Dallas activated Charlie Bell and placed Greg Buckner on IR with a strained left calf. The earliest Buckner can be activated is for the Indiana game February 5, but since there will be only that game and the next night vs New Jersey to play prior to the All-Star break, it would probably be best to just sitting Buck out until after the break. Michael Finley is progressing well from his strained left hamstring and should be ready to return to action soon - maybe next week. Don Nelson has said that when he feels Finley is ready, he will activate him - no delaying Finley's return through the All-Star break. Dallas at Denver (January 24) The game was either tied or Denver held a small lead over the first half of the 1st quarter. The game was tied at 20-20 with 5 minutes remaining and the hot shooting Nuggets scored on 5 straight possessions, including 6 points from Raef LaFrentz, while Dallas missed 6 straight shots and Denver led 30-20 with 2 minutes to go. Denver led 32-24 after 1. Denver shot 14-20 FG and Dallas shot 11-22 FG. LaFrentz had 18 points on 8-10 FG and 2-2 3-pointers. Denver's shooting cooled down some in the 2nd quarter while Dallas continued to shot at a 50% pace. Denver led 40-30 with 9:30 left and Dallas ate away at Denver's lead and eventually tied the game at 45-45 with 4 minutes remaining as Adrian Griffin converted a 3-point play. The game was tied 50-50 at the half. Denver shot 8-19 FG including 1-7 3-pointers and Dallas shot 11-22 FG including 3-4 3-pointers in the 2nd quarter. Griffin had 10 points in the quarter. The game see-sawed in the 3rd quarter and Denver led 59-58 with 7:30 to go as Ryan Bowen converted a 3-point play. Dallas went on a 13-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki, to go up 71-63 with 5 minutes left. Dallas held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter and led 75-68 after 3. Denver struggled in the quarter in shooting just 7-21 FG (while Dallas was still around 50%) and Bowen had 14 of Denver's 18 points in the quarter. Juwan Howard had 10 points in the 3rd quarter. Denver pulled within 77-82 with 8:50 left, but Dallas scored the next 9 points, started by a 3-pointer by Nowitzki and finished with a 3-pointer by Tim Hardaway, to go up 91-77 with 6 minutes remaining. James Posey scored the next 9 points to pull Denver within 6 points at 94-88 with 3 minutes to go, but Hardaway hit 2 free throws to end Denver's run. Nowitzki fouled out of the game with 3:45 left. Dallas led 98-92 with 1:30 remaining. Eduardo Najera missed a jumper, but George McCloud's 3-pointer rimmed out and Dallas hit 6-8 free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. Dallas won 104-97. Though the Mavs did not play outstanding, they once again found a way to win. This game goes down as a team effort - no 30+ point performances. Of course, it helped that Denver cooled down from their hot 1st quarter (only shot 39.4% FG for the last 3 quarter). Denver also played a push-the-ball pace, which Dallas excels in. It would have been nice if Dallas simply blew Denver out, but a win is a win. Dallas stepped up their rebounding in the 2nd half and managed to out-rebound Denver 42-37 - and Dallas has amazingly out-rebounded their opponent in 4 of their last 5 games. Both Juwan Howard and Dirk Nowitzki were in double-digits in boards. Howard had his 3rd nice game in a row with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Nowitzki was the high man with 26 points including 3-3 3-pointers and 10 rebounds before fouling out. He needs to work on going after the offensive rebounds, especially when he is playing power forward or center - in the 1st half he would turn and run down the court after a shot went up instead of making an attempt for the offensive rebound and, thus, often there would be only 1 or none Mavs players making an attempt for the offensive rebound. Steve Nash again had the tough defensive assignment with trying to stick with Nick Van Exel. Nash had 17 points and 8 assists. Adrian Griffin had 12 points, all in the 1st half. Tim Hardaway was the 5th Mav in double-digits with 16 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 6 assists. Hardaway scored 10 points in the 4th quarter - a 3-pointer and the rest from the free throw line. For Denver, Raef LaFrentz only had 6 points after his stellar 1st quarter for a total of 24 points on 11-19 FG and only had 4 rebounds. Ryan Bowen had 18 points, with 14 of those coming in the 3rd quarter. James Posey had 17 points, including 14 points in the 4th quarter, and 5 rebounds. Calbert Cheaney had 12 points on 6-8 FG and 7 rebounds. Nick Van Exel only had 9 points on 4-10 FG, but did have 6 rebounds, 15 assists, and 3 steals. Denver only got 17 points from their bench. Since I bashed the refs in 2 of the last 3 game writeups, I should mention the approach this game's crew took. It was obvious very early that the refs were not going to call almost anything. And they were fairly consistent with their non-calls (which didn't stop the players from whining). There were only 15 free throws attempted total though 3 quarters. Though I would rather have the refs call the fouls and clean up the rough play inside, I did not have a problem with this crew's reffing as consistency is easier to tolerate than having no idea whether the refs were going to call a foul or not. [Sad reflection of the game that has numbed me over the years in that I would not have a negative reaction to the refs allowing physical play and fouls to occur and that simple consistency would result in a positive reaction.] Dallas is an amazing 11-1 without Michael Finley. Some are going to extremes with that record and need to take a closer look at the teams Dallas has faced without Finley (only 3 currently above .500 - and the 1 loss came against 1 of those 3) and the win margin in most of those games (only 4 have been won by 10+ points). A win is a win and it is great the Mavs are winning those games, but the team is much better with the 3-headed monster. Quotes Don Nelson: "I'm very pleased with the game. It was a lot harder game to win than most people think from reading the box score. I thought they were on a high after beating the Lakers and it just wasn't going to be an easy game. We really had to be good tonight, and I think we must have been." Nelson: "I thought in the 2nd half we came out with a lot of energy and played a lot better than we did in the 1st half. I think Juwan Howard was really big for us and got us some baskets when we needed them and established the low game for us. Tim Hardaway came in and gave us that veteran leadership down the stretch. It just all clicked in." Nelson on returning after missing 2 games: "It's great to be back. It's easier to coach than watch the games on TV. That's more nerve racking." Dirk Nowitzki: "We played better defensively in the 2nd half. We finally started guarding Raef a little more and not giving him the open looks. I think we did a great job on Van Exel the whole game. We guarded them well, especially in the 2nd half, and that was the key to win." Juwan Howard: "[In the 3rd quarter] it was two things: I got the ball and I felt like I needed to deliver." Howard: "Ever since Michael went down, everyone has to step up. This is big for us that we're finding ways to win. I think around this league people say that's what good teams do. Hopefully we are working hard and learning to become a good team." Mike Evans: "We had a real great 1st quarter, then we struggled to put points on the board. Guys we depended on to make shots couldn't make them tonight. Playing against a team like that, it's going to be very hard to win if you're not consistently putting points on the board." Evans: "Guys we count on to score just didn't come through for us tonight. Voshon Lenard was only 2-13. His shot just wouldn't fall tonight. We executed well in the 1st half but it just wasn't there in the 2nd. We just can't seem to play well in consecutive games." Evans: "Tomorrow's a shooting day. We are going to work on shooting." Evans on the 3rd quarter: "When Ryan Bowen ends up scoring 14 of your 18 points in a quarter, you know you're in trouble." Evans: "We just can't play this win 1, lose 1 business. We've got to find a way to get some victories in consecutive order here." Nick Van Exel: "Once we lost our momentum from that 1st quarter, it was tough trying to pick it up. We had good rhythm in the 4th quarter, then we stopped pushing the ball." Van Exel: "We had a good rhythm in the 1st quarter, but then we stopped pushing the ball. They shoot the ball so well over there. Once we lost the momentum it was tough to get it back." Van Exel on Dallas: "They're pretty good, especially when they all get healthy. If Bradley gets a little heart, they'll be a lot better." George McCloud: "We haven't been able to sustain a big win and follow it up with another win. It's frustrating and disappointing - especially coming back home after winning that Laker game. You would think we would be up and eager to beat this team that has had our number." McCloud: "You start all over. As big as the game was against the Lakers, it's meaningless when you come home and you lose a game like tonight's. We need to put together a streak of wins where we're playing good basketball and this locker room is feeling good about the Nuggets and teams aren't just marking down wins when they're playing us." James Posey: "We played in spurts and that's not good. Consistency is the key. We showed it in LA, but we didn't play consistent tonight." Dallas Mavericks 104, Denver Nuggets 97 at Denver (January 24) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 24 26 25 29 - 104 .463 .643 .494 .750 Denver 32 18 18 29 - 97 .522 .263 .465 .800 Halftime: 50-50 3rd Q: Dallas 75-68 Technicals: None Refs: Gary Benson, Ken Mauer, Bernie Fryer Attendance: 16,045 (cap 19,099) Did not play due to injury: Scott Williams (sore lower back) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Juwan Howard 36 7-15 0-0 5-6 19 5-13 4 2 2 0 2 Johnny Newman 15 2-5 1-2 0-0 5 0-0 1 0 0 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 41 11-20 3-3 1-3 26 1-10 3 4 6 0 1 Adrian Griffin 40 5-9 1-3 1-1 12 2-4 4 0 2 1 0 Steve Nash 35 8-15 1-2 0-0 17 0-2 8 4 0 0 0 Eduardo Najera 26 1-4 0-0 1-2 3 0-7 1 0 2 0 2 Tim Hardaway 24 3-6 3-4 7-8 16 0-4 6 3 0 0 0 Wang Zhizhi 10 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 1 0 0 Danny Manning 13 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 0-1 0 1 2 1 1 Totals 48 40-81 9-14 15-20 104 8-42 28 15 15 4 6 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Ryan Bowen 30 6-10 0-0 6-7 18 1-2 2 1 3 1 0 Calbert Cheaney 41 6-8 0-0 0-0 12 1-7 2 0 2 1 2 Raef LaFrentz 33 11-19 2-3 0-1 24 2-4 2 1 2 0 2 James Posey 32 6-13 2-7 3-3 17 0-5 3 2 4 1 0 Nick Van_Exel 43 4-10 1-2 0-0 9 0-6 15 0 3 3 1 Voshon Lenard 25 2-13 0-3 0-0 4 1-7 4 2 2 1 0 George McCloud 17 2-7 0-4 0-0 4 1-4 3 2 2 0 0 Zendon Hamilton 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 0 0 2 0 0 Avery Johnson 12 2-5 0-0 3-4 7 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 40-86 5-19 12-15 97 6-37 32 8 21 7 5 patricia