Barnes leads Mavericks to 113‐105 win over Wizards
(AP) — After a disappointing 2016, the Dallas Mavericks started the new year off on the right foot.
Harrison Barnes scored 26 points and Deron Williams added 21 as the Mavericks rallied to beat the Washington Wizards 113-105 on Tuesday night.
Devin Harris had 17 points and Seth Curry 16 for Dallas, which went 10-24 before the New Year. Williams, Harris and Curry all hit four 3-pointers as Dallas made 17-of-32 from long range.
Six Mavericks scored in double figures, including Dirk Nowitzki, who started at center and chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds.
“We’ve got to find ways to win right now,” Nowitzki said. “We want to make some ground up this month. Whoever’s number is called has to be ready.”
John Wall led Washington with 27 points and Bradley Beal added 25 for the Wizards, who fell to 1-6 on the second half of back-to-back games. They lost to Houston on Monday night.
Dallas trailed by nine points in the third quarter before rallying on the strength of 11-for-16 3-point shooting in the second half.
“If we shoot the way we shot tonight, we’re pretty good,” Harris said.
Trailing 88-87, the Mavericks scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and led 110-100 on Barnes’ 3-pointer with 2:51 to play.
The Wizards shaved the lead to five, but Beal missed a 3-pointer and then Wall missed two 3s, any of which would cut the lead to two before Barnes made another 3 with 24.3 seconds left to put the game away.
“We had a great situation, a great opportunity to come in and take advantage of it, and we didn’t,” Beal said.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Wall was named Eastern Conference player of the month for December after averaging 24.5 points, 10.7 assists and an NBA-best 2.7 steals per game as the Wizards went 10-5. . Washington has lost 12 of 13 to the Mavericks dating to 2009, their only win coming last season.
Mavericks: Andrew Bogut, who missed 11 games this year with a knee injury, limped to the bench with 3:52 remaining in the fourth quarter after banging his knee against a Washington player. But Bogut said after the game he would be fine. . Forward Dorian Finney-Smith was a finalist for Western Conference rookie of the month for December but lost to New Orleans’ Buddy Hield. Finney-Smith started 16 of the team’s 17 games in December, averaging 6.6 points.
PUTTING UP A WALL
Wall took over the final 2:30 of the first half, scoring 13 points in a 20-3 Wizards run that gave the Wizards a 67-61 lead at the break. He scored the final 11 points of the half for Washington.
But Dallas held him to just seven points in the second half.
“I missed two or three pull-ups I thought were good shots,” Wall said. “They just rimmed in and out. They were making shots in the third and we didn’t have an opportunity to get out in transition off missed shots.”
STEPPING BACK
Bogut asked Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle to bring him off the bench due to the struggles the team was having with both him and Nowitzki in the game as starters. Though the pair had only played 53 minutes together this season due to injuries to both, Dallas had been outscored by 62 points when they were on the floor together.
“It’s better than starting the game and getting dragged out,” Bogut said. “If you’re going to do that, you might as well do it the right way.”
BURGER ANYONE?
In an effort to promote the All-Star candidacy of Barnes, the Mavericks debuted the Harrison Barnes All-Star Burger at concession stands for all January home games. Barnes is averaging a team-leading 20 points for Dallas.
“I’m more concerned with his day to day progress, that he keeps learning and growing,” Carlisle said. “That’s really his personality so I think he’s going to continue to trend upward. He hasn’t plateaued in his work ethic or his thirst to get better.”
