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Beaubois scores 40 points for Mavericks

Mar 28, 2010 - 6:02 AM OAKLAND, Calif.(AP) -- Rookie guard Rodrigue Beaubois played just 48 seconds and went scoreless Wednesday night when the Dallas Mavericks lost to Portland.

Beaubois made up for lost time Saturday night and made a strong case for more playing time, scoring a career-high 40 points in the Mavericks' 111-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

"I felt great," Beaubois said. "I thought I couldn't miss so I kept shooting."

Beaubois made 9 of 11 3-pointers, was 15 of 22 overall from the field, made his only free throw and had eight rebounds to help the Mavericks snapped their two-game losing streak. The 6-footer from Guadeloupe had 26 points in the first half, two more points than his previous career game high.

"Coming into this game, we knew this was the type of team that he would be able to showcase his abilities," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "When he came in he made a lot of great things happen."

Shawn Marion added 18 points, Caron Butler had 14, and Dirk Nowitzki finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks. Corey Maggette led the Warriors with 21 points, Monta Ellis had 14, and Anthony Tolliver grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds - 20 in the second half - the most by any Warrior this season.

"What a performance by Beaubois," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "Unbelievable. We left him open a couple of times but it didn't matter. He made shots when we covered him, when he was open. Nine 3s, what a performance. I didn't expect that."

The Mavs were coming off a 101-89 loss Thursday night to Portland and had lost four of their past six games and two straight following a 13-game winning streak. They lost those four games by an average of 17.7 points.

Dallas, which led by as many as 33 points, moved into a tie for second with Denver in the Western Conference playoff race, six games behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

"We're trying to get the highest seed we can, hopefully let it all out there the last 10 games," Nowitzki said. "We have a big game Monday with Denver. They're right there with us."

Beaubois came into the game averaging just 6.6 points and 12.3 minutes per game. He scored his 26 first-half points in just over 15 minutes. He made 10 of 13 shots from the field - 76.9 percent - and 5 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half, helping the Mavericks build a 67-41 lead.

The Mavericks shot 65.2 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range in the first half. The Warriors, meanwhile, shot 34 percent from the field and 10 percent from long range, making just 1 of 10 3-pointers.

Beaubois, the 25th overall pick in the 2009 draft, entered the game with 3:18 left in the first quarter. He scored his first points with 1:33 showing, nailing a 17-foot jumper. A few seconds later he had a 3-point play. Beaubois was just warming up.

The Warriors had built a 21-16 first-quarter lead late in the first quarter, but the Mavs answered with a 26-6 run to take a 42-27 lead.

Beaubois sparked the run with 14 points. In one span of less than a minute he hit three straight 3-pointers, two from straight on and one from the left corner.

"When the coach called me I just tried to play my game, be aggressive," Beaubois said. "Just tried to energize the team. Some nights you just feel your shot and keep shooting."

Nowitzki said he's seen Beaubois put on that type of offensive show before.

"We see it a lot in practice," he said. "He's a very, very explosive scorer. He's long. If he makes his shot he's tough to guard because he's so good at penetrating.

"He's got a great floater. He can finish in the paint. When he's on like that he's a tough matchup for anyone. It was fun to watch. It was a close game there and then he came in, really,played a great offensive game, mixing it up."

NOTES: Warriors forward Ronny Turiaf returned to action after missing nine games with a sore right knee and was in the starting lineup. ... Ellis and Maggette, who have been ill this week, went to the Warriors' locker room midway through the fourth quarter and didn't return. ... The NBA fined the Mavericks' Butler $25,000 for directing inappropriate language toward fans Thursday night in the second quarter at Portland.