January 20, 2012

Mavs Ride Lamar's Hot Start In Utah

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The Dallas Mavericks needed someone to get hot to end their road losing streak and Lamar Odom was up to the challenge.

Lamar came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 20 minutes as the Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz 94-91 on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

Lamar provided a spark for the Mavericks on Thursday as they stopped their losing streak in Utah (Getty Images).

LO came into the game with the Mavericks ahead by six and less then five minutes left in the first. He immediately went to work in pushing that lead. Just 30 seconds into his first run of the game, No. 7 hit Ian Mahinmi for a layup to push the edge to seven. After two Jazz buckets, Lamar pumped the lead back up to seven with 2:05 left when he knocked down his first shot of the night.

He added two more jumpers in the opening two minutes of the second as Dallas held off a Utah rally to maintain the early lead. By halftime, LO had six points, an assist and a rebound and the Mavs held a 59-50 advantage. Utah came charging back in the third, but the return of LO to the floor injected a little life into the Mavericks and his hook with 3:31 left in the quarter pushed a slim one-point lead to three.

But Lamar's impact on the game wasn't limited to the offensive end. He produced a key block early in the fourth, stuffing a shot from Enes Kanter that would've given Utah the lead.

Moments later, LO sank a pair of free throws to put Dallas in front by four. The Mavs held tight from there, with a bend but don't break defense, to secure the win.

"It's as good a win as we have had all year for a lot of reasons," Coach Rick Carlisle said. "No. 1, what we have been through the last couple of games, and to bounce back is huge. And, you know, in this building you are in altitude. This is as loud a place as there is. Tonight, this was louder than I have heard all year."

ANOTHER HEARTBREAKER IN LA
The win over the Jazz came one night after the Mavericks suffered another last-second loss in Los Angeles.

Dallas led 89-88 after a Jason Terry trey with five seconds left, but Chauncey Billups answered with a triple of his own, beating the buzzer with one second to go to lift the Clippers to a 91-89 win.

LO finished the night with five points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal in 24-and-a-half minutes. He also led the Mavs in point differential as they outscored the Clippers by 10 when Lamar was on the floor.

No. 7 came off the bench halfway through the first and went to work on the glass, snatching a pair of rebounds in the opening quarter. He added two more in the second, when he also scored four of his five points.

His only bucket of the night came with 10:11 to go in the half when Jason Terry lobbed the ball to him on a fast break for an alley oop.

Watch video of the play, which features a nifty one-handed grab from LO, below, courtesy of Mavs blog The Two Man Game:

 

 

Lamar added his other two points of the quarter on free throws a minute later to put Dallas ahead 33-31, but the Clippers jostled the lead back and the Mavs trailed by one at halftime. LO added his last point of the night on a free throw in the third and grabbed his fifth rebound.

In the fourth, his steal ended a LA possession keeping the Dallas deficit to one possession and his two rebounds midway through the quarter helped the Mavs tie the game at 78. They didn't, however, take the lead until Terry's three with five seconds left. Billups' trey four seconds later erased that lead.

"That's basketball at its best," guard Jason Kidd said. "It can reward you and also it can upset you. We're a veteran ballclub, and we have a game tomorrow, so we have to be ready."

LO ON MLK
Earlier in the week, Lamar took some time to reflect on what Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy has meant to both him and the world around him.

LO, who was raised primarily by his grandmother who was born in the South in 1923 has seen first-hand the impact that Dr. King has left behind.

Click here to watch Lamar talk about Dr. King's impact on the world.

ALL-STAR VOTING UPDATE
Lamar needs your votes to get to February's All-Star Game!

LO is currently in eighth place at forward, with 96,080 votes. He needs about 40,000 votes to edge past Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs for seventh place. Only the top two vote-getters in each position will receive a bid to the game in Orlando

All you have to do to vote is visit NBA.com, click the banner on the LamarOdom.com homepage or text Odom to 69622.

NEXT UP
No. 7 and the Mavs travel to New Orleans on Saturday to close out their four-game Western Conference road tour. Saturday will mark two weeks to the day that the two teams squared off for the first time this season.

With Thursday's win in Utah, the Mavs sealed their first road win against a Western Conference opponent this season -- a streak they hope to carry into tomorrow's contest. Tipoff is set for 7 PM CST on Fox Sports Southwest.

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