NBA: Dallas Mavericks suspend Rajon Rondo, fall to Hawks
With point guard Rajon Rondo suspended for one game for a heated argument with coach Rick Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks fell 104-87 to Atlanta on Wednesday.
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Atlanta: With point guard Rajon Rondo suspended for one game for a heated argument with coach Rick Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks fell 104-87 to Atlanta on Wednesday.
Chandler Parsons missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, Tyson Chandler was out with a hip injury and Rondo was serving his one-game ban by the team for a shouting match with Carlisle during the third quarter of Tuesday`s win over Toronto.
Recently acquired reserve forward Amare Stoudemire was also missing.
Even so, the Mavericks seized an early 34-22 lead before the Hawks settled in.
Dennis Schroder, who scored a career-high 22 points in a win over Dallas earlier in the season, led Atlanta with 17 points.
Kyle Korver made four three-pointers en route to 16 points, Paul Millsap scored 15 with eight rebounds and Al Horford recorded 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Eastern Conference-leading Hawks opened the third quarter with a 19-4 scoring run to take control of the contest and went on to complete their first sweep of a regular-season series against the Mavericks since 2003-04.
Prior to the game, Carlisle said Rondo would be welcomed back once he`d served his suspension.
"He`s an extremely important part of our team," said the coach, who said the argument stemmed from "poor communication" that was down to both himself and the player.
"He`ll practice Friday and he`ll be back in the starting lineup on Saturday," Carlisle said. "The events of last night are in the past."