J.J. Barea: Lights up Rockets for 18 points off bench

The Mavericks were without the services of Dirk Nowitzki (illness) for a second straight game, but after entering the lineup in Nowitzki’s place in the team’s previous contest Friday, Barea moved back to the bench as Seth Curry ascended to the top unit. Barea was still easily able to outperform Curry, who went scoreless on the evening, and looks like he’ll continue to occupy a prominent spot in coach Rick Carlisle’s rotation in his high-usage role off the bench. Through three games, Barea is averaging 16.7 points (on 37.8% shooting), 5.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 treys and 1.0 steal in 33.3 minutes per game.