Dallas at Orlando (October 17) Dallas' 2nd preseason game came and the Mavs only showed mild improvements from the dismal performance in the first game. They sounded a little better, but not much. Injuries played a factor for Dallas in this game. Marquis Daniels again did not play and Erick Dampier did not play due to a mild hamstring strain and Don Nelson opting to rest one of his starters (as he tends to due during the preseason). The game stayed fairly close in the 1st quarter (thanks to Michael Finley). Orlando scored 8 straight points to go up 14-8 with 6:309 left, but Dallas responded with a 12-2 run to go up 20-16 with 3:30 remaining. Dallas held a small lead the rest of the quarter and led 29-25 after 1. Finley had 13 points in the quarter. Dallas continued to hold a small lead - the largest being 6 points - and led 42-38 with 5:25 to go. Orlando scored the next 10 points to go up 48-42 with 2 minutes left before a 3-pointer by Finley ended Dallas' almost 4 minute drought. Jason Terry nailed a 3-pointer with a fraction of a second left to end the half. It was all tied up at 52-52 at the half. Dallas shot 44.5% FG and Orlando shot 42% FG. Dallas had 11 turnovers and Orlando had 8 turnovers. Finley had 20 points and Grant Hill had 10 points. Dallas came out of halftime minus a player as Jerry Stackhouse would not play in the 2nd half due to a strained right thigh. The teams traded leads a couple of times over the first 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter and then Orlando held a small lead the rest of the quarter. A 3-pointer by Cuttino Mobley gave Orlando their largest lead at 79-70 with 1:45 left. With a minute left in the quarter, Dirk Nowitzki tweaked his ankle and headed to the locker room and did not return (it is believed to be a mild sprain and he would have probably returned if it was a real game). Orlando led 81-72 after 3. Dallas pulled within 6 points at 79-85 with 7:45 left and Orlando then put the game away with a 21-1 run to go up 100-80 with 4:45 to go. Orlando led comfortably the rest of the game and won 114-93. Dallas again did not sound sharp (though not as bad as the New Orleans game). Most disappointing was the Mavs' lack of transition defense in not being alert enough to stop Orlando from running - Orlando had 37 fast break points (and that is not counting a couple where a foul was taken to prevent a bucket (but includes a couple where a foul didn't prevent a bucket)). After shooting 44.5% FG in the 1st half, Dallas finished shooting a poor 40.9% (36-88) FG. Orlando shot 46.3% (38-82) FG for the game. Dallas still had a turnover problem (again, not as bad as the New Orleans game) and committed 22 turnovers. Michael Finley carried the team for a half and did not play in the 4th quarter. He finished with 24 points including 10-15 FG. Jason Terry had a better night than in the first game and had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists - but did have 3 turnovers. Calvin Booth performed well in starting in place of Erick Dampier and had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 impressive sounding blocks. No other Mav was in double-digits. Dirk Nowitzki was having a poor outing before his injury and only had 9 points including 2-10 FG, 7 rebounds, and a team high 5 turnovers. Josh Howard had 7 points including 3-10 FG. Devin Harris had 3 points including 1-6 FG and just 1 assist and 3 turnovers before fouling out. Alan Henderson had 5 points and 6 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse had 4 points including 2-7 FG and 4 rebounds in the 1st half. None of Dallas' injuries are considered serious. It was nice to hear Grant Hill having a nice game. He had 20 points including 6-9 FG, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in 26 minutes. Cuttino Mobley had 22 points including 7-11 FG. Steve Francis was doing everything (including pushing the ball) and had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 steals, and 4 turnovers. Teenager Dwight Howard had 10 points and 8 rebounds and the other rookie Jameer Nelson had 12 points. Quotes Johnny Davis: "I felt we were better connected. This team has been together now for about 20-something days. It takes time for us to really tie it all together." Davis on Hill: "To have him back and rounding into shape is a real plus for us. He did a lot of good things. I think each practice and each game, he's getting better and better." Grant Hill: "I just feel more comfortable. I think we all feel more comfortable. I think this was a taste of how we want to play." Steve Francis: "It was good to get out and run. It was something that we have aimed to try since the first day of training camp. Guys were open and getting easy looks." Dwight Howard: "It's been interesting. It's been good for me. I'm trying to learn something from every one of those guys I play against, trying to learn their different styles." Howard: "I think I can defend a lot of them out on the wing. I've still had trouble getting pushed around low on the box. But I'm learning from this. And I'll continue to learn." Don Nelson on the injuries: "It was a mismatch nightmare. We had to play some awful strange combinations. There's nothing you can do about injuries, except have a deep team. I thought we did." Nelson: "I'm not a happy guy, but nobody said this wasn't going to take some time. Maybe it's fool's gold playing against ourselves. We look pretty good in practice." Nelson: "Go back to the drawing board. I'm not a happy guy, but nobody said this wasn't going to take some time." Nelson on Booth: "He was active and played well." Dirk Nowitzki: "We have a long way to go. We don't want to start off the season backpedaling." Nowitzki on his ankle: "Hopefully, I'll be practicing tomorrow. Usually I can feel it right away if it's bad or not, and this one isn't too bad." Nowitzki on his ankle: "I probably would have gotten it taped and come back if it was the regular season. After I got it checked, I knew it wasn't serious." Erick Dampier on his hamstring: "It happened one day at practice while we were doing a little running. We're going to do some treatment the next couple days. I didn't want to take a chance and push it and really injure it and be out a long period of time." Calvin Booth: "We're 0-3 [including the scrimmage] in the coach's mind when it comes to performance. These games coming up give us a chance to improve. We've got to play better defense and not turn the ball over." Orlando Magic 114, Dallas Mavericks 93 at Orlando (October 17) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Orlando 25 27 29 33 - 114 .492 .353 .463 .914 Dallas 29 23 20 21 - 93 .431 .313 .409 .727 Halftime: 52-52 3rd Q: Orlando 81-72 Flagrant fouls: Devin Harris 5:16 4th Refs: James Capers, Kevin Fehr, Scott Foster Attendance: 12,215 (cap 17,283) Did not play due to injury: Andrew DeClercq, Marquis Daniels, Erick Dampier Orlando Magic REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Steve Francis 29 5-11 1-3 4-4 15 2-8 13 4 3 4 0 Cuttino Mobley 26 7-11 3-5 5-5 22 1-4 0 1 5 2 0 Dwight Howard 30 4-9 0-0 2-2 10 2-8 1 2 4 1 1 Grant Hill 26 6-9 0-0 8-8 20 0-6 5 0 1 1 1 Kelvin Cato 19 2-5 0-0 1-2 5 0-1 1 2 3 1 0 Hedo Turkoglu 23 2-9 1-4 4-4 9 0-2 2 1 1 3 0 Jameer Nelson 19 4-8 0-3 4-4 12 0-0 2 3 4 2 0 Pat Garrity 18 2-5 1-2 0-0 5 0-5 2 0 1 0 0 Tony Battie 18 2-6 0-0 2-3 6 1-2 0 3 2 0 1 DeShawn Stevenson 17 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 0 0 2 0 0 Michael Bradley 7 2-2 0-0 0-1 4 1-1 0 1 0 0 0 Stacey Augmon 5 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 Mario Kasun 3 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 38-82 6-17 32-35 114 7-40 26 18 26 16 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 33 5-12 2-5 3-4 15 1-4 6 3 4 2 0 Michael Finley 30 10-15 2-2 2-2 24 0-2 2 2 1 1 0 Josh Howard 23 3-10 0-1 1-2 7 0-4 1 2 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 23 2-10 0-1 5-6 9 2-7 2 5 4 0 0 Calvin Booth 25 4-9 0-1 2-2 10 3-6 0 1 1 0 2 Devin Harris 20 1-6 0-3 1-2 3 0-1 1 3 6 1 0 Alan Henderson 19 2-5 0-0 1-2 5 2-6 0 0 5 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 15 2-7 0-1 0-0 4 1-4 1 0 0 2 0 Dan Dickau 14 2-7 1-2 0-1 5 0-1 2 2 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 14 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 2-3 0 2 4 0 0 Derek Hood 12 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-3 1 1 1 1 0 DJ Mbenga 12 3-4 0-0 1-1 7 2-4 1 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 36-88 5-16 16-22 93 13-45 17 22 34 8 2 patricia