NBA commissioner David Stern named Josh Howard and Carmelo Anthony (Den) as injury replacedments for the All-Star game to take placed February 18 in Las Vegas. The two will replace Yao Ming (Hou) and Carlos Boozer (Uta). West coach Mike D'Antoni gets to select which West All-Star reserve will start in Yao's place and he's likely to choice Dirk Nowitzki. DJ Mbenga suffered a torn right ACL during the Memphis game and will miss the rest of the season. Memphis at Dallas (February 7) Dallas was without Erick Dampier due to a sore knee. Mike Miller opened the game with a 3-pointer to give Memphis an early lead, but Dallas then scored the next 10 points to go up 10-3 with 9:30 remaining. Consecutive buckets by Dirk Nowitzki gave Dallas a 20-9 lead with 6 minutes to go. Memphis did score the next 5 points, but Dallas was able to hang on to a high single-digit lead. Dallas led 30-23 with 2:15 left and the Mavs closed the quarter with a 10-1 run to go up 40-24 after 1. Nowitzki had 18 points including 7-7 FG. Dallas shot 68% FG and Memphis shot 50% FG. Pau Gasol opened the 2nd quarter with a bucket, but a 3-pointer by Josh Howard kicked off 12 straight Dallas points to give the Mavs a 52-26 lead with 8:25 remaining. A layup by Anthony Johnson gave Dallas their largest lead at 56-29 with 6:15 left. Memphis scored 7 straight points, capped by a 3-point play by Dahntay Jones with a minute left, but Jerry Stackhouse ended the quarter with a 3-pointer with over a second left. Dallas led 65-45 at the half. Gasol had 11 points in the 2nd quarter. Dallas went cold during halftime and Memphis scored the first 12 points of the 3rd quarter to pull within 57-65 with 8:45 to go as Dallas missed 7 straight shots (and then missed 4 more). A free throw by Nowitzki with 7:55 left (Dallas' first points of the quarter) and jumper by Howard (Dallas' first field goal) with 7:15 remaining gave Dallas a 68-57 lead. Memphis scored the next 4 points to pull within 61-68 with 6:10 to go. Dallas then scored the next 6 points to go up 74-61 with 4:05 left. Dallas led 76-65 with 2:30 remaining and Memphis went cold as Dallas scored the last 13 points of the quarter as Memphis missed their last 4 shots and committed 2 turnovers. Dallas led 89-65 after 3. Both teams shot poorly in the quarter as Dallas shot 8-28 FG and Memphis shot 7-20 FG. Devean George opened the 4th quarter with a 3-point play to give Dallas a 27 point lead, but Memphis would not give up as the Grizzlies went on a 20-4 run to pull within 85-96 with 6:15 remaining. But Dallas then went on a 9-1 run to go up 105-86 with 3:25 left. Memphis would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. Dallas won 113-97. It looked like it was going to be an easy win, but Memphis wouldn't give up easily. The Mavs were actually unhappy with the win as they were unable to substain their large lead. Dallas shot just 35.5% FG in the 2nd half. Memphis out-scored Dallas 32-24 in the 4th quarter. But Dallas had enough of a cushion in the 1st half that they were able to withstand Memphis' rallies. For the game, Dallas shot 46.6% (41-88) FG including 8-15 3-pointers. Memphis shot 48.7% (38-78) FG including 6-17 3-pointers. Dallas shot 23-30 FT and Memphis shot 15-26 FG. Memphis out-scored Dallas 50-36 in the paint. Memphis out-rebounded Dallas 47-37 including 17-15 offensive. Dallas did have an impressive 30 assists, but 20 of them came in the 1st half. With the win, Dallas swept the season series vs Memphis (4-0). Dirk Nowitzki had a solid outing with 38 points on 14-20 FG and 8-9 FG, 10 rebounds including 4 offensive, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Josh Howard had 23 points, 9 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 steals. Jason Terry had 12 points and 5 assists. Devin Harris had 4 points including 1-5 FG and 8 assists. Devean George had a nice game off the bench with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jerry Stackhouse had 9 points including 3-10 FG and 4 assists. But Dallas got almost nothing from their 2 centers with Erick Dampier out. DeSagana Diop shot 0-1 FG and 0-2 FT and had 1 rebound, 1 block and 5 fouls in 14 minutes. DJ Mbenga shot 3-4 FT and had 4 rebounds, 1 block, and 5 fouls before leaving midway through the 4th quarter with a season end injury (torn ACL). Greg Buckner had 2 points on 1-4 FG, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in 20 minutes. Anthony Johnson had 6 points in 14 minutes. Austin Croshere missed 3 shots and had 2 rebounds and J.J. Barea got in for the last 2 minutes of the game. Pau Gasol led the way for Memphis with 29 points including 13-19 FG, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks, but also had 9 turnovers and missed 3 free throws. Mike Miller again had a strong 4th quarter where he scored 13 points on 5-5 FG and 3-3 3-pointers. But he just had 8 points on 3-9 FG the other 3 quarters. Alexander Johnson had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Rudy Gay had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Damon Stoudamire had 9 points including 3-14 FG and 1-6 3-pointers, but did have 11 assists. Little sidestory: Well prior to the game, a man was courtside watching Memphis practice. One of the security guys went over and told him he had to leave the court. The man didn't argue and simply left. The man was Memphis interim head coach Tony Barone. Quotes Avery Johnson: "It was unfortunate that DJ got hurt and DeSagana didn't give us anything and Dampier was hurt as well. We really missed Dampier tonight in so many ways." Johnson on the 3rd quarter struggles: "It's always concerning. You are concerned when you are ahead, you are concerned when you are behind, when teams are coming back. We just weren't very good. We weren't very good in the 2nd half. We looked like a team that came off a layoff. We just weren't very good defensively at all. We'll just keep working on it." Johnson on what was wrong in the 2nd half: "You name it, you name it. Have you ever seen that show "Deal or No Deal"? It was always a deal for them. He didn't put them in a situation where it was no deal. 50 points in the paint and it was layup city. We'll get back to practice and address this tomorrow." Johnson on offense: "We shot 60% in the 1st half. We had 22 or so assists at the half and 4 or 5 turnovers. We finished with 30 assists, 8 turnovers. But we didn't rebound the ball tonight. We just weren't very good defensively. For those that are on the outside, they'll probably just say we are crazy [to be unhappy with the win]." Dirk Nowitzki on Memphis' 3rd quarter run: "Well, teams are zoning us, it just obvious now. Minnesota did it pretty much the whole 4th quarter when they came back the other night and Memphis did it tonight in the 3rd quarter to get back in the game. Obviously the zone is designed to take the inside away. We really destroyed them, I thought, in the 1st half by getting layups and getting to the rim. With that zone, they took that away and forced us to knock down the outside shot. We weren't really shooting the ball well there in the 3rd quarter and the next thing you know, they are running the ball back in our basket and getting layups and then it was a ball game. But overall it was a decent effort and least we hung in there and got the win." Nowitzki on beating the zone: "You want to get the best look out there. We had some good looks out there, some open 3s in the corner, and had some open 15- to 16-footers that we have to take. We can't over-penetrate the zone either. You have to take the good looks that are there and just keep moving the basketball. It's better to go through the whole thing now than in the playoffs. Obviously we know we have to work on our zone offense and penetrate and get good shots and when the shot is there, knock them down with confidence." Josh Howard on the team being disappointed with the win: "That lets you know how hungry we are. We were disappointed about the way last season ended. This season, we're holding each other accountable." Jerry Stackhouse: "We should have been able to sustain what we did in the 1st half. So we're a little disappointed. We should have been better." Devean George: "They got close to us in the 3rd quarter because we got away from what was working for us. We were pushing the ball and attacking and we got away from that. Sometimes that happens when you get a big lead. You start trying different things instead of just continuing doing what's working." George on Miller being tough to defend when he's hot: "Yes he is. He can handle the ball and he's really got unlimited range out there shooting the ball. He's a great shooter. You have to respect a guy that can put the ball on the floor and is a great shooter as well." George: "I've been trying more to focus on my free throw shooting. I've been shooting a bad percentage this year and really not getting to the line and settling for a lot of jump shots. I'm just trying to do whatever is needed night in and night out." George on playing well before the All-Star break: "It's very important. We want to end on a high note and come back clicking on all cylinders with everybody well rested. You never want to have a slump before the All-Star break because you have 4 or 5 days to think about it. We just want to end the 1st half of the season on a positive." Greg Bucker on Johnson calling 2 timeouts early in the 3rd quarter: "Our coach is intense. He doesn't want us to let up. He was a little upset and he had a right to be." Tony Barone: "They came out and did a lot of good things early. We didn't respond very well. We went to the zone and I think they ended up something like 15 for 52 against the zone. The problem was they had 4 key offensive rebounds when we cut the lead to 7, and that's the mark of a good team. They don't just shoot it and run back, they went after the ball on the boards and did a nice job." Barone on pulling within 7 points: "I think you just string the zone out as long as you can. That's what we tried to do and they hit a couple of shots. More than hitting the shots, they got the offensive rebounds and that's what really hurt us because they got 3 in a row right when we cut the lead to 7. But I was actually very pleased with our overall effort. We made 2 substitutions, mass substitutions, which did not work. At both times we did it the lead was 8 or 12 and it ballooned right up to 20. So we didn't get good play off of our bench tonight at all. And I thought Conroy did a very nice job. In fact he kept some sanity for us in the 1st half." Pau Gasol: "We didn't come out as intense and focused as we needed. We know that they come out really hard here [at home] in the 1st quarter. They get good leads and then they play the whole ballgame off those leads. We weren't mentally ready for it. We made a good run in the 3rd and then they made a run, again. The zone worked out pretty well for us, but they got a lot of offensive rebounds in the 4th quarter. We tried and we played hard, but we just paid a high price for that run they had at the beginning." Gasol on Nowitzki: "I've seen him play many times. He just made more shots tonight than the other night. That's what he's able to do and that's why he shoots the most on their team." Will Conroy: "I felt I did okay. I just wanted to bring energy to the game. We didn't come out with energy and I feel like that's the thing I can bring. I had to be stable and give Damon [Stoudamire] and Chucky [Atkins] a rest. I have to be stable and press the ball up the court and press the other team's point guard and try to make something happen, go to the glass, try to get a rebound, and just try to help the team anyway I can." Conroy on the comeback: "I just wanted to win. I was telling the guys constantly that 7 is not enough, we have to go up 7. Almost doesn't count in this league. It's good to get a moral victory in that we came back a little bit and were right there, but at the end of the day it's still a loss." Dallas Mavericks 113, Memphis Grizzlies 97 at Dallas (February 7) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 40 25 24 24 - 113 .452 .533 .466 .767 Memphis 24 21 20 32 - 97 .525 .353 .487 .577 Halftime: Dallas 65-45 3rd Q: Dallas 89-65 Technicals: Alexander Johnson 3:40 1st, Memphis defensive 3 seconds 1:51 3rd Refs: Tom Washington, Derrick Collins, Tommy Nunez Attendance: 20,263 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Erick Dampier, Maurice Ager, Pops Mensah-Bonsu Memphis - Jake Tsakalidis, Kyle Lowry, Tarence Kinsey Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Devin Harris 24 1-5 0-0 2-2 4 0-1 8 1 3 1 1 Jason Terry 34 5-9 2-4 0-0 12 0-2 5 1 1 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 38 14-20 2-2 8-9 38 4-10 6 0 3 3 4 Josh Howard 31 9-20 2-4 3-3 23 5-9 2 2 4 3 1 DeSagana Diop 14 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 1-1 0 0 5 0 1 Devean George 26 5-11 0-1 5-6 15 2-5 0 2 3 4 1 Jerry Stackhouse 21 3-10 2-3 1-2 9 1-1 4 1 0 3 0 Greg Buckner 20 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 0-2 3 1 1 0 0 Anthony Johnson 14 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 DJ Mbenga 12 0-0 0-0 3-4 3 1-4 0 0 5 0 1 Austin Croshere 5 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 0 1 0 0 J.J. Barea 2 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 41-88 8-15 23-30 113 15-37 30 9 27 14 10 Memphis Grizzlies REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Damon Stoudamire 32 3-14 1-6 2-3 9 1-4 11 1 3 1 0 Rudy Gay 28 6-12 0-1 0-0 12 3-7 1 1 5 0 1 Lawrence Roberts 19 1-3 0-0 3-4 5 4-5 1 3 2 0 0 Mike Miller 40 8-14 5-6 0-0 21 2-7 4 4 1 0 1 Pau Gasol 38 13-19 0-1 3-6 29 2-9 3 9 4 0 4 Alexander Johnson 25 3-7 0-0 4-8 10 2-10 0 3 4 0 1 Dahntay Jones 23 2-3 0-1 2-3 6 0-1 0 0 0 1 0 Will Conroy 11 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 1 0 1 0 0 Hakim Warrick 10 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 2-3 0 1 2 0 0 Brian Cardinal 8 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Chucky Atkins 4 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Stromile Swift 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 38-78 6-17 15-26 97 17-47 22 22 22 2 7 Houston at Dallas (February 9) Erick Dampier returned to action after missing one game with a sore knee. Dallas elected to start Devean George in place of Devin Harris as Dallas wanted to put a bigger body on Tracy McGrady from the start. Didn't help too much as McGrady had 14 points in the 1st quarter (less than the 21 points he had the 1st quarter of the last Dal-Hou game). A 3-pointer by Shane Battier and jumper by McGrady gave Dallas a 5-2 lead with 9 minutes to go, but Dallas went on an 11-2 run to go up 13-7 with 5;50 remaining. Dallas led 20-15 with 2:35 remaining and the Mavs missed their last 6 shots of the quarter and Houston scored 9 straight points to go up 24-20 after 1. A 3-pointer by Rafer Alston gave Houston a 31-24 lead with 8:35 left, but Dallas then went on an 11-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Jerry Stackhouse, to go up 35-33 with 3:30 remaining. A 3-pointer by Greg Buckner gave Dallas a 43-37 lead with 1:25 to go. A bucket by Alston was the only points scored the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 43-39 at the half. McGrady only had 2 points in the 2nd quarter. Josh Howard scored the first 7 points of the 3rd quarter to give Dallas a 50-39 lead with 9:45 to go. A 3-pointer by Alston 3 minutes into the quarter were Houston's first points of the quarter. 2 free throws by McGrady pulled Houston within 44-50 with 8:05 remaining. 2 free throws by Juwan Howard pulled Houston within 48-52 with 4:50 remaining, but Dallas scored the next 16 points, including 10 points and 2 assists by Stackhouse, to give Dallas a 68-48 lead with 2:15 left. Dallas led 72-53 after 3. Dallas out-scored Houston 29-14 in the 3rd quarter as Houston shot just 3-17 FG in the quarter. Houston's struggles continued into the 4th quarter as they missed their first 5 shots and committed 2 turnovers and Dallas jumped up to a lead 78-53 with 8:15 remaining. An impressive dunk by Josh Howard off a nice feed from Harris and extra free throw off the foul gave Dallas an 85-56 with 6:35 left. Dallas led in the 20s the rest of the game. Dallas won 95-74. For a change, Dallas built a big lead and kept it. Dallas out-scored Houston 52-29 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. It was Houston's largest loss of the season [Dallas largest loss (31 points) came against Houston on November 4]. Houston struggled with their shot throughout the game. Houston only shot 33.3% (26-78) FG including 4-12 3-pointers in the game. Dallas shot 45% (36-80) FG including 6-14 3-pointers. Dallas shot 17-22 FT and Houston shot 18-25 FT. Dallas out-rebounded Houston 55-40 including 14-11 offensive. Dallas had 24 assists and Houston had 12 assists. Both teams were fairly clean with the ball as Dallas had 13 turnovers and Houston had 10 turnovers. It was Dallas' 17th straight home win - the longest home winning streak in team history. The Mavs were able to win fairly easily despite a mediocre outing from Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris lead the 3rd quarter rally during which Dallas' lead ballooned into the 20s. Stackhouse had 14 points including 4-11 FG, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. Harris had 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Josh Howard was Dallas' high man with 22 points including 9-15 FG. He also had 7 rebounds. Jason Terry had 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Mavs welcomed Erick Dampier back as he had 2 points and 11 rebounds. DeSagana Diop reappeared after his poor outing against Memphis. Diop had 2 points and 14 rebounds including 6 offensive. Devean George missed all 6 shots he attempted (did hit 2 free throws), but he was in the game for his defense and helped contain Tracy McGrady after the 1st quarter (Howard and Greg Buckner also took turns on McGrady). George also had 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Buckner had 5 points and 2 rebounds. Anthony Johnson (no shot attempts), Austin Croshere (6 points), and J.J. Barea (2 points) came in for the last 6 minutes of the game. 14 of Tracy McGrady's 20 points came in the 1st quarter. Rafer Alston had a nice 1st half with 11 points, but only scored 3 points in the 2nd half. He also had 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Juwan Howard had 11 points including 3-9 FG and 6 rebounds. No other Rocket was in double-digits. Shane Battier had 5 points including just 1-9 FG. Quotes Avery Johnson: "Tonight we got off to a little bit of a slow start. McGrady came out hot on us again tonight, that is nothing unusual. But in the 2nd quarter and then on we were able to try and keep as much pressure on him as we could. We were fortunate enough to get a lead and get some momentum there in the beginning of the 3rd quarter and pretty much for the whole 2nd half. This game was a little bit different than our last game in the 2nd half. We defended. Fortunately they missed some shots - they don't normally miss that many shots. We were fortunate that they missed some shots and didn't score as many points in the paint on us as the last game. We protected the lead pretty well tonight, which was a good sign. Now we have to play another one on Sunday." Johnson on the 3rd quarter run: "Yeah, Devin was really pushing the ball up while Stackhouse got some really nice assists for us. I have been saying all year, he has really been passing the ball well this year. We got some steals there in that stretch and turned the turnovers into some fastbreak opportunities. We were fortunate that we were running for layups. Recently, we have not been running for layups as much as we have been running to shoot jump shots, so that was a nice change." Johnson on the 2nd half: "I thought we extended our defense more. We had active hands fortunately. They threw some balls away and we were able to come up with them. I thought we did a nice job of picking up McGrady at 94 feet. You have to try and put pressure on him. He really had a big game on us. We thought if we changed the lineup and try to get a bigger body on him, but that didn't necessarily work early. But with the combination of Buckner and George and Josh Howard on him, that seems to work better than putting Devin on him. Devin's just a little too small." Johnson on Stackhouse: "I got him out kind of quick in the 1st half. I brought him in around the 4:00 mark or 3:50 and I didn't let him stay out there as long. He got back in there in the 2nd half and it seemed like he had another gear. That extra gear that he had in that stretch in the 3rd quarter really helped us out." Josh Howard on running in the 2nd half: "It was real important. Houston is a good team. They hung around the whole 1st half and we just wanted to put them away early in the 3rd. Everybody did a good job, especially Devin Harris." Howard on defending McGrady in the 2nd half: "It was just great team defense. Making sure he had a body on him at all times and when he rolls up for a shot, make sure it's contested. Not putting him on the line - I think that last game he went to the line a lot and we did a good job of not doing that tonight." Howard on McGrady: "No one stops him, but it's contesting every shot. He's going to get a lot of touches. You just want to be right in front of him every time." Howard on the bench: "Like I've been saying, we've got guys on the bench that can give us 20 and 10 on any given night. So when everyone is clicking, we can really do some damage quickly. It's fun to be on a team like this and we're enjoying it." DeSagana Diop: "I'm going to miss DJ [Mbenga]. I go against him 1-on-1 a lot in practice. He really helps me work on my offense, work on my defense. Even though he didn't get to play a lot, but he would get in their and provide depth for us in the middle when me or Damp got in foul trouble. Damp and I are just going to have to be really conscious about our fouls." Diop: "When you have a coach like Avery, you're never going to let up. He stays on us like we're 1-40. We've just got to be focused and he's does a great job of doing that. We've just got to stay focused and we'll be fine." Jeff Van Gundy: "They certainly out-classed us in the 2nd half. They beat us up. Obviously they defended us well and turned those into transition baskets. They dominated us up on the boards." Van Gundy on Dallas: "They have a solid team. I have to own that I've got to get us to play better, and our group has to own that when they hit us in the 2nd half that our response was not what is needed to stay in the game against a quality team. We've got to play better, but we also need to have the internal mental strength to weather tough times. I thought in transition defense it showed and was glaring and that we didn't put quite into it what's necessary." Van Gundy on Houston's biggest problem: "I don't think you can lay it on any one thing. Give them credit defensively. I have to make sure that we can play better against teams of Dallas' quality. I would say give them credit and if you want to point the finger, point it at me." Tracy McGrady: "When I brought up the ball, there were 2 guys on me and our offense became hesitant. Guys didn't know what to do. We're too good for that." Rafer Alston: "It's another game where we played them well and tight in the 1st half and then when they started extending their defensive pressure, we didn't have an answer for that. So we've got to understand that. We've got to stay in our game plan - and our game plan when they did that, we were supposed to attack and keep driving the ball." Alston: "You've got to give them credit because they play great D and right now they're the best team in the NBA for a reason, I wouldn't just say because of the offense. They defend the basketball and tonight they showed it and were able to use their length. When they got the rebound on a steal, they would use their speed. They'd get down there and get transition buckets, transitions 3-pointers. They defend the ball." Shane Battier: "To beat this team, you've really got to concentrate and really keep your focus for the entire game. There was a stretch there it got away from us a little bit, we lost our focus and we missed some jump shots when we got out on the break and that was essentially the game. There's no question we need to respond better to those situations." Battier on the 3rd quarter: "Well, we took some quick shots and they did a good job of getting the outlet and racing up the court and creating a tempo that wasn't to our strength and we didn't respond very well on the other end. We'd come down and jack a quick shot as well or turn the ball over. Against this team you have to concentrate and to beat this team in Dallas you have to play 48 minutes of very good basketball." Dallas Mavericks 95, Houston Rockets 74 at Dallas (February 9) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 20 23 29 23 - 95 .455 .489 .450 .773 Houston 24 15 14 21 - 74 .333 .333 .333 .720 Halftime: Dallas 43-39 3rd Q: Dallas 72-53 Technicals: Dirk Nowitzki 1:00 1st, Tracy McGrady 10:38 4th, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 6:26 4th, Anthony Johnson 0:10 4th Refs: James Capers, Jack Nies, Jason Phillips Attendance: 20,446 (sellout) IL: Dallas - DJ Mbenga, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Maurice Ager Houston - Yao Ming, Bonzi Wells, Bob Sura Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 33 7-12 1-2 3-4 18 0-3 3 0 1 0 0 Devean George 24 0-6 0-4 2-2 2 1-3 4 0 2 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 33 7-14 0-1 1-2 15 0-8 2 2 4 2 0 Josh Howard 33 9-15 2-2 2-3 22 2-7 2 4 2 1 1 Erick Dampier 24 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 3-11 1 1 1 0 1 DeSagana Diop 20 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 6-14 0 1 3 0 1 Greg Buckner 19 2-6 1-2 0-0 5 1-2 0 1 3 0 0 Devin Harris 18 2-3 0-0 3-4 7 0-4 4 2 0 2 0 Jerry Stackhouse 17 4-11 2-3 4-5 14 1-3 5 0 2 1 0 Anthony Johnson 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Austin Croshere 7 2-5 0-0 2-2 6 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 J.J. Barea 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-80 6-14 17-22 95 14-55 24 13 20 6 3 Houston Rockets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Rafer Alston 37 6-13 2-4 0-2 14 0-4 4 2 4 1 0 Tracy McGrady 28 7-16 1-1 5-5 20 1-3 3 0 2 2 0 Juwan Howard 36 3-9 0-0 5-7 11 2-6 0 0 2 0 0 Shane Battier 31 1-9 1-3 2-2 5 1-3 0 0 2 1 0 Dikembe Mutombo 18 2-4 0-0 0-1 4 2-5 1 2 3 0 1 Luther Head 23 1-8 0-4 0-0 2 0-3 2 4 0 0 0 Chuck Hayes 22 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2-6 0 0 3 0 0 Kirk Snyder 18 1-7 0-0 3-4 5 2-6 0 1 2 0 1 John Lucas 9 2-5 0-0 2-2 6 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Scott Padgett 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Vassilis Spanoulis 7 2-3 0-0 1-2 5 1-2 2 0 0 0 0 Steve Novak 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 1 0 Totals 48 26-78 4-12 18-25 74 11-40 12 10 20 5 2 Dallas at Philadelphia (February 11) The teams traded leads early on as neither team held more than a 3 point lead over the first 9 minutes of the game. The game was tied at 16-16 with 4:10 remaining and Dallas closed the quarter with a 9-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki. Dallas led 25-18 after 1. Dirk Nowitzki had 10 points. A 3-pointer by Greg Buckner kicked off an 11-2 Dallas run to open the 2nd quarter and give Dallas a 36-20 lead with 9:30 left. Dallas scored 5 straight points to take their first 20 point lead at 43-23 with 6:40 to go. A layup and 3-pointer by Devean George gave Dallas a 52-27 lead with 3:45 remaining. After the teams traded buckets, Philadelphia scored 6 straight points to pull within 35-54 with 2 minutes to go. Dallas scored the last 5 points of the quarter to lead 63-39 at the half. Samuel Dalembert opened the 3rd quarter with a layup, but Dallas then went on a 10-2 run to go up 73-43 with 7 minutes remaining. Dallas led 82-55 with 3:50 left and Philly closed the quarter with a 10-2 run, capped by a hook shot by Willie Green at the quarter buzzer, as Dallas missed 3 shots and shot 2-4 FT. Dallas led 84-65 after 3. Philadelphia continued their run as they opened the 4th quarter with a 13-2 run to pull within 78-86 with 8:40 to go - it was a 23-4 run spanning the 3rd and 4th quarters. But the Mavs finally realized the game wasn't over and Jason Terry hit consecutive jumpers and then assisted on 3 straight Mavs buckets, with the last being a 3-pointer by George, to give Dallas a 98-80 lead with 5 minutes to go. A 3-pointer by Kyle Korver pulled Philadelphia within 88-100 with 2 minutes left, but Dallas scored the next 4 points to put the game away. Dallas won 106-89. It was another game where Dallas built a large lead and then let the other team get back in the game. Yes the Mavs continue to win, but it is a nasty trend that the team can't afford to continue, especially when they start facing some of the better teams in the league. Letting a 30 point lead slip all the way down to 8 points is something to worry about, even if the end is still a win. Dallas did shot well in the game and finished shooting 52% (39-75) FG including 7-15 3-pointers. Philly shot 43% (34-79) FG including a mere 1-10 3-pointers - it is always good when sharp-shooter Kyle Korver doesn't get going. The rebounds were near even with Philadelphia out-rebounding Dallas 42-41 including 11-7 offensive. Dallas had a very good assist to turnover ratio with 28 assists and just 9 turnovers. Philadelphia had 15 assists and 15 turnovers. Dirk Nowitzki had a solid all around game with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Jason Terry successfully stopped Philly's comeback with a couple of buckets and assists in the 4th quarter. For the game, Terry had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals. Josh Howard was fairly quiet with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Devean George again started and had 15 points and 4 rebounds. Erick Dampier had 12 points on 6-7 FG and 5 rebounds as all 5 Dallas starters were in double-digits scoring. It was a fairly quiet night for the Mavs bench. Jerry Stackhouse had 7 points including 2-6 FG and 3 assists in 20 minutes. Devin Harris had 3 points and 3 assists in 17 minutes. DeSagana Diop had 2 points on 2-2 FT and 8 rebounds and Greg Buckner had 8 points and 3 rebounds. Austin Croshere (4 points) and J.J. Barea (0 points) got in at the end of the game. Andre Iguodala led the way for Philadelphia with 21 points including 7-10 FT, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. He had a season highlight reel dunk late in the game (after Dallas had a large lead) where he one-handed caught an offensive rebound at shoulder width away from the basket and took the ball over his head for the ferocious slam. Andre Miller had 16 points, but had just 3 assists (averages 8). Samuel Dalembert had 7 points including 2-8 FG and 12 rebounds including 5 offensive. Kyle Korver chipped in 18 points and 6 rebounds off the bench (but shot just 1-3 3-pointers). Quotes Avery Johnson: "I thought in the 2nd quarter I tried to be aggressive. We were getting stops and fortunately they didn't shoot a high percentage in the 1st half. The 2nd half, we kind of went to sleep. I really want to tip my hat to Maurice Cheeks because a lot of teams would have quit in our league and would have went from 30 [points down] to 40. I was watching him on the sidelines. He kept working his guys. I must have stopped working my guys because they stormed back on us." Johnson: "When they stormed back on us at the end we were fortunate. That's what really good teams do - when teams make runs, you have to try and shot them down and try to go on the offensive." Jason Terry: "I thought we shared the ball well tonight. We ran out and got back in transition for the most part. It was a great effort on everybody's part. They're a scrappy young team and they kept coming at us. We stood our ground and put them away there at the end." Terry on starting the road trip with a win: "It was a big to get off this first one with a win. It was very important that we get off to a good start and play well. The first game sets the tempo. Now we can get to Milwaukee and really zone in on what we have to get done." Jerry Stackhouse: "We got off to a good start early. It's inevitable that some teams are going to make a run and there's going to be a little bit of let down when you have a 30 point lead. They had a little more of a run than we would have liked for them to do. I think we all felt like we were in control of the game the whole. It was a good win to start off this trip." Maurice Cheeks: "They're a good basketball team. There's a reason why they're 42-9. You can see a lot of things that they do - they defend, they have good offensive players, they have 5 or 6 guys in double-figures every night, and they have 2 All-Stars. We gave ourselves a chance in the 2nd half, but like I told them, we had to do everything right in the 2nd half. We cut the lead to 8, which is a feat in itself after being down 30, but we had to do everything right at that point. We continued to play and that's what I like about our team. Even though we got down 30 points, we continued to fight, we gave ourselves a chance, and that's all we ask." Cheeks on Louis Williams: "He was in the game when we made a run and we made a run because of some of the things that he did. I know we talk about Louis a lot in terms of being in practice. Now he's getting some game time and getting some game time experience so he has to learn on the fly." Cheeks on the comeback: "We're not going to forget about being down 30, but we continue to play and give ourselves a chance to get back in the game. In the NBA, there are many times when teams get up 20 or 25 points and teams make runs. I knew Dallas understood that at some point we were going to make a run. We didn't know if we were going to get back to 8 points or not, but we were going to make a run. At that time, we have to guard every screen-and-roll, we can't let them get any offensive rebounds, which they did, and we have to do everything right for the stretch." Kyle Korver: "That was a big hole we got ourselves into. That was a great team we played against - a team that is going to be [in the hunt] at the end. They kind of got us on our heels in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, we did a better job of getting back to what we've been doing lately - as far as playing together and not just taking the first available shot." Korver: "That's a great team. We're going to try to take some good things out of it." Korver on the comeback: "I am not surprised that we made a run and came back - I would be surprised if we quit. As much as this team has been through this year, we're not one of those teams that's just going to quit. We've come to far to just lie down and die. We weren't going to do that. We knew we had a little run in us, and we showed that a little bit." Korver: "But Terry got open looks and then they took control of things." Willie Green: "With the young core guys that we have we can definitely see ourselves playing that kind of basketball and winning that many games." Green: "It is still a learning experience for a lot of us. You've got to give Dallas all the credit in the world. There's a reason why they're 42-9. You can't make mistakes on teams like that. Hopefully, we can just take some of the things that they did to us and implement them into our own games." Dallas Mavericks 106, Philadelphia 89 at Philadelphia (February 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 25 38 21 22 - 106 .533 .467 .520 .750 Philadelphia 18 21 26 24 - 89 .478 .100 .430 .741 Halftime: Dallas 63-39 3rd Q: Dallas 84-65 Technicals: none Refs: Scott Wall, Greg Willard, Zach Zarba Attendance: 13,673 (cap 20,294) IL: Dallas - DJ Mbenga, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Maurice Ager Philadelphia - Shavlik Randolph Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 36 7-15 1-2 1-2 16 1-4 11 2 1 3 0 Devean George 30 6-10 3-3 0-0 15 1-4 1 0 1 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 39 9-18 1-3 5-7 24 2-11 7 1 2 3 0 Josh Howard 35 5-11 1-4 4-5 15 1-5 1 2 4 0 1 Erick Dampier 29 6-7 0-0 0-0 12 1-5 1 0 2 0 1 Jerry Stackhouse 20 2-6 0-1 3-4 7 0-1 3 0 1 0 0 Devin Harris 17 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 0-0 3 2 3 1 0 DeSagana Diop 16 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 1-8 0 0 2 1 1 Greg Buckner 14 3-5 1-2 1-2 8 0-3 1 1 2 0 0 Austin Croshere 3 0-0 0-0 4-4 4 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 J.J. Barea 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 39-75 7-15 21-28 106 7-41 28 9 18 9 4 Philadelphia 76ers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Andre Miller 33 6-10 0-1 4-4 16 1-3 3 3 2 0 0 Andre Iguodala 45 7-17 0-1 7-10 21 1-9 5 4 2 0 0 Steven Hunter 16 3-6 0-0 1-2 7 2-3 0 0 2 0 0 Rodney Carney 22 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-2 1 0 3 0 0 Samuel Dalembert 33 2-8 0-0 3-4 7 5-12 1 4 1 0 2 Kyle Korver 33 6-12 1-3 5-5 18 0-6 0 2 3 0 0 Joe Smith 23 3-7 0-0 0-1 6 1-5 0 1 4 2 0 Willie Green 19 5-11 0-3 0-0 10 1-2 1 0 1 1 0 Louis Williams 15 2-6 0-1 0-1 4 0-0 4 0 0 1 0 Bobby Jones 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 34-79 1-10 20-27 89 11-42 15 15 20 4 2 patricia