The Mavericks found something at the end of Game 3 against the Houston Rockets. Though it was in a losing effort, the lineup of JJ Barea, Monta Ellis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler worked well together. The group was poised to scored 156.6 points and hold Houston to 105.3 points per 100 possessions with their performance in the Game 3 loss. The fact that they played just eight minutes signified that the group’s numbers weren’t truly delivering a strong sample size.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle opted to use that group as the starting lineup in Game 4. In the 18 minutes of action for the Barea-Ellis-Aminu-Dirk-Chandler group, they posted an Offensive Rating of 118.