All-Star voting has started. Be sure to vote for Michael Finley, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki for the All-Star Team! Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz are also on the ballot. You can vote online at http://www.nba.com/allstar2003/AS_Ballot.html Vote and vote often! Evan Eschmeyer did not travel with the team for the 3 game road trip. He remained in Dallas to rest his sore right knee. FYI, for any statnicks out there, I've got version 4 of my Compute Your Own Mavs Totals program up and running. I've re-designed it, added some funcationality, and it works with Internet Explorer (IE bombed out with version 3 once the number of games got up to a high number due to an IE restriction). It's at http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mtotm02-03.html http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mtotm01-02.html http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mtotm00-01.html Let me know if you have any problems with it. I'd also be interested in any suggestions or recommendations for version 5 (which I'm not working on and won't be coming out for a _long_ time, but I've already got one idea for it). Dallas at Cleveland (November 13) The concern coming into a game against a poor team is always that the good team will come in and play lax with the feeling that this will be an easy win. Dallas did exactly that for this game and were playing catch-up for most of the game. Cleveland jumped out to a 10-4 lead with 7:45 left and scores 7 straight points to push their lead up to 21-8 with 4:45 to go. Dallas had already committed 4 turnovers by that point and only shot 3-11 FG. 2 free throws by Michael Finley, who was carrying the team, and a layup by Avery Johnson with just a couple of seconds left in the quarter pulled Dallas within 23-31 after 1. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points and Finley had 10 points. Cleveland led 38-28 with 9:50 remaining and Dallas went on a 10-3 run to pull within 38-41 with 6:30 left. Cleveland was able to hang on to a single-digit lead and led 52-48 at the half. Dirk Nowitzki only had 4 points off of free throws as he missed all 6 shots he attempted. Dallas was not able to make a push early into the 3rd quarter and Cleveland then scored 6 straight points to go up 71-58 with 3 minutes left. But Dallas' 2nd shift (plus Finley) finally answered the bell as Eduardo Najera got a layup, Walt Williams nailed consecutive 3-pointers, Finley hit a jumper, and Avery Johnson hit 2 free throws with a second left on the clock (on a dumb, dumb foul by the Cavs) to score the last 12 points of the quarter as Cleveland missed 5 straight shots. Cleveland led 71-70 after 3. It was a tense 4th quarter as neither team held more than a 4 point lead until the final seconds of the game. Najera got a layup with a nice dish from Johnson to give Dallas their first lead of the game at 74-73 with 10:30 left. Nowitzki finally made a bucket with 9:15 to go, but Jumaine Jones draining a 3-pointer to put Cleveland up 78-77 with 9 minutes remaining. Nowitzki hit another jumper and 2 free throws to put Dallas back up. The game remained close and was all tied up at 89-89 with 4 minutes left. Ricky Davis stole the ball and drove in on the break with only Nash back, who set up to try to take the charge, and Davis simply flew over him for the monster jam to put Cleveland up 91-89 with 3:40 left. Nash was called for a blocking foul, but Davis missed the free throw. Williams drove baseline for a layup, Najera had a great block, and Nash drove the other way and nailed the pull-up 15-footer to put Dallas up 93-91 with 2:30 to go. Shawn Bradley picked up his 6th foul, but Ilgauskas only hit 1 of 2 free throws. Nash missed, Milt Palacio was called for traveling, Nash missed, and Ilgauskas was called for an offensive foul with 1:10 left. The teams traded 2 free throws and Finley drove for 2 to give Dallas a 97-94 lead with 30 seconds left. Palacio was again called for traveling with 17 seconds remaining and Cleveland intentionally fouled Nash, who hit both free throws with 15 seconds left. Davis hit a quick 2, but Finley hit both free throws with 9 seconds left. Palacio nailed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left, but Nash clinched the game by hit both free throws. Dallas won 103-99. Yuck. That was ugly. Somehow Dallas got a win out of it, and the W is all that counts in the long run. In the short run, Dallas played poorly and it was more a case of Cleveland losing the game than Dallas winning it (granted, Dallas did do what it needed to in the 4th quarter). Cleveland missed 9 free throws, including shooting just 8-14 FT in the 4th, while Dallas only missed 2 free throws in the game and shot 15-15 FT in the 4th. Cleveland also committed 3 turnovers in the last 1:40 of the game. Cleveland shot better from the field, better from the 3-point line, out-rebounded Dallas, and had 9 more assists than Dallas. The game came down to Dallas simply making 6 more free throws than Cleveland, even though Cleveland (21-30 FT) had 1 more attempt than Dallas (27-29 FT). Michael Finley carried the team for 3 quarters and deserves a lot of credit for keeping the game from getting out of hand. He had 26 points and 8 rebounds. Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki had terrible games and sat for chunks of time due to their poor play. The 2 were the only Mavs to shoot less than 50% FG. Nowitzki finally found his game in the 4th quarter and finished with 17 points (all but 4 came in the 4th quarter) on 3-11 FG and 11-11 FT and 12 rebounds. Nash had flashes but wasn't consistent and had 14 points including 5-18 FG (ouch) and 0-5 3-pointers and 7 assists. This was the first game this season that Shawn Bradley was ineffective. Playing against a mobile center with a little bit of range and that the Cavs kept going to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Bradley wasn't able to purely man the middle like he had been in the previous games [he was able to man the middle and float even against Arvydas Sabonis as Portland didn't consistently get the ball to Sabonis]. And Ilgauskas ate him alive. Bradley had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 fouls - a couple were his frustration fouls that had been missing this year. With Finley, the heros of the game came from the bench in the form of Eduardo Najera, Walt Williams, and Avery Johnson. The game wouldn't have been won without those 3. Najera provided energy, defense, crashing the boards, and cutting inside to be the recipient of easy layups. He had 12 points including 5-6 FG and 5 rebounds including 3 offensive. Walt Williams' points will get the praise - and his 3-pointers, jumpers, and layup were key - but I liked the little things he did. At one point, the defense had shifted and the Cavs put up a shot and Williams put his body in front of Ilgauskas and successfully blocked him out so that Nowitzki could snag the defensive rebound. Williams had 14 points. Avery Johnson ran the team like the veteran he is. He was driving to the basket, dishing the ball, and showing his leadership. He had 12 points, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers in 23 minutes. Adrian Griffin started, but only played 12 minutes and had 2 points and Raja Bell had no stats in 3 minutes. There were 3 stars for Cleveland. No question number one was Ilgauskas. The Mavs made him look like a superstar as Bradley and Nowitzki could not contain him. Dallas double-teamed him every time he touched the ball in the 4th quarter. And when his teammates missed, the Mavs were unable to keep him from the offensive rebounds. Dallas' key 3rd quarter run came while he was out of the game (and started right after he sat). Ilgauskas had a career high 34 points including 12-16 FT, 14 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 3 blocks. Jumaine Jones started and played all 48 minutes. He was dead-eye shooting and I'm just glad that they stopped going to him. He had 23 points including 9-13 FG, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Ricky Davis had an up-and-down game. He had a number of alley-oop dunks and the monster jam over Nash, but he tried taking over the game in the 4th instead of playing a team game (the ball should have been going through Ilgauskas each time down). He had 19 points including 9-23 FG and 6 rebounds. Darius Miles had a balanced but quiet game with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 rebounds. Quotes Don Nelson: "They played the heck out of us. They made shots and really made us pay." Nelson: "They played the heck out of us. You could say there were a lot of things that helped win the game for us. A big one was free throws. We made ours and they didn't." Nelson: "We were starting to lose track of the game. Had they gone into the 4th quarter with an 11 or 12 point lead, which could have easily happened, we may not have had enough tonight and probably would not have because we just barely had enough as it was. Where would we be without Walt Williams? My, he really played well at both ends of the floor." Nelson: "A.J. and Walt Williams kept our heads above water when we were about to drown." Nelson: "We couldn't guard Ilgauskas at all." Nelson: "We seem to be getting vulnerable for a loss. Of course, we're [undermanned] right now. So we're scratching and digging and doing the best we can. We were lucky the last couple of ballgames, but we were able to win both of them." Nelson: "We're going to have a bad game and somebody's going to beat us. It's going to happen eventually, but we'd like to postpone it as long as we possibly can." Steve Nash: "We played even more poorly in our comeback tonight [than against Portland on Monday]. I don't know how we did it, because we really didn't have anything going. We were bad tonight. The streak goes on, but very unsatisfyingly and we're definitely not proud of our performance." Nash: "Eduardo, Walt, and Avery were the difference." Nash on Davis' dunk on him, jokingly: "I should have blocked it." Eduardo Najera: "This is a different Mavericks team. We're going to handle adversity better. The bench had to step it up, and we did. That's the sign of a good team. There was no panicking.'' Walt Williams: "This was a tough one. But we hung tough. In the 4th quarter, we finally made enough shots to win it." Williams: "In the 2nd half, I just wanted to be more aggressive and look for my open shot and get to the open shots. Guys found me and it seemed to be a momentum-builder for us." Avery Johnson: "Teams that are championship caliber win the ugly ones. We found a way." John Lucas: "I absolutely loved the way we played. We moved the ball, we had 27 assists and we did what a basketball team needs to do to win. I liked the excitement, the passion and the camaraderie, and it would've been a great win, but it was still a moral victory." Lucas: "I hate that we missed free throws down the stretch because that cost us the game." Lucas: "I really liked our defense. That's the kind of effort we've been getting." Lucas: "I thought Z was outstanding for a lot of the game. And I thought we guarded very well for most of the game, but we've got to find a way to play that way together all the time without having me go nuts." Lucas: "I can't say enough about Z and the way Ricky came back and played." Lucas: "Jumaine Jones was outstanding. He made a lot of shots and did a lot of positive things." Zydrunas Ilgauskas: "We gave them a run for their money and we should have come out with the win. We made some key mistakes down the stretch. It shows us we can play against anybody if we come out, play hard, and compete." Ilgauskas: "I hit some shots early in the game. Guys kept going to me and I hit some open looks. It was one of those nights where everything was going in for me." Jumaine Jones: "It was definitely a great effort. This is one of the best teams in the league. I just feel like if we could come out and give that same effort to teams that are not as good as Dallas, we would win a lot of games." Jones: "I definitely didn't expect to play 48 minutes. During shoot-around today, [Lucas] told me I would be starting tonight. I kind of prepared myself differently. Warming up, I got to get myself going with a big sweat. Tonight I had to get my stretch out early and get some shots out since I knew I was starting." Jones: "I didn't know I was going to be starting until the shoot-around, so I had to prepare my self differently. I had to work up more of a sweat, so I was ready to go because with Ricky out I knew we would need some points right off the bat.'' Ricky Davis: "They showed why they're 8-0. They showed a lot of poise." Davis on shooting 23 field goals attempted: "I shot that many times? I just wanted to come in and get into the flow, and it started to come." Davis on his monster dunk over Nash: "That's one of my best dunks ever. I rank it with my tip slam I got in Philadelphia." Milt Palacio: "We had some costly turnovers and I had a couple of them down the stretch. Walt Williams' shots hurt us and those were momentum breakers but the character of this team tonight was encouraging after playing terrible one night and playing well the next night." Bimbo Coles: "All we had to do was be patient and that's what we did. If we make cuts and reads you can get a lot of good shots in our offense and that's what we did. Except we didn't do that during the 4th quarter. We just didn't make shots." Dallas Mavericks 103, Cleveland Cavaliers 99 at Cleveland (November 13) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 23 25 22 33 - 103 .547 .133 .468 .931 Cleveland 31 21 19 28 - 99 .446 .364 .435 .700 Halftime: Cleveland 52-48 3rd Q: Cleveland 71-70 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 8:50 3rd, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 11:05 4th, Cleveland defensive 3 seconds 10:01 4th Refs: Bill Kennedy, Danny Crawford, Greg Willard Attendance: 12,765 (cap 20,562) Did not play due to injury: Popeye Jones (back spasms), Evan Eschmeyer (strained right knee), Chris Mihm (strained left hamstring) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 12 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 1 1 1 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 42 3-11 0-3 11-11 17 1-12 1 4 3 1 2 Shawn Bradley 24 2-4 0-0 2-3 6 1-6 0 3 6 0 1 Steve Nash 35 5-18 0-5 4-4 14 0-1 7 2 2 2 0 Michael Finley 44 11-21 0-2 4-4 26 3-8 2 0 3 0 0 Eduardo Najera 32 5-6 0-0 2-2 12 3-5 2 0 3 1 1 Walt Williams 25 6-10 2-5 0-0 14 0-1 1 0 4 0 0 Avery Johnson 23 4-7 0-0 4-5 12 0-1 4 0 0 0 0 Raja Bell 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-79 2-15 27-29 103 8-35 18 11 22 5 4 Cleveland Cavaliers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Darius Miles 37 4-8 0-0 1-2 9 2-6 5 0 3 0 2 Tyrone Hill 30 3-6 0-0 0-2 6 1-6 3 1 5 1 0 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 39 11-24 0-0 12-16 34 7-14 3 4 2 1 3 Bimbo Coles 29 0-8 0-3 1-2 1 2-4 3 1 3 1 2 Jumaine Jones 48 9-13 3-5 2-2 23 1-7 5 0 1 1 0 Ricky Davis 34 9-23 0-1 1-2 19 0-6 4 2 4 2 0 Milt Palacio 19 1-3 1-2 4-4 7 0-0 4 3 5 0 0 Carlos Boozer 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 DeSagana Diop 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-85 4-11 21-30 99 13-44 27 13 23 6 7 patricia