Mavericks 118, Bulls 101
DALLAS -- J.J. Barea was practically unstoppable from beyond the arc and backcourt partner Raymond Felton came up big on consecutive plays at both ends late in the game to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 118-111 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
With the score tied at 108-108 nearing one minute left in regulation, Felton drove late in the shot clock and got fouled hard by Chicago forward Taj Gibson. Felton made both free throws for the two-point lead.
On the Bulls' ensuing possession, Felton deflected guard Derrick Rose's pass and Dallas guard Wes Matthews converted at the other end for a 112-108 lead. Two more Felton free throws bumped the lead to six with 38.9 seconds to go.
Bulls forward Jimmy Butler hit a 3-pointer four seconds later to make it 114-111, and the Bulls then made a stop and called timeout with 11.7 seconds to go to devise a potential game-tying play. However, Rose was whistled for a five-second violation while trying to inbound the ball, giving it back to Dallas.
Two more Felton free throws, giving him six of Dallas' final 10 points, sealed the victory.
The Mavericks won consecutive games for the first time in five weeks. The Bulls lost for a fourth time in five games after winning at Oklahoma City on Christmas Day.
Barea, who started a second consecutive game for injured guard Deron Williams, poured in a game-high 26 points after he lit up the Brooklyn Nets for a career-high 32 points on Wednesday night. Barea made his first seven 3-point attempts (finishing 7 of 8) and was 9 of 14 from the floor with five assists and one turnover in 33 minutes.
Barea outdueled Rose, who continues to look more like his old self after finishing with 25 points, four assists and five rebounds. But his last of three turnovers was a killer.
The Mavs (17-13) ultimately won the game with 3-point shooting (16 of 33) and by crashing the offensive boards. Dallas outscored Chicago 30-19 in second-chance points. Add 3-point shooting and the Mavs held a 35-point advantage in those two categories.
The Bulls led 60-59 at halftime but had a chance to take a much bigger lead into the locker room after going up 54-43 with 2:38 to go. But two 3-pointers from Barea and another 3 from Matthews helped Dallas close the half on a 17-5 run.
The Mavs hit 10 of 16 from beyond the arc in the first half for a 15-point advantage to counter the Bulls' 54.6 percent shooting from the floor. Dallas started the third quarter on an 11-3 run.
Mavs forward Chandler Parsons finished with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds. Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 points, center ZaZa Pachulia had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Felton added 13 points.
All five Bulls starters scored in double figures. Nikola Mirotic had 23 points, Pau Gasol 18 and Jimmy Butler 17.
NOTES: The start of Saturday's game was delayed 30 minutes because of tornado warnings in the Dallas area. ... Mavericks PG Deron Williams missed a second consecutive game due to a left hamstring strain. Coach Rick Carlisle said he does not yet have a timetable for Williams' return. ... PG Devin Harris returned to the lineup after missing three games with a right hamstring strain. ... F Dirk Nowitzki played in front of the home fans for the first time since passing Shaquille O'Neal for sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list Wednesday at Brooklyn. ... Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg acknowledged before Saturday's game that team vice president John Paxson asked to speak to the team after a three-game losing streak in which SG Jimmy Butler called out Hoiberg's coaching style. Paxson talked to the team at some point before the Christmas Day win at Oklahoma City: "He did everything in this league and he's very well respected," Hoiberg said via ESPN Chicago. "Our guys really respect John and it was good that he sat in there and, again, that's what we did a lot in those three days we had off. It wasn't just time on the practice floor, but we spent time in the film room just talking things out and John was a big part of that." ... Saturday's game at Dallas was Chicago's fourth back-to-back of the season. The Bulls entered the game 2-1 in the second game of the first back-to-backs. ... The Bulls return home Monday to start a three-game homestand against Toronto, Indiana (Wednesday) and New York (Friday). ... Dallas has two more games remaining on this three-game homestand, including Milwaukee on Monday and defending champion Golden State on Wednesday.