Dallas activated Josh Powell and placed Marquis Daniels on IL prior to the Denver game. Daniels is expected to be out 2 weeks with a strained neck that has been bothering him since Kurt Thomas (Pho) committed a flagrant foul on Dec. 14. Assistant Rolando Blackman returned to the bench on Jan. 7 after being out about 2 weeks with pneumonia. Dallas at Denver (January 6) The 1st quarter stayed really tight with neither team holding more than a 2 point lead. Denver led 21-19 after 1. The game remained close the first 8 minutes of the 2nd quarter with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. Consecutive 3-pointers by Jason Terry gave Dallas 45-38 lead with 3:35 to go, but Denver then scored the next 6 points. The game was tied at 52-52 at the half. Terry had 17 points in the quarter. Dallas scored 5 straight points (a run in this game) to go up 60-54 with 7:40 remaining, but Greg Buckner ended the mini-run with a 3-pointer and the game stayed close. Consecutive buckets by Devin Harris gave Dallas a 66-59 lead with 4:50 left, but Denver then scored the next 7 points to tie the game. Dallas led 78-77 after 3. Dallas scored the first 5 points of an ugly open to the 4th quarter (1-10 FG combined) to go up 83-77 with 9:30 to go before Denver finally connected on a shot - a 3-pointer by Eduardo Najera (his 3rd of the season) with 9:05 left. Dallas continued to hold a single-digit lead over the next 5 minutes, none larger than 5 points. Consecutive buckets by Denver tied the game at 92-92 with 4:25 remaining. The teams traded misses and then traded buckets. Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 97-94 lead with 2:50 to go. After the teams traded misses, Carmelo Anthony hit 2 free throws with 2 minutes left. After Terry missed, the ball was knocked down the court and Dirk Nowitzki had the hustle play of the night in running after and diving to save it from going out of bounds. It came to naught, though, as the ref bizarrely called palming on Terry for the turnover. But neither team could score over the next minute and Dallas called timeout with 26 seconds left and a 1 point lead. Terry was fouled with 21 seconds, but only hit 1-2 FT. Anthony drove and was fouled, but he also only hit 1-2 FT. After a timeout to advance the ball, Nowitzki was intentionally fouled and he hit both free throws to give Dallas a 100-97 lead with 7.5 seconds left. After a Denver timeout, the Nuggets got the ball to Anthony and he side-stepped Nowitzki and nailed the 3-pointer at the buzzer. Replay showed the shot was definitely before time expired and was inconclusive as to whether or not his toe touched the line, so the call stood and we had overtime at 100-100. Andre Miller had 12 points in the 4th quarter. It was a lousy shooting quarter as Dallas shot 35% FG and Denver shot 30% FG. After Dallas missed late in the shot clock, Earl Boykins had the alley-oop to Anthony to give Denver their first lead since late in the 2nd quarter. Nowitzki hit 2 free throws and Boykins drained a 3-pointer and Denver led 105-102 with 3:45 remaining. Terry hit a jumper, Denver missed on 2 attempts, and Terry overshot, but Josh Howard caught the airball and got the layup to give Dallas a 106-105 lead with 2:30 to go. Nowitzki got a block, Howard found Terry for a layup, and Najera got a layup with 1:50 left. Dallas missed on 2 attempts and Nowitzki hit a long jumper to give Dallas a 110-107 lead with 49 seconds remaining. After Denver used their last timeout, Miller missed, but Kenyon Martin slammed the miss home with 29 seconds left. Dallas ran some time off the clock and Nowitzki hit a fade away jumper with 8.5 seconds to go. Instead of letting Denver get another 3-point attempt off, like the end of regulation, Dallas committed the intentional foul and sent Miller to the line. He hit the first and intentionally missed the second, but Martin got in (after shoving Nowitzki with no call) and got the put back to tie the game at 112-112 with 3.6 seconds remaining. Dallas called timeout and advanced the ball. Denver was keeping 2 to 3 players on Nowitzki and Josh Howard inbounded late in the 5 second count to the wide open Harris under the basket for the easy layup with 2.2 seconds left. Without a timeout to use, the ball was thrown ahead to Buckner and Nowitzki got a piece of it and it fell well short with the buzzer sounding. Dallas won 114-112 in overtime. It was a tight game throughout with the largest lead just 7 points. It came down to which team would hit the last basket, and that was Dallas. Despite the 2nd quarter whistles (and lack of whistles in the 4th) and poor shooting in the 4th quarter, it was a very entertaining game that was fun to watch. Dallas shot 6-10 FG and Denver shot 5-10 FG in the overtime. For the game, Dallas shot 48.8% (42-86) FG including 6-18 3-pointers and Denver shot 44.1% (41-93) FG including 7-18 3-pointers. Dallas shot 24-32 FT and Den shot 23-29 FT. Dallas out-rebounded Denver 48-37 including 14-12 offensive. Both teams were good at passing the ball as Dallas had 24 assists and Denver had 31 assists. Dallas committed a rather high (for them) 17 turnovers, but Denver converted them into only 12 points while Dallas converted Denver's 12 turnovers into 16 points. 11 players were in double-digit scoring. 6 of Dirk Nowitzki's 27 points came in overtime. He had a great all-around game with 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and a career high 7 blocks. He did miss a free throw (10-11 in the game) late in the 2nd quarter to end his team record consecutive free throw streak at 60. Jason Terry carried Dallas in the 2nd quarter in scoring 17 of Dallas' 33 points in the quarter on 7-8 FG and 3-4 3-pointers. He finished with 27 points including 4-8 3-pointers and also had 7 assists. Josh Howard wasn't having a great game (wasn't poor, just not stellar), but finished strong with the patient inbound pass at the end and also had 3 rebounds and 3 (of his 4) assists in overtime. He had 18 points and 7 rebounds for the game. Erick Dampier didn't have a good outing and fouled out early in overtime. He had 5 points and 8 rebounds (5 in the 4th quarter). Devin Harris and Keith Van Horn provided the punch off of the bench with 11 points each. Van Horn also had 6 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse had 9 points including 2-9 FG and 4 rebounds before fouling out on the intentional foul on Andre Miller late in overtime. Adrian Griffin had 4 points on 2-2 FG and 3 rebounds. DeSagana Diop hit his only shot and had 6 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony hit a tough, clutch shot to send the game into overtime and had a game high 28 points. But he also turned the ball over 6 times. Andre Miller struggled with his shot in shooting 6-19 FG, but kept Denver in the game in the 4th quarter with 12 of Denver's 23 points. He had a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists and also shot 9-10 FT - the only missing being intentional. Earl Boykins had 19 points and 6 assists. Eduardo Najera showed the hustle that Mavs fans loved and had some key plays late in the game. He had 12 points on a perfect 5-5 FG, 1-1 3-pointer, and 1-1 FT and 10 rebounds. Greg Buckner and Francisco Elson each had 12 points. Elson also had 7 rebounds. Kenyon Martin struggled with back pain and had 6 points on 3-9 FG, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. A thumbs down to the refs. They called almost anything in the 2nd quarter (on both teams) - at times it seemed a player only had to look cross-eyed at another player for the whistle to blow. And they did the exact opposite in the 4th quarter and overtime where players were getting hammered with no call (again, both teams). A double thumbs down to ref Pat Fraher who made the bizarre palming call on Jason Terry with 90 seconds left in regulation - it was the first (and only) time it was called all game, it could be called almost a dozen times every game, and it wasn't blatant and the slight palm had no impact on the play - not a call to make near the end of a tight game (if they had been calling it all game or it was obvious, fine; but that wasn't the case). Quotes Avery Johnson: "Tonight was just a highly competitive game. Both teams fought hard. Fortunately we came out on the winning end. It was a total team effort." Johnson: "We put out a lot of energy out there but it was a total team effort. It was a hard fought overtime game and fortunately we came out on the winning end. They're tough when you lose them and they're tough when you win them." Johnson on the Dallas' last play: "Dirk was the first option; Devin was the second option. He saw himself wide open and just stayed under the basket. Josh made a great pass. Carmelo made a great shot. If I had to do it over again, we would have fouled him, but we did that in overtime and couldn't get a rebound on the missed free throw. I would have been disappointed if we lost. Nobody out there wanted to lose." Johnson on Nowitzki running the ball down and diving to save it late in the game: "I don't have drills for that. I can't take credit for that. That was heart." Dirk Nowitzki: "Once you're in a close game like that, you just want to win it. You're not really worried about having to play [tomorrow] or that we just played back-to-back. You want to find a way to win and leave it all out there on the court." Nowitzki: "It was a tough one down the stretch. I thought we won in regulation. I thought we won in overtime, too. But they kept making big plays. When we play hard and hustle like that, we're a pretty good ball team." Nowitzki: "You have to keep your composure down the stretch. Basketball is a game of mistakes. They made the mistake at the end. A huge mistake." Nowitzki on his dive to save a ball from going out of bounds: "That was pretty nice, huh? I didn't know who hit it last, so I didn't want to leave it up to the referees." Josh Howard on the last play: "The play was Dirk coming up to the top and Devin coming up to the top. I thought I saw 3 people trying to stop Dirk. They were paying all the attention to Dirk and that was good for us. Devin popped open and I caught him with the perfect pass. I think Miller was playing him and wasn't paying much attention to him." Jason Terry on the hustle plays: "We had a meeting and we talked about why we hadn't been getting loose balls. It boils down to wanting it more." Devin Harris on Dallas' last play: "It was supposed to be 3 screens for Dirk to get open and, if not, a curl. Dirk went up the middle and they jammed it. It was a beautiful pass to me. I didn't have to dribble. I just turned to shoot it. This was not the game we expected to play. At the end of the game, we played tough defense and Melo made a tough shot. That 2nd quarter was like a track meet, and we got the win." Harris on the game winner: "It was supposed to be 3 screens for Dirk to come up top. He wasn't really open, so at first I went to the corner then was able to slip the basket and they kind of forgot about me. It was a beautiful pass. I didn't have to dribble or anything. I just had to turn and shoot it." George Karl: "We definitely had a breakdown on that last play. We lost Devin Harris on that last play. We had a foul to give and that's what we wanted to do. It's a tough way to lose a game. Our turnovers and rebounding really lost us the game tonight." Karl: "We definitely had a breakdown on that last play. We had a foul to give and we talked about doing that. Miller and Buckner were kind of hanging out and they lost Harris. 2 of our best defenders got picked." Karl: "We had a lot of energy and converted and got a lot of good stuff, but that is a tough way to lose a game." Karl on Anthony's 3-pointer to send the game into overtime: "Carmelo made a good pop, got Nowitzki on his heels, and made a great shot." Carmelo Anthony after the game: "I ain't commenting. I'll talk tomorrow." Andre Miller on Dallas' last play: "It wasn't a breakdown. [Harris] went under the basket, back door. I was thinking other wise; I was more helping than anything. We had a foul to give. He kind of fell into the layup because the 5 second call was coming. We've lost a couple close games. We just have to be ready for the next game. I missed the 2nd one [free throw] on purpose and the goal was to get a tip in and that worked out. Melo had a great shot." Kenyon Martin on his putback: "Game on the line, got to make plays. Made a solid play, but it wasn't good enough." Martin: "We just made a couple of plays, but not enough plays." Martin on playing despite his back bothering him: "I just wanted to see what I could do. I came back and tried to get it loose." Eduardo Najera: "It's really tough when you give a great effort. It shouldn't have come down to the last play. It was a breakdown, but we should have picked it up more in the 4th quarter." Najera: "It's really tough when you give great effort like that and you don't come out with a win." Najera on Nowitzki: "Before he was an offensive presence, now he plays good defense and that shows his maturity." Najera on Dallas' last play: "It's really hard to read where they were going because it was so muddled in there. We knew we had the 5 second count coming so we pressured even more. It was a mental mistake, but, like I said, it shouldn't have come down to that last play." Dallas Mavericks 114, Denver Nuggets 112 OT at Denver (January 6) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 19 33 26 22 14 - 114 .453 .389 .441 .793 Denver 21 31 25 23 12 - 112 .529 .333 .488 .750 Halftime: 52-52 3rd Q: Dallas 78-77 Technicals: none Refs: Dick Bavetta, Pat Fraher, Violet Palmer Attendance: 18,256 (cap 19,099) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 41 8-15 0-1 2-4 18 4-7 4 2 4 2 1 Dirk Nowitzki 43 8-17 1-4 10-11 27 2-10 5 2 1 0 7 Erick Dampier 25 2-4 0-0 1-2 5 2-8 1 2 6 0 0 Jason Terry 44 11-20 4-8 1-2 27 0-3 7 4 2 0 0 Adrian Griffin 21 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-3 0 0 2 1 0 Devin Harris 29 4-8 0-0 3-4 11 1-1 3 2 5 0 1 Keith Van_Horn 18 4-10 1-2 2-2 11 2-6 0 2 2 0 0 DeSagana Diop 20 1-1 0-0 0-2 2 3-6 0 0 3 0 1 Jerry Stackhouse 23 2-9 0-3 5-5 9 0-4 3 2 6 0 0 Darrell Armstrong 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 53 42-86 6-18 24-32 114 14-48 24 17 31 3 10 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kenyon Martin 26 3-9 0-0 0-2 6 3-6 1 1 5 0 3 Carmelo Anthony 45 11-24 2-5 4-7 28 0-4 3 6 3 1 0 Francisco Elson 30 6-11 0-0 0-0 12 3-7 2 0 4 0 3 Greg Buckner 28 5-10 2-6 0-0 12 0-4 2 0 3 0 0 Andre Miller 45 6-19 0-0 9-10 21 1-4 11 3 4 2 1 Eduardo Najera 32 5-5 1-1 1-1 12 4-10 0 1 3 1 1 Earl Boykins 36 5-13 2-4 7-7 19 1-1 6 0 2 0 0 Earl Watson 17 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-1 6 0 3 1 0 Linas Kleiza 5 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 53 41-93 7-18 23-29 112 12-37 31 12 28 5 8 Minnesota at Dallas (January 7) The 4th game in 5 nights found the Mavs back in Dallas and facing Minnesota again (whom they faced 3 days prior). It was the 2nd night of a back-to-back for both teams and Dallas played in overtime the night before. The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with both teams holding small leads, none larger than 4 points. Only one basket was made in the last 2:30 of the game and that was a layup by Devin Harris with 35 seconds to go that gave Dallas a 22-21 lead after 1. Minnesota shot 56% FG while Dallas only shot 39% FG, but the Mavs had 5 offensive rebounds. A layup and 3-point play by Josh Howard surrounded a 3-pointer by Keith Van Horn to give Dallas a 34-27 lead with 6 minutes left. But Minnesota then scored the next 8 points to go back up at 35-34 with 2:15 remaining. Minnesota led 41-38 at the half. Dallas was still shooting poorly at 35% FG, but mastering the rebounds with 8 offensive boards while Minnesota shot 50% FG and had 2 offensive rebounds (and didn't score on either). The game stayed close in the 3rd quarter with neither team holding more than a 5 point lead until the end of the quarter. Dallas went scoreless over the last 3 minutes of the quarter and Minnesota scored the last 5 points of the quarter to take a 63-57 lead after 3. Kevin Garnett had 12 points in the 3rd quarter. Wally Szczerbiak drained a 3-pointer to open the 3rd quarter. Another 3 by Szczerbiak again gave Minnesota a 9 point lead, but Dirk Nowitzki answered with a 3-pointer to kick off 7 straight points by Dallas to pull within 67-69 with 8 minutes to go. 5 straight points by Minnesota gave the T'wolves a 76-69 lead with 3:40 remaining. After a timeout, Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer. Dirk Nowitzki hit 2 free throws and putback his own miss. Dallas then played good defense and helped cause a 24 second violation. Nowitzki then hit a fade-away jumper and was fouled and hit the extra to put Dallas up 79-76 with 53 seconds left. Erick Dampier blocked Garnett's layup attempt and Josh Howard was fouled on the rebound. He hit 1-2 FT with 40 seconds to go. After a timeout, Garnett drove for 2 with 35 seconds left. Nowitzki was fouled up top (and Minnesota out of fouls) and he hit both free throws to give Dallas an 82-78 lead with 20 seconds remaining. Garnett was fouled fresh off of a timeout, but he only hit 1-2 FT. Terry was intentionally fouled with 18 seconds left (Marko Jaric's 6th foul) and he hit 1-2 FT to make it a 4 point game with 18 seconds to go. Minnesota missed on 3 attempts and that was game. Dallas won 83-79. This game resembled the Denver game as it stayed tight throughout. The largest lead in the game was just 9 points. But Dallas came through in the 4th with a late 11-0 run and out-scored Minnesota 26-16 in the 4th. Despite Dallas' good defense, Minnesota was hitting tough shots throughout the game until late in the 4th quarter. They got cold at the wrong time and only shot 1-7 FG in the last 2:05 of the game. Dallas won despite shooting a season low 35.3% (30-85) FG. So how do you win despite shooting so poorly and the opponent shooting 49.3% (33-67) FG? You out-rebound them 46-36 including 18-4 offensive (with 2 of Minnesota's offensive boards coming on the last possession and the T'wolves didn't have a single 2nd chance point) and play attack the basket to get to the line. Dallas shot 18-26 FT and Minnesota shot 10-13 FT. Dallas out-scored Minnesota 44-28 in the paint. Minnesota didn't help their cause with 20 turnovers. Neither team passed the ball much as Dallas had 12 assists and Minnesota had 13 assists. Dallas finished the season series vs Minnesota at 2-1. Dirk Nowitzki struggled most of the game, but came through last when he scored 9 points in the last 2 1/2 minutes of the game. He had 26 points including 8-24 FG and 7 rebounds. Josh Howard had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Terry was the only other Mav in double-digits with 11 points. He also struggled in shooting 4-15 FG, but his 3-pointer with 3 1/2 minutes left kicked off Dallas' comeback 11-0 run. Erick Dampier was active with 10 rebounds including 7 offensive. Jerry Stackhouse joined Nowitzki and Terry in throwing up bricks. He had 8 points on 4-13 FG and 4 rebounds including 3 offensive. Adrian Griffin had 8 points and 5 rebounds. Devin Harris had 8 points and 3 assists. DeSagana Diop only had 3 rebounds and also had 3 turnovers. Keith Van Horn had 3 points (a 3-pointer) on 1-4 FG and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes. Kevin Garnett tied Nowitzki for game high honors with 26 points, but only 6 points came in the 4th quarter. He shot 11-16 FG (only 16 shots is crazy) and had 11 rebounds. Wally Szczerbiak was right behind him with 25 points and also had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Trenton Hassell was the only other T'wolf in double-digits with 10 points. After going off on Dallas 3 days prior (22 points), Marko Jaric had just 6 points on 3-9 FG and 0-4 3-pointers. He also had 6 assists. Minnesota only got 9 points from their 4-man bench. Quotes Avery Johnson: "We seem to like a lot of close games like this. I'm really proud of our guys tonight. Minnesota is a tough defensive team. Garnett and Szczerbiak are both handfuls. I thought we competed at a high level tonight. We thought our 2nd half defense was much improved and our 4th quarter defense was the key to us winning the game. We got to the free throw line in the 2nd half more than we did in the 1st half. We won the 2nd chance points game, the hustle and rebound game. We didn't shoot very good, but we made some shots when it counted and got to the free throw line. We were consistently aggressive pretty much the whole night. There were a lot of positives in this game tonight and it was 2 teams that refused to lose." Johnson on defense: "Maybe we'll get a billboard on I45 or 35 or the Tollway, and as they're going home - and Lemmon [Avenue]. Wherever they live, we'll get a billboard and say, 'The only way you're going to be successful in this league is to win with your defense.' Maybe I'll talk to Mark [Cuban] about getting a billboard. ... I know it costs about 5 grand a month. We can afford that." Johnson on the poor shooting: "We lost the game here where a team scored 111 points on us because we tried to out-score them. We won tonight because we played defense. We didn't win with our offense tonight. We lose a game to Golden State trying to out-shoot them and you have a chance to win tonight against a team that is playing tough defense." Dirk Nowitzki: "Well, just more of the same really. We were down with just a couple of minutes left and the way we stuck together and really battled and came up with some big stops down the stretch. This was another big win. They really embarrassed us a couple days ago in Minnesota. We wanted to come back and get them and down the stretch we did." Nowitzki on if the game was extra physical: "I think it was, but every time you play them they're a good defensive team. They make it hard on you - they made it hard on us in Minnesota and they made it hard on us again tonight. They're a physical team on the perimeter as well. We're just glad down the stretch we executed a little better." Nowitzki: "It was a tough game for us last night, but our bodies are use to back-to-backs and they played a back-to-back too so we felt like it would be an even game tonight. We were a little flat in the 1st half, but at the end we showed a lot of grit and a lot of heart." Nowitzki: "We really dug deep. We got in late last night. We were tired but sometimes that's what you have to do - fight through some fatigue and compete. For our team, I've got to stay aggressive and make stuff happen offensively. It was good enough to win the game." Nowitzki: "Down the stretch we really helped each other. We were rotating. We were rebounding. That's something that we work on every day - helping each other, rotating, and scrambling." Nowitzki on Dallas' shooting woes: "We really couldn't get anything going. I knew it was bad, but I really didn't think it was that bad. I thought shooting 35% there's no way we win this game." Nowitzki on the poor shooting: "I looked at the stats and I was thinking, there is no way it is that bad. Sometimes that is what you have to do - fight through fatigue and compete - and that's what we did tonight." Nowitzki: "We played ugly, but we found a way to win." Nowitzki: "We were a little flat in the 1st half but at the end we showed a lot of grit and a lot of heart." Nowitzki on playing Minnesota 3 times in 21 days: "Yeah, it kind of felt a little bit like a playoff series. You usually don't see teams like that very often in the same week, so that was kind of weird, but were glad it's over and were glad we got the win tonight." Nowitzki on his scuffle with Szczerbiak: "I thought the whistle was blown. Wally kind of pulled me towards himself. That's why I shoved him away and that was about it. Then KG got involved. That was a whole lot of nothing, really, so we moved on. I'm just glad we won the game." Josh Howard: "Everybody realized we weren't shooting the ball well, so we had to buckle down on defense." Jason Terry: "I thought we just persevered." Terry on Nowitzki's game: "It uplifts us. I'm going to go to war with him all game long." Jerry Stackhouse on defense: "That's what [Johnson has] been preaching. This is a perfect example. You look at them getting 4 offensive rebounds, us shooting twice as many free throws, and out-rebounding them by 10, that's good defense." Stackhouse on Nowitzki's putback to tie the game at 76-76 with 1:30 left: "That was a key play for us at a key time. He had the shot, went back, and got the tap. That's probably not something you saw him do a lot of last year. If he took a shot, he just kind of drifted back, expecting it to go in, or rely on someone else to get the offensive rebound. When we needed him, he got that basket for us." Devin Harris: "We really bunkered down the last couple minutes and we got some huge stops. Dirk did his thing, JT made some big shots, and we happened to pull the game out. We're confident we can win with our defense, especially on night like tonight where we didn't shoot very well. We're a work in progress and we need to continue to get better on defense." Harris on Minnesota's 24 second violation late in the game: "We did a great job of rotating, knowing the clock, and knowing the scouting report on certain guys and we did a great job." Harris: "In the 1st half I think we only shot 5 free throws. We were a lot more aggressive in the 2nd half, especially when it counted. We attacked the basket and got to the free throw line and that allowed us to come back in the 4th quarter." Dwane Casey: "I am singing the same song: you have 20 turnovers on the road against a good team like Dallas - that's the 2nd night in a row against 2 of the top teams in the league we have 20 turnovers. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. Dallas is a great team; a great 3-point shooting team. There were a lot of long rebounds. We gave up 19 offensive boards." Casey: "I thought we had pretty good looks; we just couldn't make a shot. One possession that hurt us was when Kevin kicked it out and we had a shot clock violation. We knew a double-team was coming and we had shooters on the weak side wide open; we had a shot clock violation and that was a key play." Kevin Garnett: "We just melted down. You can't beat anybody like that." Garnett: "We just melted down, man. I made some key turnovers myself. I don't know. We just melted down." Garnett: "We just melted down, man. We were up by about 7. I made some key turnovers myself. They came down and hit some shots. Terry hit a 3, turned the momentum around a little bit. I thought the last couple calls on me were some [bleep]. That was just a meltdown." Garnett on 20 turnovers: "You can't beat nobody like that. We keep telling each other, 'Let's take care of the ball, let's stay aggressive.' But a lot of the turnovers come from offensive fouls, turnovers themselves, shot clock violations, stuff like that. I think once we get that under control, we'll win a lot more of these games." Garnett: "Maybe this will motivate us. Maybe this will put us in a different mindset to try to take care of some of these games. It's a crucial week coming up, so we have to take care of ourselves." Wally Szczerbiak: "We are just going to have to figure it out - turnovers killed us again. When you out-shoot a team by that much you should be rewarded. You hold their best players to 8-24, you should win the game; but stuff is not going our way right now." Szczerbiak: "I'd have to look at the tape, but I think we completely lost our composure. We were up and it was like we were just trying to find a way to lose." Szczerbiak: "We have to find a way to win the game. I mean, we out shot them 50% to 35%. But we turned the ball over 20 times. I just don't know. We just can't find a way. Turnovers killed us again. Referees killed us again." Szczerbiak on his scuffle with Nowitzki: "I didn't hear a whistle, so I wasn't going to let him go up and hit an and-1. I didn't know what was going on. I just grabbed his arm. I didn't grab him to the floor or anything and just walked away. Whatever, he sure gets his share of calls." Dallas Mavericks 83, Minnesota 79 at Dallas (January 7) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 16 19 26 - 83 .357 .333 .353 .692 Minnesota 21 20 22 16 - 79 .577 .200 .493 .769 Halftime: Minnesota 41-38 3rd Q: Minnesota 63-57 Technicals: Wally Szczerbiak 10:23 3rd, Dirk Nowitzki 10:23 3rd, Jerry Stackhouse 0:48 3rd Flagrant fouls: Mark Madsen 6:42 4th Refs: James Capers, Jason Phillips, Joe DeRosa Attendance: 20,151 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 35 5-12 0-0 5-7 15 4-10 0 3 2 2 1 Dirk Nowitzki 39 8-24 2-4 8-9 26 2-7 2 0 3 1 2 Erick Dampier 23 0-2 0-0 3-4 3 7-10 1 2 3 0 1 Jason Terry 33 4-15 2-6 1-2 11 0-2 4 1 2 3 0 Adrian Griffin 31 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 3-5 1 0 1 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 25 4-13 0-2 0-0 8 3-4 2 4 2 2 1 Devin Harris 23 4-9 0-1 0-2 8 0-1 2 1 3 1 0 DeSagana Diop 17 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-3 0 3 3 1 2 Keith Van_Horn 14 1-4 1-2 0-0 3 0-4 0 0 1 0 0 DJ Mbenga 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 30-85 5-15 18-26 83 19-46 12 14 20 10 7 Minnesota Timberwolves REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Wally Szczerbiak 44 9-18 3-7 4-4 25 2-10 1 6 2 0 0 Kevin Garnett 41 11-16 0-1 4-6 26 1-11 2 4 4 0 2 Eddie Griffin 23 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 0-5 0 0 2 0 1 Trenton Hassell 44 5-10 0-1 0-0 10 1-3 3 1 3 2 1 Marko Jaric 38 3-9 0-4 0-0 6 0-2 6 3 6 2 2 Michael Olowokandi 16 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-4 0 2 3 0 0 Troy Hudson 20 2-8 0-2 1-1 5 0-0 1 2 2 0 0 Rashad McCants 7 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 3 1 0 Mark Madsen 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 33-67 3-15 10-13 79 4-36 13 20 27 5 6 Dallas at Boston (January 9) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. Tony Allen hit 2 free throws with 5 seconds left to give Boston a 25-23 lead after 1. Marcus Banks opened the 2nd quarter with a 3-pointer, but but Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper and Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 28-27 with 10:15 remaining. Boston then went on an 11-1 run to go up 38-29 with 7:45 to go. Dallas scored 7 straight points to pull within 48-49 with 1:25 left, but Boston was able to keep the lead. Adrian Griffin got a layup with left than a second left in the quarter. Boston led 53-51 at the half. There were lots of whistles in the half as 38 fouls were called and 54 free throws were attempted. A dunk by Al Jefferson gave Boston a 57-52 lead with 11:15 to go and Dallas then went on an 18-8 run, including 10 points by Jason Terry, to go up 70-65 with 5:25 remaining. Dallas held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter and led 79-74 after 3. Dallas hit 4 3-pointers in the 3rd quarter. Jerry Stackhouse had 10 points and Paul Pierce had 12 points in the 3rd. Keith Van Horn opened the 4th quarter with a 3-pointer, but Boston then scored the next 6 points to pull within 80-82 with 9:35 to go. Dallas then went on a 14-4 run, including 3 3-pointers, to go up 96-84 with 5:55 left. But Dallas' defense got lax and Boston hit 6 of their next 7 shots as part of a 15-4 run to pull within 99-100 with 1:35 remaining. Dallas missed late in the shot clock, but Boston also missed at the other end. Jerry Stackhouse missed, but Josh Howard ran down the rebound to give Dallas another possession with 30 seconds to go. Nowitzki nailed a jumper with 16 seconds left to make it a 3 point game. After a timeout (Boston's last), Pierce side-stepped Nowitzki and drained the 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left to tie the game at 102-102. Dallas called timeout. Boston got 2 seconds off the clock by using their foul to give and Dallas inbounded again. The ball was inbounded to Stackhouse near the corner and he faked the drive and nailed the fall away baseliner with .2 seconds left. Without a timeout to use to advance the ball and not enough time to get a shot off (only a tap in is allowed with .3 seconds left), Boston inbounded the ball and that was game. Dallas won 104-102. For the 3rd time in 4 nights Dallas played a close game. This was one that shouldn't have been close, though. The Mavs had a big lead in the 4th quarter and failed (once again this season) to close the door and allowed Boston to get back into the game. It was 3-point shooting that kept Dallas in this game [a reminder of years pass when the only way the Mavs would win was with strong 3-point shooting]. Dallas shot 12-22 3-pointers - 54.5% while they only shot 36.5% for 2-pointers. As a whole, Dallas shot 41.9% (31-74) FG and 30-42 FT. Boston shot 45.6% (36-79) FG including 3-10 3-pointers and shot 27-35 FT. Boston out-scored Dallas 38-18 in the paint. Dallas out-rebounded Boston 41-38 and the offensive boards were close with Boston holding a 14-13 edge. Dallas had 13 turnovers and Boston had 9 turnovers. 3 Mavs had 20+ points. Jerry Stackhouse was the hero of the game with the game winner with .2 seconds left. He had 20 points off the bench. Jason Terry was the 3-point gunner with a career high 7 3-pointers. He had 30 points including 7-13 3-pointers and 4 steals. Dirk Nowitzki was his usual self with 26 points on 9-16 FG and 7-11 FT (okay, missing 4 free throws was not usual) and 7 rebounds. Josh Howard had a poor outing, but had the hustle play in running down an offensive rebound late in the game and had patience for inbounding the ball on the final play. He had 7 points including 1-8 FG and just 2 rebounds (but both near the end of the game). Devin Harris also had a poor night with 3 points on 0-5 FG and 3-6 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 fouls in 19 minutes. Keith Van Horn had 12 points and should have stayed behind the arc as he shot 3-4 3-pointers and 0-6 2-pointers. He also had 6 rebounds. Erick Dampier only had 1 point (1-4 FT) and and 4 rebounds. DeSagana Diop was the more productive center with 3 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks in 22 minutes. Adrian Griffin had 2 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in his return to Boston, where he started his NBA career. Paul Pierce led the way for Boston with 32 points on 9-16 FG and 12-12 FT. He also had 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Ricky Davis had 17 points and a game high 8 assists. Mark Blount and Tony Allen had 12 points and 6 rebounds each. Raef LaFrentz started, but only had 4 points and 2 assists in 26 minutes. Al Jefferson had a poor outing with just 3 points including 1-7 FG and 2 rebounds. Quotes Avery Johnson: "Another close win for us; we'll take it. We thought we had control of the game somewhere midway through the 4th quarter and they went to a little zone and we didn't execute against it. What I shared with my team after the game is when were working against different situations in practice. We've got to really concentrate and execute because well see those different things in a game. We thought we had control of the game, we thought we were right there to put it away, we thought we had a charge situation there and it didn't go our way so what did we do? We kept fighting, we handled that adversity. At the end of the game there we ran the first play for [Terry]." Johnson on the last play: "[Terry] got fouled, which we thought they were going to do. We ran the 2nd play for Dirk, but Paul Pierce made a heck of a read on it and cut Dirk off and then Stack came to the ball and gave us an outlet and obviously made a great shot on the baseline for us. This team is really gutsy. Like I told you guys all along and especially our media, it's hard to win a road game in the NBA, so we'll take it. Johnson on last second plays: "We practice it. I'll tell you what, that's something Del [Harris] has been on me about since last year. He's always telling me to run a play for 2 [points], run a play for 3 at the end of practice you never know when you're going to need it and it gives us a chance to work on some stuff and again. As I grow as a coach it gives me things to work on in practice. We've run that play before and we went back to it again and fortunately it worked for us." Dirk Nowitzki on Pierce's 3-pointer to tie the game: "We were up 3 and we should never give up a [3-pointer]. That was my fault. We were switching and Paul made a good play and got me in the air and made the 3." Nowitzki on letting the lead slipper away: "One of these times it's going to come back and hurt you. We just have to keep on working. At least, when they tie it back up, we still find ways to make plays." Jason Terry: "All year long we've been in close ball games, so we don't get nervous or paranoid at the end. Paul Pierce hit a great, tough shot and, like I said, we've been here before." Terry: "Basketball is a game of runs. They went on a good run on us, we came back with a run, and they ended it off good with a run. But like I said all year long, we have been involved with close games so we do not get nervous or paranoid at the end. We stick together, we've been here before." Terry on Stackhouse's 20 points: "That was big, I mean it was a matter of time before Jerry got back into his rhythm. He and I talk a lot about game situations, and he's been in this league a long time. He was out 2 or 3 months and now he's back. And now he's looking like the old Stackhouse. We need him, he's a big part of this team, and just a great effort by him tonight." Terry on the bench production: "We are a deep team and we rely on our depth a lot." Terry on his 3s: "I never had to shoot that many 3s before when I was in Atlanta because I was always creating. Here, we got other guys creating, so I can spot up." Jerry Stackhouse on his game winner: "I mean it's the regular rocket step you know, and I was able to get him off balance. I think he might of thought I was going to raise up and get a good pull up. I knew I couldn't. I didn't have enough time probably to get all the way to the basket because I kind of squared him up, but it came in right in the nick of time that was the best feeling in the world to see that ball go through and see that 00:1 on it." Stackhouse: "That last one did feel really good, and, like I said, we've got a lot of weapons on this team and it just so happens it was my night to knock it down. It could be one of a number of guys that can do it on any given night for us." Stackhouse on his game winner: "I was able to make sure we got the last shot and I rose up and hit it. I had a couple before that I thought were going down, but I'm glad I got the one that counted." Stackhouse on coming back from injury: "Yeah I mean I struggled shooting the last few games, but I had great looks and great opportunities so it's just a matter of containing and staying confident, especially when you've got guys behind you. Sometimes we've got more confidence in each other than we probably have in ourselves and that's a great thing to have on any team. Guys are just staying with me, staying behind me, telling me to keep doing what I do, and fortunately it came out really positive tonight." Doc Rivers: "You've just got to feel at some point it's going to turn our way. Our guys, I felt horrible for them. They fought their butts off. I thought other than the middle of the 3rd quarter when we kind of - we stopped playing for that one stretch - I thought we played just great basketball. You know, I thought they had the one stretch where it felt like they got every loose ball, and every loose ball turned into a 3. And they were making their shots. They shot 54% from the 3-point line. And I would bet of the 12, 6 of them were from a loose ball, a long rebound, they swing it and they get a 3. And then those hurt. But other than that, I mean listen, our guys played - they played great. They executed well." Rivers: "They executed down the stretch. Paul gets a 3 out of the time out. We foul probably about a second too early on the foul to give. But when you got a young guy in there, you want him - just make sure he gets that foul. We took 2 seconds off the clock. They had 4 to catch. Stackhouse catches it, almost falling out of bounds, and he frees himself. And I thought Ricky - hell, Ricky guarded him and the guy made a shot. And I feel bad for him. I just told them, 'if you just keep pecking away at some point it has to turn your way.' You know, we lose the Washington game on not one of the better calls in our league and then we lose tonight on a great shot by a very good player." Rivers on if he thought the last play would go to Stackhouse: "No. We just assumed that it would go to Jason Terry, Stackhouse, or Nowitzki. You know, they have 3 guys. So we matched up: we put Paul on Nowitzki, Ricky on Stack, and Delonte on Jason Terry. So at the end of the game you've just got to guard 1-on-1. You can't run and jump because they'll swing it and the way they're making them they're going to win by 3. So you don't know where it's going. Usually you assume it's going to Nowitzki - and I was scared of that because even with Paul guarding him, he's still 5 inches taller than him. And that wouldn't have - I think actually that's where they were trying to go. You could see him trying to curl up and they just couldn't get him the ball. And I don't remember who took it out, he did and went to the 2nd, I don't think they had another option. I just thought he got the ball inbounds. If you remember, the play was broken and I thought we defended it great. And guys, it didn't go our way." Rivers: "Tony Allen was great. He played with great energy. I know he turned his ankle in the 1st half. And he gutted it out and played. I don't know now what that'll give us for tomorrow. But I thought everyone - Al [Jefferson] I thought struggled offensively. He got to the bucket, he had great looks all night and I'll take those looks from Al every night. But they just didn't fall for him. I thought he rushed it a little bit. I thought he got his shot blocked I think on the 2nd one and from that point on he was trying to get it out of his hands too quick because he was too conscious of their size. But that's just being Al and the next day he'll learn from that." Paul Pierce: "Things are going to turn around, man. 2 heartbreaking games we've had. You know the guys were really playing hard in understanding what it's going to take to win these games we are going through right now. Hopefully we can just learn from these types of games as the season goes along." Pierce: "We were looking for overtime there. You know they are going to get the last shot and you want to get one stop but Stackhouse makes a tough shot over Ricky Davis after playing tough defense, and that's just how the game goes." Pierce on Dallas' last possession: "At that point you're hoping for overtime. You know they've got the last shot and all you want to do is get one stop." Pierce on Stackhouse's game winner: "When you have a number guy that can step up, I mean that's why they are one of the better teams in the NBA. Stackhouse has made those type of shots before, and Jason Terry. We just wanted to press up on them and not give them an easy look, but that's why they are one of the better teams in the NBA." Pierce on Rivers feeling sorry for his players: "You know he just loves the game and it hurts him just as much as it hurts us. You know he feels our pain cause he's the coach, he's part of it." Ricky Davis on Stackhouse's game winner: "I was there. Guy just made a great shot. I was pressuring him a little bit, he drove right and made a great pull up. Davis: "We've been playing good lately. The last few games have been tough, tough losses. So, it sort of turned around for us." Davis: "We just got to keep playing, keep staying together, I think. You know, we're right there. I think if we just keep playing hard and keep working on defense, we'll be all right." Delonte West: "The basketball gods sometimes work in your favor and sometimes in the other guy's favor. You've got to remain positive. There's still a lot of basketball to be played." Kendrick Perkins on what the team needs to do: "It's just the little things that happen during the game. It came down to the last play, but I don't think it should of come down to it. We were up 9 in the 2nd quarter and we blew the lead instead of building on it. The little things we did - messing up plays, taking quick shots, we got time management, and then we're just blowing everything. I think that's the little things that happen." Perkins on if he felt the team was going to pull it out: "I hoped. We were right there. Doc always keep telling us that we're never out of a game. We're just a team that never really gives up, we go hard every night. To me it's just, I think it's the little things that happen during the game. I don't think it should have even come down to the last second shot. I think it's the things that happen, say in the 2nd quarter. You know, somebody takes a quick shot or somebody don't know a play or somebody slack up on defense. We had a 9 point lead in the 2nd quarter. Instead of losing, I thought we should have built on it." Dallas Mavericks 104, Boston Celtics 102 at Boston (January 9) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 23 28 21 25 - 104 .365 .545 .419 .714 Boston 25 28 21 28 - 102 .478 .300 .456 .771 Halftime: Boston 53-51 3rd Q: Boston 74-72 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 7:54 2nd, Boston defensive 3 seconds 1:15 3rd Refs: Tony Brothers, Jim Clark, Matt Boland Attendance: 15,064 (cap 18,624) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 41 9-17 7-13 5-5 30 1-2 3 2 2 4 0 Adrian Griffin 25 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-6 5 0 3 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 33 9-16 1-2 7-11 26 1-7 3 1 4 1 0 Josh Howard 25 1-8 0-1 5-5 7 1-2 0 1 5 0 0 Erick Dampier 21 0-1 0-0 1-4 1 0-4 0 1 3 0 1 Jerry Stackhouse 28 7-13 1-1 5-5 20 0-2 3 3 2 1 0 Keith Van_Horn 24 3-10 3-4 3-4 12 2-6 1 3 1 0 0 DeSagana Diop 22 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 3-7 0 0 3 1 5 Devin Harris 19 0-5 0-1 3-6 3 1-3 3 0 5 0 0 DJ Mbenga 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 Darrell Armstrong 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 31-74 12-22 30-42 104 13-41 18 13 28 7 7 Boston Celtics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Ricky Davis 40 7-13 1-2 2-3 17 1-4 8 1 2 0 0 Delonte West 23 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 0-2 3 2 5 0 0 Paul Pierce 37 9-16 2-5 12-12 32 1-8 4 2 2 2 0 Al Jefferson 16 1-7 0-0 1-2 3 1-2 0 0 3 0 0 Raef LaFrentz 26 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-2 2 1 3 0 0 Mark Blount 32 5-12 0-0 2-5 12 2-6 1 2 3 0 0 Tony Allen 24 4-8 0-1 4-6 12 4-6 3 0 2 0 1 Kendrick Perkins 18 2-4 0-0 4-5 8 3-6 0 0 4 0 1 Marcus Banks 16 2-8 0-2 2-2 6 0-0 2 0 2 0 0 Orien Greene 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2-2 0 1 2 1 0 Brian Scalabrine 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Justin Reed 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-79 3-10 27-35 102 14-38 23 9 28 3 2 Dallas at New York (January 11) It was the 2nd night of a back-to-back for New York, but it was Dallas who looked sluggish. Dallas led 7-4 with 8:45 remaining and New York went on a 17-4 monster run to go up 21-11 with 4 minutes to go. New York scored the last 4 points of the quarter to go up 35-21 after 1. Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry had 10 points each. And it wasn't shooting that was hurting Dallas, it was turnovers (8 in the quarter) and rebounds as New York had all the hustle plays and Dallas was just going through the motions. Nate Robinson opened the 2nd quarter with a 3-pointer. New York led in the teens the entire 2nd quarter as Dallas could get no closer than 12 points. New York led 63-48 at the half. Dallas came out and played better in the 3rd quarter (after probably a loud locker room lecture), but had a big hill to climb. After Antonio Davis got a putback a minute into the quarter, Dallas went on an 11-2 run to pull within 57-67 with 9 minutes remaining. But Dallas was unable to pull within single-digits as New York would score on the next possession when Dallas pulled within 10 or 11 points over the next 5 minutes. A jumper by Dirk Nowitzki and a jumper by Jerry Stackhouse pulled Dallas within 69-77 with 2:50 left. Jamal Crawford kept Dallas from getting closer as he scored 7 points in the last 2 minutes of the quarter and New York led 86-75 after 3. Neither team scored in the first minute of the 4th quarter and Crawford hit 2 free throws with 10:55 to go. Dallas then scored the next 10 points, including 2 3-pointers, to pull within 85-88 with 8:05 remaining. Crawford ended Dallas' run with a 3-pointer, but the game stayed close as New York's lead ranged between 6 and 2 points over the next 5 minutes. 3 straights shots by the Mavs and 2 turnovers by Marbury gave Dallas a 103-101 lead with 1:30 left - Dallas first lead since 4 minutes into the 1st quarter - and the Mavs had come back from an 18 point deficit. Curry got a putback, the teams traded misses, and Jason Terry got a layup to give Dallas a 105-103 lead with 37 seconds to go. Marbury was fouled and hit both free throws with 27 seconds left. Dallas set up their play and Nowitzki missed a jumper with 10 seconds remaining. New York ran the clock down and Crawford missed a runner and the refs put a second back on the game clock. After a timeout, Dallas inbounded to Nowitzki, but his shot was off and we had overtime at 105-105. Buckets by Nowitzki surrounded a jumper by Marbury early in the overtime. Curry converted a 3-point play to give New York a 1 point lead, but Nowitzki answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 112-112 with 1:45 remaining. New York missed on 2 attempts, but Antonio Davis was fouled on the 2nd rebound and he hit both free throws with 1:30 left. Nowitzki missed, Marbury missed, and Jerry Stackhouse missed with 30 seconds left. New York ran some time off the clock and Crawford was fouled with 11 seconds to go. He hit both free throws to make it a 4 point game. Dallas used their last timeout. Nowitzki missed a 2-point attempt and Crawford was intentionally fouled. He hit 1-2 FT with 4 seconds left. Terry hit a long 3-pointer that went in at the buzzer. New York won 117-115 in overtime. Give the Mavs credit for the comeback, but also give the grief for the horrible 1st half where they got down by 18 points. And the things that were hurting the Mavs were surprising. It was rebounding and turnovers - though they got their 1st quarter turnover woes under control and only had 5 after the 1st quarter. But giving up 28 offensive rebounds is just inexcusable. Dallas actually shot above 50%, but were out-rebounded and committed more fouls - very similar to what happed in Saturday's Dallas-Minnesota game (with Dallas doing the out-rebounding and hiting more free throws). Dallas shot 52.9% (46-87) including 4-15 3-pointers (and not making a 3 until the 4th quarter). New York shot 41.2% (40-97) FG including 6-14 3-pointers. Dallas shot 19-23 FT and New York was white hot from the line in shooting 31-33 FT including a string of 30 straight made. New York out-rebounded Dallas 54-37 including 28-10 offensive. It was New York's 5th consecutive win. New York had 3 players with 20+ points and got some key plays by Antonio Davis late in the game. Davis had 4 points and 3 rebounds in overtime and 11 points and 9 rebounds including 7 offensive for the game. Stephon Marbury was the high man with 28 points on 8-21 FG and 10-10 FT and a game high 6 assists. 17 of Jamal Crawford's 25 points came in the last 19 minutes of the game. He shot 9-10 FT and had 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers. Eddy Curry had 21 points including 8-13 FG and 7 rebounds including 5 offensive. Nate Robinson only shot 3-14 FG for 8 points, but little Nate also had 8 rebounds (something that shouldn't happen). Channing Frye was the 5th Knick with 5+ rebounds with 7 boards including 5 offensive. He only shot 3-11 FG, though. Dirk Nowitzki had a game high 32 points and also had 7 rebounds. 14 of Jason Terry's 20 points came in the 4th quarter and overtime. He also had 5 assists. Josh Howard had 18 points on 9-13 FG and 9 rebounds. Devin Harris had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Jerry Stackhouse had 12 points. Although he didn't name them, Erick Dampier and Keith Van Horn earned a verbal lashing from Avery Johnson in Johnson's comments to the media. Dampier had 6 points and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes and Van Horn had 6 points and 1 rebound in 18 minutes. Adrian Griffin had 6 points and 2 rebounds and DeSagana Diop missed his 1 attempt and had 3 rebounds and 3 blocks in 18 minutes. Due to Johnson looking for anything to work and foul trouble with Damp and Diop, DJ Mbenga came in during the 2nd quarter, but missed 1 shot and collect 2 fouls for his only stats in 7 minutes. Jerry Stackhouse and Maurice Taylor got in a minor scuffle during the 3rd quarter and the ref was keeping Taylor away from Stackhouse. I thought I saw Taylor shove the ref, but decided that I must have been imagining things other wise Taylor would have been immediately ejected as contact with an official is an absolute no-no. After reading about Mark Cuban's comments regarding no technical being given to Taylor for the shove, it turns out I wasn't imagining things. It will be interesting to see if the league hands down a fine or suspension. If not, things have dramatically changed in the past few years. Remember when Eduardo Najera was suspended for accidental contact with a ref in 02-03? Of course, the league might be focused on what to do regarding the fight between Ray Allen and Keyon Dooling that also occurred last night. Taylor could plead temporary insanity as ref Tony Brown most likely has the biggest guns (upper arms) amongst the refs and can probably out-lift many players. Quotes Larry Brown: "One of the referees even commented how hard we were trying, which was nice to hear. We did play hard. We shot 41% against a team that shot the ball extremely well and managed to win the game. It was because our effort was so good." Brown: "This is not a good tempo for us. I don't think we're going to have this success many nights. But, the fact that we rebounded the ball, took care of the ball, and got loose balls gave us a chance to win the game." Brown: "The crowd was phenomenal. The crowd really got behind the team. In the past when we blew a lead, there would be a lot of guys [players] putting their heads down. The crowd didn't allow us to do that and we hung on." Brown: "[Antonio] Davis' effort was phenomenal. I think they all competed." Brown on Davis defending Nowitzki: "I think Tony's played him a lot. For the most part he did a tremendous job on him." Stephon Marbury: "We withstood their punch and we continued to fight. We never gave up. We always thought we were going to win the game. They are a great team and one of the best road teams. Our mindset is that we will just continue to play." Stephon Marbury on the 5 game winning streak: "We have been playing defense. I think guys know exactly where they are going. The rotation has been consistent. We have gotten used to playing with each other. The biggest part is the way we are approaching the game. It is totally different. We have a lot of confidence. We know that we are going to win. I think before we were just trying to stay in the game. We weren't as competitive down the stretch. We are a resilient group." Jamal Crawford on the free throw shooting: "We have lost some games earlier and guys have taken it to heart and really working on it." Crawford: "I think Dallas has the best road record in the NBA and they had the day off and for us winning in Cleveland, it would have been easy to have a let down." Crawford on the 5 game winning streak: "We are having a lot of fun playing basketball right now. When you win it is always fun. It is the way we are winning. Everyone is coming in and contributing. It is not just 1 or 2 guys. Everybody is playing their role, playing their part. It is getting better and better." Eddy Curry: "Our crowd is once again coming in expecting us to win every game. And they should. It feels good to go out there and please them." Curry on Davis: "He was unbelievable for us. He was tough against Nowitzki and he did everything for us." Antonio Davis: "I think they understand how much I care about this team and how badly I want to win. I don't want to open the papers and see the position that we're in, and a lot of times you have to know your role. You have to know what you can do and what you can't do. And what I can do is I can defend a guy and I can rebound. When they see me running after a rebound, or something like that, they really understand what this game is all about." Davis on Dallas' comeback: "We didn't get rattled. We understood what we had to do." Davis on defending Nowitzki: "I know he's a great player. I just tried to stay in front of him. You can't jump up in the basket." Davis: "We played them twice in the preseason and lost on last second tip ins both times. We talked about that a lot before the game. We talked about it in the pregame meetings and Larry brought it up at halftime." Avery Johnson: "They were the aggressors in the 1st half. [In the 2nd half] we got some energy, started playing our style of defense, got back in the game, had a chance to win it in regulation, came up short. Overtime, 2 teams that didn't want to lose were getting after it. They just got to the free throw line more and were the aggressors again and they deserved to win the game." Johnson: "They killed us on the boards. It's a man's game. We shoot 52%. You shoot 52% in the Garden, you're supposed to win." Johnson: "Our team is not playing enough of a 48 minute game and that's the disappointing thing. We know it's tough to win road games. This was a hot team that we were playing, give them some credit. You can't play 18, 20 minutes of a 2nd half and expect to beat any NBA team. It's a really disappointing thing. Hopefully we'll have some leadership within the ranks and challenge some of the guys so that we can get some production and some consistency." Johnson: "It's disappointing for me to watch a few of the guys who have been here in their 2nd year here and you just don't get any consistency. You know, I can take Devin making a mistake. He makes honest mistakes and he works hard. But we've got some just some lethargic situations here that I've got to address." Johnson: "They were the aggressors in the 1st half. We really didn't get off the bus. We've got some lethargic situations here that I've got to address. It's really disappointing. Just got to crack the whip a little bit." Johnson: "I'm just a little concerned that we don't have that fire in the first part of the game that we need. I'm looking for more of the fire from my starters. I just have a couple lethargic situations I'm going to have to address. But I just got to crack the whip a little bit." Dirk Nowitzki: "We had chances to win. We had good shots. Last week we found ways to win those kind of games." Nowitzki: "It was all about the 1st half. We were sluggish. We were horrible defensively. ... The 2nd half, we competed, we scrambled, and we came all the way back in the game, but I think we lost a lot of energy coming back." Nowitzki on his shot at the end of regulation: "I want to take that one back at the end of regulation that I missed. I kind of rushed that one when the score was tied." Nowitzki on Davis: "He's a crafty defender. He was right there. It was a good play. He was great. He was important to them." Jason Terry on New York's rebounding: "That was the game right there. Their missed shots were their best shots. It's unacceptable for all of us." Jerry Stackhouse: "We were just not in the game. We were totally knocked on our heels in the 1st half. We were able to regroup at halftime and come back and have a strong showing in the 2nd half with an opportunity to win the game. But you have to give them credit too. They didn't stop, they didn't lay down even when we fought all the way back to get back in the game." Stackhouse on some players' performances: "Everybody sees what's going on. We've been around long enough to know that when somebody's not playing well or being sluggish, everybody's been taking the high road and maybe not holding people as accountable as we should. That's what [Johnson's] talking about. Nothing personal. Guys can't look at it as personal. We're just trying to improve the team." New York Knicks 117, Dallas Mavericks 115 OT at New York (January 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% New York 35 28 23 19 12 - 117 .410 .429 .412 .939 Dallas 21 27 27 30 10 - 115 .583 .267 .588 .826 Halftime: New York 63-48 3rd Q: New York 86-75 4th Q: 105-105 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds, New York defensive 3 seconds Refs: Bob Delaney, Jess Kersey, Tony Brown Attendance: 17,469 (cap 19,763) New York Knicks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Stephon Marbury 43 8-21 2-5 10-10 28 0-4 6 3 3 0 0 Nate Robinson 33 3-14 2-5 0-0 8 3-8 2 1 3 2 0 Antonio Davis 22 4-8 0-0 3-3 11 7-9 0 1 3 1 0 David Lee 19 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 1-4 1 0 2 0 0 Eddy Curry 27 8-13 0-0 5-6 21 5-7 1 3 3 0 0 Jamal Crawford 40 7-17 2-3 9-10 25 3-7 4 4 2 0 0 Maurice Taylor 27 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 3-4 0 2 3 0 0 Quentin Richardson 25 1-2 0-1 2-2 4 1-3 0 1 2 0 0 Channing Frye 23 3-11 0-0 2-2 8 5-7 0 0 2 0 0 Jerome James 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Trevor Ariza 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 53 40-97 6-14 31-33 117 28-54 14 15 24 3 0 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 41 9-19 2-6 0-0 20 1-2 5 2 4 2 0 Adrian Griffin 18 2-4 0-0 2-2 6 0-2 0 0 0 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 44 13-26 2-7 4-4 32 2-7 3 3 4 0 2 Josh Howard 44 9-13 0-0 0-0 18 1-9 2 3 3 2 0 Erick Dampier 22 2-2 0-0 2-5 6 3-6 0 1 2 0 0 Devin Harris 34 5-8 0-0 5-6 15 1-5 4 0 2 2 0 Jerry Stackhouse 25 3-7 0-1 6-6 12 0-2 3 3 4 1 0 Keith Van_Horn 18 3-6 0-1 0-0 6 1-1 1 0 1 1 0 DeSagana Diop 18 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 1 4 0 3 DJ Mbenga 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Darrell Armstrong 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 53 46-87 4-15 19-23 115 10-37 18 13 26 9 5 patricia