Brendan Haywood benched to start 2nd half
Coach Rick Carlisle benched Haywood at the beginning of the second half in favor of Ian Mahinmi. The Mavs made their 17-4 run in the second quarter with a small-ball lineup that featured Dirk Nowitzki at center, a look they used much of the second half.
“Adjusting to the series. Adjusting to the level of quickness, energy,” Carlisle said. “Look, it’s not to say that Haywood’s not going to be starting Game 3, but for this game, I felt like that was the way to go. Look, it’s a gut feel, it’s a coach’s decision, and that’s how we go with it.”
Haywood played only 9:54, finishing with two points, one blocked shots and no rebounds. He played less than three minutes in the second half and said he wasn’t given an explanation for being benched.
“No, he doesn’t have to,” Haywood said. “He’s the head coach. He made a decision. … He’s the head coach. He has to make a decision that he thinks will help the team win.”
Haywood brushed off a question when asked whether he was frustrated that he wasn’t on the floor to finish the close games while the Thunder took a 2-0 lead in this series.
“C’mon, man, I’m not giving you nothing like that after a playoff loss to put you down 2-0,” Haywood said. “Stop it.”
Tim MacMahon
ESPNDallas.com- Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
- Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
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Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Marc Stein
Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 as Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular appearances on "SportsCenter," "NBA Shootaround," "NBA Fastbreak," "NBA Coast To Coast," ESPNEWS, ESPN "First Take" and ESPN Radio.
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TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | D. Collison | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| Steals | D. Collison | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | E. Brand | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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