Game 3: Dallas at Minnesota (April 28) Dallas came out on fire and jumped to an 11-3 lead with 9:20 left. A 3-pointer by Michael Finley gave Dallas a 35-18 lead with 2:40 remaining. Dallas led 40-28 after 1. Minnesota shot a strong 9-16 FG, but Dallas shot a great 14-22 FG. Minnesota also hurt themselves by only shooting 8-15 FT. Dirk Nowitzki was awesome with 17 points on a perfect 6-6 FG, 2-2 3-pointers, and 3-3 FT and even had 6 rebounds, even with sitting most of the last 4 minutes of the quarter after picking up 2 fouls. Finley had 10 points and Kevin Garnett had 11 points. Dallas opened the 2nd quarter with a 9-2 run to go back up by 19 points at 49-30 with 9:55 left. Kevin Garnett picked up his 3rd foul with 6 minutes remaining and sat for the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 62-45 with 4 minutes to go and Minnesota scored the next 11 points to pull within 56-62 with 1:25 left, but a 3-pointer by Nick Van Exel ended the run. Dallas led 67-57 at the half. Dallas cooled off shooting wise in the 2nd quarter and only shot 6-18 FG. Nowitzki had 11 points in the quarter and Wally Szczerbiak had 13 points. Steve Nash opened the 3rd quarter with a 3-pointer and the teams traded points over the next few minutes and Dallas scored 8 straight points, capped by a 3-pointer by Finley to go up 82-63 with 8:15 remaining. Minnesota scores the next 11 points to pull within 74-82 with 5:30 left and the teams traded exciting 3-pointers. Dallas then scored the next 12 points, including 8 straight by Finley, to take their largest lead at 97-77 with 35 seconds to go. Garnett picked up his 4th foul with 2 minutes left and sat for the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 97-79 after 3. Finley had 13 points in the 3rd quarter. But the game was far from over as Dallas came out ice cold in the 4th shooting just 1-7 FG and committed 3 turnovers and Minnesota took full advantage in going on a 16-4 run to pull within 95-101 with 6:25 to go. Finley nailed a 3-pointer, but Szczerbiak answered with a 3 and hit a jumper to pull Minnesota within 4 points at 100-104 with 5 minutes left and it was a new ball game. Both teams played sloppy over the next 2 1/2 minutes as a free throw by Garnett was the only points scored by either team. Garnett then sent the outlet pass to Szczerbiak, who drove in with only Van Exel near him, fumbled the ball, and Eduardo Najera came from no where and dove to the floor to snag the loose ball and called timeout with 2:50 left. Finley missed a jumper, but Najera grabbed the rebound and got the putback to put Dallas up 106-101 with 2:35 remaining. Chauncey Billups missed, but Minnesota stripped Finley and Minnesota headed the other way. Szczerbiak's 3-pointer rimmed out and Dallas pushed the ball up and Van Exel kicked the ball over to Nash, who took one dribble and drained the killer open leaning-in 3-pointer to give Dallas a 109-101 lead with 1:50 left. Anthony Peeler (who was having a good game) threw the ball right to Finley and Nowitzki nailed a turnaround jumper in the paint with 1:24 left. Minnesota would only score 2 points the rest of the way. Dallas won 115-102. Dallas swept the series 3-0 and advanced to the 2nd round where they will face the winner of the Sacramento-Utah series. It was the first sweep in team history. It was also the 6th straight time that Minnesota lost in the 1st round of the playoffs (they've never advanced). Dallas came on strong in the 1st quarter, but was not able to substain it throughout the game - and played stagnant in the 4th quarter. And Dirk Nowitzki was incredible in the 1st half - a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota showed some grit in not folding after Dallas' strong start, but just made mistakes down the stretch that cost them a chance at the win. Minnesota also hurt themselves by shooting just 30-44 FT while Dallas shot a strong 32-35 FT. Dallas made the plays down the stretch that sealed the win. Especially Eduardo Najera, who played poorly until the 4th quarter, who came up with the hustle plays in diving for a loose ball, tipping a ball away from a Timberwolf, and getting a key offensive rebound and putback. Najera only had 6 points on 3-4 FG, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 5 fouls in trying to defend Kevin Garnett. The Big 3 came up really big for Dallas in scoring 94 of Dallas' 115 points. Nowitzki finished with 39 points on 11-17 FG, 3-3 3-pointers, and 14-16 FT, 17 rebounds, and 3 steals. He had an amazing turnaround 3-pointer from the corner that made my jaw drop. Michael Finley was also stellar with 30 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 9 rebounds in playing all 48 minutes. Steve Nash had a double-double with 25 points including 10-10 FT and 11 assists. His 3-pointer late in the game seemed to take the total life out of the Target Center. Raef LaFrentz was plagued by fouls throughout the game and only had 6 points on 2 3-pointers and 1 rebound before fouling out in 17 minutes. Nick Van Exel had an absolutely terrible night. Though his 1 3-pointer did stem the tide of a 2nd quarter Minnesota run, it was his only points of the night. He shot 1-13 FG and 1-4 3-pointers and only had 2 assists in 28 minutes. Wang Zhizhi and Shawn Bradley each saw a handful of minutes in filling in for LaFrentz, but neither did much with 2 points and 1 rebound each. Greg Buckner had 2 points in 16 uneventful minutes. Adrian Griffin did not play due to back spasms. Kevin Garnett was limited some by foul trouble, but did manage to play 40 minutes and did not foul out, despite collecting his 5th foul with a little less than 9 minutes left in the game. He finished with 22 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers. Wally Szczerbiak had 20 points including 9-10 FT and 6 rebounds. Joe Smith remained MIA with just 5 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes, despite starting. Radoslav Nesterovic was again unable to duplicate his strong Game 1 performance and had just 9 points and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes. Chauncey Billups had 16 points including 5-16 FG, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Anthony Peeler provided a spark off the bench with 20 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Gary Trent had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes and Felipe Lopez had 4 points in 10 minutes. Sam Mitchell, Robert Pack, and Marc Jackson (seeing his first minute of the series) did not score in limited minutes. Dallas will face either Sacramento or Utah in the 2nd round. Game 1 is next Saturday (May 4) at 5:30 pm on NBC. It will either be at Sacramento or Dallas (if Utah wins the Sac-Uta series). Tickets for games 1 and 2 (even though the dates aren't known yet) go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10 am at the box offie, dallasmavericks.com, and through Ticketmaster - there is a limit of 4 tickets per person. Quotes [Most of Nelson's, Finley's, Nowitzki's, and Saunders' quotes come from my own transcribing of the their press conferences (shown on NBA.com TV after the game). I did leave out a couple of Saunders' responses (not related to this game) as my wrist got sore and his Q&A was going on forever. If you ever have seen a Nelson press conference, he opens with a (usually long) monologue before opening it to Q&A.] Don Nelson: "I know there is a lot of people who feel that this was just a sweep of some sort. But I don't look at it that way at all. I think it was just a heck of a series. I happen to love your team here. I love the players on the floor, the way they play, how hard they play, the job the coaching staff does. I think it could have very easily been turned around the other way. I thought every game was contested and it was good basketball and everybody played as hard as they could play and as well as they could play. So I don't agree with a lot of the comments I have been reading. And, thank goodness, I know Kevin McHale, a basketball man, is going to do the right basketball decisions here. Again I thought it was a great series. The way I approached this game was that if we lost this game today, we might very well lose the series because it was going to give them some momentum. I see our clubs as very close and I think you saw the way they played down the stretch - they came back from 20 down. I had my best players in the game, they were able to shut us down and make it very difficult and we again made a couple of shots at the right time. I had my players playing at the best that they've played and they had periods where they didn't play very well. For the most part, we played terrific. I thought the play of the game was Eddie Najera - the loose ball where he dove to the floor and came up with it a la Dave Cowens in the Boston Garden years ago, I think when they played the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals, and that was similar to that play to me. It was a huge, huge possession for us and then, of course, he followed it up with a basket, a rebound that got us a basket when we just couldn't seem to score. And then defensively he got a tip and just was sensational. I stayed with him. I didn't think he was very good in the 1st half and he also has a deep thigh bruise which he has been working in practice, as you know. He got a knee to the thigh and I think that bothered him for quite a while. We feel really blessed that we were able to win the series and very happy about it." Nelson: "Just to show you that I don't know what I'm talking about, I thought the key guy today would be Nick Van Exel, and he had a bad game. Just couldn't seem to get anything done, just didn't have a good rhythm or whatever he's been playing with in the last 2 games. He had lost it and didn't seem to be able to get it back. I wasn't because of effort. He was trying and just couldn't get very much done. To survive this game without him playing at a high level kind of surprises me. And it's really due to the Big 3 taking this game over and all having super games. And then we can absorb a guy that has a bad game. And then the guys coming off the bench did their jobs. And without LaFrentz in the game because of foul trouble, it doesn't surprise me that it ended up the game was in jeopardy for us." Nelson: "It's just the best thing in the world for us to through. To be in this kind of an atmosphere and come away with a win. It just makes you mature. It makes you fight through all sorts of tough things as a basketball player. The more of these we can get, the better it is for us. We've had some last year, as you know. The support of our crowd really helps us and it's supposed to be a negative on the road. You can use that in your favor if you have experience in these situations and expect what's going to happen. I thought that the Minnesota fans were wonderful and supported their fans [sic, team]. I know a lot of players on this team and have a great respect for everybody here." Nelson on Nash's quick 3 and quick shots: "No, because I really love that shot. That's his shot. It was open. We were having a hard time getting open and our motto for this series was that we're not playing not to win [sic, lose], we're playing to win. You have to give your players some freedom. Now we had a couple of others - Finley took one I wish he would have had back - but I can't change in midstream and tell him that was a bad one and Nash's was a good one just because it went in. I give them freedom, but we talk about situations. I thought that Nowitzki's shot with 17 seconds [on the clock], even though he made it, was a bad shot. We could get that same shot with 5 and that time we needed to run the clock a little more and we talked about that. But I want this team to play with a high confidence level and to be able to feel that they can do that if they think they can make a shot. I want them to have that confidence. But also want them to be smart." Nelson on looking subdued with the win: "Oh, I wasn't subdued at all. It was a great locker room, you just weren't in there. There was a lot of jumping around. These are special moments and, trust me when I say, they don't come easily. And when you get them, you better enjoy them. That's what it's all about." Nelson on the upcoming rest: "If you noticed at the end of the game, you know, Nash is still banged up. He's got a back problem and some flu type things. It's the best thing that could possibly happen to him and a couple of other guys - Eddie with the thigh bruise now, Nowitzki with the ankles. The more time the better for us. It's another reason that I thought it was so important for us to go after this game, not take any chances. If we would have lost this game, I think we would have been in big trouble for the next one, and the 5th one, you never know. You just don't take chances. We wanted to be as aggressive as we possibly can and go for the win and that's what we did." Nelson on the 2nd round: "Well, I love my team and I think we're going to play well. Is that confident, I suppose it is. Am I confident that we can beat those other teams? They can beat us as easily as we can beat them, or maybe easier, but I have a lot of confidence in my team that we're going to show really well for ourselves. We're not going to be favorites. Maybe we were in this series, I don't even know. It's another step in the right direction and I think we'll play better in the 2nd round this year than we did last year." Nelson: "We have a tendency to rely on the jumper too much. When fatigue takes over, it's the easy way out. When we get tired, we go to the jumper." Nelson on yelling at Najera at times: "Do you really think so? He's my favorite child, so to speak, so maybe you're a little tougher on him. He makes errors that he shouldn't, but, again, he's young and he's just starting to play a lot. I'm just trying to make sure he understands the mistake he made. Because if he's making the errors, he's telling me I can't play him. And I want to play him." Nelson on Najera: "I don't want to call him my whipping boy, because he's not. But, in general, as a coach you need somebody on occasion who you can be feisty to. And Eddie rolls with the punches. He doesn't argue with me. He just says: 'OK, coach,' and I forget about it the next minute." Michael Finley: "I knew the 3rd quarter and 1st quarter were the most important quarters for us, especially on the road. But I just took it upon myself to be the aggressor. I wanted to set the tone early. Coach called my number. I just made the most of the opportunity. I had some good looks at the basket, made some tough shots as well, but I'll take it." Finley on the runner on Szczerbiak: "I just wanted to take what ever they were giving me. They seemed to be forcing me one way and taking away my jump shot and I just wanted to drive and be aggressive and make things happen. And I was able to drive the ball and made a tough shot. They played pretty good defense, but I was able to get a good look at the basket and get the ball up and make the shot." Finley on the screens that caused mis-matches: "We have 2 great point guards in Steve and Nick and our whole things was to let them make plays and be aggressive and get everyone involved. We thought the Szczerbiak matchup [on switches] was one that was in our favor and when doing that, we took them out of their normal rotation. Steve and Nick were able to get shots for themselves and also create shots for us. It just made our offense flow a little bit better and it just helped us." Finley: "Coach put us in positions as far as drawing up plays where if one option isn't there, the last option was always either myself, Steve, or Nick at the top. And we're able to penetrate and create for ourself and get our teammates involved. At times, especially in short shot clock situations, I always end up with the ball at top and just wanted to make things happen." Finley on the flagrant foul: "Gary's an aggressive player. He's not a dirty player. He had to do what he had to do. I went to the basket, probably would have had a layup, and he came over and contested the shot. He did it with 2 hands. It wasn't anything personal or trying to hurt me. He just didn't want me to score. He's still my buddy. I talked to him after the game. I'll probably talk to him this summer as well." Finley on Nowitzki's start: "It was very important and I think Dirk set the tone early when he got his first 2 touches by driving the ball to the basket - letting the opponents know, letting his teammates know that that's the way we're going to play tonight, that's the way we have to play if we want to win. He was aggressive and when he has that little pep in his step and he has that look in his eye, I know he's in for a big night. I was happy for Dirk. He's one of the main reasons we won this series." Finley on the Big 3: "We have a lot of weapons. A lot of people talk about the explosiveness of our offense and I think it was really displayed tonight. When one guy has it going and he's off, then the next guy seems to get it going, and then the next guy seems to get it going. That's definitely a positive for us. It makes us tough to guard. And when your best scorers are playing defense, it even makes us a better team. We just have to keep this same attitude we had this series and try to carry over in to the next series." Finley on rest: "In any other situation, I would say, yeah, we want to keep the momentum running, but we have a lot of guys banged up, a lot of guys who've had a long season, so the time off is definitely going to help us. Gives guys a chance to get a rest, to get some life back in their legs, so to speak. Just build up the intensity for the next series. We're not going to slack off because we have the time off. We're looking forward to the next series. If it started tomorrow, we would be ready, but fortunately enough for us, we have a little less than a week to go." Finley on the 4th quarter: "I wouldn't take any credit away from Minnesota, they made some big shots. We made some defensive mistakes and they made us pay for them. But at the same time, what got us the lead was pushing the ball up, getting easy shots, getting everybody involved, and we went away from that in the 4th quarter. We walked it up, let the shot clock go down to 5, 4 seconds, and had us taking tough shots. And when you're doing that, you put a lot of pressure on yourself. Fortunately enough for us, we had a big lead, so we were able to do that. Be we can't do that, especially in the next series." Finley on the difference between this and last year: "It was a lot different. I know you were here last year, when we won that 1st series, it was like we won the championship. Everybody was on the court, I saw some tears, everybody was celebrating, but we forgot we had another series. And because of that, we were drained in the next series and San Antonio took advantage of that. This year is not all about winning one series. It's not even about winning 2 series. We want to win the ultimate thing, and that's the championship. But we have to go one series at a time and our goal was to win this series and our goal is to win the next series." Finley on Najera: "Coach went to Eddie and said he had the trillionaire line at halftime - 10 minutes and all zeros across there. But I think that inspired Eddie. He was playing against one of the best players in the league in Kevin, just making it a tough night for him. And then hard work always pays off, I always thought of that and I always been a firm believer in it. And it did. He was in the right spot at the right time and made a crucial putback after my miss and then came down and dove on the floor and then was smart enough to call the timeout. Eddie made 2 big plays down the stretch. That's what makes us a good team. We have a lot of weapons and guys who are willing to do the intangibles and Eddie is a firm example of that." Dirk Nowitzki on the Minnesota comeback: "I think we stopped running. That was really a big key. They came back, the crowd got involved, they made shots. It was a tough game at the end. We knew even though it's a slow game at the end that we have enough weapons to make them pay and we made some big shots at the end." Nowitzki on ending the series: "It was huge. Especially, we got some guy banged up. We got a week's rest now, so that was great. We didn't want them to play confidence. If we would have came back Tuesday, it would have been a whole nother thing. So we want to get that and we're happy and go home." Nowitzki: "Basically I just tried to be aggressive. Take it to the goal as much as I can. We knew they're going to come out and try to take it to us. That's why we tried to take it to them as well. I just tried to be aggressive and found myself open a couple times and just felt good. The shot really felt good in warmups. I just was able to carry it through the 1st half." Nowitzki: "I wasn't surprised. It was their last chance. It was own home court advantage. The fans were pushing them, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. I think in the 4th quarter, we didn't really do a good job in keeping and pushing the ball and running it and we kind of slowed down and kind of played a halfcourt basketball with them. And that's what they wanted. And then it got tight. I think even though, in a halfcourt offense, we have so many weapons out there, we have to make it tough to match up and we just made some good shots at the end and won the ball game." Nowitzki on quick shots: "For us, that's money. That's what we want. We want early shots and that's where we were at our best, when we run and get open looks on the fast break. Like I said, we were walking the ball up in the 4th quarter and didn't do a good job of pushing it up and just played into their hands. But at the end, we did a better job of pushing it again and I had some good looks. We just got to keep playing like that the whole game." Nowitzki: "I tried to be aggressive from the tip on and take it to the hoop and maybe get a couple of foul shots and try to get my rhythm that way and I found myself open and the first couple of shots felt good and I just kept on going." Nowitzki: "I don't expect anything in this league. Scoring is so tough in this league. I just go out there and try to help my team win. Some nights it's 30 and 15 and some nights it's whatever, 20 and 10 or even less. It's about winning and helping my team win. Some nights it's scoring more and then some nights the shot is not there and I just try to do other things. Whatever it takes to win." Nowitzki: "It was great. that's why we want that one so bad. We have a couple of guys banged up and it will be a nice little rest. When they made their run, we really wanted to make sure we get this, 'cause if we stay here 2 days and play them again on Tuesday, the crowd is even more getting excited, they're getting exciting, their confidence back. So we wanted to make sure we get this one. We just came up with some huge plays at the end. Nowitzki on Sacramento and Utah: "I think we match up well with both of them and we can beat both of them. We'll sit back and relax for the next couple of days and get a couple of good workouts in and watch the games and get ready for either or. Like I said, Sacramento is an unbelievable home team, but we played them well there every time and if we start there next week, we're going to go in there with a lot of confidence. Where ever it is, we'll just take it to them." Nowitzki on getting physical with Garnett: "Well, he's a very aggressive player out there. I just try to be smart and flop a little bit here and there. It's a part of the game now a days. I was fortunate they called it a couple of times and got him some fouls there. I think that was huge. And when he tangled up with Eddie where he got his 5th foul, that was a huge play too. Every time someone is so aggressive, you just got to use it to your advantage." Nowitzki: "We're trying to go all the way this year. Why not? I think we have the team to do it. We're deep enough. We're talented enough. We'll see what's next now that were through with the 1st round. We'll see what we can do more." Steve Nash: "It's tough. We played pretty well in stretches, and really had a chance to kind of knock them out and sustain it. But they're a good team, and especially playing at home. They really did a good job of keeping themselves in the game with just hustle and energy. They showed a lot of character today. It's not easy when you're down 2-0 and a team gets a 19 point lead on you. I really respect the fact that they gave us a heck of a game today." Nash: "I think we've always felt comfortable down the stretch, and it's a tough thing to come back on us because there are so many shooters. Somebody's bound to make a couple." Nash: "We're always confident down the stretch. We've got so many shooters, we're bound to make a couple." Nash: "Raef hit a couple big 3s early that I think gave us a big lift. Dirk was our MVP and our superstar this series, with Mike being a close 2nd. But there are a lot of performances, and a lot of hustle, and a lot of energy. Dirk made a ton of big plays for us." Nash on Nowitzki "Today, for most of the game, he was the best player in the world." Nash: "We've been doing that all year. Our teammates look for us to do that, and we look to do that. We want the ball in pressure situations, and each one of us in the Big 3 really feels confident in each other." Nash: "We want to play smart, but we don't want to lose our freedom. Sometimes, we're not real smart with our shots, but we hit them anyway." Nash on his 3-pointer: "I knew that was the shot that would end the series. That's what you play this game for. To get that kind of opportunity." Nick Van Exel: "It was my first sweep. Thank, thank, thank God we got it. Playing that terrible, but having these other guys come through. Dirk played a, wow, amazing game. And 3 games in a row, to put up those numbers is unbelievable. He had some help from Steve and Mike." Van Exel: "Basically, it was a tough night for me. Today, those other 3 guys got it done." Van Exel: "We withstood the first 5 minutes, which we thought would be important. We knew they would come out pumped up with the crowd and energy. We withstood that, and we withstood the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter, and all their runs. It's kind of tough for a team to come all the way back and win a game like that. It kind of drains you a little bit." Raef LaFrentz: "Give them credit. They stayed in there. They stayed in the game and kept plugging. There were a couple times we had them buried and they worked their way back in the game, and by the last couple of minutes it was a 4 point game. And at that point, guys were able to make shots and make plays." Eduardo Najera: "We knew all along it was going to be a tough game. We also knew we would have a chance to win the ballgame. We just had to take care of the ball. I thought we did a great job towards the end, making big plays and making big shots. Everyone played very well together. Minnesota never gave up, even though they were down 20. They still kept coming back, kept coming back, and you have to give them credit. They tried their hardest." Najera: "We like to run a lot, and tonight we did it again. We've been doing it regardless of if we've been down or if we have the lead. We still have to run and be aggressive." Najera: "Obviously I didn't contribute in the first 2 or 3 quarters, so I knew I had to come through at the end. I was glad I had the opportunity, although I didn't play very well. [Nelson] still kept me in the game in the 4th quarter, so I had a chance to do a few things. I just did what I do most of the time." Najera on diving for the ball: "Those are plays that I normally do. I've done that ever since I was in college. When you see that loose ball, you've just got to go for it." Najera on the dive: "I landed on my elbow and lost all feeling. My arm went numb. But that's the kind of play I love to make." Najera on Nelson yelling at him: "Actually, I kind of like it. I'd rather be yelled at than him ignoring me because I'm on the bench." Flip Saunders: "There's always disappointment when you lose. I thought today, as I told them, we played hard. Didn't always play loose. I thought we were a little bit tight when we started the game. A little bit tight as far as the beginning of the 3rd quarter. I thought we fought back, but they're a good team. Nowitzki, as I've said, probably in this series has made himself one of the top 10 players in the league. We definitely have problems as far as trying to do different things, but defending their big 3 in particular." Saunders on free throw shooting: "We had a couple of them in this series. When you've been a team in the top 3 all year long, usually when that happens, it show a little bit, whether it's pressure or your playing a little bit tight or you're just not quite as relaxed as you normally would be. Especially when you play a good team, which Dallas is. You know they lead the league in free throw percentage, you can't afford to have them shoot 90 and you shoot 60-some. That's not going to cut it. Especially when they're a team that are 13-24 again from the 3-point line. So you're giving up some points in some areas where you have an opportunity where we went to the free throw line more, which for us is some what different and unique, you have to take advantage of it. They've got a very dangerous and nice team. Nellie's done a great job with them; their whole staff has done a good job with them. Their guys, they made some big, big shots. The shot that Steve hit that really put a nail in the coffin was a pull-up 3 when you're up 5 with a minute-5 to go or whatever. That dictated a little bit of how they played and the aggressiveness they played with." Saunders: "We had some opportunities. The biggest thing that happens when you fall behind as we did, you have to play at such a pace - you know energy, emotional - and what happens is when you get back in the game, sometimes you have a tendency that you are there and you can't quite get up over the hump. I thought the guys executed well, got the ball to some people, we hit some shots, we had good shots and didn't make them, and they came down in retrospect and made some of their shots. They make so many tough shots. I thought that when things bogged down, they got the ball a lot to Finley, who played unbelievable in the series. Nowitzki - for a guy to get 39 points in 17 shots, that's pretty good efficiency. Like I said, I told the guys after the game, we played hard, gave ourselves opportunities, but didn't make some of plays down the stretch and part of it was what they did. But I was proud with the effort our guys gave. And our crowd was unbelievable." Saunders: "The big thing is everybody always says you've got to slow the game down against them. I said, 'Well, what are you going to do? You going to tell Nash and Nowitzki you're not allowed to shot, and Finley?' They come down, they play with such aggressiveness, getting the ball out of the net, getting the ball to halfcourt quicker than anyone else in the league, and having the ability as far as they go at you one-on-one right away. Because of that, there are so many more possessions in the game. For us, today when we fell behind as quick as we did, that was great for them because then we could not put ourselves in a situation to now try to control the tempo of the game. We fell behind early so then we were always in a situation where we were trying to find a way to score some points, to get a run, to get the crowd into the game - which we did. But then we weren't able to take advantage of some opportunities that our guys played hard and did some things to give themselves some opportunities, but we couldn't take advantage of them." Saunders: "There's disappointment, no question. Our guys are disappointed. Our staff is disappointed. Everyone is disappointed. There's things that happened over the course of the year that put us in this situation, whether it be we had the losing streak that didn't help, which is us, these is no question the negative - it hurt not having Terrell hurt a little bit, but that's not an excuse. But when you look at it, the thing not having Terrell, Chauncey grew up a lot. There is no question that Chauncey's improvement. Does he still do things that you question at times, ya, but he's got a lot better. So Terrell's injury, it really helped Chauncey, his development. The reason we're at where we are right now is because, one, we played a good team. A lot of people have said a lot of things about what to do with our team and everything else. I think we'll sit down and we'll evaluate everything, where everything is at. You only do things that is going to make it better, I think that is how you have to look at it. Right now we're in the unfortunate situation of being in a very strong conference, for one, and that's what makes it difficult. We've all got to get better, from the top all the way down." Saunders on Garnett: "I can't tell them that they can't guard him. I don't think they'll allow us to do that. It's a situation where he got touches in the 4th, he missed some shots. As I said, everyone has to get better from top all the way down. Management has to get better, individuals and team. That's something we'll start working on. The 4th quarter, we were down 17 and cut the thing to 3, so we were in a situation where when you're down like that, you have to create some energy. I thought we did somethings from a stand point of creating that. But that is a thing that is always going to be on Kevin and he'll continued to keep on working on that." Saunders: "What you have to understand, to put things in perspective, you don't just change a team and blow up a team unless you're going to get better. You can't just say, 'Oh well, we're going to jut change for the sake of changing it.' If we change it and we're not better, how's that going to help us? The fans aren't going to be happy with that either. What we'll do is we'll aggressively do things to try to make us better. We were a much better team at the beginning of the year, I'm not going to over-emphasize it, but you have to put things in perspective. What would the team be with Chauncey coming off the bench and Terrell starting? That's a different team. So I think we have to see how Terrell comes back over the course of the summer and evaluate everything. All we can do is do things we need to do to aggressively try to make our team better, and that's what we'll do. I don't think anyone just does things to change just to change. We've had great fans and hopefully they'll still continue. Fans are people who continue to follow you through thick and thin. As an organization, we've been through a lot, a lot of it was our own undoing and that, and all we can do is fire back. There's no other alternative. What do you want me to say? I'm not going to sit here and say, 'Ya, we're not going to get better.' We've got to work to get better. That's the only thing we have control of and that's what we'll try to do." Saunders (couldn't catch the question - obviously something about fouls): "I thought there were a couple. It was an emotional game. Both guys were bumping each other. It was definitely a very emotional game from all aspects. They did some things to try to get Kevin going a little bit. You pick up 1 or 2 and it does take away a little bit of his aggressiveness." Saunders on his technical: "I had a situation that has been well documented here. 4 weeks ago we were into the game, the shot clock was coming down and there was a situation where Sam Mitchell made a shot and one of the referees, Greg Willard, came by and said, 'In my opinion, that was [BS].' I told him, 'What were we supposed to do? Just hold the ball and let the clock run out.' [And a comment in the media about not wanting ref's opinions.] Well, since that time, I've had 2 referees that when I've asked them about something, he's gone, 'Oh, I thought you didn't want referees to give opinions.' One was before with Steve Javie. The other one was tonight with Spooner. And I told him that I thought that was total [BS]. First of all, my problem was not with them, it was with Greg Willard. And to bring something like that up, in the heat of a battle, I don't know what you're thinking. I can't be thinking about things like that. And how they can be thinking something like that. They all talk, I guess that is something you have to go through. We send in reports with referee ratings and supposedly they are confidential, so you'd think that people say certain things and not. I wasn't trying to get thrown out. To be realistic, he knew he was wrong when he said it, otherwise, how I acted, I should have been thrown out." Kevin Garnett: "They can shoot the ball. We tried to bring some different schemes to slow the ball down a bit. You guard one of them and you guard another, but the third guy makes you pay. They have a lot of weapons." Garnett: "If you look at all of the other teams in the playoffs, their core has been there consistently. Every year it seems to be a different blow to us. Look at a team like Utah - they've been there 30 or 40 years. The only consistency here has been Kevin McHale, Flip, myself, and Sam Mitchell." Garnett: "It's very difficult not knowing who's going to be here - not knowing what tomorrow brings. But I will say we have to have some kind of consistency and continuity around here to progress in the playoffs." Garnett: "This is a major blow. We got swept by a team we thought we could beat." Garnett on calls: "It was basketball. Playoff basketball gets a little grimy. It gets a little dirty at times. Sometimes, in the heat of battle, I felt like it was controversial calls. But the refs do their job. They have the authority out there about like the police. You need to have camera to prove a point. But you can't sit here and nitpick and talk about the refs, because at the end of the day you have to make shots and make plays." Garnett: "The thing about the loss, it's a heavy blow. You can imagine that. Tomorrow is no purpose other than to live. I mean, the shower's long, the ride home is long. You guys get to go home, but I've got to deal with myself every day. Losses are hard. Catch me in about a month." Garnett on where Minnesota goes from here: "Home." Wally Szczerbiak on Nowitzki: "He is a matchup nightmare. He had 39 points and hit some really tough shots. They have nice chemistry going. Nash finds guys when they're open and does a good job of breaking down defenses. You have to give them credit. They played well. We played well, but didn't play well enough. That's sports for you. What are you going to do?" Szczerbiak: "If we had lost in 5 or lost in 3, it really doesn't make any difference. We played our hearts out, and there isn't much more that could be asked. The bottom line is we lost. You go about trying to win 3 games which ever way you can. We just didn't get it done." Szczerbiak: "I just tried to move my feet on Nash and Van Exel. They didn't really hurt us by driving into the paint, because it's tough to score over us. A lot of times when they drove in like that, we were able to break out and get easy buckets. I think the guys that hurt us were Finley and Nowitzki. Those 2 made some serious shots. They played well and are top-notch players. They earned the sweep." Szczerbiak on the break where he lost the ball: "I didn't see [Trent] on the wing. He told me he was there. I was just trying to attack the basket as much as possible. I figured with Nick back, I was fine as long as I could get to the point of going up for the shot. He wasn't going to stop it or block it. When I fumbled it going up, I thought I could get the ball. I knew I had Nick on my side so I didn't panic to get it. I just wanted to grab it and restart the offense. Then Najera made a great play to grab it and get the timeout. The following possession, with the 3-pointer that rimmed in and out - that was just a microcosm of how the season has gone. If that would've gone in, we probably would've won the game. Unfortunately, it rimmed out and Nash hit that 3. That's the way sports go sometimes." Szczerbiak on Peeler: "AP answered the bell when he was asked. I was honestly very surprised that he didn't play in Game 2. I don't know why that was. I can't explain that. I can't comment on it either. But it was nice to see him play well tonight." Chauncey Billups: "We fought so hard. In all 3 games, we fought so hard. They just kept dropping those crazy shots. Whether it be from 3, or fadeaways from Finley with 2 guys on him, halfcourt shots, or other hoop-de-doo shots - they crushed our spirits. I have to tip my hat to that team." Billups on missed free throws: "It was crazy. I just kept trying to get to the hole so I could get back on the line and knock them down. I wasn't successful." Billups: "It was frustrating to claw and get back in the game and be down 3. We were playing so hard and they come down and hit a big 3. It was disheartening." Billups on defending Nowitzki: "That's all I could do. Where he sets the ball, where he shoots it, I can't block the shot. He is a 7-footer, and all I was trying to do was contest it and put my hand in his face to distract him. It wasn't making much of a difference." Billups: "We need to grow together. We have a young core here. We have a coach that is very well respected and we have Kevin McHale. I think that with the young core we have and the veterans we have, we need to have more time together. We lost some games this year due to inexperience, and I accounted for some of that. The only way you get better is if you stay together. Hopefully we'll all be back in this locker room next year. I know everyone wants to be back." Joe Smith on Dallas "There are still some questions defensively. You can't give up 100 points every night and expect to win it all." Game 3 Dallas Mavericks 115, Minnesota Timberwolves 102 at Minnesota (April 28) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 40 27 30 18 - 115 .407 .542 .449 .914 Minnesota 28 29 22 23 - 102 .421 .471 .432 .682 Halftime: Dallas 67-57 3rd Q: Dallas 97-79 Technicals: Minnesota defensive 3 seconds 9:28 1st, Minnesota defensive 3 seconds 0:33 1st, Flip Saunders 9:54 2nd, Steve Nash 6:55 2nd Flagrant fouls: Gary Trent 8:37 2nd Refs: Bill Spooner, Dick Bavetta, Jess Kersey Attendance: 18,795 (cap 19,006) Did not play due to injury: Adrian Griffin (back spasms) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Eduardo Najera 29 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 1-2 0 0 5 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 43 11-17 3-3 14-16 39 3-17 0 3 5 3 0 Raef LaFrentz 17 2-2 2-2 0-0 6 0-1 1 0 6 0 1 Michael Finley 48 9-17 4-6 8-9 30 0-9 2 4 4 2 0 Steve Nash 41 6-16 3-7 10-10 25 2-4 11 4 3 0 0 Greg Buckner 16 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-3 0 0 3 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 28 1-13 1-4 0-0 3 0-2 2 2 2 1 0 Wang Zhizhi 11 1-3 0-2 0-0 2 0-1 2 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 7 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 48 35-78 13-24 32-35 115 9-40 18 17 30 8 2 Minnesota Timberwolves REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kevin Garnett 40 9-19 0-0 4-9 22 5-17 5 6 5 2 0 Joe Smith 18 1-2 0-0 3-4 5 2-4 0 0 2 0 0 Radoslav Nesterovic 21 3-6 0-0 3-4 9 1-3 2 0 4 0 0 Wally Szczerbiak 41 5-12 1-3 9-10 20 2-6 3 3 3 2 0 Chauncey Billups 44 5-16 2-6 4-7 16 0-6 4 3 5 1 0 Sam Mitchell 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Anthony Peeler 37 6-13 4-7 4-6 20 0-5 2 2 2 3 0 Gary Trent 22 2-3 0-0 2-2 6 1-3 0 1 3 0 0 Felipe Lopez 10 1-2 1-1 1-2 4 0-0 0 0 2 1 0 Robert Pack 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 3 0 0 Marc Jackson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 32-74 8-17 30-44 102 11-44 16 16 30 9 0 patricia Go Mavs!