Vote for Michael Finley for the All-Star game. Only Finley, Gary Payton, and Grant Hill are averaging over 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. He deserves to be higher in the ballot voting as he is currently only 10th in Western guards - rookie Steve Francis is even ahead of him. You can vote for Finley at http://allstar.nba.com/Ballot Dallas released Damon Jones and Rick Hughes. The guaranteed contract date is January 10 and both players were cut due to that. The Mavs are planning on re-signing Jones to a 10-day contract after he clears waivers (48 hours). Dallas is expecting to sign Greg Buckner to a 10-day contract. Buckner is a guard who has been in the Mavs' past two training camps and had knee surgery in early October. He should be available for Thursday's game vs Utah. Injury update: Gary Trent left the Denver game with a strained left groin in the 4th quarter. He is going to be out a little while due to the injury, but no word yet as to how long (Nelson said a minimum of a week). Dirk Nowitzki left the Denver game throwing up (food poisoning) in the 4th quarter. He probably won't miss any games. The earliest Steve Nash will be back is on Saturday, and that is not very likely as Nelson said he expects Nash to be out about 10 more days. Pack will still be out at least another week. Erick Strickland has played in the past two games after missing 14 games with a sprained left shoulder. I heard Don Nelson on the radio tonight. He was very upbeat and had a 2 hour talk with Mark Cuban earlier in the day. Nelson reiterated that this is his last year of coaching and that he plans on being a full time GM next year - but, of course, that's up to Cuban. He surprised me by saying that this is probably not the right place for Donnie Nelson to become a head coach and that it was never written in stone that Donnie was going to become the head coach. He said that he had some good ideas as to who he would want to be the coach next season, but wouldn't go into details and that he and Cuban would discuss the coaching situation after the season. Repeat, Nelson said that he won't be coaching next year and the strong impression was that Donnie Nelson won't be head coach next year. No disrespect to Scott Roth and Charlie Parker, but it sounds a lot like there will be a new face on the bench next year. Mark Cuban, co-founder of Broadcast.com (formerly AudioNet and currently Yahoo Broadcast), has signed a letter of intent to purchase a majority share of the Mavericks for a reported $280 million. The details of the sale still have to be finalized, but Cuban will purchase most of Ross Perot's 51% shares (Perot said he will likely keep a small percentage) and shares of minority owners interested in selling. The sale has to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors (likely in March or April). Unlike Perot who was only bought the Mavs as a real estate investment, Cuban is a huge sports fan and a Mavs' season ticket holder - his tickets are next to the Mavs' bench. Mark Cuban quotes "My approach in business has been to dive in and learn everything I can. I'll be like Jerry Jones." On his management style: "Closer to Jerry Jones. Am I going to go in there and start calling plays? No. Am I going to go say cut this player, keep that player? No. But at the same time, I'm going to sit down with Nellie and the coaching staff and say, 'Where money is an element, where money is an issue, who can we bring in? Let's open the checkbook.'" "I won't be out there trying to play point guard, but I'll be doing all the things I can to contribute. You'll find me making sales calls, introducing the team to the community, being the biggest cheerleader at the games and answering e-mails." "I've been a sports fan all my life. I never miss a Mavs game." "I am gonna have a blast. Life is good." "Everybody dreams about what they'd do if they won the lottery. Well, this is it for me, owning a team I really care about." "I see this as a great business challenge. I can spend more time on it than Mr. Perot could." On the current management: "I think there's good basketball people there now. I'm going to give them every opportunity to continue to prove themselves and improve. And if I can bring new talent in here and they produce, every thing is wonderful. I don't think you have to blow anything up, I guess is my point." "I'm not going to go in and blow anything up." On spending money: "If it means pursuing free agents and absorbing a loss - if it brings us a winning team, it's great." [With the new rules of the salary cap making teams equal] "Now the question is, is Tim Duncan or Grant Hill or Brian Grant or Eddie Jones, is Dallas a place they want to want to play. And that's recruiting. And it's making it an environment where the players today want to be and letting them know that there is a winning opportunity and that's my job." "If I could sign Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Eddie Jones and Brian Grant all at once, I'd write the check. I don't know if I'm even allowed to say that. But I'm still not official yet." "There's winning and then there's everything else. I'll do everything in my power - financially and with sweat equity - to make this team a champion. I won't accept anything less." On recruiting players: "NBA players can make lifestyle decisions as well as salary decisions." "I want to bring every bit of Internet experience I have to bear on the Mavericks. When it's all said and done, the NBA is content, and it's no secret that the Internet will play a huge role in the future of sports." "I know that Mavs' fans have not been communicated with at all. That's one of the first things that will change. People will know what's going on - and why." "My number one challenge is going to be getting fans in the seats. Because Mavericks basketball - win, lose, or draw - today is fun. But going to the arena isn't as fun as it could be. With the Reunion Rowdies, we weren't always winning in the 80s, yet the stands were packed and people had a great time. So, number one is making sure people have a good time and getting people in there." "Number two is going out there and getting the best possible talent." On the criticism that comes with owning a team: "I've been called an idiot many times." Toronto at Dallas (Dec. 30) In the 1st quarter, Toronto slowly built up a lead and led 26-16 with 3:30 left, but could not get their lead larger than 10 points. Michael Finley picked up his 3rd foul with 4:15 left in the quarter, but continued playing in the quarter and played half of the 2nd quarter. Toronto led 32-26 after 1. Toronto opened the 2nd quarter with a bucket and then Dallas went on a 10-0 run to take a 36-32 lead with 8:45 remaining. The game stayed close the rest of the quarter with neither team holding more than a 5 point lead. Dallas led 52-51 at the half. Dallas opened the 3rd quarter with an 11-1 run to go up 63-52 with 10:20 to go as Toronto didn't score for the first 3 minutes of the quarter. Dallas led 65-54 with 8 minutes left when Toronto went on a 17-5 run to take a 71-70 lead with 2:15 remaining. Finley had picked up his 5th foul with 6:10 to go and sat for the rest of the quarter. Toronto led 77-74 after 3. Toronto scored the first 6 points of the 4th to go up 83-74 with 10 minutes remaining. Disaster struck for Dallas as Finley fouled out with 9:30 left. Toronto led 93-82 with 6 minutes left and Dallas scored the next 8 points including 3-pointers by Cedric Ceballos and Dirk Nowitzki to pull within 90-93 with 3:45 left. But Antonio Davis had consecutive slam dunks as the Mavs' defense focused on Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter to put Toronto up 97-90 with 2:30 remaining. Toronto led 101-95 with a minute left when Nowitzki converted the 3-pointer to pull Dallas within 3. ADavis missed a short jumper. Hubert Davis missed a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, Ceballos got the rebound under the basket, but missed the layup. He again got the rebound and again missed the layup and McGrady got the rebound. Ceballos fouled Muggsy Bogues with 35 seconds left and he hit both free throws. Nowitzki missed a long jumper and Bogues hit 2 more free throws to put Toronto up 105-98 with 20 seconds left. Damon Jones missed a 3-pointer and that basically was game (though 10 more points were scored). Toronto won 109-104. It was a very entertaining game, but it would have been nice to have Finley in it. It was only Finley's 3rd career disqualification and he only played 27 minutes. Dirk Nowitzki tried to pick it up with Finley out and 14 points including 3-3 3-pointers in the 4th. He finished with 32 points including 12-17 FG and 4-4 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in playing all 48 minutes. Cedric Ceballos kicked in 26 points and 5 rebounds. Erick Strickland returned, but only played 13 minutes. He took a hit to his shoulder in 2nd quarter and it seemed to bother him - but he took a charge from Charles Oakley a little bit later. Nelson took him out a short time later. I was surprised to see Strick subbed into the game in the 2nd half, but he didn't play long. The Raptors killed the Mavs on the boards and out-rebounded them 54-34. Wow. Vince Carter. _Believe_ the hype. He had two dunks in the 1st half that were impressive, but nothing compared to the one that came with 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Toronto was running with Tracy McGrady bringing up the ball and Vince Carter got ahead of the Mavs. McGrady passed the ball to Carter who took off, did a 360 in the air and did a two-handed power slam. Man, oh man. It was so impressive that I stood up and applauded. It was the best dunk I've ever seen live. If you've seen the highlights of it, you know what I'm talking about. Carter had 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Tracy McGrady contributed to the dunk fest and had 24 points including 10-16 FG and 11 rebounds. Antonio Davis got some easy dunks later in the game as the Mavs were focusing on Carter and McGrady and had a great game with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Quotes Butch Carter: "We just played our type of basketball. Our defense led us to easy baskets." Carter: "Antonio Davis is the biggest difference in the Eastern Conference. Without him, I don't know where we'd be. He's doing this every night." Tracy McGrady: "I just wanted to come out and give the team some energy. I think I did a good job. I tried to find my open teammates because [Dallas] was doubling a lot. I just tried to do what was best for the team." McGrady on running against Dallas: "We can be that type of team. We can do that. We were much quicker than they were. They couldn't match us." McGrady: "I had a lot of energy in the 2nd half. I've been struggling the last few games and I was struggling in the 1st half tonight but I came out with a lot of energy and made some shots.'' McGrady on the dunks: "You get pumped, the team gets motivated and you feel like you're never going to stop. With me and Vince on the wings we're some dangerous guys." McGrady on the dunking: "When we're on the break, we're some dangerous guys and teams better watch out. We had fun tonight. The crowd got into it and we got motivated." Vince Carter: "They score a lot of points, so we had to be high energy. We got into it in transition. It was fun with all the dunks." Carter on McGrady: "Once again he stepped up. We knew we were going to need him tonight, especially for his athletic ability and his ability to get to the hole. He really did a good job tonight." Carter on his dunks: "I wore myself out but it was fun." Carter on the dunks: "I wore myself out, I was tired. I don't think we took [dunks] out of context. We want our good defense to lead to easy baskets." Don Nelson on lossing Finley: "Without him we really crumbled. I had to take him out to protect him [after he got his 5th foul], and at the end of the 3rd quarter we didn't generate anything. We looked like we were a lost team. Of course he didn't play very long in the 4th period. He got a touch foul, which was unfortunate. I'm sure the referee wished he had it back - I hope he does anyway. Anyway the call was made, and I think it robbed our fans of a victory and a very exciting game." Nelson: "I play Mike the whole game almost every night, and he leads the league in minutes. Without him, we just crumbled." Dirk Nowitzki: "It's just another one we should have won at home. The losing at home is getting very frustrating." Nowitzki on the Mavs lossing Finley: "He's our leader and we looked stranded without him." Nowitzki on Carter: "He's an amazing athlete, obviously." Nowitzki: "I'm feeling great right now. I just feel good about my shot. As long as the jump shot is going that well I just float around out there and shoot the ball." Michael Finley: "It was difficult having to sit on the bench and watch my teammates finish the game. I spent too much money over Christmas to say anything about the referees, but it was very frustrating." Finley: "It's not the kind of homestand that you would like to take in order to make a stand in this league. It's good we should have won. We had opportunities to win and we let it get away." Erick Strickland: "We couldn't stop them defensively. We kept giving them lanes. They were getting lots of dunks. We weren't rebounding or blocking out. We just didn't do the right things to win the game." Toronto Raptors 109, Dallas Mavericks 104 at Dallas (December 30) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Toronto 32 19 26 32 - 109 .476 .500 .478 .870 Dallas 26 26 22 30 - 104 .458 .471 .461 .824 Halftime: Dallas 52-51 3rd Q: Toronto 77-74 Dallas' largest lead: 65-54 7:57 3rd Dallas' last lead: 72-71 1:56 3rd Toronto's largest lead: 93-82 5:55 4th Lead changes: 8 Technicals: Muggsy Bogues 10:52 3rd Refs: Hue Hollins, Nolan Fine, Rodney Mott Attendance: 16,490 (cap 18,187) Did not play due to injury: Dee Brown (injured knee), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) Toronto Raptors REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Vince Carter 41 10-20 0-0 2-2 22 4-8 8 4 4 1 2 Charles Oakley 41 7-12 0-0 0-1 14 3-11 3 1 5 1 0 Antonio Davis 34 7-16 0-0 5-6 19 3-15 0 1 4 0 3 Doug Christie 36 5-12 3-6 1-2 14 1-3 4 3 2 2 0 Alvin Williams 18 1-5 0-0 2-2 4 0-0 5 2 1 2 0 Kevin Willis 14 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 4-6 0 0 2 0 1 Michael Stewart 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Tracy McGrady 34 10-16 0-0 4-4 24 4-11 4 4 1 1 2 Muggsy Bogues 20 2-4 0-0 6-6 10 0-0 3 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 43-90 3-6 20-23 109 19-54 27 16 22 7 8 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Erick Strickland 13 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-3 4 1 0 1 0 Gary Trent 33 8-17 0-0 0-0 16 2-5 3 2 1 2 2 Dirk Nowitzki 48 12-17 4-4 4-4 32 1-6 6 3 4 2 3 Michael Finley 27 7-16 0-1 0-0 14 1-7 1 2 6 1 0 Hubert Davis 44 4-9 2-4 0-1 10 0-0 2 2 3 0 0 Cedric Ceballos 37 9-19 2-4 6-6 26 4-5 1 1 3 1 0 Shawn Bradley 17 1-2 0-0 4-4 6 0-5 2 0 4 0 5 Damon Jones 21 0-6 0-4 0-2 0 2-3 9 1 1 1 0 Totals 48 41-89 8-17 14-17 104 10-34 28 12 22 8 10 Dallas at Denver (Jan. 4) Denver opened an early 8-2 lead with 9:30 left, but could not get a lead larger than 6 points. Dallas used a mini 6-0 run to take an 18-15 lead with 6 minutes remaining. Dallas held a 1 to 4 point run the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 31-28 after 1. Up 37-36 with 7:45 left, Dallas went on an 9-0 run to take a 46-36 lead with 4:15 left. Dallas led 54-45 at the half. Amazingly, Dallas out-rebounded Denver 26-14 in the half. The Mavs came out flat in the 2nd half and Denver was grabbing all the rebounds (14 of the first 15). Denver opened the quarter with a 14-2 run to go up 59-56 with 8 minutes to go. The game see-sawed back and forth the rest of the quarter with neither team holding more than a 5 point lead. Denver led 76-74 after 3 as Gary Trent hit a short, fall-away jumper at the buzzer. The teams finally found the basket after about 3 minutes into the 4th and the game remained close with 4 ties including 87-87 with 2:45 left. The Mavs lost Trent to a strained left groin with 7:35 left and then lost Dirk Nowitzki half way through the 4th due to food poisoning (he left the court heaving into a towel). Antonio McDyess hit 2 free throws, but Erick Strickland answered with a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 90-89 with 2 minutes remaining. Strickland fed Cedric Ceballos for a layup, but McDyess converted the 3-point play to tie the game at 92-92 with 1:15 to go. Shawn Bradley hit a jumper with a minute left, but George McCloud found his range and nailed the 3-pointer to put Denver up 95-94 with 46 seconds left. Michael Finley hit a tough jumper with 27 seconds left. McDyess got the ball inside and the defense collapsed on him so he pitched the ball out to McCloud who drained a 3-pointer with 8.8 seconds left. Finley missed a tough 18-footer at the buzzer. Denver won 98-96. Losing Dirk Nowitzki and Gary Trent in the 4th really hurt. Trent had 20 points on 10-16 FG (somehow he didn't get to the line) and Dirk had 14 points. It left Finley as the obvious go to guy at the end. And it left the Mavs' with a trapping defense on McDyess at the end that resulted in open 3-pointers for McCloud. Finley hit a big shot and then missed the bigger shot. He finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Despite struggling from the line, Antonio McDyess was a monster with 27 points on 10-16 FG and 7-14 FT and 13 rebounds including 7 offensive. Nick Van Exel had 17 points including 1-7 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 13 assists. The killer, of course, was former Mav and always sharp-shooter (he still holds 11 of the Mavs' 3-point records) George McCloud with 19 points including 5-9 3-pointers. Quotes 6-9 Antonio McDyess on 6-3 Erick Strickland guarding him: "That little joker's strong. He was sitting on my thighs [Strick was fronting him] - that's how small he is. I knew I couldn't move him off or he'd be flying through the air and I'd be called for a foul." McDyess: "They had Clark covered so I hit McCloud in the corner. He was definitely going to beat himself up for missing the first one." George McCloud on his 2 3-pointers in the last minute: "[McDyess] gave me a good look and a good pass and I shot the ball in rhythm. Nick did the same thing. Routine, pretty much." McCloud: "I got a good pass in the corner and I made the shot. It was just routine. I used to play for Dallas so it was a big game for me but more importantly the team needed this game." Don Nelson: "We ran out of big players. Gary Trent pulled a groin, Dirk Nowitzki got sick and it cost us the game. I don't know what to do about it. I can't believe we left George McCloud open for 3s but we did. We did such a good job on the boards in the 1st half and the 2nd they beat us to every ball. It was a totally different game in each half." Michael Finley: "If there is anybody on the court that you do not want to leave open it is George McCloud. That happened maybe 5 times. Even though he missed a couple, he was bound to hit them in clutch situations." Finley: "One shot where I could either win it or tie it and I came up short again. It wasn't the look I wanted, but it was a good look. We're not losing these games in the last little stretch. It's before that - we get momentum and we just let teams get life." Finley: "It's another situation where I could have either won the game or tied it, and I came up short again. I still had a good look at the basket; I should have knocked it down." Gary Trent: "We lost me and Dirk and that was it. We had that game, but we lost 2 starters in the 4th. We need our players out there. Ain't nothing to do with Nellie or nothing else. It's just the players [not] making things happen." Denver Nuggets 98, Dallas Mavericks 96 at Denver (January 4) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Denver 28 17 31 22 - 98 .478 .368 .455 .579 Dallas 31 23 20 22 - 96 .453 .444 .452 .889 Halftime: Dallas 54-45 3rd Q: Denver 76-74 Dallas' largest lead: 46-36 4:12 2nd Dallas' last lead: 96-95 0:27 4th Denver's largest lead: 76-69 1:13 3rd Lead changes: 22 Technicals: Nick Van Exel 4:48 1st Refs: Hugh Evans, Blane Reichelt, Luis Grillo Attendance: 10,549 (cap 19,099) Did not play due to injury: Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antonio McDyess 40 10-16 0-0 7-14 27 7-13 3 4 4 2 3 James Possey 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 0 0 0 Raef LaFrentz 30 4-9 0-2 3-3 11 1-9 2 1 4 0 1 Ron Mercer 40 7-18 0-0 0-0 14 2-3 2 2 3 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 43 8-19 1-7 0-0 17 1-5 13 2 2 0 0 George McCloud 30 7-14 5-9 0-0 19 0-3 3 1 3 1 1 Keon Clark 26 3-8 0-0 0-0 6 3-10 3 2 2 0 1 Bryant Stith 8 1-1 1-1 1-2 4 0-1 1 0 1 0 0 Chris Herren 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Ryan Bowen 11 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 40-88 7-19 11-19 98 15-48 29 13 21 3 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 48 10-22 1-2 7-7 28 3-8 10 3 1 0 1 Gary Trent 27 10-16 0-0 0-0 20 3-6 0 4 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 34 6-12 0-1 2-2 14 0-6 1 0 4 0 0 Erick Strickland 25 3-10 1-2 2-2 9 0-4 3 0 4 2 0 Hubert Davis 35 2-6 2-3 1-1 7 0-1 2 1 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 34 3-5 0-0 2-4 8 1-7 1 0 4 0 3 Cedric Ceballos 27 4-11 0-1 2-2 10 1-4 2 1 2 0 0 Damon Jones 6 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 1 1 2 0 0 Sean Rooks 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 2 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 38-84 4-9 16-18 96 9-39 22 11 23 3 4 patricia