Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks Box Score on Dec 02, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 2, 2017

DALLAS -- J. J. Barea came off the bench to spark a second-quarter rally to help lead the Dallas Mavericks to an easy 108-82 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday afternoon at American Airlines Center.

With the win, the Mavs improved to 6-16 on the season while the Clippers dropped to 8-13. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle became the 18th coach -- third active -- to win at least 700 career games.

When the Mavs started putting some separation between themselves and the Clippers, Barea was at the center of that surge. The 12-year veteran ignited a 21-4 run when he came off the bench to score eight points and helped stake the Mavs to a 45-21 lead midway through the second quarter.

Barea tossed in back-to-back 3-pointers and added another field goal during the game-changing rally which helped the Mavs take command of the game.

Barea finished with 21 points and 10 assists, Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 points, Devin Harris poured in 15, Dennis Smith Jr. popped in 12 points and Wesley Matthews added 10 points.

Lou Williams (18 points, six assists) and DeAndre Jordan (14 points, 17 rebounds) led the Clippers, who lost their second straight game.

In the first half alone, Barea contributed 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and had seven assists. As a whole, the Mavs made half of their 24 field goals in the second quarter when they outscored the Clippers 35-21 and took a 59-38 lead into the dressing room.

The Mavs kept up the pressure in the third quarter when Dirk Nowitzki nailed a pair of 3-pointers for a 68-43 lead.

The Clippers, who were without injured players Blake Griffin, Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic, were mostly ineffective and had difficulty keeping up with the Mavs. The Clippers had won 14 of the previous 20 meetings against the Mavs, but didn't put up much of a fight on Saturday.

With nine different Dallas players cracking the scoring column, the Mavs never trailed in the opening 12 minutes and led 24-17 after the first quarter. A basket by Harrison Barnes combined with 3-pointers from Dirk Nowitzki and Dennis Smith Jr. staked the Mavs to an early 8-0 lead.

The 1 p.m. start seemed to have affected both teams as neither squad could find the basket on a consistent basis in the game's early stages. In the first quarter, the Mavs were just 7 of 21 from the floor while the Clippers converted just six of their 24 field goals.

NOTES: Saturday turned out to be a very expensive day for Clippers G Austin Rivers. Before the game against the Mavericks, the NBA fined Rivers $25,000 for directing inappropriate comments towards a fan during Thursday's 126-107 home loss to the Utah Jazz. Of the incident, Rivers said: "I definitely shouldn't have said anything. This is the message I want to say. I'm sorry for using profanity, but I was sticking up for my teammate, bottom line." ... Clippers C DeAndre Jordan was booed when he attempted free throws. In the summer of 2015, Jordan verbally agreed to sign a free agent contract with the Mavs, but never let them know he changed his mind and instead re-signed with the Clippers. ... Before Saturday's game, Mavs G J. J. Barea talked about how he loves day games. When Barea was asked if that means he's going to score 30 points and hand out 15 assists against the Clippers, he smiled and said: "It's more like 13 points." Barea wound up scoring 15 of his 21 points in the second quarter. ... Mavs C Nerlens Noel didn't dress due to a left thumb injury. After turning down the Mavs' four-year, $70 million contract and reportedly having poor workout habits, Noel has fallen out of favor with the Mavs. Noel came to the media room at halftime and picked up a hot dog.