The Mavs are over half way through the season and things are looking promising. At the half way point (after the Charlotte game 1/17), Dallas had a record of 25-16. That is the 3rd best in team history. Even though the Mavs are playing so well, it is still a fight for the playoffs as the West is so competitive. Sacramento currently has the best record at 29-12 (.707); Dallas is currently #6 in the conference with 28-18 (.609); Denver is 8th in the conference with 26-18 (.591); and Houston is 11th in the conference with a record of 22-22 (.500). For comparison, Indiana is 8th in the East with a record of 20-22 (.476). Dallas finished January with a record of 8-6 (3-4 at home and 5-2 on the road). It was the 4th straight winning month (including April, but not October (1 game - was a win)). Steve Nash missed 6 games first with the flu and then due to a strained left hamstring. He returned to action for the Philly game. Dallas lost their first 5 games that Nash did not play in this season (with 3 coming with this latest absence), but won the last 3 he did not play in. Prior to the Vancouver game, Dallas activated Greg Buckner and placed Donnell Harvey on IR with tendinitis in his right elbow. Phoenix at Dallas (January 13) Both teams started playing poorly and, thus, the game stayed close with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. Phoenix led 24-21 after 1 with both teams shooting in the mid 30% FGs and Dallas having committed 11 turnovers in the quarter. Phoenix held a single digit lead the entire 2nd quarter. Dallas pulled within 44-45 with 1:30 left, but Phoenix scored the last 6 points of the half to take a 51-44 lead at the half. Shawn Marion had 16 points. Michael Finley opened the 3rd quarter with a jumper a minute in and Phoenix then went on a 14-3 run to take a 65-49 lead with 7:40 remaining. Dallas chipped away at Phoenix's lead and a 3-pointer by Howard Eisley pulled Dallas within 65-72 with 1:15 left. Phoenix scored the last 4 points of the quarter and led 76-65 after 3. Clifford Robinson had 11 points in the 3rd. Phoenix continued their run and opened the 4th quarter with a 14-2 run to go up 90-67 with 8 minutes left. Dallas would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way. Phoenix won 103-86. It was the Mavs' first NBC TV game (though only regional) in many years and and the team disappointed. The Mavs' performance was not good and Phoenix took advantage. A key stat to me is that Phoenix had 31 assists while Dallas only had 15. That low of an assist number normally means a loss. Of course, it doesn't help when you only shot 39.5% FG (Phoenix shot only slightly better at 42.6% FG. The Mavs were sloppy with the ball in committing 23 turnovers (well above their 14.1 average) while Phoenix only had 9 turnovers and had 18 steals (opponent's high this season). For Phoenix, Shawn Marion had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 steals; Clifford Robinson had 21 points; Jason Kidd had 15 points (only 4-14 FG), 5 rebounds, and 11 assists; and Rodney Rogers had 14 points (only 6-17 FG), 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Michael Finley led the way for Dallas with 27 points and 6 assists. Howard Eisley had 20 points including 6-20 FG playing point for the injured Steve Nash. Dirk Nowitzki, the only other Mav in double-digits, had 15 points and 12 rebounds and was limited in the 1st half due to foul trouble. Quotes Scott Skiles: "I'm very pleased. Right from the moment the ball went up, we had a lot of energy. We played very, very hard. We were active, we ran the break, we got back in transition. The guys really gave it up tonight." Skiles on Rogers: "In a couple of moments in the 1st and 2nd half, when it appeared they may be gaining the momentum back, Rodney seemed like the guy who was making the big play." Skiles on Dallas missing Nash: "Steve's having a great year. [Missing him] clearly affects them, for sure. We stuck with our game plan, though. We were pretty determined not to let them drive in, draw and kick. That's what they do. They drive in, draw the defense and then they kick out to their shooters. We were trying to stay home on their shooters as best we could and make them drive." Jason Kidd: "The energy we had was the key. We knew they were going to come out hard with the game on national television, but we played defense like the team that started the season 7-1." Kidd: "If you want to be an elite team, you have to stop people. We were able to make some plays on defense, which led to easy baskets." Kidd: "Tonight we got a lot of deflections and got out hands on the balls that led to easy baskets." Anfernee Hardaway on Dallas missing Nash: "Howard Eisley is a great guard, but if you have both [Nash and Eisley] in there at the same time, it's almost impossible to stop those 2 guys. With him out today, it really hurt a lot. You could see how much they needed him." Donn Nelson: "Well, that was a good old fashioned whipping out there that you saw today, and that's something we're not proud of. As you can see, we're a pretty tired basketball team. I thought [Phoenix's] athleticism bothered us tonight. We couldn't throw the ball in the basket out there." Nelson: "When we don't shoot the ball well, it affects our overall play and it seeped into our defense which wasn't great tonight as well." Nelson: "We knew their athleticism would affect us some, but we didn't think it would affect us this much." Nelson on Nowitzki, who played with the stomach flu: "Dirk is not feeling well and he got sick at halftime and his energy reflected it in the 2nd half." Michael Finley: "The way we played today was terrible. I apologize to everybody who was at the game and whoever witnessed it on national television. It was a terrible game to watch. Although they beat us, they didn't play one of their better games, and we definitely didn't play one of our better games. I was just disappointed that people who have never seen us play, if that was their first time seeing us play, that we really didn't display what kind of team we feel we have." Finley: "With the national televised game I think that got the guys a little bit more excited to come out and play, and it showed. We were so excited in the 1st quarter we couldn't make a shot. Hopefully, we can put this game behind us and go forward. You never know. We might get another national televised game." Finley on Dallas' high number of turnovers of which Finley had 8: "I personally had about 50,000. We were in a funk offensively. We never got in sync." Phoenix Suns 103, Dallas Mavericks 86 at Dallas (January 13) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Phoenix 24 27 25 27 - 103 .487 .125 .426 .955 Dallas 21 23 21 21 - 86 .446 .188 .395 .864 Halftime: Phoenix 51-44 3rd Q: Phoenix 76-65 Technicals: Donn Nelson 3:53 2nd, Phoenix Illegal D 7:35 3rd Refs: Jess Kersey, Jim Clark, Sean Corbin Attendance: 18,187 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Steve Nash (flu and strained left hamstring) Phoenix Suns REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 39 10-19 0-1 3-4 23 3-11 1 1 3 6 2 Clifford Robinson 41 8-19 0-3 5-5 21 0-3 4 3 4 2 1 Chris Dudley 10 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 1 0 0 0 0 Anfernee Hardaway 41 3-9 0-2 2-2 8 2-8 5 0 3 3 1 Jason Kidd 35 4-14 2-6 5-5 15 1-5 11 3 2 2 2 Rodney Rogers 37 6-17 0-3 2-2 14 2-8 6 2 5 5 0 Tony Delk 21 4-8 0-1 0-0 8 0-2 1 0 0 0 0 Tom Gugliotta 15 3-5 0-0 4-4 10 0-2 2 0 3 0 0 Paul McPherson 1 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 40-94 2-16 21-22 103 9-42 31 9 20 18 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 35 6-15 0-3 3-3 15 2-12 1 2 4 0 1 Gary Trent 9 0-2 0-0 2-2 2 0-2 1 0 2 0 0 Christian Laettner 26 2-7 0-0 2-2 6 3-7 1 1 3 1 0 Howard Eisley 46 6-20 3-9 5-5 20 0-4 4 5 5 1 1 Michael Finley 46 11-24 0-4 5-8 27 1-4 6 8 1 0 2 Hubert Davis 25 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 2 3 0 1 0 Shawn Bradley 29 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 2-13 0 3 2 0 6 Loy Vaught 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 1 0 Courtney Alexander 21 1-5 0-0 2-2 4 2-5 0 1 3 0 0 Donnell Harvey 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-81 3-16 19-22 86 10-49 15 23 20 4 10 Sacramento at Dallas (January 15) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter as both teams were playing very well offensively and there were 9 lead changes and 3 ties. Doug Christie nailed a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to give Sacramento a 39-33 lead after 1. Sacramento shot 14-22 FG and Dallas shot 13-24 FG. Chris Webber had 14 points. Sacramento led 41-39 with 10 minutes left and scored the next 10 points to go up 51-39 with 7:30 remaining. Sacramento led 63-48 with 3:45 to go and Dallas closed the quarter with a 10-2 run. Sacramento led 65-58 at the half. Webber had 22 points and Howard Eisley had 15 points. Sacramento came out of halftime like a house on fire and used a 23-12 run that included 4 3-pointers to take an 88-70 lead with 4:15 left. Vlade Divac hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go to give Sacramento a 95-76 lead after 3. Sacramento shot 6-9 3-pointers in the 3rd. Sacramento led 97-80 with 9:45 remaining and Dallas scored the next 10 points to pull within 90-97 7:15 left. Sacramento used a 7-1 run to push their lead back into double digits at 104-91 with 4:25 left. Dirk Nowitzki and Howard Eisley drained 3-pointers, Webber had a slam dunk, and Nowitzki nailed another 3 and Sacramento only led 106-100 with 2:20 to go. Predrag Stojakovic hit a jumper with 2 minutes left and Dallas missed on 2 attempts. Webber slammed the ball home with 1:45 left and gave Sacramento a more comfortable 110-100 lead. Sacramento won 116-105. The Mavs faced one of the best teams in the league and the Kings took full advantage of the Mavs' stumbles during this game. Sacramento basically ran Dallas out of their own building as Sacramento had 31 fast break points to Dallas' 7. The Kings were also shooting lights out at 54.9% (45-82) FG while Dallas shot 43.7% (38-87) FG. The only down stat for Sacramento was that they only had 4 offensive rebounds (when you are shooting that well, there aren't many offensive boards), which tied a Dallas opponent record low. Chris Webber was in his MVP form and had 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. Predrag Stojakovic and Jason Williams each chipped in 19 points. Williams shot 5-9 3-pointers and 1-4 2-pointers. Vlade Divac had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Doug Christie had 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dallas lost despite having 3 players with 20+ points. Michael Finley had 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points including 4-11 3-pointers and 11 rebounds. Howard Eisley had 23 points including 6-8 3-pointers and 8 assists. Christian Laettner was the 4th Mav in double-digits with 13 points. Dallas made life difficult by allowing Sacramento to score 39 points in the 1st quarter. With the loss, Dallas is 0-5 this season in games Steve Nash does not play. Dallas is also 0-3 in afternoon games. Fortunately, this was the last afternoon game of the season. Quotes Rick Adelman: "We won that last game in Houston, but we didn't play that well. We knew they had a disappointing loss to Phoenix here and would be tough. So this was a big win for us. It's against one of the better teams in the conference, and it's a win on the road that helps our confidence and where you are in the standings." Adelman: "We were ready to play. I thought we were stagnant offensively against Houston, but we were a little bit better today. So it's progression. It's not always going to be perfect." Adelman on Webber: "The big guy carried us. He's so versatile." Adelman: "They're such a dangerous team. They can beat anyone anywhere. With Nash they're even better. He's so creative and he finds the guys. We are really happy to get out of here with a win." Chris Webber: "We just wanted to make sure we got this win. It's a team that is in our division [actually not, but conference]. They are a good team and they have been playing well, so, you make yourself proud if you beat a team at home and this is a very good team here." Webber: "You know they are really going to miss their starting point guard. He is so active and he is really the canvas of the team." Jason Williams: "That's definitely something we feed off of. We've got a very unselfish team on and off of the floor and I think we are so unselfish off the floor that it carries on and is really a plus for us." Donn Nelson: "What you saw out there was the 2nd best team in the Western Conference clicking on all cylinders. They had the inside and outside game working tonight, and it didn't matter which poison we picked." Nelson: "We were in a quandary with a team like this because Chris Webber is the #1 priority. But they had the inside game and the outside game working. It didn't matter which poison we picked." Nelson: "We didn't beat ourselves and we put ourselves in position to win. You just can't get in too big a hole. It takes too much energy to come back. They had the full gamut. They had Webber's post game. They had Vlade's post game. All their guys were hitting from the outside." Nelson: "We tried to change up the looks some on C. Webb but like all great players, he sniffed it out. It basically came down to not being able stop his post game. We tried everything, and I mean everything. We must have thrown 7 or 8 looks at C. Webb, and it didn't matter." Nelson on Webber: "We tried to change up the looks on Chris Webber and, as all great players do, he sniffed it out. We tried to throw a bunch of things at him, but we couldn't stop his post game and when we doubled him, he found the open guys." Nelson on Eisley instead of Nash: "He did a terrific job. He scored when we asked him to score. It wasn't because of Howard Eisley we didn't perform well. We're a much different team without Steve Nash in the lineup. It's a chemistry thing." Nelson on how long Nash will be out: "We are not going to take chances with doing something stupid and getting Steve in a situation where he misses a month because he comes back too early." Michael Finley: "The defense the last 2 games hasn't been stellar. Defense the last game was okay, but this game was terrible." Finley: "We have to put this game behind us and play 48 minutes and hopefully get a win." Finley: "We're not writing the season off because of 3 losses in a row. 3 losses in a row at this point, for the first time in the season, that's saying something. I don't think it's the type of thing that's going to snowball." Dirk Nowitzki: "They all made incredible shots from all over." Christian Laettner on Dallas' recent home play: "Its bad, its real bad. We go on the road for the next game, maybe we can get one there. I just think we are even more offensive minded at home. That just sets you up for failing on the defensive end and not playing the right way. You can't outscore people every night, you've got to play some defense." Laettner: "Not a lot of teams can overcome 65 points at halftime. We can't." Laettner: "Any time you a have a player like Steve out, you have to pick up the defense more, and we haven't been doing that. We have to do a better job on the defensive end without our quarterback out there." Sacramento Kings 116, Dallas Mavericks 105 at Dallas (January 15) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Sacramento 39 26 30 21 - 116 .557 .524 .549 .882 Dallas 33 25 18 29 - 105 .443 .423 .437 .750 Halftime: Sacramento 65-58 3rd Q: Sacramento 95-76 Technicals: Shawn Bradley 2:43 4th Refs: Joe Forte, Ron Olesiak, Bennie Adams Attendance: 18,187 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Steve Nash (sore left hamstring) Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Predrag Stojakovic 42 7-14 3-8 2-2 19 0-7 0 2 2 3 1 Chris Webber 39 16-29 0-1 2-2 34 1-12 5 5 5 0 2 Vlade Divac 38 5-7 1-1 3-4 14 3-11 4 2 4 2 3 Doug Christie 44 5-9 2-2 2-3 14 0-6 6 2 3 1 1 Jason Williams 39 6-13 5-9 2-2 19 0-1 5 1 1 2 0 Scot Pollard 17 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-3 0 1 2 1 1 Hidayet Turkoglu 8 1-2 0-0 4-4 6 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Bobby Jackson 10 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 0-1 3 0 1 1 0 Jon Barry 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 45-82 11-21 15-17 116 4-42 23 15 20 10 8 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 48 10-25 1-5 3-4 24 1-6 7 4 2 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 46 10-23 4-11 4-4 28 1-11 3 2 1 0 1 Christian Laettner 25 4-7 0-0 5-6 13 1-4 4 0 5 1 1 Hubert Davis 21 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 2 2 0 Howard Eisley 45 7-13 6-8 3-4 23 0-2 8 3 1 2 0 Gary Trent 9 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 3-3 0 2 3 0 0 Courtney Alexander 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 1 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 31 3-6 0-0 3-6 9 3-10 0 2 3 0 3 Loy Vaught 9 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 1-4 1 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 38-87 11-26 18-24 105 11-42 24 15 20 6 5 Dallas at Charlotte (January 17) The game was tied 10-10 with 7 minutes left and Charlotte scored the next 8 points to go up 18-10 with 4:40 left. Charlotte led 29-21 after 1. Jamal Mashburn had 15 points on 7-9 FG. Charlotte slowly built on their lead and led 40-26 with 5 minutes left on a 3-pointer by Baron Davis. Dallas scored 8 straight points to pull within 38-44 with a minute left, but Charlotte scored the last 2 buckets of the quarter and led 48-38 at the half. Charlotte scored 6 straight points to take their largest lead at 59-43 with 8:40 remaining and lead in the teens the rest of the quarter. Charlotte led 76-65 after 3. A layup by Hersey Hawkins gave Charlotte a 78-65 lead with 10:20 left and then the Mavs came roaring back. Dallas scored the next 10 points to pull within 75-78 with 6:20 to go. P.J. Brown converted a 3-point play and Dallas rattled off the next 7 points to take a 82-81 lead with 3:20 left - their first lead since 3 1/2 minutes into the 1st quarter. It was really exciting as the team exchanged buckets over then next 2 minutes. 2 free throws by Michael Finley put Dallas up 86-85 with 1:45 remaining. Brown drove, was fouled, and threw up a high, wild reverse layup that swished threw. He converted the 3-point play to give Charlotte an 88-86 lead with 52 seconds left. 2 free throws by Howard Eisley tied the game at 88-88 with 38 seconds to go. Elden Campbell hit 1 of 2 free throws with 23 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki had the ball in the right elbow and inexplicitly threw the ball cross-court and out of bounds between 3 Mavs with 7 seconds left - the pass was right down the middle of all 3. The Mavs immediately fouled Mashburn on the inbounds and he hit 1 of 2 to put Charlotte up 90-88. The Mavs called timeout and inbounded the ball at half court. The ball came into Nowitzki, who handed the ball to Finley at the top of the arc, Finley then passed the ball back to Nowitzki at the left elbow, Nowitzki fumbled the pass and then regained control, he took a couple of steps in as his defender went pass him and another defender made towards him, it looked like Nowitzki was going to shoot, but at the last second he noticed Eisley/heard Eisley call for the ball and passed the ball into the left corner to a wide open Eisley, who elevated and shot. The buzzer sounded as the 3-pointer swished through. Dallas won 91-90. Wow, what a win! Well, it wasn't pretty, except for Eisley's shot, but it's a win. After the shot went through, Eisley kind of stood in the corner for a few seconds - he wasn't sure if it was a 2 or a 3. You couldn't help but feel sorry for the Hornets as they stood on the court stunned. After a few minutes, some shuffled for their center court prayer and others slowly headed to the locker room. This was Dallas' first win of the season when Steve Nash did not play. The hero of the night was unquestionable Howard Eisley. Eisley had 8 points in the 3rd and 11 points in the 4th and finished with 23 points and 8 assists. Dirk Nowitzki was high man with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and the game winning assist. Michael Finley struggle with only 14 points including 6-18 FG, 1 rebounds, and 3 assists. Loy Vaught had a very, very nice game with 8 points and 10 rebounds. For Charlotte, Jamal Mashburn started out like a house on fire by scoring 15 points on 7-9 FG in the 1st quarter, but he only shot 3-9 FG the rest of the way for a total of 22 points. He also had 9 rebounds and 9 assists. David Wesley had 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Dallas won despite being out-rebounded 29-50 including 6-17 offensive. Charlotte hurt themselves by committing 19 turnovers that resulted in 20 Dallas points while Dallas only committed 9 turnovers that resulted in 9 Charlotte points. Quotes Donn Nelson: "I'm still stunned and my heart is still out there at midcourt. You couldn't have scripted it better." Nelson, who said that the plan was for Finley or Nowitzki to take the final shot to hopefully send the game into overtime: "I couldn't sit here and draw up a play to get that kind of open shot. So I identify talent and put them in those positions and give them the freedom to do their things." Nelson: "I couldn't draw up a play to get that good a shot. I must have said 'Oh, man!' a gazillion times." Nelson: "I felt good about the momentum and thought we could have won in overtime. I wanted the 2 to send it into overtime. I never called for the 3, but I'll take it." Nelson on what he told Finley and Nowitzki during the timeout: "I told them they've got 7 seconds - that's a lifetime." Nelson: "Howard, in the wake of Steve Nash being out and all the pressure of not winning lately, put forth a tremendous effort in running the club tonight and hitting the game-winner." Nelson on Eisley and Nash: "Howard hitting that last second shot, that was appropriate. It's unfair [what Eisley has heard]. Steve is a different player; he has a whole different game. But the last two games, Howard has been a monster." Nelson on Vaught: "His pick-and-roll game was what really got us over the hump tonight. You saw him out there. You saw him in the 4th quarter, doing his thing." Dirk Nowitzki: "I said, 'Howard we won.' He didn't really know if it was a 2 or a 3. So he kind of stood around and didn't know what to do." Howard Eisley: "This is a big win for us tonight. After losing 3 in a row and playing on the road against a tough team like Charlotte, [it] certainly means a lot to us. We knew we had time on that last play. It was created for Mike, but we just made the extra pass and hit the open shot. Our game picked up at both ends of the floor and we really picked up our play in the 4th when we needed to." Eisley: "Time was running out, and I knew I had to get a shot up. I was more concerned with trying to beat the clock than anything." Eisley on standing in the corner for a few seconds after the basket was made: "I was just making sure it was a 3." Eisley: "I have no idea how I got that open. I was just there and I yelled for Dirk and hit the shot." Loy Vaught: "To come in here against one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, and win in the dramatic way we did is going to really give us a shot in the arm. I feel fine, and hopefully I can be able to do it again tomorrow." Vaught: "I was just trying to be real active. I think Donnie realizes I'm a veteran and not going to do too many stupid things, not throw anything away." Paul Silas: "It was difficult. You win some games like this and you lose some games like this. We beat Chicago on a last second shot last week. They made plays down the stretch and we didn't. They ran the pick-and-roll extremely well and Eisley got in the lane. That hurt us." Silas: "We didn't execute well on that last play. Eisley was wide open. We were supposed to rotate but didn't and that was the game." Jamal Mashburn: "It hurts. We out-rebounded them and got more assists, but we turned the ball over more than they did. The game came down to 1 or 2 shots. We had a lot of opportunities to put this away and we didn't. We're professionals. We have to bounce back and put it all together." Mashburn: "I don't mind so much them making the shot as I do that we were in that position. We were beating them the whole game, we had a big lead, we out-rebounded them, and then we fell apart at the end." David Wesley: "It's tough. I don't know what happened and won't until we look at the film tomorrow. There shouldn't have been anybody that open." P.J. Brown: "We left the game up to chance and you see what happens. We just paid the price at the end of the game." Dallas Mavericks 91, Charlotte Hornets 90 at Charlotte (January 17) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 21 17 27 26 - 91 .437 .429 .436 .909 Charlotte 29 19 28 14 - 90 .478 .300 .456 .882 Halftime: Charlotte 48-38 3rd Q: Charlotte 76-66 Technicals: Charlotte Illegal D 3:34 1st, Michael Finley 10:05 3rd, Charlotte Illegal D 4:41 3rd, Charlotte 3:27 4th Refs: Bob Delaney, Derrick Stafford, Violet Palmer Attendance: 14,134 (cap 19,925) Did not play due to injury: Steve Nash (strained left hamstring), Gary Trent (flu) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 41 6-18 0-2 2-2 14 1-1 3 3 1 2 1 Dirk Nowitzki 41 9-17 1-2 8-8 27 0-6 3 2 5 1 1 Christian Laettner 17 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 1 0 2 1 0 Courtney Alexander 24 3-9 0-0 1-1 7 1-2 1 0 1 1 1 Howard Eisley 42 7-15 2-3 7-7 23 2-3 8 1 2 1 0 Shawn Bradley 36 3-4 0-0 2-4 8 0-6 0 0 2 0 3 Loy Vaught 30 4-10 0-0 0-0 8 2-10 2 1 4 4 0 Hubert Davis 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 48 34-78 3-7 20-22 91 6-29 18 9 17 10 6 Charlotte Hornets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK P.J. Brown 36 5-9 0-0 4-4 14 5-8 1 2 3 0 0 Jamal Mashburn 43 10-19 1-2 1-2 22 1-9 9 3 3 1 0 Elden Campbell 39 5-13 0-0 3-4 13 1-6 1 3 3 0 2 Baron Davis 44 3-13 1-5 4-4 11 3-7 6 3 5 0 3 David Wesley 39 9-16 0-1 1-1 19 3-6 5 0 3 0 0 Jamaal Magloire 9 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 1 1 1 0 0 Derrick Coleman 12 2-3 1-2 2-2 7 3-10 1 3 2 0 0 Hersey Hawkins 13 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 1 1 2 0 0 Lee Nailon 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 Totals 48 36-79 3-10 15-17 90 17-50 25 19 23 2 5 Orlando at Dallas (January 18) Orlando started out on fire and quickly had a 17-4 lead with 8 minutes left as they hit their first 7 shots - and they were all jumpers. Orlando led 19-12 with 5 minutes to go and closed the quarter with an 18-3 run as they were still shooting lights out. Orlando led 37-15 after 1. Orlando shot 15-21 FG while Dallas only shot 5-24 FG. Tracy McGrady had 12 points. Well, if you're going to be down big, it's best if you're down big early. Dallas was able to cut Orlando's lead down into the teens as Orlando started missing shots and Orlando led 46-29 with 6 minutes to go. Dallas then went on an 11-3 run to pull within 40-49 with 2:25 remaining. Orlando led 54-44 at the half. Orlando only shot 5-22 FG in the quarter while Dallas shot 11-21 FG. Orlando led 60-47 with 9 minutes left and Dallas scored the next 10 points to pull within 57-60 with 6 minutes to go. Orlando led 72-67 after 3. Orlando opened the 4th quarter with an 8-2 run to go up 80-69 with 10 minutes remaining. Orlando led 93-82 with 1:45 left, but this game wasn't quite over. Dirk Nowitzki nailed a 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining and Mike Miller hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:41 left. Howard Eisley missed a layup, but Loy Vaught was able to tip the miss in with 1:34 to go. Darrell Armstrong (an 90.1% FT shooter) hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:29 left and Orlando led 95-87. Nowitzki drove for a layup with 1:19 left. Orlando turned the ball over, but Dallas missed on 3 attempts and Miller was intentionally fouled. He hit 1 of 2 free throws to give Orlando a 96-89 lead with 50 seconds left. Hubert Davis drained a jumper with 41 seconds left and Troy Hudson hit 1 of 2 free throws with 40 seconds left. Dallas missed on 3 attempts, but Vaught was able to tip in the last miss with 26 seconds left to pull Dallas within 93-97. Armstrong hit 2 free throws. Nowitzki missed a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left and there was a jumpball on the rebound between Vaught and Armstrong. Dallas controlled the jump and Michael Finley banked in a long 3-pointer with 8 seconds left and those of us still in Reunion went nuts. Armstrong was immediately fouled and went to the line to ice the game with 5.8 seconds left. But he missed the first free throw. And he missed the 2nd and Vaught snagged the rebound and Dallas called timeout with 5 seconds to go and down by 3. At half court, Finley inbounded to Nowitzki, who handed the ball back to Finley, who drove to the right around the arc and elevated, fading away from his defender, released, and rattled in the 3-pointer at the buzzer. Overtime. 99-99. The Mavs had the momentum and started the overtime strong as Nowitzki drove to the basket for the monster slam to give Dallas their first lead of the game with 4:40 left in overtime. Shawn Bradley hit 2 free throws to put Dallas up 103-99 with 4 minutes left. The teams traded misses and McGrady hit a jumper with 2:40 to go. Nowitzki hit 2 free throws and McGrady hit 2 free throws and Dallas led 105-103 with 1:40 to go. Nowitzki nailed a jumper and Laettner hit 2 free throws with a minute left. Miller drained a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left. Eisley hit a short jumper, but could not convert the 3-point play with 32 seconds left and Dallas led 111-106. McGrady missed with 25 seconds to go and 4 Eisley free throws capped the scoring. Dallas won 115-106 in overtime. The thing that completely baffled me about this game is that Orlando often used a trap on defense, but no Mav ever seem to be open. As I said above, if you are going to go down big, best to do it early in the game. Orlando out-scored Dallas 37-15 in the 1st quarter, but Dallas out-scored Orlando in the rest of the quarters. The 22 point comeback win was Dallas' 2nd largest in team history. Michael Finley's exciting 3-pointers may have been all skill, but this win has to go down as pure luck [and don't get me wrong, a win is a win is a win]. Darrell Armstrong is a 90.1% FT shooter, but he missed 2 with 6 seconds left in regulation - either of which would have iced the game - and shot a poor 5-10 FT for the game. In addition, Orlando missed 9 free throws in the 4th, including 5 in the last 2 minutes of the quarter. The Mavs won this one by virtue of heart, determination, and, surprisingly, rebounds. Dallas out-rebounded Orlando 69-51 including an amazing 29 offensive boards. This was the first overtime of the season for Dallas and the team never led in regulation. There is no question that the hero of this game was Michael Finley. Finley finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out with 2 minutes left in overtime and playing cheerleader the rest of the way. His 2 3-pointers were incredible. Dirk Nowitzki had a _monster_ game with 38 points including 13-16 FT and 17 rebounds including 7 offensive. Christian Laettner had 12 points including 4-13 FG and 14 rebounds. Courtney Alexander had 11 points including 2-7 FG. Loy Vaught had 10 points and 6 rebounds in 12 minutes. For Orlando, the goat is unquestionably Darrell Armstrong. He finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists, but would have gladly given up all those number for just one of his last 2 free throw attempts to go in. Tracy McGrady had a strong game with 34 points and 9 rebounds. and rookie Mike Miller chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds. Quotes Donn Nelson: "The guys in the locker room in there, every single one of them, are a bunch of winners. They never give up, even toward the end of the game. We were down significantly, and those guys always thought they could get back into the game and win it. As usual, at the end, we don't disappoint." Nelson, whose team played the night before and got in town late: "Those guys found it somewhere. We were on empty tanks, especially after last night and getting in late. Winners win, and they're a bunch of winners." Nelson on the last play of regulation: "The play was drawn up for [Finley] and Dirk again. Those are my best two players. I placed the ball in their hands. Last night it was Dirk that made the big decision and Howard made the big 3. Tonight Mike came off that pick and you could see it in his eyes. That thing was going up and going in. Nelson: "I'm disappointed in the 1st quarter. It's something we've been addressing. To dig ourselves in that kind of a hole. We got in pretty good at halftime for that." Nelson: "1st quarter, they shot the lights out in only missing 4 shots. So we took that with a grain of salt. But I wasn't satisfied with our defensive energy until the 3rd and 4th quarter. Winners do that - they have a tendency to pick things up when the games are tight. We just have a locker room of winners." Michael Finley on his 3 that tied the game: "It was a breath of fresh air. It gave us another chance." Dirk Nowitzki on getting the ball to Finley for the final shot: "You could see it in his eyes. That thing was going up and going in." Hubert Davis: "We're winning, but we're winning lucky. It's not luck that Mike and Dirk hit those shots. But Darrell Armstrong missing free throws?" Davis: "We always have confidence that Michael is going to make the big shot. If not Michael, then Dirk would hit it. That's a tough play to defend." Doc Rivers: "We lost the game on our own. We made every possible mistake you can make at the end of a game. 12-21 in the 4th quarter at the free throw line basically explains it all, and then the second shots [Dallas] got. We had our right free throw shooters at the line, and they didn't go in." Rivers: "I thought we played a terrific game. You have to give them credit because they never quit. They kept making shots. And that's the way the ball bounces." Darrell Armstrong: "The biggest thing is I'm one of the best free throw shooters in the league and that's my opportunity to show people that I can knock them down. I'm supposed to knock them down and for me to miss free throws at the end, it hurts. That's a win we should have had." Armstrong: "They had momentum going into overtime. They were the more aggressive team at the end. They just kept coming and kept shooting. They had us back on our heals a little bit and we should have kept attacking, but the biggest thing is we didn't knock down our free throws. I didn't knock down mine and other guys missed theirs. That's when you need your free throws." Pat Garrity on Armstrong's missed free throws: "I've never seen that from Darrell. And I'll probably never see it again." Mike Miller: "We just didn't make free throws down the stretch. You can't be 12-21 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter. It's not going to win games." Dallas Mavericks 115, Orlando Magic 106 OT - at Dallas (January 18) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 15 29 23 32 16 - 115 .400 .200 .362 .833 Orlando 37 17 18 27 7 - 106 .400 .368 .393 .659 Halftime: Orlando 54-44 3rd Q: Orlando 72-67 Technicals: Orlando Illegal D 2:27 1st, Orlando Illegal D 8:40 3rd, Orlando Illegal D 8:04 4th Refs: Ronnie Nunn, Kevin Fehr, Jason Phillips Attendance: 13,355 (cap 18,187) Did not play due to injury: Steve Nash (strained left hamstring) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 49 9-21 3-6 0-0 21 5-6 4 5 6 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 47 12-26 1-6 13-16 38 7-17 3 5 5 1 2 Christian Laettner 28 4-13 0-0 4-4 12 6-14 0 2 3 2 1 Courtney Alexander 26 2-7 0-0 7-8 11 1-1 1 0 6 1 0 Howard Eisley 42 1-11 0-4 6-7 8 0-8 7 5 4 4 0 Shawn Bradley 28 2-6 0-0 3-5 7 6-13 0 0 3 0 3 Hubert Davis 33 3-10 0-4 2-2 8 1-4 3 0 2 0 0 Loy Vaught 12 5-11 0-0 0-0 10 3-6 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 53 38-105 4-20 35-42 115 29-69 18 18 30 8 7 Orlando Magic REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tracy McGrady 46 12-30 2-3 8-9 34 4-9 4 2 2 3 1 Bo Outlaw 41 3-4 0-0 2-4 8 3-9 1 3 4 1 1 Andrew DeClercq 11 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 2 4 0 1 Darrell Armstrong 47 6-15 2-6 5-10 19 3-6 12 4 6 4 1 Mike Miller 35 6-11 2-6 2-4 16 0-7 1 1 4 1 1 Michael Doleac 19 3-13 0-0 2-3 8 1-6 1 0 3 0 0 Monty Williams 19 2-4 0-0 6-6 10 2-6 1 0 1 1 0 Troy Hudson 9 1-3 0-1 1-2 3 0-1 0 2 3 0 0 Pat Garrity 26 1-4 1-3 2-2 5 0-3 0 1 3 2 0 James Robinson 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 John Amaechi 8 0-3 0-0 1-4 1 3-3 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 53 35-89 7-19 29-44 106 16-51 21 16 30 12 5 Denver at Dallas (January 20) Dallas jumped to an early 6-0 lead and also led 12-5 with 7:30 left. Denver didn't let Dallas' lead grow any large and tied the game at 18-18 with 1:15 to go on a 3-pointer by Nick Van Exel. Howard Eisley nailed a 3 with 5 seconds left to give Dallas a 22-20 lead after 1. Van Exel had 11 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 8 points and 6 rebounds. It was an ugly quarter as both teams struggle to find the basket with Dallas shooting 9-28 FG and Denver shooting 6-15 FG. Dallas had an amazing 13 more field goals attempted due mostly to snagging 12 offensive rebounds. The 2nd quarter saw Dallas maintaining a single digit lead most of the way and Dallas led 53-43 after 1. Michael Finley had 14 points in the quarter and Nowitzki had 10 points. The Mavs opened the 3rd quarter with a 8-2 run to go up 61-45 with 8 minutes remaining. Dallas led in double-digits the rest of the quarter and led 74-59 after 3. Dallas opened the 4th quarter with a 12-2 run capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Hubert Davis to give Dallas a 86-61 lead with 9 minutes left. Dallas coasted the rest of the way and won 97-79. Hey, Dallas won one they should have the way the should have - easily. There were two key factors in this win: a) Dallas controlled Denver's main weapon and b) Dallas aggressively went after the rebounds. Thanks to the Mavs' defense, Antonio McDyess only had 8 points on 4-11 FG (no free throws) and 9 rebounds. McDyess is averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds. Dallas had their 2nd highest rebounding total of the season with 63 rebounds while Denver only had 47 boards. Dallas also had 23 offensive rebounds while Denver had 12. This was key as both teams struggled shooting. Dallas shot 37.5% (36-96) FG and Denver shot 33.8% (27-80) FG. Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 27 points and 12 rebounds and Michael Finley had 23 points and 6 assists. Hubert Davis was the only other Mav in double-digits with 17 points including 5-6 3-pointers. For Denver, Nick Van Exel had 16 points and 8 rebounds, Voshon Lenard had 13 points and 8 rebounds, Kevin Willis had 10 points including 4-11 FG and 9 rebounds, and Mark Strickland had 12 points. Denver only had 15 assists. I didn't notice the funny moment of the night, but laughed when I heard about it. Dan Issel sent Robert Pack to sub in late in the 1st quarter. Pack got ready to go in, went to take his warm-up top off, and turned around and quickly headed for the locker room. Pack wasn't wearing his jersey. He started the 2nd quarter. Quotes Donn Nelson: "We played a bigger lineup tonight and Dirk did a terrific job. When we go big, it makes us more of a powerful team inside." Nelson: "We got off to a good start, didn't we?" Nelson: "Defensively, we just played exceptional tonight. We had a real good solid game plan. We were active all night. The game ball has got to go to Hubert Davis for the defensive job he did on Nick Van Exel in the 2nd half. I don't know how many times Nick touched the ball in the 2nd half, but it wasn't a lot. The whole 2nd half he did a fabulous job." Nelson on McDyess: "McDyess was a little tired. They played last night. We had a very aggressive game plan. He has been playing fantastic for them. I thought the quality of our double teams was excellent." Nelson: "We're all in the same category. We're not the Lakers, and we're not Portland. Closely thereafter you can draw a line. We're all in the same boat. We're in it for survival." Nelson: "I think that [Denver's recent surge] shows how tough the West is. All the top 11 teams are capable of putting together streaks like that and we are one of them. I think the team that puts together the longest streak or two may be playoff bound and the other ones that aren't able to do that may be bounced out." Michael Finley: "It was nice to be able to breathe a little bit easier on this one. Denver was a tired team and it showed. They were one of the hotter teams going right now, but we played hard from the start and met their challenge." Finley: "We played well defensively and wanted to set the tone early right from the jump ball and we hadn't done that the last two games. That was our team goal for tonight and we did that. Give Denver a lot of credit and they are a tired team tonight and it showed. But at the same time we got the job done." Finley on the Mavs' rebounding effort: "Everyone's taking it personally." Dirk Nowitzki on Dallas being in 1st place in the Midwest: "Really, of course that's great. We talked about that at the beginning of the year. We knew we could win some games, but 1st right now in the Midwest is pretty good. We are just a couple of games ahead of the 9th place. We know that and that's why we can't have any letdowns." Hubert Davis on the previous 2 comeback wins: "We don't want to go through that again. Even though we were winning, it's very physically and mentally exhausting to rely on Finley hitting falling 3s, or Howard hitting one at the buzzer. We want to help them a little." Davis: "We respect their team a whole lot. I don't want to say we have their number. They've been playing well so it was a big win tonight." Davis: "Everything just worked out well for me tonight. They were doubling on Dirk and Michael and I got some good looks and fortunately they went in for me. It's just a good win for everybody." Dan Issel: "I am sure they wanted to get off to a good start. They've been getting off to poor starts lately and having to come back and win the game at the end. I thought their defense was excellent. They really forced us out of what we wanted to do and we turned the ball over. Every aspect of the game wasn't good for us tonight." Issel: "We didn't get much done. They had 16 more shots than we did because they got 23 offensive rebounds. I can't remember the last time a team got 23 offensive rebounds. You give up over 60 rebounds and shoot 33%, you're not going to have much of a chance to win the game." Issel: "I thought their defense was excellent; they really forced us out of what we wanted to do and we turned the ball over. Every aspect of the game was not good." Issel on Dallas' defense of McDyess: "They were double teaming Mac every time he touched the basketball. That made it difficult. We didn't do a good job of presenting outlets to him so that he could get the ball out of the double team. We were kind of running away from the basketball because no one was really stepping up and shooting the ball very well." Issel on being 0-3 vs Dallas: "They're a good basketball team. We've lost two games out here and lost one at home. When they're one of the teams that you're hoping to match up with well enough to make the playoffs, you can't go 0-4. So that makes next Saturday night [vs Dallas] at home a big game." Antonio McDyess: "We're trying to get better. This ain't going to cut it right here." McDyess: "The Mavs crashed the boards and did all the dirty work, got all the offensive rebounds, shot the ball well. We didn't have any pattern to our game and came out flat. We tried to stick in there, but the 2nd half they just ran off with it." McDyess: "I couldn't get good shots. Even the shots I took were rushed. It seems like they really, really get up for us. They know we're going to be on our heels." McDyess: "We had no pattern to our game. I just couldn't get any good shots. Every time I touched it, they seemed to have another guy running at me." Nick Van Exel: "They pretty much got any shot they wanted. We didn't do anything about it." Van Exel: "They outworked us on the offensive glass. They kicked our butts. You can't let a team that shoots that well have that many second chances." Van Exel on McDyess: "We never made any adjustments to help him." George McCloud on Denver being 1-8 in the 2nd game of back-to-backs: "That's no excuse. Everybody has back-to-backs." McCloud: "They are a very energetic team and they have two go to players in Michael and now Dirk. They possess so many matchups and mismatches. They are a tough team to defend." Dallas Mavericks 97, Denver Nuggets 79 at Dallas (January 20) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 31 21 23 - 97 .359 .444 .375 .810 Denver 20 23 16 20 - 79 .333 .350 .338 .750 Halftime: Dallas 53-43 3rd Q: Dallas 74-59 Technicals: James Posey 8:02 2nd, Nick Van Exel 5:44 3rd, Shawn Bradley 3:55 4th Refs: Ed F. Rush, Mike Callahan, Courtney Kirkland Attendance: 18,187 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Steve Nash (strained left hamstring) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 42 8-19 2-4 5-6 23 1-3 6 1 2 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 38 9-21 0-1 9-9 27 6-12 5 1 3 0 2 Christian Laettner 23 4-9 0-0 0-0 8 1-6 3 1 1 4 2 Courtney Alexander 12 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 2-3 0 1 2 2 0 Howard Eisley 27 2-11 1-6 0-0 5 0-6 10 2 2 3 1 Gary Trent 11 2-7 0-0 3-6 7 5-8 0 0 1 0 0 Loy Vaught 22 4-10 0-0 0-0 8 3-8 1 0 1 0 0 Hubert Davis 37 6-12 5-6 0-0 17 3-6 0 4 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 27 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 2-11 1 0 5 0 2 Donnell Harvey 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-96 8-18 17-21 97 23-63 26 10 19 10 7 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antonio McDyess 32 4-11 0-0 0-0 8 2-9 1 4 1 1 0 James Posey 31 0-6 0-3 4-5 4 2-7 0 1 6 1 0 Raef LaFrentz 19 2-3 0-1 1-2 5 0-1 1 5 4 0 0 Voshon Lenard 29 4-11 3-7 2-2 13 2-4 0 1 2 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 34 6-16 3-7 1-3 16 1-8 3 0 1 0 0 Kevin Willis 29 4-11 0-0 2-2 10 3-9 0 0 2 0 1 George McCloud 21 1-6 1-1 4-4 7 0-2 4 1 2 0 0 Mark Strickland 16 4-7 0-1 4-6 12 1-3 0 1 1 0 1 Robert Pack 19 1-7 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 6 1 1 1 0 Bruce Bowen 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 2 0 1 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 0 1 0 Totals 48 27-80 7-20 18-24 79 12-47 15 15 22 4 3 Philadelphia at Dallas (January 23) Dallas jumped out to an 11-4 lead with 8:15 left, but Philadelphia came back with a 12-3 run to take a 16-14 lead with 5:40 left. Philadelphia closed the quarter with a 14-2 run to go up 32-20 after 1. Allen Iverson had 13 points. Philadelphia shot 12-16 FG while Dallas shot 9-23 FG. Philadelphia led 43-33 with 6:20 left and Dallas went on a 10-2 run to pull within 44-45 on a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki with 3:30 left. Philly led 51-48 at the half. Michael Finley had 12 points in the quarter and a franchise record 8 steals in the half. The game was tied at 57-57 with 9:10 remaining and Philly scored the next 11 points to go up 68-57 with 6:30 left. Philly led 81-71 after 3. Dallas pulled within 79-85 with 8:40 left, but Philly answered a 17-5 run to put the game out of reach at 102-84 with 3:15 remaining. Philadelphia won 114-98. Well, the Mavs' game plan of trying to keep the ball out of Allen Iverson's hands did not work. Dallas would double Iverson and another 76er would drain a shot. Even with the double-teams, Iverson had 30 points including 12-16 FT, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Toni Kukoc stepped up big time and had 25 points including 9-13 FG and 4-6 3-pointers. 19 of his points came in the 2nd half, including 11 points in the 4th quarter. George Lynch chipped in 16 points and 13 rebounds and Aaron McKie had 12 points on 6-7 FG, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists. Michael Finley wasn't enought to carry this game. He had 27 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and a team record 10 steals. Dirk Nowitzki was off and only had 15 points including 4-12 FG, but did have 15 rebounds. In his first game back since missing 6 games due to a strained hamstring, Steve Nash had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Quotes Larry Brown: "Everybody that played had a big part of it because we beat a very good team and one that is very dangerous and very hard to play against and we did a terrific job defending them." Brown: "I though we had balance the whole game. We had pretty good ball movement. We had a lot of guys making contributions. Tony played his best game of the year and Aaron McKie was terrific. But I thought everybody, I thought Allen played great. but they were pressing a lot and they really were concentrating on trying to stop Allen and that left other guys open. All year we've had other guys step up. I wouldn't take anything away from Allen's performance. He was tremendous again. But this was a total team win." Brown: "The way they guarded, they made other people have to step up, and we found open people when they doubled Allen. We moved the ball pretty effectively. We just defended much better than we did in Philly, but that didn't matter [Dec. 15 when Dallas blew out Philly]; they were on fire." Brown: "We just defended much better than we did in Philly but it didn't matter, I mean they were on fire in Philly. It wasn't just Dirk. I thought everybody on their team had a terrific game and made open shots [in Philly]. Today we stayed at home a little bit more. We didn't gamble quite as much or look to double team as much." Brown: "They thoroughly beat us in Philly. It's been this way all year; we find ways to win games. They're one of the best teams in the league, the way they've put their team together. To beat them away from home, there's a great sense of accomplishment for me." Brown: "Coming into here, you know they beat us in Philly, and we were kind of shorthanded, not having Buford and Tyrone to go with our other injuries. It's been that way all year. We just find ways to win games and have guys step up and make valuable contributions." Allen Iverson: "It's hard on the road. You've got concentrate a lot more on the road. It's the toughest environment to play in, so you have to be focused, and I think we've been real focused, understanding that things are not [always] going to go our way, understanding we've got to keep playing for 48 minutes. If not, on the road, you get blown out." Toni Kukoc: "I guess I didn't start well, so I looked to pass more. Later on, I felt pretty comfortable, was able to find good places to get open. We spaced out the ball well, and I was in the right places." Kukoc: "I was looking to pass the ball more than I was looking for my shot, then later on, I felt pretty comfortable shooting the ball. I had to find the good places and get open, especially when they started doubling. I spaced the court and my teammates found me and I hit the shots." Aaron McKie: "[Dallas' defense] got [the ball] out of Allen's hands fast, and we swung it around, got it to corner men, got penetration, got in the flow. Every time they tried to make a run, [Kukoc] hit a three. Like shooting daggers, poisonous darts." Donn Nelson: "We wanted to limit Allen's touches. We threw a lot of different things at him, and that young man came up with answers - no pun intended - for everything that we had to offer tonight." Nelson: "I don't think we defended as well as we could have. I thought we had a couple of guys that looked a little tired out there. I don't think Dirk had his legs, for whatever reason. I was proud that we were able to fight and put ourselves in the position to come back, but we just couldn't close it." Nelson: "I think they're a just a little bit more seasoned and a little bit more veteran than we are right now. Hopefully, in a year's time, we'll be able to have our pieces perform like that." Nelson on Philly's play: "That's why they're the best team in the league. Towards the end of the game we had to play catch up to try and get back in the game, but it was too little, too late for us. There were no miracles tonight." Nelson on Kukoc: "That looked like the Toni of old, back in Chicago." Michael Finley: "We played against one of the better teams in this league. They were smart enough not to let us come back on them. They saw the highlights of the last time we came back on Orlando, and they definitely weren't going to let that happen." Finley: "Gary talked to a couple of the Sixers yesterday that he's good friends with. That's all they kept saying was how we embarrassed them in Philadelphia. That was on their minds and it showed. They didn't give up. They came out and defended us." Finley on Iverson: "He's one of the best players in the league. The way he handles the ball and as many times as he has the ball, he's always a threat. He's been playing well. He's been carrying this team." Finley on Kukoc: "Toni was definitely the X-factor. That put them over the hump. If he plays like that, that team is definitely in the Eastern finals. Give them their credit; they just beat us. It wasn't ugly on our part - they just beat us." Finley on his 10 steals: "I'd rather have the win and one steal. It's good from an individual standpoint, but it didn't give us a win." Finley on his steals: "It was just one of those nights when I was in the right place at the right time." Dirk Nowitzki: "I didn't really get any open looks today. Somebody was always standing by me. They did a great job defensively and you've got to give them credit." Steve Nash: "Defensively we gave up too much. For whatever reason, unfortunately that happens." Nash: "It's kind of disappointing to come back and lose. I felt as though maybe me coming back kind of threw our rhythm off a little bit. I don't think I helped us as much as I would have liked to tonight. I feel pretty good; I don't feel great yet. I was definitely thinking about [the hamstring] a little bit." Shawn Bradley: "We played good, but not good enough to win. We could have played better defense. We could have executed better on offense, but what it comes down to tonight is that they were the better team. They executed better and played better defense when they needed to." Philadelphia 76ers 114, Dallas Mavericks 98 at Dallas (January 23) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Philadelphia 32 19 30 33 - 114 .565 .364 .538 .727 Dallas 20 28 23 27 - 98 .508 .333 .459 .667 Halftime: Philadelphia 51-48 3rd Q: Philadelphia 81-71 Technicals: Allen Iverson 4:41 2nd, Donn Nelson 4:48 4th Refs: Mike Mathis, Tom Washington, Hank Armstrong Attendance: 18,187 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Tyrone Hill (labrynthitis), Rodney Buford (sprained left ankle) Philadelphia 76ers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Toni Kukoc 38 9-13 4-6 3-3 25 1-5 3 2 3 1 0 George Lynch 41 8-16 0-0 0-1 16 6-13 2 1 4 4 0 Theo Ratliff 40 6-10 0-0 1-5 13 1-10 1 0 2 0 2 Allen Iverson 45 9-22 0-3 12-16 30 0-5 6 4 2 5 1 Aaron McKie 40 6-7 0-0 0-0 12 0-6 11 5 4 3 0 Todd MacCulloch 10 2-5 0-0 4-4 8 2-4 1 3 1 1 0 Kevin Ollie 17 3-5 0-0 4-4 10 0-0 4 1 1 1 0 Jumaine Jones 9 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-2 0 1 0 0 2 Totals 48 43-80 4-11 24-33 114 10-45 28 17 17 15 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 45 12-28 1-6 2-2 27 2-6 7 4 1 10 0 Dirk Nowitzki 42 4-12 2-5 5-8 15 4-15 3 2 5 1 1 Christian Laettner 15 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 1-4 0 2 3 0 1 Howard Eisley 34 5-8 4-7 0-0 14 0-0 2 3 3 1 0 Steve Nash 39 9-18 0-4 2-2 20 1-7 7 4 5 0 0 Shawn Bradley 28 3-5 0-0 2-4 8 1-8 0 1 4 0 5 Hubert Davis 28 5-9 1-2 0-0 11 1-1 0 2 1 0 1 Loy Vaught 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 Gary Trent 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 39-85 8-24 12-18 98 10-41 20 19 23 12 8 Vancouver at Dallas (January 25) The Mavs still had the bitter memory of the 27 point blowout by Vancouver on November 8th on their mind and came out roaring against the Grizzlies. Dallas led in single-digits most of the first quarter. Dallas led 23-21 with 3 minutes remaining and scored the next 9 points to go up 32-21 with 30 seconds left. 2 free throws by Michael Dickerson capped the scoring for the quarter. Dallas led 32-23 after 1. Dallas shot 14-22 FG in the quarter while Vancouver shot 9-21 FG. Michael Finley had 10 points. The Mavs were unstoppable in the 2nd quarter. The teams traded layups to open the quarter and Dallas then went on a 19-3 monster run, including 3 3-pointers by Hubert Davis, to go up 53-28 with 5:30 left. And that was basically game. Dallas led 71-43 at the half. Dallas shot 16-23 FG including 4-5 3-pointers in the 2nd quarter and Vancouver shot 7-18 FG. Davis had 13 points in the quarter and Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points. Vancouver pulled "within" 52-75 with 9:20 left and Dallas answered by scoring the next 8 points to go up 83-52 with 6:45 left. Vancouver would get no closer than 27 points the rest of the way. Dallas led 99-64 after 3. Dallas led in the 30s the entire 4th quarter and even had a 40 point lead twice. Dallas won 120-83. It was a case of a hot, hot, hot shooting Mavericks and a cold and disfunctional Grizzlies. Through the first 34 minutes of game time, Dallas shot 60.9% FG while Vancouver only shot 32.7% FG. Dallas finished the game shooting 52.3% FG and Vancouver shot 37.8% FG. And it wasn't just an outside game as Dallas out-scored Vancouver 60-26 in the paint. Dallas again succeeded in stopping an opponent's main weapon [they stopped Antonio McDyess in the Denver game two games ago]. Shareef Abdur-Rahim only had 13 points on 2-10 FG and 9-10 FT and was pulled with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. No Grizzly had more than 13 points. The Mavs received a solid effort from all that played. Steve Nash was the high man with 21 points and 7 assists. Michael Finley had 20 points including 9-14 FG in only 29 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in 27 minutes. Hubert Davis was clicking with 19 points. Gary Trent had a nice game in his limited minutes - his best game of the season so far - with 10 points and 5 rebounds. And we were all happy to see Mr. Defender Greg Buckner return to action. As usual, his numbers tell nothing about his game as the 2 steals were pure hustle and effort and his offensive rebound was a nice tap-out while surrounded by 3 Grizzlies. My only complaint about the game was that Dirk Nowitzki started the 4th quarter. I had no idea why he was in there and you are only asking for trouble (risking injury) by playing a star in garbage time. Dirk was fouled hard a minute into the 4th and Donn Nelson saw the error of his way and pulled Dirk at the next dead ball. Quotes Donn Nelson on the difference between this and Nov. 8 blowout loss by 27 points to Vancouver: "I think the only explanation that I have is that we were more prepared. That loss early in the season stung, and we haven't forgotten that. We're a deeper team, more mature and we're executing better." Nelson: "This is exactly what the doctor ordered. We needed to rest some guys, and we had a chance to do that tonight." Nelson: "The game ball goes to Michael Finley. Defensively, he took the challenge. [Abdur-Rahim] was our #1 priority tonight, and Mike took it to heart. That 1st quarter, both offensively and defensively, that statement that he made on the floor is the reason I think we won the basketball game." Michael Finley: "We wanted to set the tone early. We wanted to let them know that it wasn't going to be as easy as it has been in the past like last time they were here. We wanted to make it hell for 48 minutes. And I think we did that." Finley on his motivation: "For one, they embarrassed us the last time they were here. They ran up and down the court and did whatever they wanted. Secondly, coach Harris before the game said we had one of our better practices [Wednesday]. But the starters didn't practice, so I took that kind of personal and I wanted to set the tone, and I did that by being active defensively and aggressive offensively, and I think everybody just picked it up from there." Finley on guarding Abdur-Rahim: "We just tried to eliminate his catches and make it tough for him to get the ball. Any time you play one of the best guys in the NBA, you have to pick your game up." Finley: "Hubert played big. He made some big shots when we were continuing to increase our lead. Then when he was in there at the end he continued to hit big shots. That's the kind of guy Hubert is." Dirk Nowitzki: "That was great. That's what we knew we had to do and we did a great job. They hung around to the midway of the 1st quarter. But then we kind of picked it up a little more and kind of jumped on them. We kept on substituting and everybody who came in played well." Steve Nash: "We were determined after the last loss [to Philadelphia] to get off to a good start tonight. We were able to push the ball, move it around, get some easy baskets. I think this win gets our confidence back." Hubert Davis: "It feels nice to do that against a very good Vancouver team. It's nice to get a little break after our last couple of weeks; with the buzzer-beaters we had to win the games." Davis: "We got some easy baskets on offense and everything started flowing for us." Gary Trent: "I want to play more. But as long as we keep winning, that eases a lot of the pain. I'm just glad I can get out there and try to find my game. I still had some rusty moments." Sidney Lowe: "We're not that good, we're just not that good. We got beat by a better team, by better players who wanted it more and it showed. They executed, they played defense, they played on both ends. Nash went wherever he wanted to go, penetrating, hit shots, got people open. Finley made plays. Nowitzki made plays. They're just a better team." Lowe: "We're going to see more nights like this in the 2nd half because teams are starting to play now, they're starting to get in position for playoff spots and things like that and are coming out hard. The cream is coming to the top." Lowe: "I'm a little concerned and these next few games are going to be crucial to see how we are going to play because we're just not playing hard. We're not playing together. It's not a team. It's just not a team out there right now." Shareef Abdur-Rahim not talking after the game: "Anything I would say would be detrimental to the team." Othella Harrington: "Right now, there ain't nothing right on this team. The last 2 games have been embarrassing. It's as plain and simple as that. As bad as we were last year, I don't think we ever went through a stretch like the one we're going through now. And that's not to say it's the coaching staff or anything like that. I'm just saying this group, the 12 guys in here that suit up every night, have to take responsibility. You can't blame Sid or any of those other guys for what goes on out there." Dallas Mavericks 120, Vancouver Grizzlies 83 at Dallas (January 25) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 32 39 28 21 - 120 .539 .417 .523 .920 Vancouver 23 20 21 19 - 83 .426 .154 .378 .862 Halftime: Dallas 71-43 3rd Q: Dallas 99-64 Technicals: None Refs: Hue Hollins, Tommy Nunez, Gary Benson Attendance: 12,690 (cap 18,187) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 29 9-14 0-0 2-2 20 1-3 3 1 1 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 27 6-12 1-4 6-6 19 2-10 6 2 3 0 0 Christian Laettner 20 4-4 0-0 0-0 8 1-3 2 1 5 2 1 Howard Eisley 32 1-5 1-2 2-2 5 0-2 3 0 3 2 0 Steve Nash 34 8-12 0-1 5-6 21 0-4 7 0 1 0 0 Gary Trent 16 5-9 0-0 0-0 10 4-5 1 1 4 2 0 Hubert Davis 23 8-12 3-5 0-0 19 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 9 1-3 0-0 2-2 4 0-1 1 0 2 0 2 Greg Buckner 13 0-4 0-0 3-4 3 1-3 0 0 2 2 0 Mark Bryant 14 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 Courtney Alexander 12 3-6 0-0 3-3 9 2-2 1 1 2 0 0 Loy Vaught 11 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-8 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 46-88 5-12 23-25 120 14-44 24 8 24 9 5 Vancouver Grizzlies REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shareef Abdur-Rahim 30 2-10 0-2 9-10 13 5-10 2 3 1 0 0 Othella Harrington 22 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 2-6 0 3 2 1 1 Bryant Reeves 17 4-7 0-0 3-5 11 2-4 1 2 2 0 0 Mike Bibby 34 4-10 1-4 4-4 13 0-1 5 1 3 0 0 Michael Dickerson 33 4-12 1-4 2-2 11 4-6 2 3 4 0 1 Damon Jones 27 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0-3 3 2 0 0 0 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 17 6-9 0-0 1-2 13 0-0 2 0 0 1 0 Grant Long 19 0-4 0-0 6-6 6 0-4 1 0 3 0 1 Stromile Swift 22 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 2-5 1 1 2 0 0 Tony Massenburg 12 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 1 0 2 0 1 Brent Price 7 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 0-1 2 1 2 1 0 Totals 48 28-74 2-13 25-29 83 15-41 20 17 21 3 4 Dallas at Denver (January 27) The game stayed close for the first half of the 1st quarter as the lead went back and forth. Dallas led 15-12 with 6 minutes left and Denver scored the next 11 points to go up 23-15 with 2:30 to go as Dallas missed 7 straight shots. Steve Nash drained a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left and Denver led 32-22 after 1. Michael Finley was carrying the Mavs as he had 13 points. Denver shot 12-19 FG. Denver led 38-26 with 10 minutes to go and Dallas went on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 40-40 with 6:30 left. Dallas held small leads the rest of the quarter. A 17-foot fade away baseliner at the buzzer by Finley gave Dallas a 58-53 lead at the half. Finley had 11 points in the quarter and Kevin Willis had 10 points. Dallas led 66-59 with 8 minutes to go and Denver rattled off the next 9 points, with the last 7 by Nick Van Exel, to go up 68-66 with 6:15 left. The teams traded leads a couple of times and Dallas led 72-71 with 4 minutes remaining. Denver scored the next 8 points to go up 79-72 with 30 seconds left. Steve Nash hit a short runner with 9 seconds left, but George McCloud nailed a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer to give Denver an 81-74 lead after 3. Van Exel sprained his ankle late in the 3rd and did not return. Dallas shot 5-19 FG in the quarter while being out-scored 16-28. Denver led 87-77 with 9:40 left and Dallas came roaring back with a 16-2 run to take a 93-89 lead with 5:30 to go. It was then Denver's turn to rally as they scored the next 8 points to go up 97-93 with 1:20 left as Dallas missed 7 straight shots. Nash nailed a 3-pointer with 1:15 left and Willis missed with a minute remaining. Nash was fouled driving and hit both free throws to put Dallas up 98-97 with 46 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki was guarding James Posey at the top of the arc and tipped the ball as Posey went to pass it to Voshon Lenard. Lenard got control of the ball while falling down and passed it back to Posey who drained the 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining. Nash nailed the clutch jumper over Antonio McDyess with 16 seconds left to tie the game at 100-100. Denver ran the clock down and Robert Pack drove to the basket and his short floater bounced off the back of the rim and off to the right where McDyess snagged the rebound and put the ball back up, and it bounced off the back of the rim and rolled in at the buzzer. Denver won 102-100. Well, despite the ending, it was a good, enjoyable game. The Mavs lost this game on the same thing that won the last Denver game: rebounding. Dallas was out-rebounded 32-49 including a mere 6 offensive rebounds and, of course, if they had gotten that last defensive rebound, it would have meant overtime. In the last Denver game, Dallas out-rebounded Denver 63-47 including 23 offensive boards. The Mavs' double-team of Antonio McDyess once again worked wonders as he only had 11 points in 13 field goal attempts, but he had the last laugh. He also snagged an impressive 19 rebounds. Nick Van Exel was hurting Dallas most of the game and had 18 points and 9 assists before leaving the game late in the 3rd. Kevin Willis made the Mavs pay some what for doubling off of him by nailing open jumper after open jumper for 18 points to go with his 7 rebounds. But James Posey's 2 unexpected 3-pointers in the 4th hurt the second most (with McDyess' winner hurting the most). He hit a 3 with 1:38 left to give Denver a 2 point lead and a 3 with 28 seconds left to again put Denver up by 2. For Dallas, Michael Finley was the man in the 1st half - this game would have been a blowout without him. He had 24 points in the 1st half, but only 8 in the 2nd half. Steve Nash scored Dallas' last 7 points and finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Dirk Nowitzki struggled from the floor, but had 21 points including a monster slam in the 4th and 7-21 FG and 14 rebounds. Quotes Dan Issel: "To at least salvage one win against this team and keep on a roll here at home certainly helps." Issel on Dallas' defense of McDyess: "They really did frustrate Antonio. We didn't do a very good job. They double teamed him every time he touched the ball. As a team, we didn't do a really good job of presenting ourselves so that Mac had somebody to pass the ball to. I'm sure it was a very frustrating evening for him. For him to come up with that board - and he had a bunch of them, that wasn't the only rebound he had - that's justification that he gets the winning bucket." Issel on Dallas: "We really don't match up with this team really well. Antonio McDyess on not getting fouls called: "I was so mad that it was a great feeling to get the game winner. You could hear them slapping my arm. Getting the game winner made up for all of that." McDyess: "[Punching the ball late in the 4th] really helped because I really wanted to punch the ref. You can see it plain as day. You can hear them slapping my elbow, slapping my elbow, slapping my elbow. It's ridiculous. I'm still mad, man. Getting the game winner, it still doesn't feel right." McDyess: "It feels even better knowing I didn't play my best game but I still helped the team win." McDyess on Dallas having beat Denver 3 times this season: "We didn't want to be swept by this or any team. This got the monkey off our backs." Robert Pack: "They didn't double, so I had to shoot. I saw Bradley come out in the last second. Maybe that step toward me was just enough to let the ball get to Antonio for the final shot." Donn Nelson: "We put ourselves in a position to win, but couldn't get the ball to fall through the hoop at vital times." Nelson: "I think the way they came out in the 1st quarter it was clear this was a vital game for them. It was a big game for both teams. Every time we come up here it always goes down to the wire and it's a last second shot one way or the other.'' Nelson: "More than anything, it's survival. A game here, a game there is going to mean the playoffs." Nelson: "Antonio is an All-Star in my book. He made an All-Star play at the end of the game. We threw a lot of different looks at him, but in the end he had the last laugh." Nelson: "Great players make great plays." Michael Finley on loosing to a buzzer beater: "I hate to say it, but this was bound to happen sooner or later." Steve Nash: "I would have rather lost by 20. Hopefully our karma account will build up and we'll get one back down the road." Nash: "I would have rather lost by 20 points. It's hard [to lose a buzzer beater], but I'm sure there's not too much sympathy for us. Just like there was no sympathy for us when we were losing these kinds of games this way 2 years ago. It's just the way the ball bounces, you know." Shawn Bradley: "If I block out McDyess on the last play, we go to overtime, and who knows what would have happened? It was my responsibility to block him out and get a hand on the ball. I did not box him out like I should have. End of story." Denver Nuggets 102, Dallas Mavericks 100 at Denver (January 27) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Denver 32 21 28 21 - 102 .438 .400 .432 .833 Dallas 22 36 16 26 - 100 .433 .467 .439 .913 Halftime: Dallas 58-53 3rd Q: Denver 81-72 Technicals: Dan Issel 8:09 3rd, Antonio McDyess 5:35 4th, Shawn Bradley 1:21 4th Flagrant Fouls: Dirk Nowitzki 10:36 4th Refs: Bob Delaney, Derrick Stafford, George Toliver Attendance: 19,099 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Raef LaFrentz (sprained right ankle) Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antonio McDyess 41 5-13 0-0 1-2 11 6-19 2 3 5 1 4 James Posey 16 4-9 2-4 2-2 12 1-2 1 2 4 0 1 Mark Strickland 22 2-5 0-0 5-6 9 1-3 0 0 4 0 0 Voshon Lenard 43 5-11 1-4 4-4 15 0-3 3 2 2 2 0 Nick Van_Exel 26 8-14 1-2 1-1 18 0-4 9 1 0 0 0 George McCloud 33 5-8 2-4 2-3 14 1-3 6 1 2 0 1 Kevin Willis 27 7-14 0-0 4-4 18 4-7 1 0 2 0 0 Bruce Bowen 10 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 1 0 1 0 1 Robert Pack 10 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 4 2 1 0 0 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 12 1-7 0-1 1-2 3 2-4 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 38-88 6-15 20-24 102 16-49 27 12 24 3 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 43 13-25 2-3 4-5 32 0-3 6 0 1 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 43 7-21 0-3 7-8 21 2-14 6 2 3 2 2 Christian Laettner 18 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 1-1 2 2 5 0 1 Howard Eisley 24 1-5 0-2 2-2 4 0-1 3 1 3 1 1 Steve Nash 43 7-13 3-4 6-6 23 0-6 5 2 1 3 0 Gary Trent 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Greg Buckner 12 1-4 0-0 2-2 4 1-3 0 1 0 0 0 Loy Vaught 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Hubert Davis 26 3-5 2-3 0-0 8 0-0 0 1 5 0 0 Shawn Bradley 25 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 2-3 0 1 1 0 5 Totals 48 36-82 7-15 21-23 100 6-32 22 11 22 7 9 patricia