Dirk Nowitzki was named as Player of the Week (along with Dwyane Wade (Mia) as the league names a POW for each conference) for the week ending November 23. Nowitzki averaged 27 points and 10.3 rebounds as Dallas went 3-0. Memphis at Dallas (November 21) The Mavs were again without Josh Howard due to his sore left ankle. Dallas scored the first 5 points of the game, but Memphis came alive with a 14-3 run to take a 14-8 lead with 4:30 remaining. Dallas finally re-found their shooting touch (went 1-9 FG over a 6 minute stretch) and Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer and converted a 3-point play to tie the game at 14-14 with 3:10 to go. The game was tied at 22-22 after 1. The game stayed close in the 2nd quarter with neither team holding more than a 2-point lead over the first 7 minutes of the quarter. 2 free throws by Marc Gasol gave Memphis a 41-37 lead with 2:55 left, but Memphis wouldn't score again in the quarter and Dallas closed the quarter by scoring the last 7 points to take a 44-41 lead at the half. Dallas shot just 33% FG but also shot 12-13 FT while Memphis shot 45% FG and 4-4 FT. Dirk Nowitzki knocked down consecutive jumpers and Nowitzki found Jason Kidd for a layup to give Dallas a 52-44 lead with 8:05 remaining. Kidd hit a 3-pointer and Erick Dampier rebounded and fed Kidd who fed James Singlton for a pretty play that resulted in a 3-point play and gave Dallas a 63-48 lead with 3:55 to go [Memphis shot just 2-17 FG over the first 8 minutes of the 3rd quarter]. Dallas led 68-56 after 3. Memphis shot just 6-27 FG in the 3rd quarter as Dallas out-scored them 24-15. Nowitzki had 11 points in the 3rd quarter. Dallas' lead swung between 10 and 14 points over the first half of the 4th quarter. 5 straight points by O.J. Mayo pulled Memphis within 69-78 with 4:55 left but, after a Mavs timeout, Dallas then went on a 10-3 run to take a 88-72 lead with 2:30 remaining. And Terry supplied the final dagger in draining a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 91-74 lead with 2 minutes left. Dallas won 91-76. Dallas finally won at home after losing their first 3 home games of the young season. It was a game in which Dallas did not shot well, but they rebounded really well and got to the line much more than Memphis. Dallas shot just 40% (30-75) FG including 8-18 3-pointers and Memphis shot 37.3% (31-83) FG including 2-10 3-pointers - the Grizzlies shot just 30% FG in the 2nd half. Dallas shot 23-26 FT and Memphis shot 12-16 FT. Dallas stretched their string to 10 straight games in which they out-rebounded their opponent in out-rebounding Memphis 51-43 and each team had 10 offensive rebounds - but Memphis did not take advantage of 2nd chances and had just 4 2nd chance points (2 in the 1st quarter and 2 in the 4th quarter). If you shoot just 30% in a half and don't get rebounds, you're not likely to win. Dallas was sloppy with the ball with 18 turnovers which Memphis converted into 15 points. Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 25 points and also had 10 rebounds. Jason Terry, still providing the punch off the bench, had 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. Jason Kidd shot more than usual and had 18 points on 7-12 FG and 4-5 3-pointers. He also had 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 5 turnovers. No other Mav was in double-digits. James Singleton again started in Josh Howard's place and had 5 points including a poor 1-7 FG and 2 rebounds in 30 minutes. Erick Dampier didn't attempt a shot and shot 1-2 FT and had 8 rebounds. Gerald Green was again the starting 2-guard, but only played 6 minutes as (again) most of the 2-guard minutes went to Terry. Green is also suffering from a sore back (might or might not have limited his playing time). He missed all 4 shots he attempted. DeSagana Diop had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes. Brandon Bass had 7 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes. Devean George played for the first time this season and shot 0-2 FG and 2-2 FT in 15 minutes. J.J. Barea played 19 minutes, including at times with Kidd on the court as part of a bizarre lineup (they pretty much held serve). Barea had 9 points and 2 assists. Shawne Williams missed 3 shots and had 3 rebounds in 10 minutes. Hard to find any bright points for Memphis. O.J. Mayo was the high man for the Grizzlies with 19 points, but he shot just 8-23 FG. He also had 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Rudy Gay had 14 points, but also shot poorly at 5-19 FG (and started 1-7 FG). He also had 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Mike Conley had 14 points and Marc Gasol had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Local kid Darrell Arthur started, but missed the 3 shots he attempted and only played 15 minutes. He did have 7 rebounds, though. Memphis got just 17 points from their bench. Hakim Warrick had 4 points and 6 rebounds. Quinton Ross had 4 points on 2-3 FG. Darko Milicic had 5 points including 2-3 FG. And Kyle Lowry had 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 15 minutes. Quotes Rick Carlisle: "We were frustrated at halftime as a team because we had not played particularly well and our energy had been inconsistent. So, Jason [Kidd] took it upon himself to energize the game for us." Carlisle: "Fortunately Jason Kidd and Dirk imposed their will on the game in the 3rd quarter, and that was the difference. That's what you have star players for - to play like stars. And those guys did it." Carlisle on the Dampier-to-Kidd-to-Singleton play in the 3rd quarter: "It's beautiful basketball. It's a stop, 2 touch-passes with no dribbles, and a finish. That was another of those pivotal tipping-point plays of the game." Carlisle: "This has been a strong homecourt for so many years, so to start off with losses was difficult. We have to continue to build momentum." Carlisle on playing Kidd and Barea together: "It is not [planned]. But these games are not going to be all Rembrandts. You're going to have a Jackson Pollock once in a while, where you just splatter stuff out there and you've got to find something that works. So, you know, the formula was unusual." Jason Kidd: "We played pretty good basketball on the road. With the success we've had here at home, we kind of relied on that. We knew we had to take the same approach here that we did on the road." Kidd: "Coach was upset with us about the 1st half. He called us out [during halftime]. He talked to us about, one: playing defense and two: making some shots." Kidd on Carlise's halftime message: "Very subtle, very straight to the point. He's not shy about it. He's not going to raise his voice. He just wants us to be aggressive and hit first. We all understood what he meant. Coach was upset with us about that 1st half. And guys in that 2nd half responded." Kidd: "When we play defense, that gives us a good chance to win." Kidd: "Sometimes guys get going, JT [Terry] and Dirk. But tonight guys were finding me and I was just knocking down shots when they presented themselves." Marc Iavaroni: "We were playing a real good game, but they got a couple of easy baskets and then they started going to Nowitzki - and we don't have an answer for Nowitzki." Iavaroni: "Everything was okay until we didn't get back on defense. That is where the game broke open. They got a couple of easy ones, and the easy ones always give their offense confidence, and we didn't have an answer for Nowitzki." Rudy Gay: "I think we were forcing it a little too much." Gay: "We came out ready to play. They just ran us [in the 2nd half]. We were forcing a little bit too much. It can be easily fixed. But I think we got a lot of open shots even though we weren't shooting well." O.J. Mayo: "They really executed and did a good job of getting what they wanted. I thought we played hard on defense but we've got to be disciplined and get back on defense and make them take tough shots when we're struggling on offense." Mike Conley: "We knew they were ready to get their first home win. We didn't play our best and it's tough because we had a chance to get some momentum after the way we played against Sacramento." Darrell Arthur on guarding Nowitzki: "It was tough. I got into foul trouble trying to be aggressive with him. It was definitely a lesson." Dallas Mavericks 91, Memphis Grizzlies 76 at Dallas (November 21) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 22 24 23 - 91 .386 .444 .400 .885 Memphis 22 19 15 20 - 76 .403 .200 .378 .750 Halftime: Dallas 44-41 3rd Q: Dallas 68-56 Technicals: Memphis defensive 3 seconds 7:45 1st Refs: Phil Robinson, Bill Spooner, Bill Kennedy Attendance: 20,035 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse Memphis - Hamed Haddadi, Antoine Walker Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK James Singleton 30 1-7 0-1 3-3 5 2-2 1 0 3 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 36 10-20 0-0 5-6 25 1-10 3 1 1 0 1 Erick Dampier 23 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-8 2 2 4 0 0 Gerald Green 6 0-4 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 Jason Kidd 34 7-12 4-6 0-0 18 3-13 6 5 3 2 1 Jason Terry 35 6-15 3-6 5-5 20 1-6 5 4 2 3 1 DeSagana Diop 16 1-3 0-0 2-2 4 0-3 0 0 1 0 0 Shawne Williams 10 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 0 1 0 1 J.J. Barea 19 3-5 1-2 2-2 9 1-1 2 2 1 1 0 Brandon Bass 16 2-4 0-0 3-4 7 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 Devean George 15 0-2 0-2 2-2 2 0-1 0 2 1 1 0 Totals 48 30-75 8-18 23-26 91 10-51 19 18 19 7 5 Memphis Grizzlies REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Rudy Gay 35 5-19 0-2 4-5 14 1-8 5 3 4 2 1 Darrell Arthur 15 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 1-7 0 0 3 0 0 Marc Gasol 29 4-8 0-0 4-4 12 1-8 1 2 2 1 1 O.J. Mayo 41 8-23 2-6 1-1 19 2-7 1 2 1 3 0 Mike Conley 32 6-12 0-0 2-4 14 0-2 0 3 1 0 0 Hakim Warrick 26 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 3-6 0 1 2 0 0 Quinton Ross 23 2-3 0-1 0-0 4 0-1 1 0 3 1 1 Darko Milicic 21 2-3 0-0 1-2 5 1-2 1 1 3 1 0 Kyle Lowry 15 2-5 0-1 0-0 4 1-2 2 2 2 0 0 Totals 48 31-82 2-10 12-16 76 10-43 11 14 21 8 3 patricia