Don Nelson says assistant Avery Johnson will coach Tuesday's game vs San Antonio (while Nelson remains on the bench as an assistant). Nelson says he wants to give the coach-in-training real game experience a couple of times this season. Michael Finley hopes to return to action this week. He's been out since November 9 with a sprained right ankle. Dallas at San Antonio (November 24) Despite being told by doctors that he would be out 7 to 10 days, Dirk Nowitzki surprised everyone by playing in this game - a mere 3 days after spraining his left ankle. The game stayed close in the 1st quarter as neither team was shooting well. The largest lead in the quarter was just 5 points. Tony Parker nailed a 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining and neither team scored the rest of the quarter. San Antonio led 18-17 after 1. San Antonio shot 6-15 FG and Dallas shot 6-18 FG. The game remained close over most of the 2nd quarter with 6 ties and 6 lead changes over the first 9 minutes of the quarter. San Antonio scored 7 straight points to go up 47-40 with 1:50 to go. San Antonio led 49-45 at the half. Tim Duncan had 8 points and 7 rebounds in the quarter. A jumper by Rasho Nesterovic gave San Antonio their largest lead at 60-50 with 8 minutes left, but that was their largest lead of the quarter. But Dallas was also unable to pull closer than 4 points in the quarter. San Antonio led 74-67 after 3. A jumper by Calvin Booth opened the 4th quarter, but the Spurs then scored the next 7 points to go up 81-69 with 8:40 left. A layup by Alan Henderson finally ended Dallas' near 5 minute field goal drought to pull Dallas within 73-83 with 7 minutes to go, but Dallas reverted to shooting blanks and the Spurs scored the next 5 points to go up 88-73 with 5 minutes left. The team that couldn't shoot straight didn't have a run in them for this miserable quarter. San Antonio won 94-80. Dallas' shooting woes continued even with their best player back and they shot a mere 38.9% (28-72) FG including a terrible 3-17 FG in the 4th quarter. Dallas' shooting problems were so bad that they missed 10 free throws (21-31). San Antonio, normally a poor free throw shooting team, returned the favor in shooting 23-37 FT. San Antonio shot 42.3% (33-78) FG. Added to Dallas' problems was that they couldn't grab any offensive rebounds. The team only had 6 offensive boards despite shooting so poorly. And the worst stat was that the team had just 8 assists. It's a team game and Dallas did not show that this night. No surprise that Tim Duncan led the way for the Spurs. He had 27 points including 9-13 FT and 13 rebounds. Tony Parker had a solid outing with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. Brent Barry was perfect off the bench with 12 points on 4-4 FG, 1-1 3-pointers, and 3-3 FT. Bruce Bowen was the only other Spur in double-digits with 10 points. Dirk Nowitzki is the only Mav who deserves praise for this game - and a lot of that is due to his playing through pain. Nowitzki had 23 points and 11 rebounds in 35 minutes in playing on a sprained ankle. Dallas got less than nothing form Erick Dampier on a night they needed him. Damp had 1 point on 0-4 FG and 1-6 FT and 4 rebounds in 31 minutes. Jerry Stackhouse scored, but shot 4-14 FG to get there. He had 15 points and 1 rebound in 33 minutes. Devin Harris was the 3rd Mav in double-digits with 12 points, but he only had 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Josh Howard had 7 points and 8 rebounds and Marquis Daniels had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Quotes Gregg Popovich: "We did a good job on defense, both individually and with team defense. Thats important against a team like Dallas." Popovich: "That team effort really served us well." Popovich on Parker and Udrih: "I thought Tony and Beno both did a very good job of keeping pressure on the ball and pushing the offense up the court and getting us into our sets. That's important for us." Popovich on Nowitzki: "With or without him, it doesn't change who we are and how we play. It doesn't change our offense or defense. We rather the other teams' players play, because it shows where we are." Tim Duncan: "We are a defensive team. We had gotten away from that the past 2 games. The last 2 games teams were shooting in the high 40s, but we did better tonight." Tony Parker: "We always react pretty well after tough losses, so I thought our team would be ready. We didn't bring a good effort the last 2 games. All the loose balls, the rebounds [Toronto and Memphis] got, they just outplayed us. We just wanted to make sure tonight we were aggressive." Brent Barry on Nowitzki: "I'm not surprised he played well. I am surprised that he did play. We prepared as if he wasn't. We came out and I saw his blonde locks flying around." Don Nelson: "I really don't know what to tell you. They beat us handily. When you shoot 38% and only have 8 assists you probably not going to win an NBA game. I liked some of the stuff Dirk did and its only going to bet better when he's at 90 or 100%. We're going to take a day off now and try to get this rolling again on Friday." Nelson on San Antonio: "I look for them to be the bullies on the block before the year is out." Dirk Nowitzki: "We scored 80 points and thats not enough to win against this team. They played really good defense. Every shot seemed to be contested and we really didn't have a lot of ball movement. They are a really good defensive team. They have a lot of length and we really had a hard time scoring. It was a tough night for us and we really need a win on Friday." Nowitzki on his ankle: "I really only got to work out for the first time this morning and then it didn't swell up at all this afternoon, so I said, 'Hey let's get it taped up and see how it feels.' It's not 100% but it's the kind of pain I can deal with, the kind of pain I can play with. We got to get this thing back on track and I'm always going to want to play as soon as I possibly can. I'm always going to put a lot of pressure on myself. I don't want to sit out for too long." Jerry Stackhouse: "Obviously its nice to see guys getting back in the mix, but our continuity was a little off. We've got an early game Friday and no practice tomorrow so hopefully over the weekend we can get back on the court all together. Right now we are out of sync. We had a hard time getting to our spots tonight and that is not characteristic of this team at all. So we will write this off as a loss and was good to see Dirk back on the floor. That's a positive we can take out of this one." San Antonio Spurs 94, Dallas Mavericks 80 at San Antonio (November 24) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 18 31 25 20 - 94 .424 .417 .423 .622 Dallas 17 28 22 13 - 80 .397 .333 .389 .677 Halftime: San Antonio 49-45 3rd Q: San Antonio 74-67 Technicals: none Refs: Gary Zielinski, Joe DeRosa, Leon Wood Attendance: 18,797 (sellout) San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Bruce Bowen 29 4-7 1-2 1-2 10 0-2 0 0 4 0 0 Tim Duncan 36 9-17 0-0 9-13 27 3-13 2 3 1 1 2 Radoslav Nesterovic 20 3-9 0-0 0-2 6 2-7 1 1 3 0 0 Emanuel Ginobili 23 2-6 0-2 0-3 4 3-8 6 1 4 3 1 Tony Parker 34 5-10 1-3 4-6 15 0-5 9 3 2 1 0 Brent Barry 28 4-4 1-1 3-3 12 0-3 1 1 2 0 0 Malik Rose 24 2-10 0-0 2-2 6 2-6 0 1 5 1 0 Devin Brown 14 0-4 0-0 1-2 1 1-1 1 0 0 0 0 Tony Massenburg 6 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 Beno Udrih 14 2-5 1-1 0-0 5 0-3 3 0 2 0 0 Robert Horry 10 2-5 1-3 1-2 6 0-0 1 2 1 1 1 Mike Wilks 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 33-78 5-12 23-37 94 11-50 24 12 25 7 4 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 35 7-18 1-1 8-9 23 1-11 1 1 4 1 0 Josh Howard 35 3-8 0-2 1-4 7 1-8 0 2 3 1 0 Erick Dampier 31 0-4 0-0 1-6 1 1-4 0 2 4 0 1 Devin Harris 27 4-9 0-1 4-5 12 0-1 2 2 3 2 1 Marquis Daniels 25 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 1-6 2 3 1 3 0 Jason Terry 22 3-6 1-3 0-0 7 1-4 2 2 3 0 1 Jerry Stackhouse 33 4-14 1-2 6-6 15 0-1 1 2 2 0 0 Calvin Booth 13 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-3 0 1 3 1 0 Alan Henderson 13 3-4 0-0 1-1 7 1-2 0 0 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Dan Dickau 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 28-72 3-9 21-31 80 6-41 8 16 26 8 3 Portland at Dallas (November 26) The game stayed close early with Portland holding small leads. Portland led 15-12 with 4:20 left and then struggled in missing their next 3 shots and turning the ball over 4 times as Dallas went on a 14-1 run to go up 26-16 with 20 seconds to go. Shareef Abdur-Rahim hit a jumper as the quarter ended. Dallas led 26-18 after 1. Portland only shot 37% FG while Dallas shot 47% FG. Dallas hit their first 2 jumpers of the 2nd quarter to go up 30-18 with 10:40 remaining and then it was Dallas' turn to go through a slump. Dallas missed their next 7 shots and turned the ball over 6 times as Portland scored the next 11 points to pull within 29-30 with 5:15 left. Marquis Daniels converted the alley-oop from Dirk Nowitzki to end Dallas' 5 1/2 minute drought and the Mavs were able to hang on to a small lead the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 43-38 at the half. Dallas only shot 5-24 FG in the 2nd quarter while Portland shot 8-18 FG - but Dallas out-rebounded Portland 18-7 in the quarter. Erick Dampier got a dunk and Josh Howard scored the next 4 points to give Dallas a 53-42 lead with 7:45 remaining. But after a jumper by Theo Ratliff, Howard twice turned the ball over and Portland got fast break buckets to pull within 48-53 with 6:50 to go. A jumper and 3-pointer by Derek Anderson pulled Portland within 60-61 with 2:10 left, but Dallas was able to hang on to a small lead. Dallas led 68-65 after 3. Anderson had 13 points in the quarter. It was a sorry excuse for basketball that opened the 4th quarter as the teams combined to shoot 2-11 FG (including a missed slam dunk attempt by Darius Miles) and commit 8 turnovers over the first 4 minutes of the quarter. A layup by Ruben Patterson pulled Portland within 69-71 with 7:50 to go. After Alan Henderson missed 2 free throws, Daniels blocked a layup attempt by Nick Van Exel, Daniels found Jason Terry for a jumper, Daniels stole the ball, and Daniels found Howard for a layup to put Dallas up 75-69 with 6:30 left. Zach Randolph hit a jumper and Nowitzki missed but Daniels got the rebound and found Dampier for the dunk. A jumper by Daniels and one by Nowitzki gave Dallas an 83-73 lead with 3:35 remaining. Ratliff got a layup to pull Portland within 81-88 with 1:25 to go. Dallas missed on 3 attempts and Portland called timeout with 40 seconds left. Anderson got a quick layup and Howard was intentionally fouled. He hit both free throws with 30 seconds left. Abdur-Rahim missed and Terry was intentionally fouled with 9 seconds to go. He hit both free throws for the game's final points. Dallas won 92-83. The team that couldn't shoot straight finally found a way to win despite again shooting poorly and snapped their 3 game losing streak. It definitely wasn't a pretty win, but Dallas just needed the W. Including this game, Dallas had shot just 37.9% FG over the last 4 games. It was hustle and rebounding that saved them this night. Plus Portland was not sharp either. Dallas shot 39.7% (31-78) FG and Portland shot 42.3% (33-78) FG. Dallas shot 27-34 FT and Portland shot 13-22 FT. But the key was that Dallas out-rebounded Portland 57-33 including a monster 21-9 rebounds. Dallas also finally had a reasonable game in sharing the ball with 19 assists. The hustle players of this game were Marquis Daniels and Josh Howard. Daniels had a solid outing with 15 points, 8 rebounds including 5 offensive, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Josh Howard had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. After laying an egg in the last game, Erick Dampier played very well and also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki was the 3rd Mav with a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds. He struggled from the field, but did hit his free throws. He shot 6-17 FG and 11-13 FT. Nowitzki also had 5 assists. Jason Terry had 8 points and 3 assists in 32 minutes. Devin Harris only played 16 minutes and had 8 points. Jerry Stackhouse struggled and sat as Don Nelson went with Howard and Daniels. Stackhouse only played 14 minutes and had 5 points including 1-4 FG. Derek Anderson carried Portland for a while with his hot shooting. He had 23 points including 9-16 FG and 4-8 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Zach Randolph had 16 points and 9 rebounds as Dallas' defense focused on him (he averaged 22 points and 11.4 rebounds prior to this game). Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 12 points and 6 rebounds and Theo Ratliff had 12 points including 5-7 FG, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Damon Stoudamire had 10 assists, but only 5 points as he shot 2-10 FG and 0-7 3-pointers. Darius Miles also struggled in shooting 2-10 FG. He had 7 points and 4 rebounds. Quotes Don Nelson: "It was a comedy of errors; we were very vulnerable. Nothing seems to be very easy for us at this particular time. That is the way I thought the season would go early. I expected all our games to be like this where we wouldn't be in sync. That changes when you have a fast start. Now we are going through the growing pains that I thought we would have experienced. Nothing is easy, turnovers mount, and execution isn't where I want it. Tonight we had a great game plan and we won with our defense. Our offense was sputtering again. We found a way and rebounding was a big part. This was Dampier's best game since his injury. I thought he was really solid tonight and helped us win. We have too many people struggling a little bit. You want everyone to play well every night, but it just doesn't happen in this league. I am very happy to get this win because we needed to break this streak." Nelson: "I didn't think we could afford to lose this game. We have had a tough week and if you don't end a losing streak early, you never know where it might go. This was a very losable game. We won it with our defense." Nelson: "I kept telling you it was fool's gold early, beating teams by 15 points. We were at a different level than everybody else. This was the level I was expecting." Nelson on Stackhouse not playing much: "I did what I had to do tonight to win this game. But we really need him to play at a high level and we need him to score. I like when he's aggressive, but the turnovers hurt there too. This was a game I just didn't think we could afford as a ball club to lose." Nelson on Stackhouse: "I'm a big fan of his and I ask him to do a hard job coming off the bench." Dirk Nowitzki: "It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. If you lose 3 in a row, you have to get a win no matter how. We weren't shooting the ball well at all, but you have to give them credit - they're a pretty good defensive team. We played good defense and that's what won it." Erick Dampier: "We have to have a backup plan [for cold shooting]. Playing defense and rebounding leads to easy baskets." Dampier: "I was just trying to get in rhythm out there. I just want to go out there and work hard. I need to make the best out of every opportunity I get. I know those guys are looking for me so it's up to me to present myself in the middle and just be a big key out there for us." Dampier: "I get a lot of easy shots. My shots are not going in right now. I get a lot of taps around the basket and they're not going in now. I've just got to try work through it, eventually those shots are going to go in for me." Dampier on his hip injury: "It's a little sore, but nothing I can't play through. I'm just trying to be a presence in the middle, because I know guys are looking for me. For me, it's a goal that I can get to 11 rebounds every night." Dampier on Nowitzki: "He makes things easier for me. Guys have to guard him, if not then I'm going to have the chance to work one-on-one on the inside." Jason Terry: "This was a game that we definitely had to have. The fans energy definitely helped us and we've got to get this next one." Terry: "Any time you have a shot blocker like Theo Ratliff you know he's going to be in there and it's just a matter of getting there, making solid plays and kicking the ball out to open shooters." Terry on 3 players with a double-double: "It's definitely something that we have to have. Dampier's big for us in the middle and if he comes to play every night consistently, we're going to be tough to beat." Terry: "It's tough when you're battling injuries here and there with key guys. We're fighting through it and it's something that's going to make us tougher down the stretch." Marquis Daniels: "It's just small things we have to do. I have to step up and make good plays for the team on the defensive end. That's a momentum swing." Maurice Cheeks: "Holding them to 40% shooting should have been good enough to win, but their 21 offensive rebounds is what killed us. No question about it. It's hard to win games when you allow 21 offensive rebounds. Overall, I thought our defense did pretty well, but our offense wasn't good enough." Cheeks on Dallas' defense on Randolph: "They shadowed Zach. And we didn't make them pay for it enough." Cheeks on Dampier: "He was one difference, but their guards got a few rebounds here and there. In the 1st half, they were beating us to a lot of balls. In the 2nd half and particularly late in the game, we had a few turnovers where they come down and shoot the ball and get the ball back. That could be a little misleading in them getting 21 offensive rebounds. I remember one case in the 1st half where they may have gotten 4 offensive rebounds on one play. Then it happened a couple times on the other end. A 57-33 rebound advantage is a lot of rebounds and it is tough to win like that." Cheeks: "I think we righted ourselves on this [3 game road] trip. And even though we lost today, we were a team out there. We had a lot of control." Shareef Abdur-Rahim: "It wasn't like they were physically dominating us. It was more like they were just out-hustling us." Abdur-Rahim: "They worked hard and they out-hustled us. That cost us the game." Darius Miles: "Their offensive boards really killed us. I watched them last year in the playoffs. Guys like Marquis Daniels and Josh Howard made me big fans. I know they can play. They wouldn't be on this level if they couldn't play. They just hustled and worked harder than us." Miles: "You play good defense, then they get the rebound and you have to do it all over again. And with a team like Dallas, with so many weapons, you never want to give them that many second chances." Derek Anderson on the rebounding: "If you look at the tape, I bet you will see all of us boxing out. There were just a lot of long rebounds." Anderson on Dampier: "He's one of those guys that when he gets the ball in the post, he dunks it. In the past, they had a lot of guys like Najera or LaFrentz that would shoot it. With him in the post, he spreads us out and then we have to rotate with small guys because Dirk is making us rotate with big guys. Thats a good nucleus that they have together. They are definitely a different team." Anderson on Daniels: "He made some great plays because he played out of the rotation, which is what they are going to need is guys like him to step up when we are trying to stop the rest of their players. As a team, they played well today and you have to give them a lot of credit." Dallas Mavericks 92, Portland Trailblazers 83 at Dallas (November 26) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 26 17 25 24 - 92 .431 .231 .397 .794 Portland 18 20 27 18 - 83 .483 .222 .423 .591 Halftime: Dallas 43-38 3rd Q: Dallas 68-65 Technicals: Portland defensive 3 seconds 3:59 2nd, Darius Miles 1:29 3rd Refs: Luis Grillo, Mike Callahan, Scott Wall Attendance: 20,179 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 45 6-15 1-4 7-7 20 3-10 2 3 3 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 42 6-17 0-1 11-13 23 3-14 5 4 2 1 1 Erick Dampier 33 5-10 0-0 1-2 11 5-11 0 1 2 0 2 Marquis Daniels 37 6-14 0-0 3-4 15 5-8 5 1 3 3 2 Devin Harris 16 3-7 2-5 0-0 8 1-2 3 2 4 0 0 Jason Terry 32 3-7 0-2 2-2 8 1-1 3 1 1 1 0 Jerry Stackhouse 14 1-4 0-1 3-4 5 0-1 1 3 0 1 0 Shawn Bradley 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 0 1 0 1 Calvin Booth 7 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 0 2 1 0 0 Alan Henderson 7 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 1-5 0 1 0 1 1 Totals 48 31-78 3-13 27-34 92 21-57 19 18 17 8 8 Portland Trailblazers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shareef Abdur-Rahim 32 5-12 0-2 2-2 12 0-6 2 3 4 2 1 Zach Randolph 37 7-12 0-0 2-4 16 2-9 2 2 4 2 0 Theo Ratliff 32 5-7 0-0 2-2 12 1-3 0 0 4 0 3 Derek Anderson 35 9-16 4-8 1-3 23 2-6 2 1 2 1 0 Damon Stoudamire 35 2-10 0-7 1-2 5 0-2 10 0 3 4 0 Darius Miles 24 2-10 0-0 3-5 7 3-4 3 2 2 0 1 Nick Van_Exel 21 0-6 0-1 0-0 0 0-2 2 1 1 1 0 Ruben Patterson 17 3-5 0-0 2-4 8 1-1 1 3 3 3 0 Joel Przybilla 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 33-78 4-18 13-22 83 9-33 22 13 24 13 5 Dallas at Memphis (November 27) Both teams were playing on the 2nd night of a back-to-back and Memphis was still reeling from the unexpected resignation of coach Hubie Brown. The game started off with Dallas pushing the ball inside and Memphis shooting from the outside. And both teams were hitting and the game stayed close. There were 7 ties and 4 lead changes and the largest lead was just 4 points. Bonzi Wells hit a 3-pointer near the end of the quarter to give Memphis a 30-27 lead after 1. Wells had 13 points and Erick Dampier had 8 points. Memphis shot 55% FG including 4 made 3-pointers and Dallas shot 50% FG. The game was tied at 32-32 with 9:30 remaining and Memphis went on a 9-1 run (including 2 more 3-pointers) to go up 41-33 with 7:45 left. Though Dallas wasn't playing great and Memphis was still hitting shots, 8 points would be Memphis' largest lead in the quarter (and Dallas would get no closer than 4 points). Memphis led 58-51 at the half. Memphis shot 49% FG and Dallas shot 41% FG in the half. The 2nd half was a different story as Dallas finally started playing some defense and Memphis finally started missing some shots. Dallas pulled within 63-66 with 6:55 to go and Memphis then scored the next 7 points to go up 73-63 with 4:20 left. But Memphis would not connect on a shot the rest of the quarter in missing their next 7 shots and Dallas closed the quarter with an 11-1 run to tie the game at 74-74 after 3. Memphis only shot 7-23 FG in the 3rd quarter. And Memphis' struggles continued in the 4th quarter as they missed their first 8 shots of the quarter. Dallas used a 10-2 run (with Memphis' 2 points from free throws) to go up 84-76 with 6:50 remaining. Memphis finally ended their almost 11 minute field goal drought when Shane Battier hit a jumper to pull Memphis within 80-87 with 5:20 to go. But Josh Howard then nailed a 3-pointer and, after Mike Miller hit a jumper, Dirk Nowitzki scored the next 6 points to give Dallas a 96-82 lead with 2 minutes left. Dallas would lead in double-digits the rest of the game. Dallas won 98-85. It was a tale of 2 halves. Dallas didn't show much defense in the 1st half and Memphis was draining outside shot after outside shot. In the 2nd half, Dallas' defense picked up and Memphis could not buy a shot (live by the jump shot, die by the jump shot). Memphis only shot 10-40 FG in the 2nd half while Dallas out-scored them 47-27 [27 points is an opponent record low for 2nd half scoring] - including 24-11 in the 4th quarter. Dallas relied on their inside game as Memphis was playing a smaller lineup and the Mavs out-scored Memphis 52-26 in the paint. For the game, Dallas shot 42.7% (35-82) FG including 2-13 3-pointers and Memphis shot 37.3% (31-83) FG including 7-25 3-pointers (only 1 make in the 2nd half). Dallas out-rebounded Memphis 48-40. The Mavs are still lacking in the assist department as they had just 12 assists while scoring 98 points. Thus ended the tough stretch of 5 games in 7 nights against playoff caliber team - the Mavs went 2-3 (lost first 3). Though still against tough opponents, Dallas now has a lighter stretch of 3 home games in 8 days. Dirk Nowitzki was stellar, as usual, even though his shot was slightly off. He had 32 points on 10-27 FG and 12-13 FT, 18 rebounds, and 3 steals. Erick Dampier had a great game and the Mavs went to him early as 8 of his 16 points came in the 1st quarter while Pau Gasol tried to defend him. He also had 8 rebounds including 5 offensive before fouling out late in the game. Jerry Stackhouse had a good night off the bench, despite foul trouble, as he had 20 points and 5 rebounds - he did have 2 dumb throw-away turnovers as part of his 5 turnovers, though. Jason Terry had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in playing 32 minutes as the rookie was struggling. Devin Harris only played 17 minutes and missed all 4 of his shots and had 2 assists. Josh Howard chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds in a team high 42 minutes. Marquis Daniels only played 3 minutes in the 2nd half as his sprained left ankle (which he injured during the summer) was bothering him. He had 2 points and 2 assists in 22 minutes. Mike Miller was the high man for Memphis with 20 points and 7 assists. Dallas focused on Pau Gasol and he struggled with his shot in shooting just 4-13 FG. He also shot 8-10 FT and had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds including 5 offensive. After having 13 points including 4-6 FG in the 1st quarter, Bonzi Wells had just 2 points on 1-9 FG the rest of the game. He finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Jason Williams had 9 points on 4-10 FG and 6 assists. Stromile Swift (scratch cornea) and Brian Cardinal (sprained right ankle) did not play. Quotes Don Nelson: "This was a game I thought we should win. We had to play a great 2nd half to get it, but they were playing back-to-backs and with all their changes, we knew this would be a good opportunity for us." Nelson: "We didn't have a particularly good 1st half, but I thought we came out in the 2nd and stepped it up. We had great execution and new intensity on the defensive side of the ball. Memphis came out with a small lineup, and we had to adjust to that to be successful." Nelson on playing against Memphis who was playing on the 2nd night of a back-to-back and just had a coaching change: "It's only an opportunity if you seize it. In the 2nd half, we were terrific." Nelson on Nowitzki: "Our last 2 wins, he's been big for us. Just his presence on the floor means they can't leave him, then their rotations get all screwed up and it creates openings for other people." Dirk Nowitzki: "Were they banged up? Well, so were we. We'd lost 3 in a row this week, so this was a big game for us. We wanted to make sure to close this week out in a good manner." Nowitzki: "In the 1st half, we were just there. They got whatever they wanted. We were letting them walk around and make shots from all over the place. We wanted to make sure our defense was better in the 2nd half and that's what we did." Nowitzki on Memphis' 2nd half woes: "You don't realize that when you're out there. I thought our defensive [effort] picked up in the 2nd half. We were challenging a lot of shots and getting rebounds. 11 points in the 4th quarter - that's amazing. That winning time, that's crunch time in the 4th quarter. We don't have to be that good every night. But close to that over 48 minutes and we can be a very solid, good defense." Erick Dampier: "We didn't play the way we are capable of playing in the 1st half. We've just got to come out and play the 1st half. We can't have another 1st half like we did tonight." Jason Terry: "The key to the game was the defense that we had after the half. Collectively, we had to play solid defense and run down every rebound. We wanted to get Gasol out of the paint and everyone took it as a personal challenge to make that happen." Terry: "We're taking steps and that's the most important thing. We talked about how we gave up 50-some points at halftime and came out and responded." Terry on Memphis' almost 11 minute drought in the 2nd half: "I knew it was long because I was getting tired of running up and down. We learned a lot about ourselves." Lionel Hollins on giving the starters more minutes: "I felt more comfortable having fewer guys in the game. I like to put the responsibility on the starters to play. These guys aren't used to playing big minutes at this stage. ... That's why we started missing shots, because we were getting tired." Hollins: "We got a lot of open shots, we just couldn't make any shots. Not just jump shots, but we missed layups, too." Hollins on Nowitzki: "Dirk is such a freak. This guy is 7-foot and plays like a guard. The guy is just a great player. 32 points and 18 rebounds - there's no more that needs to be said about him." Bonzi Wells: "Shots we were hitting in the 1st half, we couldn't make in the 2nd half. In the 2nd half, we just got a little sluggish and our shots didn't fall." Mike Miller: "They played better than us in the 2nd half." Lorenzen Wright: "We played hard. Everybody played together. We just couldn't get out shots." Dallas Mavericks 98, Memphis Grizzlies 85 at Memphis (November 27) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 27 24 23 24 - 98 .478 .154 .427 .867 Memphis 30 28 16 11 - 85 .414 .280 .373 .762 Halftime: Memphis 58-51 3rd Q: 74-74 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 5:29 1st, Memphis defensive 3 seconds 4:37 1st Refs: Joe Forte, Michael Smith, Jason Phillips Attendance: 18,119 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Brian Cardinal (sprained right ankle), Stromile Swift (scratched cornea left eye) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Marquis Daniels 22 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 2 0 1 1 0 Devin Harris 17 0-4 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 2 0 2 0 0 Josh Howard 42 5-13 2-4 0-0 12 1-7 1 0 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 40 10-27 0-4 12-13 32 3-18 2 2 3 3 1 Erick Dampier 33 7-10 0-0 2-2 16 5-8 0 1 6 0 1 Jason Terry 32 4-10 0-3 2-3 10 0-5 4 1 1 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 32 7-14 0-1 6-8 20 1-5 1 5 4 1 1 Alan Henderson 12 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 0 2 1 2 0 Calvin Booth 7 0-0 0-0 4-4 4 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-82 2-13 26-30 98 12-48 12 13 22 8 3 Memphis Grizzlies REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Bonzi Wells 41 5-15 3-5 2-2 15 2-6 0 1 1 0 0 Jason Williams 34 4-10 1-6 0-1 9 0-2 6 4 5 1 0 Mike Miller 41 8-14 2-6 2-2 20 0-4 7 0 3 0 0 Shane Battier 33 5-11 1-4 2-2 13 2-8 1 2 5 1 0 Pau Gasol 37 4-13 0-0 8-10 16 5-13 2 3 4 0 0 Lorenzen Wright 17 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 2-3 0 0 1 1 0 Dahntay Jones 15 0-4 0-2 1-2 1 1-2 0 1 2 0 0 Earl Watson 12 1-7 0-2 1-2 3 0-0 4 0 3 2 0 Ryan Humphrey 10 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 1 0 2 1 0 Totals 48 31-83 7-25 16-21 85 13-40 21 11 26 6 0 patricia