Cleveland at Dallas (November 3) The fun at the 2-guard spot continued as Antoine Wright was back as the starting 2-guard (after not playing in the previous game, but started in the first game) (and Jerry Stackhouse, who started in the previous game, did not play in this game). Dirk Nowitzki opened the game with a layup, but Cleveland rattled off the next 9 points to go up 9-2 with 8:50 remaining. Cleveland led 15-11 with 5 minutes to go and the Cavs went on a 13-1 run to take a 28-12 lead with a little under a minute left as Dallas missed 3 shots and turned the ball over 3 times during the run. Dallas did score the last 4 points of the quarter and Cleveland led 28-16 after 1. Dallas shot just 6-21 FG in the quarter while Cleveland shot 10-18 FG. Cleveland held a double-digit lead over the first 6 minutes of the 2nd quarter, but could not get their lead larger than 15 points. Dallas scored 6 straight points to pull within 32-39 with 4:40 to go, but Delonte West answered with a 3-pointer. After the teams traded buckets, Dallas went on a 6-1 mini-run to pull within 40-45 with 1:45 left. LeBron James scored the last 4 points of the quarter to give Cleveland a 51-42 lead at the half. A jumper by Maurice Williams gave Cleveland a 55-44 lead with 10 minutes to go, but Dallas rattled off 9 straight points to pull within 53-55 with 7:20 left. Cleveland was clinging to a small lead over the next few minutes, but a 3-pointer by Jason Terry tied the game at 63-63 with 3:35 left. But James asserted his will and himself went on a 7-1 run and Wally Szczerbiak kicked in a jumper to give Cleveland a 72-64 lead with 1:15 remaining. 2 free throws by Nowitzki capped the quarter scoring and Cleveland led 72-66 after 3. And then disaster struck as Dallas' 2nd unit (and later starting unit) could do nothing offensively and were pathetic defensively and Williams took over the game as Cleveland scored on their first 6 possessions with Williams scoring 9 points and assisting on the other 2 buckets and Dallas missed 4 shots and turned the ball over 2 times as Cleveland opened the quarter with a 13-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Williams, to take a commanding 85-66 lead with 8:45 to go. And that run was with James sitting on the bench. Josh Howard ended the run with a jumper and hit 1-2 FT. But Dallas went back to missing shots and Cleveland scored the next 6 points (actually 8, but the last buck came after the substitutions) to go up 91-69 with 4:45 remaining and Dallas threw in the towel and pulled all their starters - Dallas shot 1-8 FG and committed 3 turnovers in the first 7 minutes of the 4th quarter. Cleveland led in the 20s the rest of the game until Dallas hit 4 straight free throws in the last minute. Cleveland won 100-81. It was an ugly, ugly performance by Dallas. Sure they rallied in the 3rd quarter to tie the game, but they played so poorly in the 1st quarter that they had to spend so much energy getting back into the game and reach that tie. And then the 4th quarter was just pathetic. Cleveland out-scored Dallas 28-15 in the 4th quarter. So Dallas pretty much only played 24 minutes in this game - they out-scored Cleveland 50-44 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and were out-scored 56-31 in the 1st and 4th quarters. And the rebounding was just pathetic. There is no way a team should give up 18 offensive rebounds in a game. Cleveland out-rebounded Dallas 52-35 including 18-9 offensive boards (though, amazingly, Cleveland scored just 5 points off of all those offensive rebounds, but those rebounds showed which team was playing with more energy). Cleveland shot 44.3% (35-79) FG including 5-14 3-pointers and Dallas shot 40.8% (29-71) FG including 3-15 3-pointers. Cleveland shot 25-32 FT and Dallas shot 20-26 FT. Cleveland had 19 assists and 11 turnovers and Dallas had just 16 assists and 14 turnovers. Although he put up a strong performances, the hero of the game was not LeBron James but Maurice Williams. Williams was stellar to open the 4th quarter and personally made the game a joke with his red hot shooting. He had 9 points on 4-4 FG and 2 assists to open the 4th and help Cleveland to a 19 point lead (he had just 5 points including 2-8 FG through the first 3 quarters). Always impressive to watch, James finished with 29 points on 8-20 FG and 13-15 FT and 8 rebounds. Even with all those points, I thought the Mavs did a decent job of defending him - he's just that good. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had the quietest 17 points you'll see (I looked at the scoreboard at one point in the game and said, "When did he get all those points?"). He had a double-double with 11 rebounds. Ben Wallace was pathetic offensively (Rodman-like in not wanting the ball) in missing all 4 shots he attempted, but he was out there for his rebounding and strong defense. He had 13 rebounds including 8 offensive. Delonte West chipped in 14 points including 4-5 FG and 3-4 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Wally Szczerbiak was the high man off the bench with 10 points. Daniel Gibson had just 7 points on 3-10 FG. Anderson Varejao had 2 points on 1-3 FG, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and also spent some time defending Dirk Nowitzki. The other 4 Cavs who played were mainly in for garbage time. No Mav really had a good game and there were several poor performances, surprisingly led by Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki was miserable with just 8 points on 3-11 FG and 2-2 FT (should have got to the line a little more, but the refs weren't blowing the whistle for him) and a lot of those shots were simply good looks that missed. He also had 6 rebounds. Josh Howard was the only Mav with a decent night with 18 points (but not stellar as 18 is not a high number for him) and 5 rebounds. In starting, Antoine Wright had 10 points including 1-5 3-pointers, 1 rebound, and 1 assist. The only other Mav in double-digits was Gerald Green with 10 points. Erick Dampier had 5 points on 2-2 FG and 1-2 FT and 8 rebounds. Jason Kidd had 9 points and 6 assists. Jason Terry had his first really poor outing with just 5 points including 1-8 FG. He also had 3 assists and 3 turnovers. Brandon Bass had 8 points and no rebounds in 12 minutes. DeSagana Diop had 4 points and 9 rebounds including 4 offensive in 24 minutes as he continues to split time at the center spot with Dampier. J.J. Barea missed 2 shots and had 1 assists and 2 turnovers in 16 minutes. And James Singleton had 4 points in garbage time. Jerry Stackhouse did not play, coach's decision. Quotes Mike Brown: "I thought we played a pretty good game. The thing we've been talking about is our turnovers. The guys had 10 turnovers for the game. We still gave up a lot of points off of those turnovers, but this is the first time in a game that we didn't give up 20+ points off of turnovers. So it was good as a team. Mo [Williams] was terrific during that stretch - we just went to him and he made play after play after play. I thought Delonte West was very good for us the entire ballgame on both ends of the floor. You're not going to stop a guy like Dirk Nowitzki at all. There's no way you can stop him, but the combination of Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao did about as good a job on Dirk as I've seen since Dirk's been in the league. You've got to give those guys credit, but not just those guys because it's not just one guy guarding one man; it's 5 guys guarding the basketball. So our team defense was good tonight." Brown on Wallace: "Ben was a monster. He was a monster on the boards, that was great to see, great to see his activities. But, like I said, just as a team defensively, the Mavericks are a fastbreak team and they're good at it, and we held them to 7 fastbreak points in the 2nd half. That was huge for us. But, more importantly, to hold them to 40% on their floor, I've got to give my team credit on the defensive end of the floor." Brown: "As a team, to hold them to 81 points on their floor, I have to give my team credit." LeBron James: "On the road, you've got to be your own fans. When you're in front of 18, 20,000 people, you've got to be your own fans, and when Mo [Williams] got hot, which we've seen when we're going against him in practice, it was exciting." James: "It's a nice win, a good way to close out the road trip." James: "It's all about defense. Taking that challenge, our defense is where we made our stand. After they had tied it up, guys just really buckled down and it was good to see us working together defensively and we made some shots." James: "I didn't think I shot the ball particularly well from the field like I know I can. But I was able to get into the lane and knock down my free throws. I was in attack mode all night, taking some shots I know I can make and I felt good. The guys really took care of their business early in the 4th." Maurice Williams: "I told y'all it would happen. This is what they expect." Williams: "That's what they expect. Tonight was a great sign. It was a long summer for me, 2 surgeries. I expected to get going kind of slow, but it was frustrating when you're used to making shots, making plays." Rick Carlisle: "Our inability to defensive rebound, really from the opening tip, was our undoing. You know, they had 4 offensive rebounds in the first 3 1/2 minutes or something like that, and you know those are all opportunities for us because you are at home. Get the rebound, get a chance to get out and get aggressive; and it really hurt us. And it didn't get much better throughout the game. They got 18 offensive rebounds, which is 18 extra possessions they get that we don't, and you are just putting an awful lot of pressure on yourself on both ends at that point. So we played 2 good quarters - you know, the 2nd and 3rd - and the other 2 were poor. Hey, we all own it. I'm as much at fault as anybody because it was clear that I didn't have these guys ready to play and you know, we've got to have a real motivated sense of urgency at all times, you know, to be successful. It's as simple as that." Carlisle: "Putting it together is really what it's about. This is a fragile thing. The thing that has to be there at all times is a committed sense of urgency on every possession." Carlisle: "It is extremely hard to play from behind in this league against good teams and it's hard against teams that aren't good. The odds are against you. Look at the league breakdowns every year. When you play from behind, and behind at the end of the 1st, your record is going to be a losing record in both cases. So, we've got to get off to good starts. I mean, hey, we did some good things in the 1st quarter, but putting it together is really what it is about and we didn't do it." Carlisle: "In the opening minutes of the game we were slow to react and, you know, Cleveland they put you in some tough spots because of their quickness. Lebron gets the ball places and, you know, they've got really good offensive rebounders. So you've not only got to be pursuing the ball, but you've got to make contact and we really did neither and it really put us in a hole. And we are going to have to be much better in a consistent basis." Carlisle on Nowitzki: "Well, if we are able to get some of these defensive boards and get out in transition and get the defense retreating a little bit, a lot of times that is where he gets his quality shots. So, you know, that worked against us. Obviously, they made him a major point of emphasis defensively and, well, you know, again it isn't all Dirk's fault - we all own this thing and we got to bounce back. You know, San Antonio is sitting there waiting for us and they are 0-2 and they are desperate for a win. So, you know, there is not a lot of time to mope about this one - we are going to have to get ready to play in less then 24 [hours]." Dirk Nowitzki: "We got embarrassed in our own building." Nowitzki: "It's tough. We weren't rebounding, and that really ignites our break. They're long and they're pretty athletic, and they were able to tip a lot of balls and come up with them. We had poor effort on the glass. It's tough to get our running game going that way." Nowitzki: "It just wasn't one of my nights. We just never really got going. We looked slow, we looked sluggish." Jason Kidd: "We got off to a slow start and that put us behind the 8-ball and we had to play catch up. Any time we got it within 2 points or a tie, we made a defense mistake. They'd hit a 3 or they'd get an offensive rebound or we didn't get a stop - so they were the better team. In that 4th quarter, we just couldn't get any stops and they scored 6 or 7 times in a row." Kidd: "We, as a team, didn't play any defense tonight. We gave up over 100 points. We can't let our offense affect our defense. And tonight we missed some shots we normally make and Cleveland took advantage of that." Jason Terry: "We just had a funky rhythm all night long. We didn't really come out with energy. We made a little bit of a run at them, but in that 4th quarter, the 2nd unit, we just let ourselves down. We let the whole team down. We didn't execute, we gave up bucket after bucket, and you can't do that in this league. You have to maintain your focus for 48 minutes in this league and any kind of lapse is going to be detrimental. We've done that 2 times in a row at home and we've got to get it corrected." Terry: "We just didn't play well enough, long enough, and that's not going to get us a win any night in this league. We really wanted to get the win tonight at home and we let ourselves down, so we've got to bounce back tomorrow." Cleveland Cavaliers 100, Dallas Mavericks 81 at Dallas (November 3) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Cleveland 28 23 21 28 - 100 .462 .357 .443 .781 Dallas 16 26 24 15 - 81 .464 .200 .408 .769 Halftime: Cleveland 51-42 3rd Q: Cleveland 72-66 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 4:38 1st Refs: Steve Javie, Rodney Mott, Scott Wall Attendance: 19,923 (sellout) IL: Cleveland - Darrell Jackson, Eric Snow, Jawad Williams Dallas - Devean George, Shawne Williams Cleveland Cavaliers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK LeBron James 34 8-20 0-2 13-15 29 2-8 3 1 1 2 1 Ben Wallace 22 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 8-13 0 3 3 1 1 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 32 8-15 0-0 1-2 17 3-11 2 1 2 0 2 Delonte West 34 4-5 3-4 3-4 14 0-4 5 1 2 3 0 Maurice Williams 34 6-12 1-2 1-1 14 1-4 6 2 3 0 0 Daniel Gibson 25 3-10 1-4 0-0 7 1-2 2 0 0 1 0 Wally Szczerbiak 20 4-6 0-1 2-2 10 1-3 0 0 5 0 1 Anderson Varejao 25 1-3 0-0 0-2 2 2-6 1 1 4 4 1 Sasha Pavlovic 3 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Lorenzen Wright 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 J.J. Hickson 3 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Tarence Kinsey 3 0-1 0-0 4-4 4 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 35-79 5-14 25-32 100 18-52 19 11 23 11 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 33 7-15 0-3 4-7 18 2-5 2 2 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 32 3-11 0-0 2-2 8 0-6 2 2 1 1 0 Erick Dampier 24 2-2 0-0 1-2 5 3-8 1 1 4 0 2 Antoine Wright 21 3-7 1-5 3-4 10 0-1 1 0 4 1 0 Jason Kidd 32 3-6 1-1 2-2 9 0-2 6 1 1 2 0 J.J. Barea 16 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 1 2 0 0 0 Jason Terry 25 1-8 1-4 2-2 5 0-0 3 3 1 0 0 Brandon Bass 12 4-9 0-0 0-0 8 0-0 0 2 0 0 1 DeSagana Diop 24 2-4 0-0 0-1 4 4-9 0 1 3 1 0 Gerald Green 16 4-7 0-1 2-2 10 0-4 0 0 3 0 0 James Singleton 5 0-0 0-0 4-4 4 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 29-71 3-15 20-26 81 9-35 16 14 20 5 3 Dallas at San Antonio (November 4) Once again Dallas changed their starting 2-guard, this time going with Jason Terry as the starter. It was the 2nd night of a back-to-back for Dallas. Dallas scored the first 4 points of the game, but San Antonio connected on consecutive 3-pointers and had a layup to go up 8-4 with 8:35 remaining. A 3-pointer by Jason Kidd kicked off a 17-5 Dallas run to give the Mavs a 21-13 lead with 3 minutes left. Dallas led 23-16 after 1. Dallas shot 55% FG in the quarter while San Antonio shot just 26% FG. Terry as a starter worked well as he had 6 points and 3 assists in the quarter. 5 straight points by Tony Parker pulled San Antonio within 25-28 with 9:10 remaining, but Dallas then went on a 9-2 run, with 6 of those points coming from Terry, to give the Mavs their first double-digit lead at 37-27 with 6:50 to go. Dirk Nowitzki scored 6 straight Dallas points (with a jumper by Tim Duncan in between 2 shots) and Terry converted a 3-point play to give Dallas 46-31 lead with 2 minutes left. Roger Mason hit a 3-pointer, but Kidd answered with a 3 and Nowitzki also hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds to go. Each team hit a shot on their last possession of the quarter. Dallas led 54-38 at the half. Nowitzki had 11 points in the 2nd quarter. Dallas shot 56% FG and San Antonio shot 36% FG for the half. Kidd opened the 3rd quarter with a 3-pointer. Mason answered with a 3-pointer and Parker hit a jumper, but Dallas then scored the next 7 points to take a 64-41 lead with 9:15 remaining. Dallas led 72-49 with 5:50 left and San Antonio scored the next 8 points (with 6 of them by Duncan) to pull within 57-72 with 2:15 left. Dallas led 76-58 after 3 (each team scored 22 points in the 3rd quarter). San Antonio opened the 4th quarter with a 15-4 run to pull within 73-80 with 7:30 to go - the run was surprisingly spurred by rookie George Hill, who scored 8 points during the run (with the ball intentionally going through him). But Dallas then scored the next 8 points (with 6 of them from Nowitzki) to re-take a double-digit lead. Parker hit a 3-pointer, but Nowitzki answered with a 3 and a jumper by Terry gave Dallas a 93-76 lead with 3:15 remaining. Having a game the next night, San Antonio pulled the plug and subbed the stars out. Dallas won 98-81. If the Mavs thought they were struggling early this season, San Antonio showed that they are struggling more. It is the first time the Spurs have ever started the season 0-3. The game was the exact opposite of the Cleveland game - Dallas went up big (Cleveland went up big), the Spurs made it a game early in the 4th (Dallas tied the game late in the 3rd), and Dallas pulled away in the 4th (Cleveland pulled away in the 4th). And you had Dallas being the more aggressive rebounders (Cleveland being the much more aggressive rebounders). Both games showed that when you dig a big hole early, you can come back but it takes a lot of energy to do so and you might not have anything left for the 4th quarter. Dallas basically won the game in the 1st half as Dallas out-scored the Spurs 54-36 in the half and the 2nd half score had the Spurs with a 1 point edge at 45-44. For the game, Dallas shot 53.1% (43-81) FG including 7-17 3-pointers and San Antonio shot 41.7% (30-72) FG including 7-20 3-pointers. It was a friendly homecourt from the refs as the Spurs shot 14-20 FT and Dallas shot just 5-5 FT (tying team record lows). Dallas out-rebounded San Antonio 45-34 including 9-8 offensive. Dallas had 22 assists and San Antonio had 12 assists. Both teams were clean with the ball as each had just 7 turnovers. Change of the starting 2-guard worked for this night as Jason Terry had 29 points including 13-21 FG (though just 1-5 3-pointers), 3 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dirk Nowitzki got his shooting touch back (after a miserable 8 points vs Cleveland) and had a game high 30 points including 13-24 FG (including 2-2 3-pointers). He also had 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Josh Howard had a double-double with 14 points on 7-11 FG and 12 rebounds. Jason Kidd again was near a triple-double with 9 points (though just 3-9 FG, with all 3 being 3-pointers), 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. And Erick Dampier hit his only shot for 2 points and had 4 rebounds. The starters combined for 84 of Dallas' 98 points. DeSagana Diop had 2 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes and Brandon Bass had 4 points on 2-3 FG and 2 rebounds in 18 minutes. Jerry Stackhouse's shooting woes continued as he had just 3 points including 1-5 FG in 18 minutes. The roller-coaster ride continued for Antoine Wright as he went from starting the previous game to playing just 11 minutes in this game. He had 3 points off a 3-pointer and 2 rebounds. Gerald Green, James Singleton, and J.J. Barea played the last 2 minutes of garbage time - Green had their only stats with 2 points on 1-2 FG. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan carried their team for stretches, but didn't get much help. Parker had 22 points, but only 3 assists and had 3 turnovers. Duncan had a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The other 3 starters combined for just 8 points. Bruce Bowen had 5 points and 2 rebounds, but did not play in the 2nd half (didn't read anything different, so assuming it was purely a coach's decision). Michael Finley had 3 points on 1-6 FG and 5 rebounds. And Matt Bonner missed all 5 of his shots. He did have 5 rebounds. Roger Mason looks to be a nice pickup for the Spurs and he had 11 points and 2 each of rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, and fouls. Rookie George Hill gave a nice spark for the Spurs early in the 4th where he scored 8 of his 11 points (he also hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the game). Jacque Vaughn had 4 points, Desmon Farmer had 3 pointsand Ime Udoka had 1 point on 0-4 FG and 1-2 FT, and Kurt Thomas missed his only shot. Fabricio Oberto played for the first time this season after missing the first 2 games due to an irregular heartbeat. He hit his only shot and had 3 fouls in 14 minutes. Quotes Rick Carlisle: "We are still trying to figure out what lineup will work the best for this team. We had a good rhythm tonight and, more importantly, our disposition at both ends of the court was there all night. We are a different team when we come out and play with that force we had for 48 minutes." Carlisle: "I thought we played as a team tonight. We had guys scoring from all ends of the court. We expect to play well when we are on the road, especially when we come into buildings like San Antonio. We have 2 tough road games with the Nuggets and Clippers, which are 2 more teams desperate for home wins. These early games are an important test for us on many levels." Carlisle: "Basketball has a balance and a formula that works for every team. Tonight was the closest we've been to finding our balance. We ran when we had the opportunity, we pushed the ball for momentum in the halfcourt offense, and we defended a great team with a couple of great players like Duncan and Parker. We have to keep getting better with every game. Whatever it takes to make this team perform day in and day out the way they did here tonight I am ready to do." Carlisle: "Jason Kidd is a great player and we used him and Nowitzki in a couple of plays tonight. We really generated a lot of great things off Kidd tonight and our team played really well off of him. We really want to be a ball movement team, but some times you have to put the ball in the hands of your best player and see what develops." Dirk Nowitzki: "I think we just didn't compete hard enough yesterday [vs Cleveland] and got embarrassed in our building. We had a long meeting this morning and we just had to get back to playing hard on both ends of the floor. I think today we found a good rhythm." Nowitzki: "We knew the Spurs lost their first 2 and they were going to come out and [try to] get this game and get their first win out of the way. It was big for us to steal one here on the road. We've won 2 in a row now [on the road] - lost two at home, it's a little disappointing. We have 2 great games coming up in Denver and against the Clippers, which is a very winnable game." Nowitzki on Terry starting: "It's hard to pull it off against every team. I think some teams have very big physical 2-guards in this league, so it's not possible against all the teams in the league. Tonight it was possible and JET really came out aggressive." Nowitzki on Terry: "We just needed more out of him. He responded great. We were joking after the game: we said, 'Welcome to the 08-09 season, JET.' It's definitely great to see him and [we're] looking forward to him being just more aggressive." Nowitzki on Terry: "JET really came out. We definitely need his offense in our group. Whether he starts or is off the bench, we need his shooting and we need his scoring." Jason Kidd on the 4th quarter: "Coach put the ball in my hands, just to be aggressive and to make something happen. He put me and Dirk in some pick-and-rolls. Between myself and Dirk becoming the playmakers, we got some good looks and everyone was touching the ball." Kidd on defense: "It's a mentality. It's an attitude. Trying to keep balls alive on the offensive end, on the defensive end limiting teams to one shot. We only had 5 or 6 fastbreak points. We knew we weren't going to score on the initial drive, it was on the 3rd or 4th pass." Kidd on Terry: "It was big. Josh and Dirk have been playing well. For JET to come in and get going right off the bat was huge for us." Jason Terry: "It was nice to be back out there and competing at a high level. With the guys we have out there, we've got a lineup that's been playing together for 4 or 5 years now. We know each other and we play well with each other." Greg Popovich: "Dallas played great tonight. They came out with a lot of energy, they shot the ball well, and executed. We did the opposite, and that put us in a hole. In the 2nd half we increased our energy and some things better, but it was not enough. They played too well." Popovich: "They just simply kicked our butts on the boards. They were more focused and more energetic. I don't know, their pregame talks must be better than ours." Popovich: "Well, we are 0-3, and that is not as good as 3-0. We play another game tomorrow." Popovich on rookie George Hill: "He's been ready for over a week now and I haven't let him play, so it was time to throw him out there. And he did well." Tim Duncan: "We're all a little ticked about the 0-3 start and dropping another one at home. What can you do? You don't hang your head. You try and turn it around tomorrow with another game tomorrow. I know Pop is really going to get on us and really try to find away to get things done." Duncan on being 0-3: "It's uncharted territory for us. We're 0-3. We've played some bad basketball so far." Duncan on Hill: "He played well. He waited his time and got some time there in the 4th [quarter] and I thought he did really well. [He was] very aggressive and very confident with his offense." Roger Mason on the 0-3 start: "These guys are champions, so they know how to bounce back. I don't think anybody's going crazy yet, but there is a sense of urgency." George Hill on his play: "You really can't talk about that when you lose a game. I thought we put in a great effort. It's a long season and it's time to get back." Hill on providing a spark in the 4th quarter: "I sit here and wait my turn to see what I'm really here for and that's one thing I think I am here for: to bring energy out there and pick up the defense. I think that when I came in today we really did that." Dallas Mavericks 98, San Antonio Spurs 81 at San Antonio (November 4) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 23 31 22 22 - 98 .563 .412 .531 1.000 San Antonio 16 20 22 23 - 81 .442 .350 .417 .700 Halftime: Dallas 54-36 3rd Q: Dallas 76-58 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 2:46 1st Refs: Ed F. Rush, Gary Zielinski, David Guthrie Attendance: 17,398 (cap 18,797) IL: Dallas - Devean George, Shawne Williams San Antonio - Manu Ginobili, Ian Mahinmi, Anthony Tolliver Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 38 7-11 0-2 0-0 14 1-12 1 0 1 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 37 13-24 2-2 2-2 30 0-7 3 0 1 1 0 Erick Dampier 28 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-4 1 2 3 0 1 Jason Terry 38 13-21 1-5 2-2 29 2-3 6 1 1 0 0 Jason Kidd 35 3-9 3-6 0-0 9 3-8 10 1 3 2 0 Brandon Bass 11 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 0-2 0 2 0 0 0 DeSagana Diop 18 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-6 1 0 4 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 18 1-5 0-1 1-1 3 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Antoine Wright 11 1-2 1-1 0-0 3 0-2 0 0 2 0 0 Gerald Green 2 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 James Singleton 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 J.J. Barea 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 43-81 7-17 5-5 98 9-45 22 7 15 4 1 San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Bruce Bowen 12 2-3 1-2 0-0 5 0-2 0 0 0 1 0 Tim Duncan 41 8-15 0-0 3-6 19 4-15 2 1 1 0 1 Matt Bonner 20 0-5 0-3 0-0 0 3-5 1 0 1 0 0 Michael Finley 27 1-6 1-3 0-2 3 1-5 1 0 1 0 0 Tony Parker 29 8-15 1-1 5-5 22 0-0 3 3 0 1 0 Roger Mason 30 4-8 2-4 1-1 11 0-2 2 2 2 2 0 Ime Udoka 17 0-4 0-3 1-2 1 0-4 0 0 1 0 1 Jacque Vaughn 10 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 Fabricio Oberto 14 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 1 3 0 0 Desmon Farmer 12 1-2 1-2 0-0 3 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 George Hill 16 3-7 1-2 4-4 11 0-0 1 0 0 1 0 Kurt Thomas 12 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 30-72 7-20 14-20 81 8-34 12 7 12 5 2 patricia