Mavericks overcome Hassan Whiteside to get Carlisle 600th win
One thing became clear on Friday: Unbelievable as he is, Hassan Whiteside can't do it himself.
The breakout Miami Heat center was beasting once again against the Dallas Mavericks, setting a franchise record with 14 rebounds in the first quarter en route to a 16-point, 24-rebound final tally. He had little in the way of help, leading the team in scoring and nearly outrebounding the rest of his team combined.
That lack of aid allowed the Mavericks to cruise to an easy 93-72 road victory, the 600th victory of head coach Rick Carlisle's career.
With the win, Carlisle moves to 600-416 in regular season games, a .591 clip. As head coach of the Mavs, his record stands at 319-205, a robust .609 clip.
Carlisle got an unexpected 20-point outburst from a comeback player of his own in Charlie Villanueva, who shot 6-of-11 from long range on his way to the game-high 20-piece. The Mavericks were a ridiculous plus-29 in Villanueva's 23 minutes, with the Heat apparently having no answer for a player averaging 4.9 points.
The Mavericks will take it, as it snaps an ugly four-game losing skid, albeit one that came against incredibly difficult competition. The Heat, meanwhile, have now lost five of their last eight to drop to 20-26 overall.