First the bad news: Nick Van Exel underwent surgery on his right knee this morning to repair damaged and torn cartilage. He is expected to be out 3 to 6 weeks. Hopefully his absence will not hurt the Mavs too bad as the Mavs 3rd point guard is a pretty good player (Avery Johnson). In a shrug move, Dallas activated Popeye Jones and placed Raef LaFrentz on IR with a sprained right ankle. LaFrentz is expected to be out another 2 to 5 weeks. Popeye's back is still bothering him and he is not expected to be able to play for 9 to 13 days. Evan Eschmeyer strained his right knee prior to the Toronto game on Wednesday and hasn't played in the 3 games since. He is still listed as day-to-day and it is not yet known if he will be available for tonight's game vs Portland. Eschmeyer, who saw a specialist on Thursday: "We worked on it for about 3 hours and he couldn't find anything serious that was wrong. We're just going to take it easy for a while." Dallas at Chicago (November 8) Dallas shot out to an 11-4 lead 3 minutes into the game. Chicago pulled within 5 points with 2:45 left, but Dallas closed the quarter with 3 3-pointers. Dallas led 34-20 after 1. Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points and 5 rebounds and Eddy Curry had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Dallas did not let up in the 2nd quarter and went on a 15-4 run to go up 54-33 with 4 minutes remaining. Dallas led 62-42 at the half. Jalen Rose had 14 points in the 2nd quarter. There was no let up in the 3rd quarter either as Dallas took their largest lead at 82-49 with 5:15 left and the Big 3 got the rest of the night off. Dallas led 93-64 after 3. And the subs piled it on in the 4th and put Dallas up by 40 midway through the quarter on a break-away dunk by Eduardo Najera. Chicago did score 13 straight points during the quarter to make the final score a little less lopsided. Dallas won 114-87. Finally, Dallas did it the easy way. No blowing of a big lead in this game. Dallas shot 49.4% FG and Chicago shot 42.9% FG and Dallas out-rebounded Chicago 47-44. Chicago also hurt themselves by missing 14 free throws. Chicago only shot 10-24 FT while Dallas shot 25-30 FT. Dallas also had 11 blocks - 8 by Shawn Bradley. The win gave Dallas a record of 5-0 - the best start in team history. Dallas had gone 4-0 in 95-96 (and went 5-1 that season and then lost their next 7 games). Dallas is the only undefeated team left in the league. With the blowout, most of the players played low minutes - none of the Big 3 played more than 26 minutes. Dirk Nowitzki was a point-per-minute man with 24 points in 24 minutes. He also had 10 rebounds. Michael Finley struggled in his hometown in shooting just 4-15 FG [with Finley struggling in Chicago and Nash struggling in Canada, good thing the Mavs don't play in Germany]. He did get to the line 7 times and finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in 26 minutes. Steve Nash only played 18 minutes, but had 12 points including 5-6 FG, 6 assists, and no turnovers. Shawn Bradley was effective against the young team and his height bothered them. He had 8 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Adrian Griffin started and was the high minute man with 35 minutes. He had 8 points. Walt Williams had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Eduardo Najera had 15 points and 5 rebounds. Avery Johnson had 10 points and Raja Bell had 3 points in extended garbage time. The coaches asked Nick Van Exel whether or not he wanted to play in the 2nd half and he elected not to, chosing to rest his sore knee. He only played 9 minutes and had 7 points. Jalen Rose was the only Bull to have a decent game with 24 points including 9-14 FG. The other 4 starters combined for just 28 points. Eddy Curry had 10 points including 5-15 FG and 10 rebounds. Rookie Lonny Baxter had 10 points and 10 rebounds. No other Bull was in double-digits. Quotes Don Nelson: "It was a perfect game for us. We have a tough one tomorrow and you couldn't write a script any better. We were able to rest a lot of our guys and we're the only undefeated team in the league." Nelson: "This is the best start in franchise history and I'm very proud of that." Nelson: "They're going through what we went through a couple years ago, a lot of blowouts. Bill will get them back and turn this around." Michael Finley: "That was the most important thing. Our bench came in and played well in order to give the starters a break." Finley on his poor game: "It wasn't like I was forcing shots or they were taking my shots away. I just missed. It's good to have good teammates, though." Finley: "Times change. I can remember when we were on the other end of games like this in this building against their championship teams. But we've grown as a team." Finley: "The season gets tough now. Not taking anything away from these teams we've been playing, but we have a lot of playoff teams coming up." Shawn Bradley: "We did what we needed to do, rested the big-minute guys. It's a nice way to start a back-to-back." Bradley: "We're a very fast-paced team and knew we needed to show our leadership and scoring out there early. We also know there are a number of things we have to improve on to get to the next level." Bradley on Chicago: "They're a young, energetic team. You give them any type of hope, any kind of opening and with their energy, they're going to be dangerous." Adrian Griffin: "The starters took care of their business and the bench took care of their business, too. That's crucial in a game like this because Detroit already is waiting for us in Dallas." Walt Williams: "We have a lot of offensive weapons to use. We tried to put a lot of pressure on them early, because we know that is discouraging to a young team." Williams on the up coming games: "Finley told us this is where the season starts - right here. People are going to see what kind of team we really have in these games." Bill Cartwright: "We knew that the start of this season was going to be tough. We were hopeful that we would play better here at home. Nobody likes getting down that early. They're a tough team to catch." Cartwright: "I feel comfortable with who's starting for us. For the most part, they've done a pretty good job." Cartwright: "I feel good about our guys. I just feel we're young. We'll win our share of games. It's going to be very interesting to see Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry at 22 and 23. We could have a couple of beasts on our hands." Jalen Rose: "I don't think it's necessarily a loss of confidence. We're just not getting it done. We're not the best or the most experienced team around, but we should be better." Rose on the fans booing: "For the 4th consecutive game, we didn't come out with any energy or intensity. I'm pretty sure they weren't excited about the way we played. They don't want to come to the game and see us down 30 points in the 3rd quarter. We owe them better than that." Rose on the fans booing: "We're a young, aspiring team, but it's the second night in a row we've shot 40%. The fans want to see us do well, not down 30 in the 3rd quarter. They deserve better." Jay Williams on the fans booing: "I've never gotten booed in my life. It's just sad that we got booed so early in the season. But it happens. We didn't play up to par. You have to expect that." Dallas Mavericks 114, Chicago Bulls 87 at Chicago (November 8) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 34 28 31 21 - 114 .492 .500 .494 .833 Chicago 20 22 22 23 - 87 .408 .625 .429 .417 Halftime: Dallas 62-42 3rd Q: Dallas 93-64 Technicals: Chicago defensive 3 seconds 3:37 1st, Marcus Fizer 7:17 2nd, Chicago defensive 3 seconds 10:07 2nd, Donyell Marshall 5:41 3rd Refs: Ron Garretson, Ed Mallory, Monty McCutchen Attendance: 21,028 (cap 21,711) Did not play due to injury: Raef LaFrentz (sprained right ankle), Evan Eschmeyer (strained right knee) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 24 8-14 3-5 5-8 24 1-10 1 0 1 1 0 Adrian Griffin 35 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 1-1 3 3 4 2 0 Shawn Bradley 31 2-5 0-0 4-4 8 2-11 2 2 3 2 8 Michael Finley 26 4-15 0-3 6-7 14 2-6 5 0 0 0 1 Steve Nash 18 5-6 1-1 1-1 12 0-0 6 0 0 1 0 Nick Van_Exel 9 2-5 1-2 2-2 7 0-0 2 0 1 0 0 Walt Williams 29 5-8 3-4 0-0 13 2-11 2 2 5 0 1 Eduardo Najera 29 5-9 0-0 5-6 15 1-5 2 1 3 0 1 Raja Bell 19 1-5 1-3 0-0 3 0-2 0 3 3 1 0 Avery Johnson 20 4-7 0-0 2-2 10 0-1 3 2 1 3 0 Totals 48 40-81 9-18 25-30 114 9-47 26 13 21 10 11 Chicago Bulls REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tyson Chandler 11 1-1 0-0 1-4 3 1-3 1 1 4 0 0 Jalen Rose 36 9-14 2-2 4-4 24 0-4 3 2 2 0 0 Eddy Curry 20 5-15 0-0 0-2 10 6-10 0 1 3 0 1 Jay Williams 34 2-9 1-2 2-4 7 0-2 4 3 1 2 0 Trenton Hassell 27 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 1-2 3 0 2 0 0 Donyell Marshall 20 2-11 0-1 2-2 6 1-6 1 0 1 0 0 Marcus Fizer 18 1-8 0-0 1-4 3 2-4 1 1 1 0 0 Jamal Crawford 14 2-5 2-3 0-0 6 0-1 4 3 3 3 0 Lonny Baxtor 18 5-8 0-0 0-4 10 4-10 0 2 1 0 0 Eddie Robinson 17 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 Fred Hoiberg 16 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 3 1 0 3 1 Dalibor Bagaric 9 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 1 1 1 1 0 Totals 48 36-84 5-8 10-24 87 15-44 22 16 20 9 2 Detroit at Dallas (November 9) It started out as a normal game against a good team. The only surprising thing early was that Detroit was trying to run with Dallas - and coach Rick Carlisle was not happy with his team as he called a 20 second timeout 3 minutes in and a full timeout 2 minutes later. Dallas led 11-8 with 8 minutes left and then went on a 12-1 run to go up 23-9 with 5 minutes to go. Dallas led 37-20 after 1. And again Dallas did not let up in the 2nd quarter as they went on an 11-2 run to go up 52-26 midway through the quarter. Michael Finley drained a 3-pointer with seconds left to give Dallas an amazing 68-43 lead at the half. Detroit, one of the best defensive teams in the league, had only been allowing 76.7 points _per_ _game_ prior to this game. And they had only been allowing 37.7% FG by the opponent, yet Dallas shot 60% FG in the 1st half. And Detroit was only shooting 35% FG. Wow. Strangely, Detroit was passing up a number of open looks during the game. That trend continued in the 3rd quarter where Detroit shot a miserable 4-16 FG as the blowout got even more stunning. Michael Curry scored the first bucket of the 3rd quarter and then Dallas went on a 24-2 run, including 9 points by Finley, to go up 93-47 with 2:25 left - and the Big 3 again got to rest. Dallas led 95-53 after 3. And the subs didn't let up as they scored 8 straight points to give Dallas an amazing 52 point lead at 110-58 with 5:40 left. Detroit did close the game with a 17-4 run to keep the final score from being completely absurd. Dallas won 114-75. Triple wow! I was stunned throughout this game. Dallas simply dominated Detroit and shrugged off Detroit's vaulted defense. Dallas' 114 points were 28 more than the previous high that Detroit had allowed this season (86 by Memphis). Dallas shot 51.9% FG while Detroit shot just 35.6% FG. Dallas out-scored Detroit 42-30 in the paint and had 23 fast break points. And Dallas only committed a team tying low 4 turnovers (the league record is 3). The win upped Dallas' record to 6-0. The re-match is Wednesday, November 27 in Detroit. After a poor outing against Chicago, Michael Finley was the star of the game with 25 points and 6 rebounds. He shot a season high 9 free throws (and made all). Steve Nash had his runners and layups going and had 17 points and 10 assists in 26 minutes. Dirk Nowitzki had a quite night with just 11 points and 8 rebounds in 22 minutes, but wasn't needed. Shawn Bradley continued his good performances with 14 points and 4 rebounds and only 3 fouls. Eduardo Najera chipped in 16 points including 6-8 FG and 6 rebounds off the bench. Walt Williams was the 6th Mav in double-digits with 10 points. Nick Van Exel could not buy a shot (okay, he bought one) and had 4 points, but did have 7 assists. Richard Hamilton was the high man for Detroit with 19 points. The rest of the Piston starters combined for just 11 points. Chauncey Billups was ejected early into the 3rd quarter for allegedly throwing the ball at the ref. Clifford Robinson had 13 points (and was one of those guilty of passing up open looks). Corliss Williamson had 11 points and rookie Mehmet Okur had 11 points and 8 rebounds. No other Piston was in double-digits. Quotes Don Nelson: "Kind of unexpected, wasn't it? Don't really know what to say. I thought we would have a hard time scoring because of their defense. We got on a roll and started scoring and it was one of those games. We will take it. They are a lot better team than they played tonight. We are probably not as good as we think." Nelson: "When you are as old as me, I don't think anything is shocking." Nelson: "Wow, that was kind of unexpected. I can't explain it. But we'll just accept it and not really dwell on it. We're probably not as good as we looked, and they're probably not as bad as they looked. All I know is that thus far we've done a pretty good job. I don't know anything more than that." Nelson on the blowouts: "I think that might be fool's gold. The people who think it's [more than that] are the fans. They think we're some kind of ass-kicking team that's going to dominate every team. And that's not the way it's going to be." Nelson on Dallas' defense: "We played our zone most of the way. That was just something that was working and they were struggling with it and we went with it. Our zone defense is pretty decent and it worked tonight. It is not something I want to play all the time, but it was working so I stayed with it." Nelson: "We don't have individual stoppers on defense, we have to do it with a team concept more than anything. We do it when it's man-to-man or zone. We need a lot of support and help. The zone kind of puts us in support. Man-to-man we still struggle with. When we went out of the zone, it wasn't good so we went back in it. It was just something Detroit struggled with. We still have to do a better job man-to-man. I am not going to play zone for 40 minutes. Nelson on what he said to the team after the game: "Nothing really. I think you do most of your talking before. Whether you win or lose, I try not to say too much even when I am real disappointed with a loss. I try not to talk too much after a game because your emotions are high and it is better to talk about it the next game." Michael Finley on starting 6-0: "I knew if we came out of the box strong and played the way that we are capable of playing, I knew it was possible. We are a confident bunch." Finley: "Our zone defense was effective for us tonight. It gave them a different look, something that they weren't use too. It made it a difficult night for them." Finley: "Detroit is one of the best team in the Eastern Conference. We knew it was going to be a tough task for us, but we took our game up a notch and everybody was focused and as a result of that, we got the win." Dirk Nowitzki: "We were just kind of in a zone out there and it was fun to watch." Nowitzki: "We got everyone involved with defensive play. We rebounded. We pushed it up. We made some amazing plays. I mean, today was pretty much a perfect game." Steve Nash: "We played very well tonight. They were on the end of a 10 day road trip and were really flat. Our zone was very effective tonight." Nash on only having 4 turnovers: "We did an outstanding job of taking care of the ball." Nash on if Dallas is the best team: "I'm not really worried about that right now. I don't know if we are. I think that we are one of the best. For me, I just want us to worry about us trying to be the best we can be everyday, whether it's in practice, in a game, or on a day off. Doing the things that make you better really adds up. As the season progresses, those are the things that will determine how good we can be. Right now we need to continue to take care of each day." Nash: "We're a good team. But I don't want us to get too big for our boots." Nash on sitting out the last 2 4th quarters: "Rest is a great thing in this league. Anytime you can save some minutes it really helps later on in the season." Shawn Bradley: "We set the tone early and got things rolling and we kept it rolling. We didn't give them an opportunity to get back in the game." Bradley: "This doesn't happen very often. But we got rolling and it just didn't stop. We have a good team here. We can score as good as anybody, and if we play defense like this, we're hard to beat." Walt Williams on if it's the Mavs or the opponents: "Everybody can't be crummy. Early on, we were having defensive spurts and blowing big leads. Now we're playing 48 minutes of defense and getting blowouts." Rick Carlisle: "We got outworked, outplayed in literally every facet of the game. The game was no where near as close as the score. There is not much more to say than that. They played great and our game just wasn't there at all." Carlisle on if changes need to be made or if it was just one of those games: "I have to look at the film and see. There is really not much worse. We need to get out of here and prepare for the next game." Carlisle: "Dallas played great. I take my hat off to them. They played the kind of game they wanted to and we were not up to the task." Carlisle on Dallas' 6-0 start: "It's got my attention. They are playing great and playing the style of game they want to play. Their shot making has been there all season. They have been sharp and I don't know if there is any reason to think they will not continue to be sharp." Michael Curry: "We just got our tails kicked, that's it." Curry: "The big picture is, they beat us here, now we have to beat them back at our place. If you can do that, get a split against teams like that, you will be okay. The small picture is, we have a lot of things to work on, which is good." Ben Wallace on going 5-2 on the 10-day road trip: "It was a good trip. A win here would have made it a great trip." Dallas Mavericks 114, Detroit Pistons 75 at Dallas (November 9) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 37 31 27 19 - 114 .532 .471 .519 .857 Detroit 20 23 10 22 - 75 .453 .100 .356 .750 Halftime: Dallas 68-43 3rd Q: Dallas 95-53 Technicals: Chucky Atkins 4:48 1st, Clifford Robinson 0:01 1st, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 4:48 2nd, Chauncey Billups (1-T ejection) 10:27 3rd Refs: Bill spooner, Derek Collins, Derek Richardson Attendance: 19,644 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Evan Eschmeyer (strained right knee), Popeye Jones (back spasms) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 19 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 22 4-7 2-2 1-1 11 0-8 1 0 2 1 2 Shawn Bradley 29 6-11 0-0 2-4 14 1-4 0 1 3 0 0 Michael Finley 32 7-12 2-4 9-9 25 0-6 2 0 2 2 0 Steve Nash 26 6-12 0-1 5-6 17 0-2 10 0 1 2 0 Raja Bell 27 3-3 1-1 0-0 7 0-5 1 0 6 2 0 Walt Williams 18 3-8 3-6 1-2 10 1-4 1 1 1 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 24 1-6 0-3 2-2 4 0-1 7 1 4 1 0 Eduardo Najera 26 6-8 0-0 4-4 16 1-6 0 0 4 2 0 Avery Johnson 17 3-8 0-0 0-0 6 1-1 2 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 41-79 8-17 24-28 114 5-39 24 4 24 10 2 Detroit Pistons REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Ben Wallace 31 1-2 0-0 3-4 5 1-11 2 2 2 1 1 Michael Curry 19 2-5 0-0 0-2 4 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Zeljko Rebraca 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 1 1 0 0 Chauncey Billups 10 0-3 0-2 2-3 2 0-0 2 3 3 0 0 Richard Hamilton 29 7-15 0-3 5-6 19 2-3 3 2 2 0 0 Clifford Robinson 33 5-11 0-3 3-3 13 2-4 0 1 2 0 0 Chucky Atkins 31 1-9 0-4 1-2 3 0-3 4 2 4 0 0 Corliss Williamson 24 3-8 0-0 5-6 11 1-4 2 0 2 0 0 Mehmet Okur 17 4-7 1-1 2-2 11 3-8 1 1 1 1 0 Jon Barry 12 1-7 0-3 0-0 2 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 Tayshaun Prince 17 2-4 1-3 0-0 5 0-1 1 0 0 0 0 Hubert Davis 10 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 2 0 0 0 Totals 48 26-73 2-20 21-28 75 11-42 15 15 20 2 1 patricia