 and Smith fifth (14.6).Dallas settled for a 49-47 lead at the half after opening an 11-point lead in the first quarter and 14-point advantage in the second. The Mavericks raced ahead 10-0 just 3:12 in on Barnes' driving dunk and went up 21-10 on Smith's jumper with 4:51 left.Dallas stretched the lead to 42-28 on JJ Barea's 3-pointer 4:04 into the second quarter, but an 11-0 run, capped by LaVine's three-point play, got the Bulls back into the game.The Mavericks made their first five field goal attempts of the third, including consecutive 3s by Wesley Matthews, Smith and Barnes to open the lead to 62-52. Dallas stretched the lead to 73-59 on Smith's running layup midway through the quarter.TIP-INSMavericks: Smith scored 15 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting. . Barnes scored in 13 in the first half, going 6 for 12 from the floor. . Forward Nerlens Noel played 15 minutes in his second game back from thumb surgery.Bulls: Center Robin Lopez was inactive for a fifth straight game. . Forward Jarell Eddie, who was signed to a 10-day contract, was assigned to the G League Windy City Bulls on Friday.TAKING AMESThree of four NBA players from Ames, Iowa were in the building. Barnes and fellow Dallas forward Doug McDermott, along with Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, all attended Ames High School. Hoiberg went on to play at Iowa State, located in Ames, before 10 NBA seasons. He returned to Iowa State to coach for six seasons.Dick Gibbs, 69, was the first Ames high school prrduct to play in the NBA (1971-76)UP NEXTMavericks: Host New Orleans on Sunday night in the opener of a four-game homestand.Bulls: Host Boston on Monday night.)
Mar 01, 2018 CHICAGO -- With 21 games remaining in what has already been a long regular season, the Chicago Bulls are continuing to look at young players to best determine who will fit in the long run and who won't.Coach Fred Hoiberg has never allowed his team's record to become a focal point. And although fans remain hopeful the Bulls' struggles lead to a chance at a lottery pick in this summer's NBA Draft, player development remains at the forefront for Chicago's front office.The Bulls (20-41) will carry a five-game losing streak into Friday's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks and have dropped 13 of their past 15 as Hoiberg tried different combinations with Chicago's young stars, Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and rookie Lauri Markkanen.The shift to giving younger players more playing time has meant that former starters Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday have been moved to the bench in order to allow Bulls executives to best determine what their future will look like.As difficult as the losing has become, the Bulls won't dispute that they are in the necessary stages of a multiyear rebuilding process."For us, it's just the reality of the situation," Hoiberg told reporters recently, according to the Chicago Tribune. "We need to see which of our young players fit long term with the plan and the organization. In order to do that, you have to get quality minutes and take extended looks at young guys." Like the Bulls, the Mavericks (19-43) are pointing toward hopefully landing a draft lottery pick and will enter Friday's game having lost seven of their past 10 games. Dallas dropped a 111-110 decision to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.Dallas struggled early and then couldn't get a decent look at a shot in the final seconds in a game in which the Mavericks fell behind early.The Mavericks trailed by 14 minutes early and never recovered."The poor start killed us," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after the loss, according to Mavs.com. "That was a big part of it and then getting beat by 20 (in rebounding) is really difficult." The loss compounded Dallas' difficulties, which gained more attention this week when Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $600,000 by the NBA for his comments on a podcast that he thinks it's in his team's best interest to lose.His comments were met sternly by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said his office will pay sharp attention to how losing teams perform in the final weeks of the regular season.Despite Cuban's comments, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki told reporters earlier this week that he doesn't believe in Cuban's tanking mentality even during difficult stretches like the one Dallas finds itself in, having lost five of its past six games heading into Friday's game in Chicago."I think it's important for our young guys to learn how to compete and to compete all the time, play hard," Nowitzki told reporters this week, according to ESPN.com. "You play your minutes hard. That's the only way to get better."That's the only way to play in this league, and whatever happens after the season, we'll just go from there. But for now, you play your minutes hard and you play to win."
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