The Mavs have a fun stretch of games starting tonight. 3 games in a row (vs Minnesota, at Phoenix, vs Portland), 2 days off, and 3 more games in a row (vs Phoenix, at Houston, at San Antonio). Dallas at Minnesota (April 5) It was a close 1st quarter with 4 ties and 4 lead changes and the largest lead either team had was 4 points. The game was tied 20-20 after 1. The game remained close through the first half of the 2nd quarter and was tied at 33-33 with 5:45 left. Minnesota slowly built up a lead and led 51-43 at the half. Dallas shot 9-9 FT and Minnesota 0-0 FT in the 1st quarter. The trend reversed in the 2nd quarter as Minnesota shot 9-10 FT and Dallas shot 1-1 FT. Dallas pulled within 6 points at 50-56 with 9:36, but Minnesota scored the next 6 points to go up 62-50 with 8:25 left. But they could get no more than a 13 point lead as Dallas wouldn't let them pull away. Minnesota led 73-64 after 3. Terrell Brandon left the game early in the 3rd with a thigh contusion after running into Shawn Bradley's knee. Minnesota led 78-67 with 10:21 left. Dallas scored the next 6 points to cut Minnesota's lead down to 78-73 with 8:12 left. But Dallas could not completely catch up and Minnesota could not pull away as Minnesota led by 6 to 8 points over the next 4 minutes. Michael Finley hit a jumper to pull Dallas within 4 points, but Minnesota scored the next 4 points to go up 89-81 with 2:50 left. Minnesota led 93-87 with 1 minute to go when Steve Nash drained a 3-pointer. Kevin Garnett turned the ball over with 41 seconds. Nash missed a 3-pointer and and Bobby Jackson hit his first free throw with 21 seconds left to give Minnesota a 94-90 lead. He missed the second free throw, but Sam Mitchell got the rebound and got to shoot free throws and that was game. Minnesota won 100-93. Minnesota shot 7-8 free throws in the last 21 seconds of the game. Quotes Flip Saunders: "If we hadn't set the tone early that this was going to be a defensive and rebounding team. I don't think we would have won some of the games we've won with our injuries." Saunders: "The 2 shots Finley hit were both desperation shots and I don't think Kevin was on him on either one. Kevin did just an unbelievable job on him. That's why I've said all along, when people talk about the best defensive players in the league - a lot of people say Mutombo, a lot of people say Mourning - but we put Kevin on the best player on the other team and he's able to neutralize them." Bobby Jackson: "That's what we get paid for. We've got to step in and play great no matter how many minutes we're in there." Tom Hammonds: "Right now, I'm in a rhythm. I don't worry about missing a shot. I'll just grab the ball and take another one. The key is being aggressive." Don Nelson: "Mike had a stinker tonight and you kind of wonder, `What if?' If he would have had just an average night, we would have had a real good shot at this one. But he didn't." Nelson on Finley: "The poor guy struggled. I felt bad for him. Kevin Garnett, with his size, seems to bother him a little bit. But even when he had open looks, or other people guarding him, he wasn't really that close." Michael Finley: "He plays great defense and their total team defense definitely affected us. I couldn't hit anything. The shots just weren't falling." Finley when asked if he's ever been as cold as he was: "Not that I can remember. I just couldn't hit anything. All the shots felt good leaving my hand." Finley: "I don't remember a night like this. I can't pinpoint what happened, but for some reason, I just couldn't make anything." Finley: "I'm always going to be positive. I'll be all right, but as a team, it's getting kind of frustrating to keep losing." Gary Trent: "The 2nd quarter just never let us recover. It was an uphill fight." Trent: "Even Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson had games like this. It's not going to make me lose faith in Mike." Shawn Bradley: "Their bench came in and stepped it up. Three of their bench players were in double figures." Minnesota Timberwolves 100, Dallas Mavericks 93 at Minnesota (April 5) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Minnesota 20 31 22 27 - 100 .462 .250 .451 .806 Dallas 20 23 21 29 - 93 .508 .273 .472 .806 Halftime: Minnesota 51-43 3rd Q: Minnesota 73-64 Dallas' largest lead: 31-27 7:23 2nd Dallas' last lead: 31-30 6:41 2nd Minnesota's largest lead: 66-53 5:02 3rd Lead changes: 7 Technicals: none Refs: Bob Delaney, Greg Willard, Tony Brothers Attendance: 14,107 (cap 19,006) Did not play due to injury: Joe Smith (separated ribs) Minnesota Timberwolves REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Sam Mitchell 29 5-14 0-0 8-9 18 2-3 2 0 2 2 0 Kevin Garnett 41 8-19 0-0 2-2 18 3-9 3 2 2 2 2 Bill Curley 18 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 1-3 0 0 2 3 0 Dennis Scott 29 4-6 1-3 0-0 9 1-3 5 1 2 2 0 Terrell Brandon 20 2-6 0-1 0-0 4 0-2 8 0 2 3 0 Bobby Jackson 29 5-11 0-0 3-6 13 1-7 4 5 2 3 0 Tom Hammonds 28 7-10 0-0 0-0 14 0-2 1 0 0 0 0 Dean Garrett 11 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 3-3 0 1 1 0 0 Reggie Jordan 21 1-3 0-0 7-8 9 4-7 3 2 4 1 0 Andrae Patterson 14 3-6 0-0 5-6 11 0-0 1 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 37-82 1-4 25-31 100 15-39 27 11 20 16 2 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Gary Trent 36 9-17 0-0 8-8 26 4-8 2 4 2 2 0 A.C. Green 16 4-4 0-0 0-0 8 0-1 0 3 2 0 1 Shawn Bradley 29 5-8 0-0 4-4 14 1-5 0 2 0 0 2 Michael Finley 36 2-13 1-2 2-2 7 0-5 5 3 2 0 0 Steve Nash 38 5-10 2-4 0-0 12 1-2 7 5 6 1 0 Samaki Walker 22 3-4 0-0 1-1 7 1-6 0 0 2 0 1 Hubert Davis 22 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 0-0 3 1 4 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 25 4-6 0-1 4-4 12 2-6 1 0 6 0 1 Erick Strickland 16 1-7 0-3 3-6 5 1-4 1 1 1 3 0 Totals 48 34-72 3-11 22-25 93 10-37 19 20 25 6 5 Dallas at Miami (April 7) Dallas led 11-10 with 8 minutes left in the 1st and went on an 11-3 run to go up 22-13 with 4:14 left. Dallas led 30-21 with 41 seconds and Miami scored the last 4 points of the quarter. Dallas led 30-25 after 1. Shawn Bradley had 14 points and Dallas shot 13-19 FG. Dallas led 33-28 with 9:50 remaining and Miami went on a 16-2 run as Dallas committed 3 turnovers to go up 44-35 with 2:50 left. Miami led 46-37 with 1:45 left and Dallas closed the quarter with a 9-1 run. Miami led 47-46 at the half. Miami led 51-50 with 10 minutes to go and went on a 13-2 run to go up 64-52 with 4:43 left. Miami led 71-60 after 3. Dallas shot 5-14 FG and had 0 offensive rebounds in the 3rd. Miami maintained a 9 to 14 point lead through 3/4ths of the 4th. Miami led 87-73 with 3:30 when the Mavs made a push. Dallas went on a 12-3 run to pull within 4 points at 85-89 with 26 seconds left. P.J. Brown hit 2 free throws with 24 seconds left. Finley missed a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left and the Mavs ran out of time. Miami won 93-87. After shooting 13-19 FG in the 1st quarter, Dallas shot 38.2% (21-55) the rest of the way. Shawn Bradley had 14 points in the 1st quarter and only 2 points the rest of the way. Quotes Pat Riley: "We cannot crack now. We have to keep winning. This team has the focus and determination to win. 36 or 37 wins probably will have the best record in the East." Riley: "It took a lot of energy to stay with what they were trying to do. Everything tonight was about putting the ball on the floor and driving it, and kicking it." Alonzo Mourning on Shawn Bradley's performance in the first half: "That's not what we expected. I was being cursed out by Riles." Mourning: ""I wasn't expecting [Bradley] to shoot the ball as well as he did. He does have a pretty decent touch from the outside and he came out aggressive offensively and made a lot of shots." P.J. Brown: "It's been like that all year. They come off me to double-team Zo and I spot up to take the shot. My teammates told me, 'You're the most open guy on this team.' But I want to know what happened the first two years." Tim Hardaway: "P.J. has gained a lot of confidence in his jump shot. When he's hot, you have to go with him. He's always open." Hardaway: "My goal from now on is to drive the ball and get easier shots for my teammates and myself." Hardaway: "We started to figure it all out. After the 1st quarter, we had seen enough of Shawn Bradley. We're feeling good about ourselves now." Don Nelson on going away from Bradley in the 2nd half: "We're not going to go to Shawn [with a play], so he's got to make his living off other guys. Gary was so dominant in the low box [in the 2nd half] that we went there instead." Nelson: "They played hard. They played very well. We followed the game plan well and played against probably the best defensive team in the NBA. scoring was hard to come by out there." Shawn Bradley: "I don't know what happened. It was working there in the 1st half. They just decided to go somewhere else and try something different." Bradley: "I like playing against Zo. He and I have had our battles over the last couple of years and he's a great player. For some reason, I get up to play against him." Bradley: "We started strong and then went away from the game plan. We just couldn't score in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. When you score 16 and 14 points, it's hard to come back." Michael Finley: "We basically let them do what they wanted to do defensively." Finley on the team going away from Bradley in the 2nd half: "For one, [Miami] gave him his respect. Defensively, they started not letting him get open shots, and at the same time we weren't finding him and we didn't run any certain plays for him. We have to recognize that. But at the same time, Shawn has to demand the ball." Finley: "We just gave them a lead so large that it was tough to overcome. Give Miami credit. They're the type of team that won't let somebody else come in and get a big lead." Finley: "I think in the third quarter, offensively we settled [for jumpers], and defensively we allowed them to get what they wanted. When you've got those two things going against you it's going to be tough, and it was definitely tough for us." Gary Trent: "We're just not getting it done. Youth is a big part of why we're not winning these close games. We're too indecisive. At least in the last few games we've played hard until the end. If you're going to go down, go down swinging." Trent: "We felt good being down 1 point at the half, but then in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter, we went away from our inside play and started becoming a jump shooting team. That's all we did - jump, jump, jump, jump." Miami Heat 93, Dallas Mavericks 87 at Miami (April 7) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Miami 25 22 24 22 - 93 .564 .278 .493 .571 Dallas 30 16 14 27 - 87 .485 .167 .459 .783 Halftime: Miami 47-46 3rd Q: Miami 71-60 Dallas' largest lead: 30-21 0:41 1st Dallas' last lead: 35-33 8:12 2nd Miami's largest lead: 87-73 3:28 4th Lead changes: 3 Technicals: none Refs: Jess Kersey, Derek Richardson, Tom Washington Attendance: 15,200 (sellout) Miami Heat REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jamal Mashburn 31 4-7 0-2 3-8 11 1-5 4 1 2 0 0 P.J. Brown 35 9-12 0-0 5-6 23 1-4 1 0 3 1 2 Alonzo Mourning 36 4-10 0-0 2-5 10 6-12 2 1 5 0 4 Dan Majerle 42 2-7 1-5 1-2 6 1-9 4 0 0 0 0 Tim Hardaway 38 8-21 1-6 2-4 19 1-3 9 1 3 1 0 Clarence Weatherspoon 21 3-6 0-0 3-3 9 1-6 0 3 3 1 1 Terry Porter 33 6-9 3-4 0-0 15 0-0 4 1 3 0 0 Keith Askins 4 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-73 5-18 16-28 93 11-39 24 8 19 3 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 47 12-23 0-1 2-2 26 3-7 4 3 5 1 0 Gary Trent 39 9-19 0-0 9-13 27 5-13 3 1 6 2 2 Shawn Bradley 32 7-10 0-0 2-2 16 1-4 2 0 1 0 1 Hubert Davis 46 3-8 0-2 0-0 6 0-6 3 1 4 0 0 Steve Nash 43 2-5 1-2 4-4 9 0-1 5 1 4 0 0 Erick Strickland 7 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 A.C. Green 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Samaki Walker 8 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 0-2 0 1 0 0 0 Chris Anstey 9 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 1 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 34-74 1-6 18-23 87 10-38 18 9 22 3 3 Golden State at Dallas (April 10) Golden State opened the game with an 11-3 run, but Dallas finally joined the game and went on a 10-2 run to tie the game 13-13 with 6:36 left. Golden State was up 21-16 with 3:01 left and Dallas closed the quarter with a 10-2 run to go up 26-23 after 1. Gary Trent was a monster with 11 points and 5 rebounds. The game remained close in the 2nd quarter with the teams exchanging small leads. The game was tied at 41-41 with 2:45 left and Dallas scored the next 7 points. But John Starks closed the quarter with 2 free throws and jumper. Dallas led 48-45 at the half. Trent had 21 points on 6-8 FG and 9-15 FT and 8 rebounds. Dallas hung on to a 1 to 5 point lead the first half of the 3rd quarter. The game was tied 59-59 with 5 minutes left and the teams traded leads the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 68-65 after 3. The game remained close in the 4th with the game tied at 74-74 with 7:27 left and at 80-80 with 5 minutes to go. Golden State scored the next 4 points to go up 84-80 with 3:37 left, but couldn't build on their lead. Golden State led 87-83 with 2:41 left, but a Hubert Davis' 3-pointer and free throw from Trent tied the game at 87-87 with 1 minute left. Shawn Bradley stole the ball and Finley was fouled with 46 seconds left. He hit 1-2 free throws. Terry Cummings hit a jumper with 36 seconds left to give Golden State an 89-88 lead. The Mavs called timeout and moved the ball to half court for the inbounds. Finley stupidly tried to pass the inbounds to Bradley at the top of the key and Jason Caffey saw it coming the whole way and intercepted the pass and took it in for the dunk on the break with 33 seconds left. Steve Nash missed a 3-pointer, but Trent got the rebound and short jumper. Golden State led 91-90 with 23 seconds left and quickly inbounded the ball. The Mavs amazingly did not foul anyone as the clock kept running. The Mavs got a lucky break as Caffey got the ball under the basket and tried to pass it and Finley tipped the ball away. Bradley and Cummings were tied up trying to get the loose ball and there was a jumpball with 8.4 seconds left. Trent got the tip and took the ball up the court where Golden State knocked it out of bounds with 2.1 seconds left. The Mavs inbounded the ball to Trent and he was surround by 3 Warriors and could barely get a shot off (Cummings was credited with a block). The Mavs wanted a foul on the play, but no call came. Golden State won 91-90. The largest lead of the game was only 8 points. The Mavs had a lot of dumb plays at the end of the game. Finley's bad inbounds pass was a key and the Mavs not fouling with Golden State up by 1 with no shoot clock had me screaming. It was good to hear that Gary Trent was very upset with his performance, despite his good numbers. He was lamenting the fact that he missed 7 free throws. He finished with 33 points on 10-16 FG and 13-20 FT and 11 rebounds. Only in a Golden State-Dallas game can you have one of the boneheadest plays ever topped by an even more boneheaded play. When I saw it live, I was completely confused as to what had just happened (they never showed a replay in the arena). I knew that something _very_ wrong had just happened, but my brain couldn't accept what it was. My confusion greatly increased when Golden State inbounded the ball and headed the other way down the court. A few minutes into the 4th quarter, Robert Pack and Terry Cummings had a jump ball at the Mavs' end of the court. Chris Mills got the ball and went for the layup, but Samaki Walker came over and blocked the ball and the refs called a foul on Walker. Of course, Mills was shooting at the Mavs' basket. The refs huddled to figure out how to handle the call. P.J. Carlesimo wanted it to be a shooting foul, but gave up that argument when the ref responded with okay, but Mills had to shoot at the Mavs' basket. It ended up being a non-shooting foul with Golden State inbounding the ball on the side. Mills was able to laugh about it after the game and Walker wouldn't talk to the media about it. Walker got razzed by his teammates when he returned to the bench at the next timeout. The irony of the whole thing was that Dallas lost by 1 point. Quotes P.J. Carlesimo: "Terry was huge. He's done it for us all year. He does the sensible thing at the right time. He just knows how to play basketball." Terry Cummings: "[Trent] had it rolling down low, and we had to find a way to contain him. I just like to play in the 4th quarter. I was open on offense because they were doing a lot of switching. I just felt comfortable out there." Don Nelson: "Where we shot ourselves in the foot was when we threw the out of bounds play away. I'm not going to blame anybody, but that's a play you don't throw away." Nelson: "Gary has been dominant for me every game. We need more support." Nelson on the non-call at the end of the game: "You would think that you might get that call at home. I thought Gary made an aggressive move but they decided not to call it." Gary Trent on his 33 points: "So what if it's a career-high? I had 7 more opportunities at the free throw line that could have won the game for us, but I didn't do it. I could have scored 40. If you don't win the game, that [stuff] don't matter." Trent: "We lost by 1 and I missed 7 free throws. That's the game right there. If I would have hit them, we would have won. If you give me the ball to score and I get fouled I have to go to the line and hit them." Trent on the non-call at the end of the game: "Maybe if we had 25 wins under our belts and were showing a playoff push, we might have gotten some love [from the refs]. It's just a perception of our team and our record." Trent: "I don't like to lose my money, but y'all saw the game. We lost by one, I missed 7 free throws, that's the game right there. [But] I was getting those calls all night - what happened then?" Trent: "I'm 270 pounds. I don't fall to the floor like that." A very disappointed Trent: "That was the first time I've had the opportunity for a buzzer beater to win it. And I'm 0 for 1." Golden State Warriors 91, Dallas Mavericks 90 at Dallas (April 10) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Golden State 23 22 20 26 - 91 .473 .375 .469 .750 Dallas 26 22 20 22 - 90 .378 .500 .390 .710 Halftime: Dallas 48-45 3rd Q: Dallas 68-65 Dallas' largest lead: 48-41 0:59 2nd Dallas' last lead: 88-87 0:45 4th Golden State's largest lead: 11-3 8:19 1st Lead changes: 16 Technicals: none Refs: Mike Mathis, Joe DeRosa, Tommie Wood Attendance: 14,218 (cap 18,042) Golden State Warriors REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antawn Jamison 25 5-12 0-0 1-3 11 4-7 2 0 1 0 1 Jason Caffey 17 5-9 0-0 1-1 11 2-3 0 2 5 1 1 Erick Dampier 27 1-2 0-0 2-2 4 0-7 0 0 3 0 0 John Starks 33 3-9 1-3 3-4 10 1-6 5 2 2 1 0 Bimbo Coles 39 6-17 0-1 2-2 14 0-4 3 3 1 0 0 Adonal Foyle 14 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 1 2 1 1 Terry Cummings 23 6-8 0-0 2-2 14 4-8 2 3 3 3 2 Chris Mills 26 4-7 1-3 1-2 10 2-5 3 2 1 0 1 Muggsy Bogues 14 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 3 1 0 1 0 Donyell Marshall 17 5-8 1-1 0-0 11 0-1 2 0 2 0 0 Felton Spencer 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 38-81 3-8 12-16 91 14-44 20 15 22 7 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Gary Trent 42 10-16 0-0 13-20 33 7-11 2 5 3 1 0 A.C. Green 9 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 2-2 0 0 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 33 6-19 0-0 0-0 12 6-13 0 1 4 2 4 Michael Finley 44 6-18 0-0 5-6 17 1-4 6 2 0 2 1 Steve Nash 41 4-11 3-6 0-0 11 0-7 3 1 2 0 0 Hubert Davis 39 3-5 1-2 2-2 9 0-2 1 1 3 0 0 Robert Pack 12 0-3 0-0 2-2 2 1-1 3 3 1 1 0 Chris Anstey 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 0 1 0 0 Samaki Walker 12 2-3 0-0 0-1 4 3-5 0 1 2 0 2 Dirk Nowitzki 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-82 4-8 22-31 90 21-46 15 15 16 6 7 San Antonio at Dallas (April 13) Dallas opened the game strong as San Antonio opened the game soft and the Mavs built up an early 11-2 lead 4 minutes in and extended their lead to 18-6 with 4:40 left. San Antonio only shot 3-13 FG and committed 5 turnovers during that span. The Spurs decided to join the game and closed the quarter with a 15-8 run. Dallas led 26-21 after 1. San Antonio continued the rally in the 2nd quarter as Dallas fell flat. San Antonio opened the 2nd with a 14-2 run to go up 35-28 with 8 minutes left. The Spurs led 46-39 with 2 minutes left and Dallas scored the next 6 points. Tim Duncan slammed home the inbounds pass from under their basket with 1.3 seconds left in the 3rd to give San Antonio a 48-45 left at the half. Dallas tied the game at 50-50 with 10:30 left on a Michael Finley 3-pointer, but could not take a lead. San Antonio built up an 8 point lead at 60-52 with 7:30 left and held a 5 to 8 point lead over the next 5 minutes. San Antonio led 69-62 with 2 minutes remaining and Dallas scored the only 4 points of sloppy last 2 minutes of the 3rd quarter. San Antonio led 69-66 after 3. San Antonio scored the first 4 points of the 4th and led 73-66 with 10:30 left. Dallas scored the next 6 points to pull within 1 at 72-73 with 8:30 to go. It was the Spurs turn to rally and they built their lead up to 6 at 80-74 5:35. But the Mavs did not roll over and responded with energized play from Chris Anstey and Dirk Nowitzki. Down by 1 at 80-81 with 4:30 left, Anstey blocked Sean Elliot's shot and Nowitzki made the long pass the Finley for the slam on the break. Duncan was called for an offensive foul and Anstey nailed an 17-foot baseliner to give Dallas the lead with 3:45 left. The teams traded misses and Steve Nash intercepted a pass. Nowitzki hit a short jumper over Duncan and Dallas led 84-81 with 2:30 to go. Elliott missed a shot. Nash missed a 3-pointer, but Anstey was in position to slam home the miss with 2 minutes left. The teams traded 1 of 2s at the line and Dallas led 87-82 with 1:30 remaining. After missed shots by both teams, Duncan hit 2 free throws with 40 seconds left. Finley missed a jumper, but Nowitzki got the rebound and was fouled with 15 seconds left. He missed the first free throw, but hit the second to put Dallas up by 4. The Spurs could not get off a 3-pointer and Elliott missed a jumper and Trent was fouled. He hit both. San Antonio finally made a field goal with 2 seconds left, but it was too late. Dallas won 92-86. The Spurs did not hit a field goal for almost 6 minutes in the 4th - they had 3 free throws during that span - and they committed 4 turnovers in the last 5 minutes of the game. Dallas did not commit a turnover in the 4th. San Antonio shot 5-19 FG and 5-12 FT in the 4th. Surprisingly, Dallas out-scored San Antonio 48-32 in the paint. Despite a solid ref crew, the Mavs seemed to get the short end of a lot of calls and non-calls - especially Chris Anstey. After Mario Elie was called for a foul and Anstey turned his back to him to walk to the line, Elie threw a forearm into Anstey's back right in front of the ref. The ref stepped between Elie and Anstey (who took offense to the forearm), but no T was called on Elie. David Robinson locked up Anstey and actually threw him to the ground and Anstey was called for the foul. Quotes Don Nelson: "They're one of the toughest teams and most talented teams. How do you combat that? By playing great." Nelson: "I felt real good about how the young guys played. They seized the moment. It was an unexpected win and probably the best one for us all year." Nelson on Nowitzki: "The rebounding was the most important thing. He hasn't shot the ball like we know he can, but he moves it, he makes the extra pass to the open guy. The team runs better when he's in the game." Nelson: "[Anstey] was a big factor. He made a lot of good hustle plays. He made a big jump shot for us that we needed." Chris Anstey: "We played tonight like we thought we could all year. It was a good time to do this, against a very good team. It was a glimpse of what we can do. We want to take a positive feeling into next year." Anstey: "I just kept trying to be active and keep the tempo up. Defensively, I tried to get a few deflections and loose balls." Anstey: "Winning against a good team like San Antonio at this stage in the season, or any win against a team higher than us in the standings, is a good win for us." Dirk Nowitzki: "I couldn't throw it in the ocean tonight, but there were other ways to stay in the game with defense and rebounding. It's huge for my confidence. All year I've heard I'm not ready, so it was nice to get a chance like this against a good team." Nowitzki: "If we come out with a lot of energy, we can win against anybody. But it all depends on how we play." Gregg Popovich: "We had some performances that really hurt us. I thought our decision making was not good." Popovich: "Overall, the only time we had 5 guys on the court that were together was when we had our bench on the court performing wisely and hard. That's just not right. Everybody that came off the bench did a great job for us. They had a lot of energy. They executed well and they also laid their hearts out on the floor every minute they were on the court. We need to get 5 starters who will do that every minute of every game. Then we'll be a hell of a team. If not, we'll continue to have this crap." David Robinson: "We didn't go get the ball. When you can't shoot the ball, you've got to get the rebound. There's no excuses. We were right in the position we wanted to be going into the 4th quarter, and we just let it go." Robinson: "It was just a meltdown in the 4th quarter - we played awful. You have to give those guys credit. Nowitzki was big. He got the big rebounds and made some big shots in the 4th quarter." Tim Duncan: "They just outplayed us. It's already behind us. We just have to go on and play the next game. We can't dwell on this, there's nothing we can do about it." Sean Elliott: "I didn't do anything. I shouldn't have even been out there." Dallas Mavericks 92, San Antonio Spurs 86 at Dallas (April 13) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 26 19 21 26 - 92 .486 .300 .463 .577 San Antonio 21 27 21 17 - 86 .405 .200 .381 .741 Halftime: San Antonio 48-45 3rd Q: San Antonio 69-66 San Antonio's largest lead: 40-30 6:17 2nd Dallas' largest lead: 18-6 4:41 1st Lead changes: 3 Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 1:08 1st Refs: Jess Kersey, Ed F. Rush, Kevin Fehr Attendance: 13,142 (cap 18,042) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 32 4-14 0-4 4-6 12 4-13 4 2 1 1 0 Gary Trent 34 7-11 0-0 4-10 18 1-6 1 1 3 0 3 Shawn Bradley 30 5-11 0-0 0-0 10 2-12 1 2 6 1 2 Michael Finley 41 9-16 1-1 6-6 25 2-3 1 3 2 3 0 Steve Nash 42 3-10 1-3 1-2 8 1-5 12 5 1 2 0 Chris Anstey 22 4-10 0-1 0-0 8 3-6 1 1 4 0 3 Hubert Davis 7 1-1 1-1 0-0 3 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 A.C. Green 10 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 3 1 0 Robert Pack 6 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 1 2 0 0 0 Samaki Walker 16 3-6 0-0 0-2 6 2-4 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 37-80 3-10 15-26 92 15-50 22 16 21 8 8 San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tim Duncan 39 9-17 0-0 3-6 21 4-11 1 3 5 1 3 Sean Elliott 23 3-12 0-2 0-0 6 0-0 2 3 5 1 0 David Robinson 32 5-11 0-0 12-15 22 3-10 2 2 2 0 2 Mario Elie 31 4-8 0-2 2-2 10 0-5 1 1 2 1 0 Avery Johnson 28 0-5 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 5 2 3 2 0 Anthony Daniels 20 5-10 1-1 2-3 13 0-3 2 0 0 1 0 Jaren Jackson 21 3-6 1-4 1-1 8 0-2 2 0 0 2 0 Steve Kerr 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Jerome Kersey 21 0-7 0-1 0-0 0 2-4 3 1 3 2 0 Will Perdue 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-4 1 1 1 0 0 Malik Rose 15 3-8 0-0 0-0 6 5-5 1 0 1 1 1 Totals 48 32-84 2-10 20-27 86 14-44 20 14 23 11 6 patricia