The Dallas Mavericks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 126-99 Saturday.
O.J. Mayo contributed with 30 points for the Mavericks, including a career-high seven 3-pointers, while Vince Carter mesmerized the home crowd with a stunning dunk and high-flying block.
''He was locked in. He was worried about his shot a couple of days ago, and even early in the game. And I just said, 'Just shoot. Just shoot it like you're 5 for 5 instead of 1 for 5,''' Carter said of Mayo.
The Mavericks trailed 53-52 before Mayo put them ahead for a good 3-pointer with just 1:01 minutes remaining in the first half. Shawn Marion soon followed with a 3-point play and Darren Collison scored a running 34-footer to make it 61-53 at the buzzer.
Collison had another 3-pointer at the start of the second half. He scored 18 points. Mayo's 24-8 run with another 3-pointer extended their lead to 76-61. Dallas scored 36 points in the third quarter. In their loss to Utah Thursday, they were outscored (37-13) during that period.
Mayo said, ''Once we got on the plane, a couple of us popped in the film and saw that our energy, effort, we were so casual during the entire third quarter, so we wanted to come out with an attack mentality and really just get after it.''
Carter scored 18 points for the Mavericks. Dallas had as many as sixteen 3-pointers and Rick Carlisle became the third coach to win 200 games with the Dallas Mavericks. Don Nelson and Dick Motta won 339 and 329 games, respectively, for the Mavericks.
Carlisle was pretty impressed with his team's performance.
''You make 16 3s, you're not going to lose many games, and it was a bit of a deodorant for some of our other transgressions. We look to make strides, mild as they may be, and get better,'' he said.
Ramon Sessions was the leading scorer for the Bobcats, with 22 points. Brendan Haywood, the former Mavericks center, scored 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Chris Kaman, the Mavericks center, made his debut as a reserve and got off to a rather slow start after he missed a couple of weeks due to a strained calf. He was pretty impressive in the second half, however.
Kaman made all five of his shots in the third quarter, finishing with 16 points.
''I missed the last four preseason games and the first two, so I'm kind of like a new player out there. I'm just trying to fit in where I can and do what I can do,'' he said.
Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap said he was upset about the fact that his team conceded as many as 36 points in the third quarter.
''It was a wonderful first half. But unfortunately in the third quarter we gave up 36 points, so we hang our hat on our defense so we know where to start,'' he said.
The Bobcats' coach also praised the Mavericks, giving them credit for their impressive performance.
''I think they just move the ball. There are three or four teams that we show film of and the Mavericks is one of them. They call it their flow offense. They do a great job of moving the ball to find the open shooter,'' he said.
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