Injury update: Dirk Nowitzki's Achilles is fine after 3 days rest and they are taping his ankle differently now - the tape job might have been the cause of the soreness. Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz are expected to be activated prior to Saturday's game vs Chicago. Van Exel may be ready to play in that game and LaFrentz might not be quite ready (conditioning) until Monday's game. Dallas has to cut a player on Friday (the roster exemption to carry an extra player expires then) and it will likely be Mark Strickland. Dallas at Detroit (November 27) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with Dallas mostly holding a small lead. Dallas used an 8-1 run to go up 24-16 with 1:50 left, but Detroit answered with an 8-2 run, including 2 3-pointers by Clifford Robinson. Corliss Williamson hit a jumper at the buzzer and Dallas led 28-26 after 1. Dallas was able to score 28 points despite shooting in the mid-30s while Detroit shot around 50% FG. Michael Finley started shooting 2-10 FG, but had 11 points in the quarter. Finley opened the 2nd quarter with 2 jumpers and Dallas continued to hold a single-digit lead. A jumper by Dirk Nowitzki and a layup by Finley finally pushed Dallas' lead into double-digits at 48-37 with 5:40 remaining, but Detroit scored the next 4 points to bring the lead back into single-digits. Dallas' lead fluctuated between 7 and 11 points and Dallas scored the last 3 points of the quarter to go up 57-45 at the half. Dallas out-scored Detroit 29-19 during the 2nd quarter, and Finley had 19 of those points. For the half, Finley had 30 points (including 10-22 FG) and Ben Wallace, the rebounding maniac, had 17 boards, including 11 in the 2nd quarter. Dallas scored the first 5 points of the 3rd quarter to take a 62-45 lead a mere minute in. Detroit scored the next 4 points, but Dallas then rattled of 8 straight points to go up 70-49 with 7:15 to go. Detroit would get no closer than 19 points the rest of the quarter. Dallas scored the last 6 points of the quarter to go up 86-56 after 3. Dallas out-scored Detroit 29-11 and Nowitzki had 11 points in the quarter. The 4th quarter was pure garbage time, with Finley still in the first few minutes to set his career high (4 points in the quarter) [and, no, I don't agree with him being on the court at that point]. The Detroit scrubs did better than the ugly lineup Dallas had out there for most of the quarter and Detroit out-scored Dallas 26-16 in the 4th to make the final score a little less lopsided. Dallas won 102-82. Wow. I could see us sneaking up on Detroit as a possible explanation for the major blowout in Dallas, but I thought this was going to be a tough game with Detroit wanting revenge and being undefeated on their home court. Instead, Dallas' offensive power was simply too much for one of the better defensive teams in the league. Even though they were down by just 2 points, Detroit couldn't have been happy with the 1st quarter as Dallas had 28 points and managed that and having the lead despite shooting in the mid-30s, while Detroit was shooting around 50% FG. And then came the 2nd quarter when Michael Finley was unstoppable. And then came the 3rd quarter where the Mavs came out storming and playing good defense and out-scored Detroit 29-11 to make the 4th quarter pure garbage time. Dallas out-rebounded Detroit 51-43, despite rebounding maniac Ben Wallace snagging 24 boards himself. Dallas shot 43% FG to Detroit's 39.5% FG and was aggressive to the basket which results in a large difference in free throws [despite the difference, it didn't feel like the refs were favoring Dallas (I could be wrong as I am biased) - for the call where Rick Carlisle got his T, the replays showed that there was no body contact and it was a clean block]. Dallas shot 26-30 FT and Detroit shot 10-14 FT. And Dallas only turned the ball over 9 times (and 5 of those came during garbage time) while Detroit opponents had been averaging almost 16 per game. Detroit has to be glad that they don't have to face Dallas again this season (unless it is in the Finals, in which case they'd be very happy). Next up for Dallas is another tough test - an 11-2 Indiana Pacers tonight on TNT. No question who the hero is for this game. Michael Finley had a career high 42 points on 13-28 FG (and started 2-10) and 15-17 FT to go with 10 rebounds. And after a strong 1st half performance where he scored 30 points, he didn't force it in the 3rd quarter as his first shot attempt did not come until midway through the quarter (resulted in free throws). Dirk Nowitzki had a nice game with his 10th double-double of the young season with 22 points including 9-16 FG and 15 rebounds. The 2 were the only Mavs in double-digits scoring. Steve Nash picked up 2 quick fouls in the 1st quarter, but stayed in and played the rest of the quarter without picking up another foul. He had a quiet night with just 5 points including 2-7 FG and 7 assists, but only played 23 minutes. Shawn Bradley had a better performance than his last 2 games (but not that strong of a performance). He had 2 points on 1-2 FG, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 19 minutes off the bench. Don Nelson started Walt Williams to force a defensive mismatch for Detroit, but he did not have a very good game with just 3 points including 1-5 FG and 2 rebounds in 20 minutes. Adrian Griffin was the other starter and he had 6 points including 1-4 FG, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in 18 minutes. Eduardo Najera had 8 points, but only 1 rebound in 19 minutes. He did have an impressive, come-from-nowhere block on what looked like an easy layup attempt by Richard Hamilton during the 2nd quarter. Avery Johnson gave Nash a nice rest and had 8 points, including a hook over Ben Wallace with a high kiss off the glass, and 3 assists in 25 minutes. Popeye Jones saw his first action of the season in garbage time and had 2 points. Raja Bell had 2 points and Mark Strickland had 2 points and 5 rebounds. Adam Harrington did not score (and got yelled at for a forced missed shot). For Detroit, you have to started with the rebounding maniac. Ben Wallace had just 2 points, but his 24 rebounds were amazing. A couple of them fell in his lap, but most of them he worked for. He also had 4 blocks. Richard Hamilton was the high scorer for Detroit with 19 points, but he only shot 6-18 FG and also had 6 turnovers. Corliss Williamson was the only other Piston in double-digits with 14 points. Basically, a performance to forget about for all of the Pistons but Wallace. Quotes Don Nelson: "We hadn't been doing any talking coming in. We just showed up and played. [The win margin] was a surprise, but we'll take it." Nelson on challenging the 15-0 record: "It really at this point doesn't matter. We're not going for records. We're not playing for that reason. I wish everybody would understand that. It's nice. It's fun. But we're not playing for that reason. We're playing to just win a game and to play well and do the best we can. We'll have our hands full in Indiana. If we get beat, it's no big deal. If we win, it's no big deal." Michael Finley: "We knew it would be a tough game against one of the best teams in the East. We just wanted to play championship-type of basketball, and that's what we did." Finley: "When you come into an environment like this, you have to play aggressive and play championship-type basketball." Finley on rebounding: "They say that's one of our weaker areas, so as a leader of this team, that's one area I've tried to get better at." Finley: "I just had good looks at the basket. My teammates were finding me in a good rhythm, and I got in a comfortable rhythm and there was nothing they could really do defensively to take me out of that." Finley on the flagrant where he bruised his right shoulder: "I was upset with the foul. I didn't think it was that necessary. The game was pretty well in hand. If I score, I score. But that's Corliss being an aggressive player. He said he didn't mean it." Dirk Nowitzki: "We're trying to get home court advantage in the playoffs; that's our goal. We don't want to be the best team in November. We want to be the best team in June." Nowitzki: "We seem to play well against them offensively and defensively. We were pretty much getting whatever we wanted." Nowitzki: "Offensively, we pretty much got what we wanted." Steve Nash: "We didn't think it would be a blowout. Detroit isn't really an offensive team. They beat people by holding them down. We're going to try to force our tempo. I don't know if they were trying to run with us or not. But after the 1st quarter, we held them down." Nash on Finley: "He was incredible. He really carried us in the 1st half when it was a closer game." Nash on Finley: "He was in a zone." Rick Carlisle: "That was a disappointing effort for us but Dallas is a great team. I am disappointed for our fans because I was hoping that we would play better. In 2 games now they have played great against us and we have not had any answers for them. There is not much to say; the stats are obviously lopsided in their favor." Carlisle: "This was disappointing because we were kind of pointing to this game. They beat us pretty badly when we went down there a couple weeks ago. That might have stuck with us a little, so I'm sure we were looking forward to meeting them again. They're a great team and they've gotten off to a great start." Carlisle: "We are in a situation now were we have won some games but obviously, we still have much to prove. One of the things that disappointed me tonight was that we are a team that prides ourselves on playing a physical style and we really didn't make a hard play until the 4th quarter until Corliss finally made a hard foul on Finley. We have got to be a team that doesn't react; we have got to be the kind of team that dictates physical play and we certainly didn't do that tonight." Carlisle: "They were too good the last time we played them, and they were too good tonight. That was a disappointing effort for us. One of the disappointing things was that we pride ourselves on playing a physical style, and we really didn't make a hard play until the 4th quarter, until Corliss made a hard foul on Finley." Carlisle on Finley "He is just a great player." Richard Hamilton: "We had an opportunity tonight and you have to give your hats off to them. They came out and played great basketball and we just couldn't make a run at them. We have got to come in tomorrow and watch the tape, see what we did wrong, and get back on the winning track." Hamilton on Dirk "You've got a 7-footer shooting the way he shoots and playing the way he plays, you're going to be unstoppable at times." Corliss Williamson on the flagrant foul, which came when Dallas called a 2nd consecutive isolation plays for Finley early in the 4th quarter: "Most of the time you have your best players on the bench, but I have a lot of love for Michael Finley. If it was my brother I probably would've hit him harder. Late in the game like that to run isolations kind of gets under your skin." Jon Barry: "They beat us once, you say it's a fluke. But they've now done it twice, so it's no fluke. You've got to tip your hat to them. I'm thankful we don't have to see them again. Their offense is so good. They're just solid all the way around. A smart team." Barry: "What makes them so hard is, you constantly have to find a way to stop them. They keep coming at you. They flow. They have many capable guys. We just couldn't defend the way we wanted to, and that makes for a frustrated night." Barry on Finley: "The guy took 22 shots in the 1st half; he had it going. They are a smart team because they realized that he had it going and they fed him the ball. They have many capable guys and they rode the hot hand. We just didn't defend him well enough." Dallas Mavericks 102, Detroit Pistons 82 at Detroit (November 27) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 28 29 29 16 - 102 .467 .182 .430 .867 Detroit 26 19 11 26 - 82 .387 .421 .395 .714 Halftime: Dallas 57-45 3rd Q: Dallas 86-56 Technicals: Rick Carlisle 4:21 1st Flagrant fouls: Corliss Williamson 9:04 4th Refs: Greg Willard, Monty McCutchen, Anthony Jordan Attendance: 22,076 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Evan Eschmeyer (strained right knee), Chauncey Billups (sprained right ankle) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 18 1-4 0-0 4-4 6 1-5 1 0 2 3 1 Walt Williams 20 1-5 0-2 1-2 3 0-2 1 0 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 35 9-16 1-1 3-4 22 1-15 1 0 1 1 1 Michael Finley 39 13-28 1-6 15-17 42 2-10 2 2 1 2 0 Steve Nash 23 2-7 0-1 1-1 5 0-2 7 2 4 1 0 Eduardo Najera 19 3-5 0-0 2-2 8 1-1 1 0 3 1 1 Raja Bell 21 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 4-4 0 1 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 19 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-5 2 0 2 0 4 Avery Johnson 25 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 1-1 3 0 0 1 0 Popeye Jones 8 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 2 0 0 0 Mark Strickland 7 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 3-5 0 1 1 0 0 Adam Harrington 6 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-86 2-11 26-30 102 15-51 19 9 19 10 7 Detroit Pistons REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tayshaun Prince 17 3-6 2-3 0-0 8 1-3 1 0 0 0 2 Ben Wallace 30 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 6-24 0 1 3 0 4 Clifford Robinson 34 3-10 2-4 1-2 9 1-1 2 2 2 0 1 Richard Hamilton 29 6-18 0-1 7-8 19 0-1 2 6 4 0 0 Chucky Atkins 26 3-9 0-2 1-2 7 1-2 3 3 3 0 0 Corliss Williamson 20 7-12 0-0 0-0 14 2-4 0 2 3 0 0 Hubert Davis 22 3-5 3-5 0-0 9 0-1 6 0 2 1 0 Zeljko Rebraca 20 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 2-4 0 0 1 1 1 Jon Barry 23 2-7 1-4 0-0 5 0-1 6 1 2 0 0 Michael Curry 7 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 Mehmet Okur 12 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 0-2 2 2 3 1 0 Totals 48 32-81 8-19 10-14 82 13-43 23 17 24 4 8 Happy Turkey Day! patricia