Dallas placed Mark Bryant on IR with a sprained left thumb. The move was to clear a roster spot for the arrival of Wang Zhizhi from China. The Mavs have tentatively scheduled a press conference for next Wednesday to introduce Wang to Dallas. He is expected to sign a 1 year, minimum (prorated) contract with a 2nd year at the team's option. His first possible game will be Thrusday vs Atlanta - though it would probably have to be a blowout for him to see game time. [Have to question Dallas putting Bryant on IR prior to the Lakers game, though.] Nelson had a story from the Portland game that he shared on Norm Hitzges' radio show Wednesday morning and that gave me a laugh. Nelson was talking about Malone popping Dirk in the chin. [from memory, without Nelson's terrible German accent] Nelson: At the next timeout, I got after Dirk and told him the next time he got a chance and the refs weren't looking - forget that - even if the refs are looking, he needed to hit Malone really hard. Dirk responded, "Isn't that against the rules?" Hitzges replied: At that time, you think, I hope the kid doesn't change. Nelson: No, at that time you put Mark Bryant in. Dallas at Portland (March 28) Game 2 of the road trip from hell stayed close and was again physical. The game was tied 14-14 with 4:30 remaining. Portland went on a 14-5 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Steve Smith, to go up 28-19 with less than a minute left. Dallas scored the last 4 points of the quarter and Portland led 28-23 after 1. The 2nd quarter stayed close with both team shooting poorly and neither team holding more than a 5 point lead. Portland led 43-41 at the half. Portland shot 6-23 FG and Dallas shot 8-22 FG in the 2nd quarter. Neither team had a rally in the 3rd quarter and Dallas held a small single-digit lead from 2 minutes in to the end of the quarter. Greg Buckner converted a 3-point play with 4 seconds remaining and Dallas led 67-63 after 3. Dallas shot 1-1 FT and Portland shot 8-12 FT in the quarter. Arvydas Sabonis converted the 3-point play to open the 4th quarter and then Michael Finley hit a bucket, Dirk Nowitzki connected on two 3-pointers, and Steve Nash got a layup to give Dallas a 77-66 lead with 8:50 to go. The Mavs continued their rally and pushed their lead up to 86-71 with 4:30 left. In that rally was the play of the game. The Mavs had the ball out of bounds with only 1 second left on the shot clock. The Mavs used their 20 second timeout and Buckner inbounded to Finley, who swished the 30-foot, turn-around, fade-away 3-pointer. Portland could get no closer than 9 points the rest of the way. Dallas won 94-84. Woo-hoo! 2 in a row against tough opponents on the road! And the Mavs now have 21 road wins - guaranteed above .500 on the road for the season and more than the team has ever won on the road. The Mavs' record is currently 46-25. I don't know about other Mavs fans, but I have been enjoying immensely each win since the Mavs reached 40. I know that the playoffs are the goal, but after so many years, I'm enjoying the ride. Way to go Mavs! These Mavs are playing with extreme confidence - and that has resulted in the past two games, games which the Mavs won despite not playing great games. The Mavs won despite Portland having a huge free throw edge (though the Blazers helped by missing 12 free throws). Dallas shot 10-13 FT and Portland shot 19-31 FT. Michael Finley was unconscious in hitting some incredible shots and finished with 23 points including 3-6 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Juwan Howard had a great game and was hitting his outside shots and finished with a game high 24 points and 6 rebounds. 10 of Dirk Nowitzki's 19 points came in the 4th quarter. He also had a game high (no one else in double-digits) 14 rebounds. Steve Nash was solid with 14 points and 8 assists. Calvin Booth again had a nice stint off the bench with his 4 points coming off of putbacks, snagged 5 rebounds, and played generally good defense. Arvydas Sabonis had one of those game making you wish you could have seen him in his prime - hitting the outside shots and a couple inside for 19 points, snagging 7 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots. Rasheed Wallace had a quiet 15 points and 7 rebounds. Scottie Pippen was terrible offensively, save from the free throw line and had 10 points on 1-9 FG and 8-10 FT, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists. The scary moment of the night occurred with a minute remaining. Juwan Howard went down trying to keep the ball from going out of bounds. He was laying on the ground in pain. He had dislocated his left ring finger. The x-rays were negative and he is probable for the Lakers game on Friday. Quotes Don Nelson: "We're a pretty good team, but I still don't think we're at the caliber of the teams we just beat. But we will be. We have something really special now to build on. I don't think this will be the year, but I think we'll be in the elite here soon. The team surprises me. I'm just real pleased." Nelson: "This team surprises me. To win the last 2 games on the road is the best way to do it - so you can stay completely out of trouble [for the playoff race]." Nelson: "We're going to be at least .500 on the road or better. I never dreamed it would happen this year." Nelson: "This is one more huge step in our dream of making the playoffs. The way we're playing, it would be hard to believe we wouldn't make it." Michael Finley: "We're a team to be reckoned with. I've always had confidence in us. We're just now giving people a chance to see what we're all about. It's not a fluke." Finley on the physical play: "We made a statement within our organization. Through it all, we have to stick together to get through adverse situations and find a way to win." Finley on his 3-pointer with a second left on the shot clock: "I knew if I got a good look at it I was going to make it, and Greg threw in the ball, I got a good look at the basket and I made it." Dirk Nowitzki: "This is 2 big wins on this trip, and we know we can beat anyone. Our defense was great tonight. The win in Utah really got us going. Now we have to go to LA." Nowitzki: "Finley was incredible. It is the second game in a row he has won it for us." Nowitzki: "I don't even think we've played our best basketball the last 2 games." Steve Nash: "We're starting to believe in ourselves. We should be convinced that we're going to win when we go into play somewhere." Juwan Howard: "I felt we had a good chance to start this road trip 2-0, but it gets tougher and tougher and we have to play the Lakers at their home next. We've accepted the challenge of our coaches and we're letting teams know we are for real." Howard: "We have to be ready and competitive. We've accepted the challenge of our coaches, and we're letting teams know we're for real." Howard: "We've got to let these teams know that we're one of the top teams, too, in the Western Conference. We're for real. We're improving, night in and night out." Mike Dunleavy: "I hated to see us waste a number of possessions. We need to be as efficient as we can, especially when Sabonis has limited minutes. But we had quick shots from the outside when we had post-up opportunities." Dunleavy: "They are a tough team to play if you are not making free throws or hitting shots. They are a team that could hit shots even when they are defended well. Spacing the court is their game and on nights when they are hitting shots, your rotations have to be perfect. Tonight they hit a lot of shots when we really had them defended." Scottie Pippen: "We knew this team was capable of doing that. When they are shooting well like they did tonight, they are tough to beat." Pippen: "When they are playing and shooting the ball the way they did tonight, they're just tough to beat." Pippen on Finley: "He made some tough shots. I told Bonzi that he did a good job on him defensively and got a lot of contested shots," Dallas Mavericks 94, Portland Trailblazers 84 at Portland (March 28) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 23 18 26 27 - 94 .469 .421 .458 .769 Portland 28 15 20 21 - 84 .384 .231 .360 .613 Halftime: Portland 43-41 3rd Q: Dallas 67-63 Technicals: Don Nelson 4:13 4th Flagrant fouls: Bonzi Wells 4:48 4th Refs: Mike Mathis, Dan Crawford, Bennie Adams Attendance: 20,580 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Juwan Howard 38 11-21 0-0 2-4 24 1-6 3 3 5 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 43 6-14 3-9 4-4 19 0-14 2 4 4 2 2 Shawn Bradley 23 0-4 0-0 1-2 1 1-5 2 1 4 0 0 Michael Finley 45 10-20 3-6 0-0 23 4-6 3 1 0 1 0 Steve Nash 31 5-12 2-4 2-2 14 0-3 8 5 2 0 0 Greg Buckner 18 4-6 0-0 1-1 9 1-5 4 0 3 2 0 Howard Eisley 18 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 2 1 2 0 0 Calvin Booth 24 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 2-5 2 1 5 0 3 Totals 48 38-83 8-19 10-13 94 9-46 26 17 25 6 5 Portland Trailblazers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Scottie Pippen 36 1-9 0-3 8-10 10 1-7 10 1 3 0 1 Rasheed Wallace 42 7-19 1-5 0-3 15 3-7 2 2 1 1 0 Arvydas Sabonis 25 8-16 0-0 3-5 19 0-7 0 0 2 1 3 Damon Stoudamire 32 2-6 1-1 3-4 8 0-3 5 2 4 2 0 Bonzi Wells 30 6-13 0-0 2-6 14 2-4 2 4 5 4 0 Stacey Augmon 16 3-6 0-1 0-0 6 5-6 1 0 0 1 0 Steve Smith 26 2-5 1-3 3-3 8 1-4 0 2 4 1 0 Dale Davis 17 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 1-4 0 1 1 0 0 Rod Strickland 13 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 2 1 1 1 0 Shawn Kemp 3 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 2-2 0 2 1 1 0 Totals 48 31-86 3-13 19-31 84 16-45 22 15 22 12 4 patricia