Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle heaped praise on Rodrigues Beaubois following the promising young French guard’s performance in the Mavs’ record win at the New York Knicks.
The 21-year-old rookie, who had logged a total of one minute in his team’s previous two games, got a rare chance to play on Sunday with Jason Kidd unavailable and he took advantage by contributing 13 points, five assists and six rebounds in Dallas’ 128-78 demolition of the Knicks.
The 50-point margin of victory was the biggest in Dallas history.
“He’s been preparing for when we need him to play point,” coach Rick Carlisle said in the Dallas Morning News.
“And he ran the team well. You can see that the hard work has paid off.”
Beaubois’ signature play in the game happened when he made an acrobatic lay-up over Jonathan Bender in the fourth quarter.
The former Cholet star left his feet on the right baseline, drew contact with Bender and flung the ball over his head. It bounced off the backboard and went in.
“I just wanted to get the foul,” Beaubois said.
“I was surprised when I saw the ball go in, for sure.”
Beaubois, a possible addition to the French squad for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, played 24 minutes against the Knicks.
It was the most he had played since a November 16 game against Milwaukee.
