Today (March 23) is Jason Kidd's 22nd birthday. Dallas at Minnesota (March 22) Minnesota started out with a small lead, but Dallas came back and tied the game at 10-10 with 6:45 left and the game went back and forth from there. Dallas was up 22-21 after 1. Lucious Harris had 6 points. The 2nd quarter was all Minnesota as Dallas was shooting bricks. Minnesota went on a 15-3 run late in the quarter and was up by 10 at 53-43 at the half. Minnesota was shooting 49% FG and Dallas was shooting 33% FG. Dallas was dominating on the boards and out-rebounded Minnesota 33-18 including 18-5 offensive. Tom Gugliotta had 11 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, Christian Laettner had 10 points, Isaiah Rider had 6 points including 4-11 FG, and Doug West had 7 points in limited time due to having 3 fouls. Roy Tarpley had 9 points, Jason Kidd had 8 points and 2 assists, Jamal Mashburn had 7 points including 1-9 FG, and Popeye Jones had 4 pints and 10 rebounds. Minnesota built up a 14 point lead early in the 3rd quarter. But Dallas came storming back as Mashburn told the Mavs to hop on his back and Minnesota went ice cold and turnover prone. Minnesota was up 64-58 with 6:25 left and Mashburn had 11 points in the quarter. Mashburn scored the next 7 points, including a 3, to cut Minnesota's lead down to 66-65 with 4 minutes remaining. After over a minute of misses, Popeye fed Tarpley for the slam and the lead. A couple of possessions later, Popeye got a slam to complete Dallas' 19-2 run. Dallas was up 69-66. Greg Foster got a slam and Mashburn missed a shot to round out the quarter. Dallas 69-68. Dallas was shooting 37% FG for the game and Minnesota was shooting 45% FG. Dallas was out-rebounding Minnesota 46-24. Mashburn had 18 points in the quarter and 25 points for the game. The teams traded points to start the 4th. George McCloud hit a jumper and Scott Brooks nailed a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 76-70 lead with 10:20 left. The teams traded baskets and Laettner converted the 3 point play. Tarpley made a hook shot and Dallas was up 80-75. The teams traded points, Gugliotta scored 2, and Laettner made 2 free throws. Dallas 82-18 with 8 minutes to go. Doug West collected his 5th foul and got a T for complaining. Brooks made the T. Tarpley nailed his 5th 3-pointer of the season. Pat Durham only made 1 of 2 free throws, but Laettner put back the missed free throw. Tarpley made 1 of 2 free throws and Dallas was leading 87-84 with 6:56 left. Lorenzo Williams blocked a shot, Dallas ran, and Kidd fed Lorenzo for the slam. Durham made 2 free throws. McCloud turned the ball over, Minnesota ran, and Darrick Martin got 2. 89-88 Dallas. Tarpley guided Mashburn's miss home. Martin got 2 more on the goaltending call. Dallas 91-90 with 3:48 remaining. Kidd missed, rebounded, and scored. Sean Rooks made 2 free throws. The teams traded misses and Dallas was up 93-92 with 3:48 left. A minute later, the score was still the same. Tarpley missed. Laettner missed and Doug West was called for offensive interference and got a T for hanging on the rim. Brooks missed the T. Tarpley made 1 of 2 free throws and Dallas was up 94-92 at the 2 minute mark. West missed and Popeye hit the baseline jumper. Gugliotta hit the long 2 with his toes on the line. Kidd made 2 free throws to put Dallas up 98-94 with 1:16 left. Harris stole the ball, but Dallas turned it back over with 46 seconds to go. Gugliotta made 2 free throws. Brooks missed, Popeye rebounded, and Mashburn was fouled with 16 seconds left. He missed both free throws, but Tarpley rebounded and Harris was fouled. Harris missed the first, but made the second. Dallas 99-96 with 13.1 seconds. Garland missed the 3-pointer and Kidd rebounded. Game over. Dallas 99, Minnesota 96. Tarpley scored 9 points in the 4th. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win. Dallas' home away from home once again proved favorable. Dallas has won 5 consecutive games in Minnesota. Dallas dominated the boards by out-rebounding Minnesota 57-32 including 29-12 offensive. Quotes Dick Motta: "Winning a last-second game is great for these guys. They're executing well at the end. If they had made a couple of free throws, it would not have been that close. I think they know I have frail heart and the flu." Motta: "Mashburn took over in the third quarter, after a slow start. You have to go with him, because he's going to turn it on sooner or later. If he doesn't, we should get on a plane and go home." Jamal Mashburn: "It was an ugly game, but we fought through it. We made some positive things happen, and the big shots." Motta: "Our rebounding totals show a great resolve for a team that is as short as we are." Bill Blair: "Twenty-nine offensive rebounds just about covers my talk. It was the difference in the game." Winston Garland: "It takes the wind out of your sail when you play good defense on a Mashburn or Kidd and they get the rebound." Blair: "We didn't come out [for the 2nd half] with any energy and we couldn't match up with Mashburn because of foul trouble." [Doug West collected his 4th foul early in the 3rd quarter.] 1 2 3 4 Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 21 26 30 - 99 .421 .313 .402 .645 Minnesota 21 32 15 28 - 96 .471 .250 .449 .800 Halftime: 53-43 Minnesota 3rd Q: 69-68 Dallas Technicals: Dallas illegal D 1st 23 seconds, Doug West 4th 7:50, West 4th 2:02 (hanging on the rim) Officials: David Jones, Tommie Wood, Hue Hollins Attendance: 14,496 Dallas REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK Jamal Mashburn 39 7-23 2-8 9-14 25 4-7 3 4 1 3 1 Popeye Jones 35 6-14 0-0 0-0 12 8-16 6 3 0 2 0 Lorenzo Williams 25 2-4 0-0 0-1 4 3-6 0 5 0 2 0 Lucious Harris 28 4-8 0-0 1-2 9 2-3 3 1 2 0 0 Jason Kidd 30 5-15 0-2 2-2 12 2-7 6 3 0 4 0 Scott Brooks 23 3-8 1-2 1-2 8 0-3 3 2 0 0 1 Roy Tarpley 31 6-13 1-1 7-10 20 9-13 2 2 0 0 2 George McCloud 19 4-5 1-2 0-0 9 1-2 1 2 0 3 0 Tony Dumas 5 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 Doug Smith 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 2 0 0 1 Totals 240 37-92 5-16 20-31 99 29-57 25 25 4 14 5 Minnesota REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK Tom Gugliotta 38 6-13 1-2 4-5 17 0-6 8 3 1 3 2 Christian Laettner 39 10-17 1-1 5-6 26 5-12 2 4 2 4 1 Sean Rooks 26 3-6 0-0 2-2 8 0-4 0 2 0 0 2 Doug West 19 4-6 0-0 3-3 11 1-1 2 5 0 1 0 Winston Garland 28 2-8 0-1 0-0 4 0-0 4 3 2 0 0 Isaiah Rider 25 3-14 0-2 0-0 6 2-2 4 1 1 0 0 Stacey King 17 2-2 0-0 3-4 7 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Darrick Martin 21 3-7 0-0 4-6 10 3-4 3 1 0 0 0 Pat Durham 17 1-2 0-1 3-4 5 1-1 0 5 2 0 0 Greg Foster 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Chris Smith 6 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 240 35-78 2-8 24-30 96 12-32 23 25 8 8 5 patricia