Mavericks live to play another day, force Game 5 against Rockets

With their season on the line and Chandler Parsons and Rajon Rondo out injured, the Dallas Mavericks called upon two new starters and put the ball back in the hands of Monta Ellis.

The result was not only a success for the Mavericks, who extended their season by at least one game with a 121-109 victory, but also for Dallas fans who had grown tired of a moribund, Rondo-led offensive attack.

It's amazing what's happened with the offense freed up for Dallas, as they've now scored 249 points over the past two games. The defense can still be found wanting, but when the team shoots 54.3 percent with 10 triples like they did Sunday, it's tough for even a great opponent to keep up. 

Not even an unsightly 9-of-21 mark at the line could keep Dallas from sending the series back to Houston.

Turning Point

It looked as if an early Mavericks lead was slipping away. Like every other time they had gathered momentum in the series so far, the Rockets were there to knock them back down. With 1:54 to play in the second quarter, James Harden appeared to kill a 10-2 Dallas run with a triple, pulling Houston back within three points at 56-53.

And then the Rockets' offense - ranked 12th in the regular season and first so far in the playoffs - went completely cold. Ice cold. Elsa cold.

Houston wouldn't hit another field goal until the 3:55 mark of the third quarter, a stretch of 10:01. In that time, Dallas kept rolling, extending what had been a three-point lead to a 20-point stranglehold on Game 4 and a more firm grasp on their own playoff lives.

(Courtesy: ESPN)

There was just no coming back from down 20 in the final 16 minutes of the game, not the way the Mavs offense was executing Sunday. Even when the Rockets hit eight consecutive shots over a six-minute stretch in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 10, Dallas had provided themselves enough cushion to bend without breaking.

Star Performer

With Rondo and Parsons out of the picture, head coach Rick Carlisle tapped J.J. Barea as his starting point guard and Al-Farouq Aminu as his small forward. Both were solid - they combined for 33 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists - but it was giving the ball back to Ellis that really had the biggest impact.

Ellis' production has decreased at times alongside Rondo since the latter was acquired, and Dallas' offense has been much better with just Ellis manning the helm:

That was on full display Sunday, with Ellis scoring 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting and adding six rebounds and three assists. The Mavericks were a plus-26 in the 39 minutes Ellis played and minus-14 in the nine minutes he sat.

And again, all credit to Barea, who did more in the first half alone than any other point guard had given the Mavericks so far.

Highlight Reel

Well, there was throwback Dwight Howard throwing down obscene alley-oops, Jason Terry in funeral black before the game as promised (prematurely, it turns out) and Aminu dunking on people. So, not exactly the usual.

But there was also Harden hitting ridiculous buzzer-beating floaters to make us feel at home:

By the way, if you've lost anything recently, think about asking Monta Ellis, because Monta Ellis have it all:

Well, maybe not entirely. Amar'e Stoudemire still has a bit of it:

Series at a Glance

Game 1: Houston 118, Dallas 108 (Houston leads 1-0)
Game 2: Houston 111, Dallas 99 (Houston leads 2-0)
Game 3: Houston 130, Dallas 128 (Houston leads 3-0)
Game 4: Dallas 121, Houston 109 (Houston leads 3-1)
Game 5: Tuesday, April 28, 8:00 p.m. ET
*Game 6: Thursday, April 30, TBD
*Game 7: Saturday, May 2, TBD

* If necessary

Alternate Series at a Glance