Defending Champ Mavs Get First Win Of Season

"The drought is finally over.For the first time since winning the NBA Finals last season, the Dallas Mavericks won a game. Playing with a lot of energy and with some passion, the Mavs defeated the Toronto Raptors 99-86 Friday night at American Airlines Center.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak to open the season for the defending world champions and was met with a huge sigh of relief by the 20,307 in attendance.

And it was a victory that the Mavs knew would happen with time."It took us a long time last year to learn how to play Mavericks basketball," owner Mark Cuban said.

"There was a period of time where every play was a called play, and then we got to the point where everybody got to know everybody."And Coach [Rick Carlisle], to his credit, stopped calling plays. And lots of things changed.

"With their 0-3 start before Friday's game, the Mavs had a lot of folks wondering if all the off-season changes would work.

But Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who was Carlisle's defensive coordinator the past three seasons before taking the Toronto job last summer, had no sympathy for what the Mavs experienced before facing his club.

"I don't feel sorry for Dallas," Casey said. "They have some good young pieces, some older pieces, other pieces."

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