’s recent success.

February 7th- Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks

The Mavs were forced to travel back home on Tuesday and play the second game of a back to back  against the Trailblazers, who they lost to a couple of nights before. Hoping to quickly recover from a tough loss, the Mavs came out of the gate looking to score quickly and aggressively. Despite the aggressiveness, the team started off slow but began to pick it up a couple of  minutes in. Despite 14 combined points, the Mavs trailed 32-27. The Mavericks fought back in the second and were able to tie the game at 37, but the Damian Lillard exploded and sparked a 16-2 Portland run. The Mavs trailed the Blazers 64-53 going into the intermission. Lillard led all scorers with 22 points in the first half. The Mavs started the third quarter attempting to get back in the game, Dirk Nowitzki hit his second three of the night which cut the lead to just five. Both teams continued to hit shots through the third quarter. The score going into the final period was 86-82 Trail Blazers. A minute and a half into the fourth quarter the Mavs were able to tie the game at 88. Shortly after the Mavs tied up the game, C.J. McCollum took over the game and swished a three pointer capping of a 9-0 run for the Blazers, giving them a 97-89 lead. Despite being down, the Mavs came right back with a 13-0 run of their own, giving them a 1 point lead with four minutes to go. With three minutes to play Damian Lillard gave the Blazers a one point lead with a stepback jumper. After a Barnes free throw and a Yogi Ferrell layup, Al-Farouq Aminu stepped up and hit two free throws to tie the game at 105 with a minute and 29 seconds left. The teams traded bucket after bucket for the next minute and the Mavs had a 110-109 lead with 19 seconds to play. With 12 seconds left C.J. McCollum drove to the basket and was able to convert an and-one layup to give the Blazers the lead right back. Down two with 12 seconds left, the Mavs needed a score. As he always does, Dirk Nowitzki stepped up in the clutch, swishing a top of the key three. The Blazers were left with 3.9 seconds left and had a chance to win the game with a basket. C.J. McCollum was able to split a double team and get into the lane where he made a game winning floater at the buzzer. It was a heart breaking loss for the Mavs on their homecourt. Final Score: 114-113 Trail Blazers.

February 9th- Jazz vs. Mavericks

The Mavs looked to bounce back on Thursday night, when they welcomed the Utah Jazz into Dallas for a Western Conference battle. The Jazz are led by their All Star Gordon Hayward and big man Rudy Gobert, each having breakout seasons. The first half was all Jazz, they led the Mavs 54-42 going into the intermission. Hayward contributed to the lead with 16 points while Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki each led the Mavs with eight points each. The Mavs started the third quarter looking for a spark but it only got worse, Hayward stayed hot from the field while Gobert was dominant in the paint. Midway through the third quarter, the Mavs trailed by 21 points. Wesley Matthews was able to heat up at the end of the quarter, bringing the Mavs within 10 going into the fourth quarter. The Mavs began playing well, but were not able to take the lead as the Jazz kept firing back. With one minute left to play, the Mavs were finally able to tie the game as Seth Curry was able to get into the lane for a finger roll layup. After Gobert had two dunks on two straight possessions giving the Jazz a four point lead, Harrison Barnes and Dirk buried two clutch shots to tie the game. After being down by 21 with 18 minutes to play, the Mavs were able to force overtime. The Mavs started OT on a 7-0 run behind Harrison Barnes who took over the game in the overtime period. Barnes led the team with 31 points while Dirk Nowitzki contributed 21. Final Score: 112-105 Mavs.

The Mavs are now 21-32 on the season, only two and a half games out of a playoff spot.
Next week, the Mavericks will play the Orlando Magic on Saturday night and the Boston Celtics on Monday night, both of which will be at home, then they will travel to Detroit to play the Pistons on Wednesday night.