DALLAS _ Dennis Smith Jr. returned Wednesday night from a six-game absence. As if he wasn't motivated enough, his buddy, favorite hip hop artist and fellow Fayetteville, N.C., product _ J. Cole _ sat near midcourt, celebrating every Smith highlight play.
Smith kept giving Cole reasons to cheer. And the Mavericks gave the rest of the American Airlines Center fans a rather unexpected 110-93 rout of Detroit.
Dallas (9-23) had lost three straight games and six of its last seven. Detroit (17-14) had won three straight and had not played in three days.
Smith, who had been out with a left hip strain, didn't look at all rusty, scoring 15 points, pulling down five rebounds and dealing five assists in just 21 minutes.
"When you get 25 games in and you've got a starting rookie point guard, it's probably a good time for a break, anyway," Carlisle said of Smith's two-week break between games. "Just from the standpoint of so much coming at you.
"You never want an injury, but his body got a breather, he was able to work on strength and he was able to continue to work on his shooting, which he's getting better and better."
Smith said he never wanted to miss games in the first place, adding that he believes he might have been able to play through the injury.
But, given that he missed his senior season of high school with an ACL tear and played only one 32-game season at North Carolina State, he understands that Carlisle might have a point.
"It could be a blessing in disguise, man," he said. "Everything happens for a reason. That's how I view it."
Harrison Barnes led the Mavs with 25 points.
Anthony Tolliver scored a team-high 18 points for the Pistons.
