Dallas coach Rick Carlisle's top priorities entering the season are to improve defensively and defend home court better. The Mavericks did both, plus got a big night from Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki had 28 points and 13 rebounds, Jason Kidd added 12 points and 18 assists, and Dallas beat the Charlotte Bobcats 101-86 on Wednesday night in the opener for both teams. Dallas was 15th in the league in field goal defense and won 28 home games in 2009-10. This season Carlisle wants his team among the NBA's top 10 defensive teams with 30-plus home wins. The Mavericks limited the Bobcats to 39.7 percent from the field. Dallas forced 21 turnovers, leading to 28 points, and finished with 12 steals and five blocked shots. Read more: http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=301027006
