O.J. Mayo accomplishes rare Mavs feat

December, 9, 2012
12/09/12
12:36
PM CT
O.J. Mayo didn't merely outduel James Harden in Houston on Saturday night.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Mayo assembled just the second 40-point game from a starting Mavs guard in the last 18 -- yes, 18 -- seasons.

Before Mayo's 40-point eruption that enabled the Mavs to pull out a 116-109 victory on the Rockets' floor, Dallas hadn't seen a 40-point game from a backcourt starter since Michael Finley's 42 points against Detroit on Nov. 27, 2002.

Scoring for the Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavs like he hasn't scored since he was a rookie in Memphis, Mayo now has three games with at least 30 points with his team. According to Elias, Dallas hadn't enjoyed so much as a 30-point game from a starting guard in more than two years, dating to Jason Terry's 36 points at Golden State on Feb. 8, 2010.

Harden finished with 39 points in the see-saw Texas duel and remains the only player in the league who switched teams since last season with a higher scoring average (24.7 ppg) than Mayo's 20.9 points per game.

Marc Stein | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com
• Senior NBA writer for ESPN.com
• Began covering the NBA in 1993-94
• Also covered soccer, tennis and the Olympics

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TEAM LEADERS

POINTS
Dirk Nowitzki
PTS AST STL MIN
17.3 2.5 0.7 31.3
OTHER LEADERS
ReboundsS. Marion 7.8
AssistsD. Collison 5.1
StealsD. Collison 1.2
BlocksE. Brand 1.3

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