Phoenix at Dallas (March 14) The big game of the week was here pitting the teams with the 2 best records against each other. Dallas was without Devean George as his knee was bothering him. Phoenix took an early 9-4 lead 2 minutes in. A layup by Shawn Marion and 3-pointer by Steve Nash gave the Suns a 23-12 lead with 4:45 to go as Dallas struggled with their shot. Phoenix scored the last 4 points of the quarter to take their largest lead at 32-18. Dallas shot just 5-18 FG while Phoenix shot 14-21 FG including 22 points in the paint. Devin Harris got hit in the head (with no call) early in the 2nd quarter and left the game and did not return due to a neck strain. A jumper by Josh Howard and 3-point play by DeSagana Diop pulled Dallas within 27-36 with 9:50 remaining, but Phoenix then went on an 11-4 run to go up 47-31 with 6:15 left. Dallas was able to pull within 9 points again 3 more times, but a 3-pointer by Raja Bell gave Phoenix a 56-44 lead with 2:50 to go. Dallas closed the quarter with a 9-4 run, capped by an alley-oop (yes, a successful alley-oop by the Mavs) dunk from Jason Terry to Jerry Stackhouse with 2 seconds left. Phoenix led 60-53 at the half. Dirk Nowitzki and Stackhouse had 10 points in the quarter. Dallas' offense improved in the 2nd quarter as they shot 54% FG, but Phoenix was still shooting well (though not as hot as in the 1st quarter) at 53% FG. Dallas did out-score Phoenix 35-28 in the 2nd quarter as the Mavs controlled the paint better (outscored Phoenix 16-8 in the paint in the quarter). Phoenix led 65-57 with 9:50 to go and Dallas scored the next 11 points to take a 68-65 lead with 7:10 left, Dallas first lead since the opening bucket. Dallas led 79-75 with 3:15 remaining and a 3-pointer by Stackhouse kicked off a 12-1 Dallas run to close the quarter. Dallas led 91-76 after 3. Howard had 10 points in the 3rd quarter. Dallas out-scored Phoenix 38-16 in the quarter as Phoenix shot just 37% FG and Dallas out-rebounded the Suns 15-5. Nowitzki opened the 4th quarter hitting 1-2 FT to give Dallas their largest lead at 16 points. Phoenix then went on a 10-2 run to pull within 86-94 with 8:55 to go. Dallas' lead hovered between 10 and 7 points over the next 5 minutes. Dallas led 106-96 with 3:55 remaining and Phoenix scored the next 5 points to pull within 101-106 with 2:30 left. Terry hit a jumper and the teams traded misses over the next minute. Nash hit 2 free throws with 57 seconds to go and Nowitzki hit 1-2 FT with 33 seconds left to make it a 6 point game. Nash got a layup 10 seconds later and Howard was intentionally fouled. He hit 1-2 FT to give Dallas a 110-105 lead with 19 seconds remaining. Phoenix brought the ball up quickly and Nash got the ball behind the arc and Howard went flying at him (a dumb mistake) and Nash leaned in to Howard and got the obvious call that sent him to the line to shoot 3 free throws. Of course Nash hit all 3 to make it a 2 point game with 14.5 seconds left. Nowitzki was intentionally fouled and he hit 1-2 FT to leave the door open at 111-108 with 13.5 seconds remaining - Dallas shot 3-6 FT in the last 33 seconds of the game. Nash missed a 3-point attempt with 5 seconds left, but Marion batted the ball back outside and Nash drained the 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to tie the game. Nowitzki missed a jumper at the buzzer and we had overtime at 111-111. Nash had 15 points and Amare Stoudemire had 11 points in the 4th quarter. Phoenix out-scored Dallas 35-20 in the quarter in shooting 12-16 FG, while Dallas shot just 7-19 FG and 4-9 FT. Stoudemire scored the first 4 points of the overtime on layups and Dallas missed their first 4 shots. The teams then traded 2 points over the next minute and Phoenix led 119-115 with 2:40 to go. Neither team scored over the next minute and Stoudemire hit 1-2 FT with 1:35 remaining. Dallas turned the ball over, but Stoudemire was called for a moving pick. Terry drove for 2 to pull Dallas within 117-120 with 48 seconds to go. Nowitzki blocked Nash's layup attempt late in the shot clock and Nowitzki got the ball with 22 seconds left. Dallas spent a lot of time looking for a 3-point attempt (and had me screaming with the wasted time), but Terry drained a prayer of a 3 with 5 seconds left to tie the game. After a Phoenix timeout, Leandro Barbosa missed a short shot and we had a 2nd overtime at 120-120. Stoudemire had 7 of Phoenix's 9 overtime points. Erick Dampier got a putback on Dallas' first possession of the 2nd overtime to give Dallas the lead, but Stoudemire scored the next 6 points to give Phoenix a 126-122 lead with 2:25 remaining. During that span, both Howard and Dampier picked up their 6th fouls. Unhappy with some non-calls, Nowitzki picked up a technical with 1:55 left and Nash hit the free throw to give Phoenix a 5 point lead. After Nash missed a layup attempt, Stackhouse nailed a 3-pointer to pull Dallas within 125-127 with 1:35 to go. Nash missed again, but Marion got the putback with 1:10 left. Barbosa picked up his 6th foul with a minute left. A jumper by Nowitzki pulled Dallas within 127-129 with 50 seconds remaining. Nash missed a jumper, but then stole the ball and Phoenix ran more time off the clock. James Jones missed a 3-point attempt with 9 seconds left. Dallas brought the ball up and struggled to get a good look and Nowitzki's 18-footer was short and time expired on the rebound. Phoenix won 129-127 in 2 overtimes. It was definitely an exciting game, but it definitely was not a pretty game. A "classic" game (as some labeled this) is one where teams are trading punches back and forth, not one where each team held a 16-point lead in the game at one point. Both teams went through stretches where they struggled with their shots. Phoenix out-scored Dallas 67-38 in the 1st and 4th quarters and Dallas out-scored Phoenix 73-44 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The exciting parts came late in the 4th and overtimes where both teams made some tough shots (and Dallas made some dumb mistakes). Although there was some questionable officiating [and that's all I'm saying on that matter, bitting my tongue], the Mavs have no one to blame but themselves for the loss with the missed free throws at the end of regulation, Erick Dampier swinging his elbows for an offensive foul (correct call) after collecting an offensive rebound late in the 4th, and Josh Howard stupidly flying at Steve Nash to give him 3 free throws. As for the numbers, Phoenix shot a much better percentage that Dallas, but only made 2 more field goals as Dallas had 16 more attempts due to rebounds. Phoenix shot 55.7% (49-88) FG including 7-17 3-pointers and Dallas shot 45.2% (47-104) FG including 10-18 3-pointers. Phoenix shot 24-30 FT and Dallas shot 23-31 FT (including 3-6 FT on intentional fouls). Dallas out-rebounded Phoenix 55-38 including 27-11 offensive. The loss snapped Dallas' home winning streak at a team record 23 wins. Dallas leads the season series with Phoenix 2-1, with the final game to take place April 1 in Phoenix. Steve Nash took his team on his back and carried them to the comeback to tie the game in the 4th quarter as he scored 15 points and assisted on 10 more Phoenix points in the quarter. But it was Amare Stoudemire who carried the Suns in the overtimes as Stoudemire scored 13 of Phoenix's 18 overtime points. The Mavs could not stop Stoudemire and he even hit a few outside shots. Stoudemire finished with 41 points on 16-19 FG and 9-12 FT and had 10 rebounds. He also had 6 turnovers. Though he only shot 1-5 FG in the 2 overtimes, Nash had a strong outing and finished with 32 points including 11-25 FG, 8 rebounds, and 16 assists. He also had 5 turnovers. Shawn Marion also had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He also had 3 blocks. Raja Bell had 11 points in 53 minutes. Boris Diaw's minutes were limited due to foul trouble and Mike D'Antoni elected not to play him in the last 16 minutes of the game as the team was playing well without him. Diaw had just 4 points, no rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. Leandro Barbosa had 17 points including 7-10 FT off the bench before fouling out late in the 2nd overtime. All 9 off James Jones' points came in the 2nd quarter where he hit 3 3-pointers. Dirk Nowitzki had a good outing, but he took some criticism for his missed free throws late in the 4th quarter. Nowitzki had 30 points on 11-28 FG and 8-12 FT, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists in 57 minutes. Jason Terry had the shot of the night with his 3-pointer to send the game into a 2nd overtime. He finished with 27 points including 5-7 3-pointers. He also had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 5 turnovers. Josh Howard had 19 points, but also missed some free throws in shooting just 5-8 FG. He also had 9 rebounds before fouling out early in the 2nd overtime. Jerry Stackhouse had a good offensive game off the bench with 33 points including 12-20 FG and 5-6 3-pointers. He didn't have a rebound and had 2 assists. In the weirdest stat of the night, Erick Dampier had 11 rebounds - all offensive. He also had 8 points on 4-10 FG before fouling out early in the 2nd overtime. DeSagana Diop had 5 points and 7 rebounds. Devin Harris had 2 points in 6 minutes before his injury. Greg Buckner had 3 points, but was in the game for his defense. He played 26 minutes. Quotes Mike D'Antoni: "This was an unbelievable game. Both teams fought it out. I thought defensively we really picked it up after we were down 16 - and that's where we have to improve and that's where we have to get better, and we did that. In the end people will look at different things. And Shawn Marion, the job that he did on Dirk down the stretch and in overtime blocking shots, rebounding, getting the loose ball, and putting them back in. Shawn Marion was incredible." D'Antoni on Stoudemire: "Amare was pretty awesome [in the 4th]. When you're 16-19, that's not a bad night. He was unstoppable. He had a little sore back, a little muscle cramp or something, in the 1st half and I didn't know, but man did he rise to the occasion in the 4th quarter. It was unbelievable." Steve Nash on Stoudemire: "He's a great finisher. That was quite a performance." Amare Stoudemire: "That was a playoff atmosphere. Both teams played with high intensity. Both teams were in it until the end. We definitely wanted to win, but we also want to improve." Shawn Marion on the 4th quarter comeback: "When there's still time on the clock, you've still got a chance to win the game. That's something you've got to have the mentality and focus, and we did. I think a couple plays here and there and we got bounces and got turnovers and forced overtime. So I think our defense was real good tonight. That's what made us win this game. We came back from 15 points down." Marion: "We needed this win, definitely. We proved we can come in here and beat them on their own court. We've got to do what we know we can do and are capable of doing." Raja Bell: "The 3rd quarter they jumped on us. They came out and they were fired up after halftime. Avery is probably one of the best motivators in the business. They were ready to go and they pounced and we weren't. In the 4th quarter, we kind of regrouped, were able to get back to execute, and we picked our intensity up and matched theirs and were able to climb back in it. Steve made a huge shot and saved us. Between him, Stoudemire, and LB [Barbosa] down the stretch, they were all big." Bell: "It was just a slugfest. JT [Terry] hit it. It was a big shot, but we couldn't be upset because Steve kind of rescued us with one of his own. So it was another whatever how many minutes we had to play. We were going to go out there and try and jump on them again." Avery Johnson: "Tonight we didn't get off to a great start. They picked us apart early in the game - back doors and back cuts. But in the 2nd quarter we got better. We didn't get that many stops in the 2nd quarter either. But we got into a better gear in the 2nd quarter and it carried over into the 3rd quarter. We had an awesome 3rd quarter. We executed offensively and defensively. We got stops, held them to 16 points in the 3rd, and then it all fell apart again in the 4th. We didn't execute as much as we needed to. We didn't score as much as we should have. We didn't finish, which is one of the things that we talk about. We missed a couple of free throws and had a tough foul there on Nash which gave them 3 free throws. That was a couple of big swings right there during that segment." Johnson: "But our guys are just fierce competitors; their guys are fierce competitors. It was 2 heavy weight teams going at it. Both teams refused to lose. Jason Terry did a great job. We talked about not calling a time out and then Jason Terry came out and popped that 3-pointer at the end of the 1st overtime. That was great. Dirk pushed it up at the end, had a little 12-footer and it just didn't go down." Johnson: "Our guys are tough minded and tough physically. Stackhouse had an incredible game for us off the bench. I really wanted to get that one for him. Not having Josh at the end when he fouled out, because I thought he was doing a pretty good job on Nash, hurt us. We'll get back to practice tomorrow, but this was a tough one." Johnson on if it was one of the most intense games of the season: "It's up there. It just shows how our guys don't have any quit in them. They were really picking us apart early in the game, but our defense got better as the game went on and then we took a step backwards defensively in the 4th quarter when we had that lead. That has been a big deal to us, even as it relates to last year, not really being able to finish. We are going to really get past that hurdle, especially in big games and as we move on into the playoffs that is something that we can get a very close look at." Johnson on Howard's foul on Nash shooting a 3-pointer: "Josh was right there and we thought about making a tough shot for him. He [Nash] did a good job of drawing the foul." Johnson on if the loss was demoralizing: "That is a strong word - demoralizing - with 20 games to go in the regular season. I think it's that way when it is the last game of the season, but not now. Again we had played well. We didn't have a great March last year, by the way, and then we were able to come back strong. Who knows what is going to happen this time? If our guys can string together some stops and if I do a better job of getting them in a better position to make sure they can be more successful, then we can get it turned around." Josh Howard on the loss: "I'm ready to play again on Friday. We're just going to have to put this game behind us and move on. We're not a team that's going to dwell on the past. We're just going to keep moving forward. We've been doing that all year - one game isn't going to stop our momentum or change anything." Howard: "We missed opportunities to win the game, that's it. Great game up and down. We had our opportunities and had a couple of turnovers we shouldn't have had." Howard on defending Nash: "I just wanted to stay in front of him. He can use either hand well. You just have to be ready to contain him. Pick-and-roll is their game and they did a great job in the 2 overtime periods with that." Jerry Stackhouse: "They made a couple defense stops; it's normally us that's making those defensive stops late in the game. They got a couple defense stops and they deserved to win the game. It was a great game, obviously. We got down, fought back to get into the game, got up, they fought back to get into the game, and then had a couple of fun overtimes. But, you know, a bounce here, bounce there. A lot of that has happened [for us] during the different streaks that we've had during the season and tonight the ball bounced the other way." Stackhouse: "It was a great game. I think they came in here with a lot of confidence and they're a lot better team than they were at the beginning of the season and obviously we're a lot better than we were at the beginning of the season. It was just a great all-around game - a bunch of runs, guys making plays, and we just came up a little short. With all that said and done, we had a chance at the end to not only tie the game but to win it too. We can take it on the chin. A lot of times we give it on the chin, so when it hits us on the chin we're able to stand up and take it." Stackhouse: "This was a big game. We aren't going to try to downplay it. It was a little disappointing not to get the win, but we'll bounce back." Phoenix Suns 129, Dallas Mavericks 127 2OT at Dallas (March 14) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT 2OT - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Phoenix 32 28 16 35 9 9 - 129 .592 .412 .557 .800 Dallas 18 35 38 20 9 7 - 127 .430 .556 .452 .742 Halftime: Phoenix 60-53 3rd Q: Dallas 91-76 4th Q: 111-111 1st OT: 120-120 Technicals: Erick Dampier (hanging on rim) 11:11 3rd, Dirk Nowitzki 1:56 2nd OT Refs: Steve Javie, Phil Robinson, Michael Smith Attendance: 20,525 (sellout) IL: Phoenix - Sean Marks, Marcus Banks Dallas - Devean George, DJ MBenga Phoenix Suns REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Steve Nash 48 11-25 2-6 8-8 32 1-8 16 5 2 1 0 Raja Bell 53 5-11 1-3 0-0 11 0-3 3 0 4 2 0 Shawn Marion 48 7-12 1-2 0-0 15 4-12 1 2 4 2 3 Boris Diaw 20 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 2 0 4 0 0 Amare Stoudemire 45 16-19 0-0 9-12 41 4-10 1 6 4 0 2 Leandro Barbosa 37 5-11 0-2 7-10 17 0-1 3 3 6 1 1 James Jones 26 3-5 3-4 0-0 9 0-1 0 1 2 1 2 Kurt Thomas 13 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2-3 0 2 0 0 0 Totals 58 49-88 7-17 24-30 129 11-38 26 19 26 7 8 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Devin Harris 6 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0-1 0 2 2 1 0 Jason Terry 55 10-20 5-7 2-2 27 2-5 5 5 4 4 2 Dirk Nowitzki 57 11-28 0-2 8-12 30 4-16 6 3 2 0 1 Josh Howard 45 7-19 0-3 5-8 19 3-9 2 0 6 1 0 Erick Dampier 26 4-10 0-0 0-0 8 11-11 0 2 6 1 0 Jerry Stackhouse 42 12-20 5-6 4-5 33 0-0 2 3 2 1 0 Greg Buckner 26 1-2 0-0 1-1 3 1-1 0 2 4 0 0 DeSagana Diop 16 2-4 0-0 1-1 5 5-7 1 0 0 0 0 Austin Croshere 13 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-5 0 0 2 0 0 J.J. Barea 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 2 1 1 0 0 Totals 58 47-104 10-18 23-31 127 27-55 18 19 29 8 3 Boston at Dallas (March 16) It didn't help Dallas' defense that Devean George and Greg Buckner were out with knee injuries - though Devin Harris did play (he was hit in the head in the Phoenix game). A 3-pointer by Jason Terry gave Dallas a 9-4 lead with 9 minutes remaining, but the Mavs could not build their lead higher. Dallas led 14-11 with 7:40 to go and Boston went on a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Paul Pierce, to go up 21-16 with 5:10 remaining. It had been the Paul Pierce show up to that point as he scored 17 of Boston's 21 points, but he picked up his 2nd foul 20 seconds later and sat for the rest of the quarter. Josh Howard scored the next 9 points to give Dallas a 25-21 lead. In a series of small runs, Boston scored the next 5 points and Dallas scored the last 4 points of the quarter. Dallas led 29-26 after 1. Howard had 14 points and Pierce had 17 points. Dallas' poor defense showed in Boston shooting 62% FG in the quarter. Gerald Green scored the first 5 points of the 2nd quarter to give Boston back the lead. A 10-2 Boston run gave them a 41-35 lead with 7:15 left. A 3-pointer by Jason Terry pulled Dallas within 40-43 with 5:45 remaining, but Boston then went on an 11-2 run to go up 54-42 with 30 seconds to go. Boston led 54-44 at the half. Boston out-scored Dallas 28-15 in the 2nd quarter as Dallas shot just 4-14 FG. Boston led 58-46 with 10:40 left and Dallas scored the next 12 points to tie the game at 58-58 with 6:25 remaining as Boston missed 7 straight shots. Boston did scored the next 3 points, but were unable to build a lead larger than 3 points the rest of the quarter. Boston led 70-69 after 3. Howard had 10 points in the 3rd quarter. Dallas out-scored Boston 25-16 in the quarter as Boston shot 7-24 FG. A layup by Al Jefferson gave Boston a 74-71 lead with 11:10 remaining, but Dallas went on a 14-5 run to go up 85-79 with 7:20 to go. Green scored the next 6 points to tie the game, but Dallas answered with 5 consecutive points to go up 90-85 with 5:25 left. A bucket by Jefferson and 3-pointer by Pierce pulled Boston within 93-94 with 3:15 to go. Dirk Nowitzki then scored the next 4 points, but Boston hit 4 straight free throws and Dallas led just 98-97 with 1:30 remaining. Nowitzki found an open Jerry Stackhouse for the dunk. Pierce was fouled and hit both free throws to again make it a 1 point game with a minute left. Nowitzki answered with 2 free throws with 50 seconds to go. Allen Ray missed a 3-point attempt with 28 seconds left. Dallas ran the clock down and Nowitzki hit a tough turnaround shot with 4 seconds left. After a timeout, Boston converted the inbounds lob to Green, which only cost them a second of time. Terry was intentionally fouled and hit both free throws to seal the win. Boston missed a shot at the buzzer. Dallas won 106-101. It definitely wasn't an easy win for Dallas as Boston played up to their level - it also didn't help that Dallas was again having problems with their defense. Boston lost despite having 3 players score 20+ points. For the game, Dallas shot 50.7% (37-73) FG including 2-10 3-pointers and Boston shot 46.2% (36-78) FG including a strong 10-20 3-pointers. Dallas shot 30-33 FT and Boston shot 19-22 FT. Dallas out-rebounded Boston 39-36, but Boston had the offensive rebound edge at 12-8. Both teams had 13 turnovers. Boston had 28 assists and Dallas had 17 assists. It was Dallas' last home game for 11 days as the Mavs head on a season long 6 game road trip. Dirk Nowitzki struggled early, but came on strong late. At one point midway through the 3rd quarter he had shot just 1-7 FG - the rest of the way he shot 8-11 FG. 19 of his 30 points came in the 4th quarter. He also had 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. Josh Howard carried the team for stretches and finished with 30 points on 11-19 FG and 8-8 FT. He also had 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Jason Terry had 16 points and 3 assists. Devin Harris had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Erick Dampier was quiet with just 2 points on 1-3 FG and 0-2 FT and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. DeSagana Diop had 2 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Jerry Stackhouse chipped in 11 points including 3-9 FG. 17 of Paul Pierce's 29 points came in the 1st quarter. He shot 11-20 FG including 5-7 3-pointers and had 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Al Jefferson had a nice outing with 20 points including 8-11 FG and 10 rebounds. Gerald Green had a career high 25 points off the bench. He also had 5 rebounds including 4 offensive and 3 steals. Kendrick Perkins had 2 points and 10 rebounds. Delonte West had 10 points including 3-12 FG and 7 assists. Quotes Avery Johnson: "We weren't very good defensively in the 1st half. We were must better in the 3rd quarter. We just have to fight our way out of it. We don't make any excuses, but when you don't have George and Buckner guarding guys like Paul Pierce, it's different. I thought the way Jerry Stackhouse, he competed on defense against Pierce in the 2nd half, was unreal. I know it took a lot out of him offensively, but he still came up with 11 points with 5 from the line. Stackhouse is doing a really good job of leading us right now and he got the guys fired up at halftime. He took the challenge because we felt like we had to have this game." Johnson: "If we play well we give ourselves a chance to win. We are about quarters and we are not putting together really good quarters. We had one good quarter defensively." Johnson on Nowitzki attacking the basket: "I thought that was good. He went to the hole strong; Josh and Stack went strong. We had some problems there in the 4th defensively. I'm most proud of the way we scored the basketball and we needed to." Johnson if Dallas is in a funk: "What is a funk or a rut, etc? We are not just getting after it defensively. We are just a step slow defensively. A lot of the things we didn't tolerate defensively during the season, we are tolerating now, like easy looks for certain guys. Our guys are competitors and it may just be a cycle in the season that we need to break out of. I'm behind them 100% and we are going to get it right, keep watching video and right now the video is not pretty. We are in the real horror film part of it now." Johnson on defense: "I thought Stackhouse, Josh, and JET really took a challenge on Pierce. Look at Gerald Green. He had 25 points. It looked like he was making every point tonight. He was 9-20, but it looked like all of them went in." Johnson on Nowitzki: "He really stepped up tonight. He was strong, concentrated, made some really strong moves. He's not going to get the calls, so he has to keep going strong and don't complain about it. For the most part tonight I told him to leave the refs alone and just play through it. If you don't complain, play your game, play physical, you will get rewarded with the big strong moves." Dirk Nowitzki: "It was a weird game for me. I had a tough time getting going. I've had some trouble sleeping the past couple nights. I think I was sleepwalking a little bit." Nowitzki: "It wasn't a great effort but it's good to get the win." Josh Howard on Nowitzki: "He's our leader and we follow him. Leaders do what it takes to get us a win and he did that." Jason Terry: "Our energy level wasn't what it needed to be in the 1st half. We were coming off a tough, emotional loss that was draining. So it was good to see us respond to adversity and pick it up in the 2nd half." Terry on Nowitzki: "Dirk was a little flat in the 1st half. But he said he'd be there when we needed him and he came through in the 4th quarter with the game on the line." Doc Rivers: "It was a great effort. I told them I was happy with the effort. It was as close to a playoff atmosphere as we're going to get. There were a couple of possessions offensively that we just have to learn from being young. We had Al Jefferson on the post with Dirk Nowitzki and we swung the ball trying to get them to double-team us, but you have to throw the ball to the post first. Then a couple of our guys took quick shots instead of executing. Other than that, I was really happy with the effort. At halftime, I told them that they [Dallas] were going to come out in zone because we were scoring too much in man. We didn't handle it well the first 4 or 5 minutes, but then we really handled it well after that. It would have been great to get this win, though, it really would have been. They made some big shots and got to the foul line a little bit too much for my liking. I thought a couple of those were questionable that they called." Rivers: "It was a great effort. That's as close to the playoffs as we're going to get. We had a couple of possessions our young guys need to learn from. We took some quick shots and they [Dallas] hit some big shots." Rivers on Nowitzki: "Oh yeah, Dirk is an MVP. They lose the other night and all of a sudden people are saying, 'Dirk's no longer the MVP' or 'you can't give it to him anymore', and that's crap. He's had a great year. He's had an unbelievable year. It's between 2 guys, now - it's not decided. And it's between a bunch of teams in the West on who's going to the Finals. Dirk was wonderful. He made a couple of huge shots." Rivers on Pierce: "Paul was great, everyone was great. The biggest point in the game was when both Paul and Al [Jefferson] had to sit on the bench with fouls and we actually increased our lead. We kind of created an offense on the run with 3-on-2 - we went basically with a 3-man weave and scored every time. I don't think we've run that this year. I asked them to do it, and they did it. The whole key though is to move the ball. When they move the ball and share the ball offensively they are really good. I loved the defensive effort from everyone." Paul Pierce: "I wanted to come out here and set the tone. I knew we were playing a team with the best record and we have the 2nd to the worst record, but I wanted them to know from the beginning that we weren't going to back down. So I wanted to come out early and just kind of set a tone." Pierce: "At this point, we have nothing to lose. We're out of the playoff race and we're just playing for pride." Pierce on Nowitzki's 4th quarter performance: "Those things just show how he is an MVP candidate, if not the MVP. He takes his time, he doesn't force things. He got to the line, he got his shots when it counted. That's what a great player in this game does. They don't worry about their points and they let the game to them. He took his time, got what he wanted, and eventually he took over the game." Al Jefferson: "We knew we had a good chance of beating them. We thought we could beat them, but we knew it wouldn't be a blow out. Just like I said, you have to treat a game like this like a playoff game. Every mistake you make counts. Even in the 1st quarter, all the mistakes we made counted against us." Dallas Mavericks 106, Boston Celtics 101 at Dallas (March 16) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 29 15 25 37 - 106 .556 .200 .507 .909 Boston 26 28 16 31 - 101 .448 .500 .462 .864 Halftime: Boston 54-44 3rd Q: Boston 70-69 Technicals: none Refs: Bennett Salvatore, Tom Washington, Derrick Collins Attendance: 20,428 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Greg Buckner (sprained left knee), Ryan Gomes (left foot sprain) IL: Dallas - DJ Mbenga, Devean George Boston - Theo Ratliff, Wally Szczerbiak, Tony Allen Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Devin Harris 29 4-8 0-0 1-1 9 0-4 3 0 3 2 0 Jason Terry 38 6-13 2-6 2-2 16 0-1 3 1 1 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 37 9-18 0-2 12-13 30 3-12 4 2 4 0 2 Josh Howard 37 11-19 0-0 8-8 30 1-8 3 3 2 1 3 Erick Dampier 21 1-3 0-0 0-2 2 2-4 1 2 2 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 33 3-9 0-2 5-5 11 0-1 1 1 3 0 1 DeSagana Diop 25 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 2-5 1 2 3 0 3 Austin Croshere 11 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-3 1 1 0 0 0 J.J. Barea 5 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Maurice Ager 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-73 2-10 30-33 106 8-39 17 13 18 3 9 Boston Celtics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Rajon Rondo 14 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 2 4 1 1 0 Delonte West 41 3-12 0-2 4-4 10 1-2 7 2 4 1 0 Al Jefferson 38 8-11 0-0 4-7 20 3-10 4 2 2 1 2 Paul Pierce 32 11-20 5-7 2-2 29 2-5 8 1 3 1 0 Kendrick Perkins 28 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 2-10 1 1 3 0 0 Gerald Green 31 9-20 2-5 5-5 25 4-5 2 1 4 3 0 Allen Ray 22 3-7 2-5 0-0 8 0-1 2 1 2 0 0 Leon Powe 20 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 1 0 2 1 0 Sebastian Telfair 12 1-2 1-1 2-2 5 0-0 1 1 1 1 0 Michael Olowokandi 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 36-78 10-20 19-22 101 12-36 28 13 24 9 2 Dallas at Detroit (March 18) An afternoon Sunday game saw both teams missing some key players as Dallas was again without Devean George and Greg Buckner and Detroit was without one of their best players as Chauncey Billups sat out. The game stayed close early in the game with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. A layup by Devin Harris gave Dallas a 17-12 lead with 5:45 remaining, but that would be the largest lead of the quarter as Rasheed Wallace answered with a 3-point play. Jerry Stackhouse was fouled behind the arc near the end of the quarter and he hit all 3 free throws to give Dallas a 25-22 lead after 1. Detroit scored the first 4 points of the 2nd quarter as the game stayed close. Detroit scored 8 straight points, capped by a 3-pointer by Carlos Delfino, to go up 42-32 with 6:15 left, but Dallas then scored the next 6 points to pull within 38-42 with 3:40 remaining. 4 straight free throws by Harris pulled Dallas within 44-46 with 1:15 to go. Detroit led 50-46 at the half. Dallas scored the first 7 points of the 3rd quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki, to take a 53-50 lead with 9:30 remaining. A 3-pointer by Stackhouse gave Dallas a 61-56 lead with 5:30 left, but that would be the largest lead of the quarter. Detroit scored the last 6 points of the quarter to go up 69-67 after 3. Nowitzki had 17 points in the 3rd quarter. A putback by Antonio McDyess gave Detroit a 73-69 lead with 9:45 to go, but Dallas then scored the next 9 points to go up 78-73 with 7:35 left, but the game remained close. Detroit went on an 8-3 mini-run to tie the game at 81-81 with 4:10 to go. Jason Terry hit 2 baseline shots and Stackhouse hit 2 free throws to give Dallas an 87-81 lead with 1:35 remaining. Webber got a layup with 1:30 to go - Webber accidentally hit Richard Hamilton in the head prior to the shot and Hamilton had to leave the game with a cut and would not return. Dallas struggled with their offensive, so the Mavs called a timeout late in the shot clock. Terry got the ball to Nowitzki and he hit the tough turnaround baseliner with the shot clock running out to give Dallas an 89-83 lead with a minutes left. Wallace missed a 3-point attempt and Howard missed a 3-point attempt with 29 seconds to go. But the game wasn't quite over as Flip Murray nailed a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left. Nowitzki was intentionally fouled and he hit 1-2 FT to give Dallas a 90-86 lead with 18 seconds to go. Dallas' didn't challenge as Murray went in for a quick layup and Terry was intentionally fouled. He hit both free throws to again make it a 4 point game with 8 seconds remaining and that was game. Dallas won 92-88. Now this was a good game. Although it may have not been as exciting as the Phoenix game was, the quality of play throughout was much better. Dallas' largest lead was 6 points and Detroit's largest lead was 10 points and there were 14 ties and 9 lead changes in the game. A little luster was taken off the game with Chauncey Billups not playing (Detroit rarely wins when he's out). For the numbers, Dallas shot 49.2% (32-65) FG including 4-11 3-pointers and Detroit shot 46.2% (36-78) FG including 3-13 3-pointers. Dallas shot 24-29 FT and Detroit shot 13-21 FT including 2-7 FT by Richard Hamilton in the 4th quarter. Dallas out-rebounded Detroit 39-31 and both had low offensive boards as Dallas had 6 and Detroit had 8. Dallas had 19 assists and 10 turnovers and Detroit had 13 assists and 19 turnovers. The teams split the season series 1-1, with each having won on the other's court. Dirk Nowitzki only shot 2-8 FG in the 1st half and had 7 points and stepped up in the 2nd half where he shot 9-12 FG and had 21 points. For the game, Nowitzki had 28 points and 12 rebounds. Devin Harris had one of his best games of the season with 22 points including 9-10 FT. He also had 3 assists, 3 steals and 4 turnovers. Jason Terry had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Josh Howard had 12 points and 9 rebounds. Erick Dampier had 6 points on 3-4 FG and 5 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse had 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. DeSagana Diop didn't attempt a shot and had 3 rebounds in 10 minutes and Austin Croshere missed his only shot in 7 minutes. It was a short rotation as only 8 players played. Detroit also went with a short rotation with 8 players. Flip Murray was the high man with 18 points. He also had 6 assists and 4 steals in filling in for Chauncey Billups. Richard Hamilton had 13 points, but his missed free throws (2-7) in the 4th quarter hurt the team. To make his night worse, he need 3 stitches after the game to close the cut he suffered with 1:30 left in the game. Hamilton also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers in 43 minutes. Rasheed Wallace had 13 points and 6 rebounds and Chris Webber had 12 points and 6 rebounds. Off the bench, Antonio McDyess had a solid outing (but was surprisingly stopped in the 4th quarter by Jerry Stackhouse) with 17 points including 7-10 FG. He also had 6 rebounds. Carlos Delfino had 5 points in 20 minutes. And it was really a 7-player rotation as Jason Maxiell was on the court for less than a minute. Quotes Avery Johnson: "We didn't get off to a great start. We were so bad in the 1st quarter and they were shooting almost 80% on us. We challenged ourselves at halftime - we acted like a team that hangs itself on offense and that is not even our M.O. It is difficult when George and Buckner aren't here, but we challenged them and others stepped up and tried to compete more on the defensive end." Johnson: "There are a lot of teams out here in the East. Miami is not just going to fall over and all of us are chasing Miami because they are favorites until somebody knocks them out. But you know how it is, everyone has a different favorite every week. We definitely weren't the favorite in the first week. But if the Pistons are in the Finals then they are going to be a tough out. They are a really good team." Dirk Nowitzki on his struggles in the 1st half: "I had good looks, but I had a couple go in and out, so I wanted to stay aggressive. My team has a lot of confidence in my ability, so I just hung with it." Nowitzki on Detroit missing Billups: "Obviously that helped us. He's probably their MVP and he's one of the greatest clutch shooters in the league." Nowitzki on a jumper near the end of the game: "We didn't have much time on the shot clock, so I just turned around and shot. Sometimes those go in and sometimes they don't." Josh Howard: "We know that they are a great team and they are a top team in the East and in the NBA. So we came out here and played our game and matched their intensity level, which is why we got of here with a win." Howard: "It was a good way to start the road trip." Howard on the 2nd half: "Dirk stepped up and Devin has been improving his shot and coach is giving him a whole lot more confidence. Especially with defenses keying on Dirk, Stackhouse, and me, it is freeing up shots for Devin. It is just great to see the young guys improve." Jason Terry on the physical play: "We had to. If you can't play physical against Detroit, you don't have a chance. They've been like that for years. We were able to match their physicality for the most part. We did a good job of staying solid and not giving up too many easy baskets." Jerry Stackhouse: "This is a hell of a win. We've got a long trip ahead of us and we need to get some momentum from this." Devin Harris: "We just finally got it going out there. We started to get the best shot available and push the ball in transition. It comes down to a lot of small things to win games and we have been on the other end of that the last couple of games. We have missed a lot of free throws, but we got it done today." Harris: "I was aggressive on offense and defensively I was staying out of foul trouble." Flip Saunders: "You can always look back. You may play a team like this in the Finals, so there are a few things you have to find out. You don't always like to try to match down. What we did do was we came up dry on the other end. When we made a couple of points and came back, they went back big. With them and the way Nowitzki is, it doesn't matter whether you're big or small, he still is going to cause you problems. That's what he did at times." Sanders: "Hopefully we're going to see that team in the finals, so we wanted to see some things tonight. We had the chances we wanted. We just didn't convert them." Saunders on missing players: "When they went small in the 4th, I looked over at the bench and there weren't a lot of small guys over there." Saunders on missed free throws: "Rip [Hamilton] was 2-7. The big 2 was when he missed 2 when it was a 2 point game, it was like someone let all the air out of the arena. This is like another road game. We've been on the road, we came back and put ourselves in a position to win." Saunders on Dallas in the 2nd half: "They just ran some more pick-and-roll plays with him [Terry] and Dirk. It got them free in a couple of situations." Richard Hamilton on missed free throws: "It was crazy. I never expect to miss back-to-back free throws twice in a row. That's crazy to me." Flip Murray: "It was a good game down to the stretch. They executed towards the end of the game and they made shots. We had a chance to connect on some free throw opportunities. We missed a lot of free throw opportunities going down the end of the stretch, which opened the lead up for them. But other than that, I think we played a good game." Murray: "You definitely hate to lose when you play against a good team. Even though they are a good team, we are a great team as well. I think that we were right there in the game. I know of a couple of minor mistakes towards the end, a couple of made baskets, and I think that we are right in the game and in a position to win it." Murray: "I think that we match up well with them when they went small. Like I said, as soon as they went small, they made baskets and we were able to make baskets as well and we were able to use our length when they went small." Dallas Mavericks 92, Detroit Pistons 88 at Dallas (March 18) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 25 21 21 25 - 92 .519 .364 .492 .828 Detroit 22 28 19 19 - 88 .508 .231 .462 .619 Halftime: Detroit 50-46 3rd Q: Detroit 69-67 Technicals: Richard Hamilton 5:59 1st, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 5:39 4th Flagrant Fouls: Erick Dampier 4:08 4th Refs: Dick Bavetta, Pat Fraher, Scott Foster Attendance: 22,076 (sellout) IL: Dallas - DJ Mbenga, Devean George Detroit - Chauncey Billups, Ronald Dupree, Amir Johnson Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Devin Harris 34 6-10 1-1 9-10 22 0-2 3 4 2 3 0 Jason Terry 44 5-11 0-2 2-2 12 0-6 6 2 2 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 43 11-20 2-3 4-5 28 2-12 2 2 3 0 1 Josh Howard 44 5-13 0-2 2-4 12 2-9 0 2 4 1 0 Erick Dampier 32 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 2-5 0 2 5 0 1 Jerry Stackhouse 26 2-6 1-2 7-8 12 0-2 2 1 2 0 0 DeSagana Diop 10 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-3 0 0 2 0 1 Austin Croshere 7 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 32-65 4-11 24-29 92 6-39 13 19 21 5 3 Detroit Pistons REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Ronald Murray 42 7-15 1-4 3-4 18 0-1 6 2 3 4 0 Richard Hamilton 43 5-13 1-3 2-7 13 2-5 4 4 4 1 0 Rasheed Wallace 41 6-15 0-4 1-1 13 2-6 3 2 2 1 3 Tayshaun Prince 42 5-12 0-1 2-2 12 1-6 2 1 2 0 0 Chris Webber 32 4-8 0-0 2-3 10 1-5 3 1 3 3 1 Antonio McDyess 20 7-10 0-0 3-4 17 1-6 1 0 5 0 0 Carlos Delfino 20 2-5 1-1 0-0 5 1-2 0 0 3 1 0 Jason Maxiell 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-78 3-13 13-21 88 8-31 19 10 22 10 4 Dallas at New York (March 20) Dallas was again without Greg Buckner and Devean George and New York was again without Quentin Richardson, David Lee, and Jamal Crawford. Consecutive buckets gave Dallas a 13-8 lead with 6:40 to go, but New York scored the next 5 points to tie the game. Consecutive buckets by Josh Howard gave Dallas a 23-17 lead with 3:15 remaining. A 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki and dunk by Howard gave Dallas a 30-21 lead with 1:20 left. A bucket by Jared Jeffries was the only points scored the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 30-23 after 1. Howard had 11 points. Dallas continued to hold a high single-digit lead in the 2nd quarter as New York could pull no closer than 5 points. A layup by Nowitzki gave Dallas a 38-29 lead with 7:35 remaining. New York then went on a 12-4 run to pull within 41-42 with 2:05 left. Dallas did scored the next 4 points and 2 free throws by Eddy Curry capped the quarter scoring. Dallas led 46-43 at the half. Curry had a putback a minute into the 3rd quarter to open the quarter scoring, but Dallas then scored the next 9 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Howard, to give Dallas a 55-45 lead with 8 minutes to go. Channing Frye got poked in the eye with 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter and did not return. A dunk by Renaldo Balkman pulled New York within 53-60 with 2:45 left, but Dallas then went on a 10-2 rung to go up 70-55 with 35 seconds left. Dallas led 70-56 after 3. Dallas out-scored New York 24-13 in the 3rd quarter as New York shot 4-21 FG. A 3-pointer by Nate Robinson pulled New York within 65-76 with 7:20 to go, but Dallas then went on a 10-4 run to go up 86-69 with 4:45 left. New York would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the game. Stephon Marbury left the game midway through the quarter with an injury. Dallas won 92-77. The 1st half wasn't too easy, but the Mavs got up by double-digits in the 3rd quarter and never let New York get back in the game. The Knicks never found their shooting touch and only shot 35.9% (28-78) FG in the game while Dallas shot 53.1% (34-64) FG. And not all of their problems were caused by Dallas' defense. I don't think I've seen that many blown layups in a game since the 3 Js were with the Mavs. New York got more shot attempts with better work on the offensive rebounds - they out-rebounded Dallas 18-4 on the offensive boards (both teams had 40 rebounds each). Dallas shot 3-10 3-pointers and 21-27 FT and New York shot 6-15 3-pointers and a poor 15-30 FT. Both teams had 16 assists each. Dallas committed 11 turnovers and New York committed 15 turnovers. Josh Howard had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points including 10-15 FG and 5 rebounds. Jason Terry had a nice outing with 15 points on 7-9 FG and 6 assists. Devin Harris had just 4 points on 2-4 FG, 1 rebound, and 2 assists in 39 minutes. Erick Dampier had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds (all defensive). DeSagana Diop was ineffective with just 2 points, 1 rebound, and 3 fouls in 10 minutes. Jerry Stackhouse had 10 points on 1-5 FG and 8-10 FT and 4 assists. Austin Croshere had 3 points including 1-5 FG and 4 rebounds. Eddy Curry was the high man for New York with 22 points, but he only shot a miserable 4-12 FT. Curry also had 12 rebounds including 6 offensive. Little Nate Robinson got the 3-point shot going and had 19 points including 4-5 3-pointers. Stephon Marbury had a forgettable night with 8 points on 2-10 FG, 1-6 3-pointers, and 3-6 FT. He did have 5 assists, though. Starters Steve Francis had 6 points including 1-6 FG and Jared Jeffries had 8 points including 3-9 FG. Jeffries also had 9 rebounds including 5 offensive and 5 assists. Renaldo Balkman had 7 points including 3-10 FG and 10 rebounds. Quotes Avery Johnson: "Tonight we got off to a better start. We still had some miscues. We were giving them some offensive rebounds. They dominated us on the boards and the free throw line early in the game. We came back out, made some adjustments at the halftime, challenged some guys a little bit more, and we really had a strong quarter defensively in the 3rd. We got control of the game. We were fortunate to win this game." Johnson: "Even though they were missing some players, we still think an awful lot of Stephon Marbury and what he has been doing. Frye was one of the guys that just scared us [with] the way he can make shots. Obviously, Curry is a handful. I thought they battled tonight." Dirk Nowitzki: "I think offensively we're explosive. I think we can score with the best of them. I think even though we're a slower team now than we used to be with Nellie, defensive-minded, we still have a lot of offense out there." Josh Howard: "The win thing has never been a situation for me. We are just trying to get better. We know what happened last year in the Finals. That was a big blow to us. We are using that as confidence and motivation to get where we need to be this year." Howard: "As far as wearing them down, we just stick to our game plan. If they get tired, they get tired. We're going to keep coming." Howard on defense: "It is just our leader. Avery Johnson, when he came in, changed the whole thing. He let us still do the offensive thing but he knew if we wanted to win a championship we had do to it at the defensive end. Your defense sets up your offense. That defense has helped us out a lot." Jason Terry: "Defense is what we hang our hat on. We just really honed in on our defensive game plan, knowing the Knicks' tendencies. I thought we did a good job of not giving them 2nd opportunities, which they did get in the 2nd quarter." Terry: "I thought Damp was the key to the game tonight, the way he patrolled the paint, the way he looked to be aggressive and finish strong inside, then grab defensive rebounds." Erick Dampier: "I just went out there and did what I can defensively to help us get the win. Try to get my hand on the rebounds. If I couldn't collect it myself, just tap it out." Dampier: "The guys were looking for me tonight. I think I missed a couple of shots around the basket I probably should have tried to finish with a dunk. I've got to keep doing that, make myself available to be a presence inside at every opportunity." Isiah Thomas: "We definitely lost to a better team. But I thought if we could have played a little bit better. And you have to give them credit because they have something to do with us not playing well. I thought we missed some easy baskets, some layups early in the game. I thought we missed some free throws that could have kept us close and could have kept the game a little bit tighter. If we can convert those things, it is a different type of game. That is a team that you play against and you can't make too many mistakes." Thomas: "We will recover. That is not an option. When we recover, we will play well. I expect us to play well the next game. We will patch up the troops, go out and win a basketball game." Thomas on Marbury's injury: "I can't say anything about it medically. I will know more about it tomorrow or when the doctors tell me tonight. Any time he is down and he is down for an extended period of time, he is not a guy that complains. He is pretty beat up as is. I am sure he will bounce back. I am hoping this isn't an injury that will keep him out." Thomas on injuries: "Channing [Frye] and then Steph [Marbury], I was just trying to figure out who I was going to put in and how we are going to play. We will bounce back. We lost to a good team. We have a little work ahead of us in terms of patching the group up and getting ready to play again. We lost the basketball game, but we are not caving because we lost." Stephon Marbury: "We had a lot of errors in the 2nd half: free throws, easy layups, fast breaks, turnovers. It is just something that happened." Marbury: "You can't really use this game as a barometer game. The way I feel is that those guys are a really good team that have been playing together for a long time. For us, we have to continue to get better and be a team like them. Whenever those guys are on the court, they seem to be on the same page." Marbury: "I don't think it was them. I think it was us tonight. We were just making mistakes. We had a lot of mistakes tonight." Marbury: "We have to make free throws. There is nothing else to say about that." Dallas Mavericks 92, New York Knicks 77 at New York (March 20) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 30 16 24 22 - 92 .574 .300 .531 .778 New York 23 20 13 21 - 77 .349 .400 .359 .500 Halftime: Dallas 46-43 3rd Q: Dallas 70-56 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 4:46 2nd, Avery Johnson 4:46 2nd Refs: Steve Javie, Violet Palmer, David Guthrie Attendance: 19,763 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Greg Buckner (sprained left knee), Quentin Richardson (sore lower back) IL: Dallas - DJ Mbenga, Devbean George New York - Jamal Crawford, David Lee Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 40 7-9 1-2 0-0 15 0-3 6 2 2 0 0 Devin Harris 39 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 2 2 3 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 35 10-15 1-1 3-3 24 1-5 1 2 3 0 1 Josh Howard 39 9-18 1-4 5-6 24 1-10 0 1 3 1 0 Erick Dampier 33 3-5 0-0 4-6 10 0-13 2 3 0 1 1 Jerry Stackhouse 18 1-5 0-1 8-10 10 1-2 4 1 0 1 0 Austin Croshere 17 1-5 0-2 1-2 3 1-4 0 2 3 0 0 DeSagana Diop 10 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 3 1 2 Maurice Ager 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Pops Mensah-Bonsu 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 J.J. Barea 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 34-64 3-10 21-27 92 4-40 16 15 19 4 5 New York Knicks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Stephon Marbury 39 2-10 1-6 3-6 8 1-2 5 0 1 2 0 Steve Francis 35 1-6 1-3 3-4 6 0-2 3 2 4 2 1 Jared Jeffries 35 3-9 0-0 2-2 8 5-9 5 2 4 1 1 Channing Frye 20 3-6 0-0 1-2 7 0-2 1 0 1 0 0 Eddy Curry 38 9-20 0-0 4-12 22 6-12 0 2 2 0 0 Renaldo Balkman 30 3-10 0-1 1-2 7 4-10 0 1 4 2 1 Nate Robinson 30 7-14 4-5 1-2 19 1-1 1 1 4 3 1 Malik Rose 12 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 1 1 1 0 0 Mardy Collins 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 28-78 6-15 15-30 77 18-40 16 11 21 10 4 Dallas at Cleveland (March 21) It was the 2nd night of a back-to-back for both teams, but Cleveland played in an overtime game the night before. Dallas was again without Greg Buckner and Devean George (but hopes to have one back for Friday's game). Cleveland scored the first 5 points of the game and would hold a small lead the rest of the quarter. A jumper by Drew Gooden gave Cleveland their largest lead at 23-16 with 3:15 to go. But Cleveland would not score again in the quarter in missing their last 6 shots and Dallas scored the last 6 points of the quarter. Cleveland led 23-22 after 1. The Cavs' drought continued as they missed their first 9 shots of the 2nd quarter while Dallas got a dunk and hit 2 3-pointers to take a 30-23 lead with 9:30 to go. A free throw by Larry Hughes with 7:25 left gave Cleveland their first points of the quarter. Josh Howard hit a 3-pointer, but Sasha Pavlovic answered with a 3-pointer to end Cleveland's 8:15 field goal drought, and Dallas led 33-27 with 7 minutes remaining. Another 3-pointer by Pavlovic pulled Cleveland within 30-35 with 6:20 to go, but Dallas then scored the next 4 points. LeBron James hit 2 free throws and Hughes hit a jumper to pull Cleveland within 43-47 with 45 seconds left. Dallas led 49-45 at the half. Cleveland only shot 37% FG in the half. Dallas opened the 3rd quarter with a 12-2 run, capped by consecutive buckets by Devin Harris, to go up 61-47 with 7:20 remaining. Both teams struggled over the next almost 2 minutes in missing a combined 7 shots. A 3-point play by Dirk Nowitzki gave Dallas a 66-53 lead with 4:10 left, but Cleveland went on a 9-2 run to pull within 62-68 with 1:45 to go. It was a wild finish to the quarter as Jerry Stackhouse got a layup, Stackhouse stole the ball, Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer, Drew Gooden hit a jumper, Jason Terry nailed a 3-pointer, Gooden hit a jumper, and Harris banked in a 3-pointer with .6 seconds left. Dallas led 79-66 after 3. Nowitzki opened the 4th quarter with a jumper to give Dallas a 15 point lead, but James finally came alive (he had shot 5-17 FG through the first 3 quarters) and went on an 11-2 run to pull Cleveland within 77-83 with 7:10 remaining. Terry then converted a 3-point play, but Donyell Marshall hit a 3-pointer to make it a 6 point game again. Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer on Dallas' 2nd attempt and Nowitzki hit a jumper to give Dallas a 91-80 lead with 4:05 to go. Dallas led 94-83 with 3 minutes left but the game wasn't quite over as Dallas missed their next 3 shots and committed 2 turnovers and Cleveland scored 5 straight points to pull within 88-94 with 30 seconds remaining. But Dallas hit 4 straight free throws off intentional fouls (with a layup by James sandwiched in the middle) to seal the win. Dallas won 98-90. It was quite a 4th quarter performance by LeBron James where he scored 17 of his 31 points, but it was his and his team's performance through the 1st 3 quarters that doomed them - if they had played the entire game with the energy and desperation that they did in the 4th, they could have beaten anyone. That said, the Mavs had to be a little disappointed that they were never able to really put Cleveland away despite being the much better team through 3 quarters. Part of the Mavs' problems were that they hardly got any offensive rebounds (unusual for the team) - just 3 in the game. Both teams had 39 rebounds, but Cleveland out-rebounded Dallas 10-3 offensive. For the game, Dallas shot 47.4% (37-78) FG including 7-19 3-pointers and Cleveland shot 40% (32-80) FG including 5-14 3-pointers. Dallas was a perfect 17-17 FT while Cleveland shot 21-29 FT. The Mavs did have a good assist total with 25 assists. Cleveland had 18 assists. Dallas committed 14 turnovers and Cleveland committed 13 turnovers. There was only 1 lead change in the game - at the start of the 2nd quarter, but Dallas was unable to substain their 15 point lead early in the 4th and the game was not decided until the final minutes. Dirk Nowitzki had a poor shooting night, but led the way for the Mavs. He had 23 points including 9-24 FG, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists - all team highs. Devin Harris sparked the team in the 2nd half with his lightening quickness that led to a number of layups. Harris had 17 points including 8-11 FG, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jason Terry had 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Josh Howard had a poor numbers outing, but did play some good defense on LeBron James. Howard had just 7 points including 2-9 FG and 6 rebounds. The centers struggled with foul problems, but Erick Dampier did have a good outing. Damp had 13 points on 4-5 FG and 5-5 FT and 9 rebounds. DeSagana Diop had a poor outing with 4 points on 2-2 FG, no rebounds, and 5 fouls in 8 minutes. With those two's foul troubles, Austin Croshere saw some time at center (as did Nowitzki when the Mavs went with a smaller lineup). Croshere had 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 block in 15 minutes. Pops Mensah-Bonsu also saw a bit of real-game court time with the centers' foul problems and he played 3 minutes and his only stat was 1 foul. Jerry Stackhouse had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists and was also sometimes part of the defensive rotation on LeBron James. As I said, LeBron James had a poor game for 3 quarters where he had 14 points including 5-17 FG, but he turned it up in the 4th quarter where he had 17 points including 7-11 FG. For the game, James had 31 points (just 1-6 3-pointers), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 6 turnovers. James also got a little banged up in this game when he hit the back of his head on court after flying to prevent an easy bucket and later getting clipped by an inadvertent Dirk Nowitzki elbow - he didn't miss any game time due to either contact. Drew Gooden had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Sasha Pavlovic carried the team for a bit in the 2nd quarter where he scored 8 of his 16 points. He hit 3-3 3-pointers, with 2 of them coming in the 2nd quarter. Larry Hughes had 11 points on 3-12 FG and 5-8 FT and 7 assists. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Cleveland only got 3 points off of the bench as the 4 bench players combined to shoot 1-11 FG, though they did have 11 rebounds. Quotes Avery Johnson: "Tonight, I'm really proud of our team. Our last back-to-back game, we were not very good. We take pride in winning on back-to-back nights and we had a poor, poor showing in Golden State. These men came out and accepted the challenge. They know we're a little short handed at the 2 and the 3 spot without Buckner and George. But they played a really solid game from start to finish." Johnson: "What Damp is doing for us right now for us, consistently, makes us a better team. What Devin Harris is doing for us, consistently, makes us a better team. What Stackhouse is doing for us off the bench, makes us a better team. I'm proud of our guys tonight. We normally don't shoot well on back-to-back games. We came to the gym this morning, which was a little surprise for them. I didn't like what I saw in Golden State, I didn't like our body language - we were down 8-0 when the game started. So we changed it up a little bit. We said, 'Let's come to the gym, smell the gym a little bit, get some shots up, and go back to the hotel." The ball was moving and the guys who were getting double-teamed were penetrating, kicking, and trusting their teammates." Johnson on James: "He got going in the 4th quarter. We gave him a man-to-man trap look and zone trap look - we just wanted for somebody else at that point to score. There's nobody in the league who can guard LeBron James. It's just incredible to have a front row seat and see what this young man is doing at such a young age. So we were fortunate that he had an off shooting night. We tried to get him to shoot some jump shots and fortunately his jump shot was not going. We sent a lot of people at him." Dirk Nowitzki: "I thought our defense really won us the game, holding them to 40% shooting and making it tough on LeBron. I thought we made him take some tough shots and stayed home on the other guys." Nowitzki on his struggles: "That's why we are a great team, because other guys stepped up when we needed them." Jason Terry on defending James: "We basically executed our game plan. I thought we just did a good job of limiting his and-1s. He leads the league in and-1s and that could put a strain on your defense when a guy is getting the basket, finishing, and getting a chance of getting to the line. So we did a good job of that." Terry on the 3-pointers at the end of the 3rd: "Devin Harris obviously hit a big one at the end of the 3rd. But those 3 3s really pushed us ahead and gave us momentum going into the 4th. So when they made their run back at us, we were able to withstand their run and execute down the stretch and seal the deal." Jerry Stackhouse on defending James: "We were able to mix it up quite a bit on him. We started out with Devin on him, then we went to a zone for a while. We just tried to mix it up on him and just not let him get into any rhythm of seeing us. They still hung in there and fought. They're a scrappy team that sticks around. We had to make plays and get defensive plays at the end to beat them." Stackhouse: "We moved the ball pretty good. That's always good for us when we have a high number of assists. But it seemed like we were in control of the game, but they would make a couple of baskets and you would look up and it was still a 6, 7 point game." Devin Harris on fastbreaks: "It's always part of our plan. We really have to worry about getting stops so we can do it more. It's always one of our main things, to push the ball and try to get buckets. We're a running team. We definitely like playing at our pace and we don't like walking the ball up the floor. We like getting into transition and trying to get good looks at the basket. Smart shots, though, smart shots." Harris: "Dirk was cold early, but that's what makes this team so tough. We have so many weapons who can step up until he gets in his rhythm, and that's what happened tonight.'' Harris on James in the 4th vs the rest of the game: "Who's to say. I thought our guys did a great job keeping him in front. He became aggressive, not so much looking for his teammates, and it's tough to cover him that way when he's aggressive. Our guys did the best they could." Harris on James: "I mean, it's tough to really contain a guy who is that aggressive. But I thought the first 3 quarters we did a great job on him. We did a great job of rotating. It was a good team effort." Mike Brown: "That's a good basketball team. Avery's done a terrific job with them, obviously. They have a lot of weapons and they understand in order to win in this league you have to defend. Not only are they a dangerous offensive team, but they're an excellent defensive team, and it showed tonight. They made us take a lot of tough shots. They had 2 big runs - one to start the 2nd where they defended and we didn't score our first point until around the 7 minute mark and then again in the 3rd and that created the separation in the game. That was the difference in the game. We fought, we didn't hang our heads or give up. But when you play against a team like that and you allow the separation that they had at the beginning of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd, it puts you in a hole that's hard to fight back from because they do all of the little things right. Not only during the course of the ballgame but at the end, down the stretch of the game, when it becomes very important to execute the right way." Brown: "In the 1st half, I thought we did get some good looks. We had some looks from point blank in the lane that just did not go down. But where we got hurt, we didn't do a nice enough job defensively against these guys; as a team and Drew Gooden did as good a job as you can on Dirk Nowitzki. But, again, with all the weapons, you're going to be in trouble because they have multiple guys who can score big points." Brown on Dallas not letting Cleveland back in: "That's the sign of a great team. They understand that teams are going to make runs against them, but the bottom line is they have to get stops in order to win the ballgame. That's what they did. Not only did they get stops, but when they had a chance to attack in transition, they did it the right way and took the right shots." Brown on 3-pointers: "I thought last night we had a couple 3s that were good looks in terms of inside-out. The rest of them were not good looks. Tonight, I did not feel that the 3s we took were bad 3s." LeBron James: "I'm definitely not feeling 100%. I took 2 dangerous hits today. Hopefully the day off tomorrow will help me recover and get ready for Friday." James on the loss: "It's not disappointing. I think we definitely showed some fight. This is one of the teams that if you make any mistakes, they will make you pay. We had a couple times where we broke down on the defensive end and they were able to get some offensive rebounds and hit some 3s. Closing the 3rd quarter, they hit back-to-back-to-back 3s which really killed us - bumped the lead from 4 to 13 real fast. It was tough for us and we just have to learn from our mistakes and get better." James on the 3rd quarter: "They did a good job of executing and we didn't. We definitely took some shots late in the shot clock, didn't attack early in the 3rd quarter, which allowed them to get out and get early buckets. Devin Harris was great at attacking our defense when we weren't getting back and they just capitalized on our mistakes. That's what a great team does." James: "This team is definitely not going to win 50-plus games with just Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki. They have great players in Devin Harris, Stackhouse, and JT and their bigs are very active. Their record shows [it]. They definitely play together and they take care of business." James: "They are one of the more explosive, one of the best coached teams that's been in the league over the last 10 years. They're playing awesome." Drew Gooden: "That's one thing we tried to stay away from was doubling tonight, but we did help. You have to help in this game and Dallas is a team that if you help, you kind of pick your poison and they make you pay for it." Gooden on not being able to get closer than 6 points: "That was the hump, that 6 point lead. I think that was the hump the whole game. We cut it to 6 and then we couldn't capitalize once we got the ball back when we got a stop. I think they did. They took advantage of every mistake we made." Dallas Mavericks 98, Cleveland Cavaliers 90 at Cleveland (March 21) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 27 30 19 - 98 .508 .368 .474 1.000 Cleveland 23 22 21 24 - 90 .409 .357 .400 .724 Halftime: Dallas 49-45 3rd Q: Dallas 79-66 Technicals: none Refs: Kevin Fehr, Tony Brothers, Danny Crawford Attendance: 20,562 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Greg Buckner (sprained left knee) IL: Dallas - DJ Mbenga, Devean George Cleveland - David Wesley, Dwayne Jones, Shannon Brown Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 43 8-16 2-5 3-3 21 1-4 5 3 2 0 1 Devin Harris 38 8-11 1-1 0-0 17 0-7 6 2 4 1 0 Josh Howard 40 2-9 1-3 2-2 7 0-6 1 3 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 44 9-24 2-7 3-3 23 0-9 6 4 3 1 1 Erick Dampier 27 4-5 0-0 5-5 13 2-9 0 0 4 2 1 Jerry Stackhouse 22 3-8 0-0 4-4 10 0-3 6 1 2 1 0 Austin Croshere 15 1-3 1-3 0-0 3 0-1 1 0 0 1 1 DeSagana Diop 8 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 0 1 5 0 0 Pops Mensah-Bonsu 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 37-78 7-19 17-17 98 3-39 25 14 24 6 4 Cleveland Cavaliers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Larry Hughes 39 3-12 0-1 5-8 11 0-3 7 1 1 1 0 Sasha Pavlovic 39 5-8 3-3 3-4 16 0-4 1 0 2 3 0 Drew Gooden 35 7-13 0-0 5-6 19 4-8 1 2 2 2 0 LeBron James 45 12-28 1-6 6-7 31 0-6 4 6 3 2 3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 23 4-8 0-0 2-2 10 2-7 1 1 3 0 0 Anderson Varejao 21 0-3 0-0 0-2 0 3-6 0 2 3 0 2 Daniel Gibson 18 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 1-3 4 0 1 0 2 Donyell Marshall 15 1-6 1-2 0-0 3 0-2 0 0 1 0 0 Eric Snow 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 48 32-80 5-14 21-29 90 10-39 18 13 16 8 8 patricia