DALLAS — The drought is finally over.
For the first time since winning the NBA Finals last season, the Dallas Mavericks won a game. Playing with much energy and with some passion, the Mavericks defeated the Toronto Raptors 99-86 on Friday night at American Airlines Center.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak to open the season for the defending world champions and was met with a huge sigh of relief by the 20,307 in attendance. And it was a victory that the Mavs knew would happen with time.
“It took us a long time last year to learn how to play Mavericks basketball,” owner Mark Cuban said. “There was a period of time where every play was a called play, and then we got to the point where everybody got to know everybody.
“And Coach (Rick Carlisle), to his credit, stopped calling plays. And lots of things changed.”
With their 0-3 start before Friday’s game, the Mavs had a lot of folks wondering if all the offseason changes would work. But Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who was Carlisle’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons before taking the Toronto job last summer, had no sympathy for what the Mavs experienced before facing his club.
“I don’t feel sorry for Dallas,” Casey said. “They have some good young pieces, some older pieces, other pieces.
“They’re going to be heard from as they go down the road, because Rick’s going to do a good job. Rick’s a great coach. I’ve learned a lot from him. I owe a lot to him as far as what I’ve learned through coaching. He’s made me a better coach.”
Center Ian Mahinmi led the Mavs in scoring for the first time with 19 points. Dirk Nowitzki added 18 and Jason Terry 17. The Mavs also won the rebound battle for the first time this season (40-38), led by seven rebounds from Jason Kidd.
One day after losing at Oklahoma City 104-102 on a 3-pointer by Kevin Durant at the buzzer, the Mavs regrouped and got off to a great start against Toronto.
