Cedric Ceballos missed the San Antonio game with the flu. He is questionable for tonight's game in Houston. Steve Nash received a cortisone injection in his right ankle following the Sacramento game and missed the San Antonio game. He is doubtful for tonight's game. Robert Pack did not practice yesterday due to a strained right groin and is questionable for tonight's game. Leon Smith has been released from the hospital and is in New York under the care and guidance of the NBA's player assistance program. The San Antonio game started a string of 8 of 9 games on the road for Dallas. Houston at Dallas (Nov. 16) Dallas shot out to a 16-7 lead on 8-9 FG with 7:45 left and the Mavs held 10 point leads twice in the quarter, but could not push their lead into the teens. Dallas led 36-27 after 1. The Mavs led 44-31 with 8:50 left, but Houston rattled off the next 9 points to pull within 4 points at 40-44 with 6:40 left on a 3-pointer by Walt Williams. Dallas led 48-43 with 3 minutes left when Steve Francis took Dirk Nowitzki down hard on a break. Francis was ejected on the flagrant foul. Nowitzki hit the 2 free throws and Steve Nash nailed a 3-pointer. Dallas led 56-48 at the half. The Mavs held a single digit lead through the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter. Dallas led 78-68 with 3:30 left and scored the next 7 points to go up 85-68 with 2:40 to go. Dallas led 88-75 after 3. The Mavs continued to run in the 4th quarter and made it a blowout by opening the quarter with a 15-3 run to go up 103-78 with 6:45 remaining. Dallas led comfortably the rest of the game and won 114-95. Dallas led the entire game. Michael Finley was awesome in the game and had 28 points including 12-17 FG, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Quotes Don Nelson: ""I'm very happy. We didn't know exactly what to expect, but .500 at this time is pretty darn good for us." Nelson: "I thought it would be a very hard-fought game because we have matchup problems with them. I think the fact that they played [the night before vs Indiana] helped us. They were a little tired, and we had an easy win. I'm not saying that we're world-beaters. But [the Mavs] played hard, and they like to win and they played pretty good basketball." Cedric Ceballos: We wanted to play our running style against them. They came in late last night. We wanted to push them up and down the floor." Ceballos: "We have confidence. The opportunities for us to keep competing at a high level must continue. Small things are working. We have respect for what we're doing." Ceballos: "We are competitive, energetic and, most importantly, we have confidence. When you have confidence in what you are doing, there's no telling what you can do." Ceballos: "We need to remember this feeling and keep it going. I'd rather be where the Rockets are if it meant being .500 at the end of the season." Ceballos on Michael Finley: "He's playing at a high level. He's not letting the injuries bother him." Michael Finley: "I took it upon myself not just to score but to keep everybody involved, keep the enthusiasm going. Fortunately for me, my shot and my teammates' shots were falling. We just got the open man the ball." Finley on playing Houston: "They have those two championship banners that still reign over us and San Antonio. But we just seem to play well against those guys. And I think we're even better than this." Robert Pack: "We wanted to push the ball. That's conducive to the athletes that we have. The fastbreak worked in our favor tonight." Pack: "We came out and we played aggressive right from the start. We played our type of basketball. I think tonight was a good indication of the way we can play if we play our style of ball." Pack on Steve Francis and the scuffle: "He's young. He'll learn that he can't get put out of the game like that. He took a swing at me. It's tough. When somebody swings at you, you want to defend yourself but I couldn't retaliate and get thrown out myself." Ref Don Vaden clarifying that Francis was ejected due to grabbing Dirk Nowitzki by the jersey and then pulling him down with a second motion, not due to the [air] punch he threw during the scuffle afterwards: "The first contact was unnecessary and the second was excessive. The punch had nothing to do with it." Rudy Tomjonavich: "We gave up 39 points on the fastbreak and we couldn't make a layup or a wide-open shot." Tomjanavich: "They're a good team and they're going to be a very good team when the big guy [Trent] gets back." Tomjonavich on the season thus far: "We've had a lot of things already in this short season. It's enough already. That's not the laugh of something funny. That's a guy ready to be fitted for a straitjacket." Tomjonavich on how losing Francis hurt them: "They've got a bunch of small guys and we needed small guys to match up with their small lineup." Steve Francis: "There's nothing to say about what happened. I have no comment on what happened." Charles Barkley: They were playing playground ball. They didn't want us to set up in the half-court set. They were just getting it and running it down our throats. They were playing like they were playing in a rec league. They were just running and gunning tonight. That's not going to win for them that often. It worked against us. But it worked better because Steve was out of the game. As well as they played, they were only up 6 or 7 points late in the 3rd quarter." Hakeem Olajuwon: "It's surprising because sometimes it just doesn't sink in. We're much better than how we've played. We need to start maturing and growing together as a team." Bryce Drew: "I just shot the ball horribly. They all felt good. They just didn't go in. I've never gotten better looks than that. So many jumpers, pull-ups, things I normally make. Everything missed." Dallas Mavericks 114, Houston Rockets 95 at Dallas (November 16) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 35 21 32 26 - 114 .524 .500 .523 .833 Houston 27 21 27 20 - 95 .403 .250 .370 .629 Halftime: Dallas 56-48 3rd Q: Dallas 88-75 Houston never led Dallas' largest lead: 105-79 5:59 4th Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 2:42 1st, Dallas Illegal D 11:13 3rd, Robert Pack 8:38 3rd, Dallas Illegal D 8:30 3rd Flagrant fouls: Steve Francis 2:57 2nd (ejected) Refs: Don Vaden, Tommy Nunez, Monte McCutchen Attendance: 14,371 (18.187) Did not play due to injury: Rick Hughes (flu), Randell Jackson (bruised right thigh) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 37 12-17 0-0 4-5 28 2-13 7 3 4 3 0 Dirk Nowitzki 27 3-7 0-0 10-12 16 0-3 2 2 5 1 0 Sean Rooks 23 4-5 0-0 3-4 11 0-4 2 1 5 2 0 Robert Pack 25 6-11 0-0 0-0 12 0-2 10 2 1 1 0 Erick Strickland 28 5-9 0-0 0-0 10 0-2 2 1 2 1 1 Cedric Ceballos 31 8-20 0-1 3-3 19 1-9 1 0 1 0 2 Hubert Davis 17 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-3 2 0 2 1 0 Shawn Bradley 20 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 1-4 0 0 3 0 6 Steve Nash 27 3-7 2-3 0-0 8 1-4 3 2 1 0 0 Bruno Sundov 5 0-5 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 1 Totals 48 46-88 2-4 20-24 114 5-44 29 11 25 9 10 Houston Rockets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Charles Barkley 29 1-7 1-1 4-4 7 4-11 4 2 2 1 0 Walt Williams 26 3-11 1-7 0-1 7 2-4 1 1 2 0 1 Hakeem Olajuwon 27 6-10 0-0 1-2 13 1-6 1 2 2 1 1 Steve Francis 15 1-5 0-0 1-2 3 0-3 6 1 2 1 0 Shandon Anderson 32 4-9 2-4 4-7 14 0-2 3 3 3 3 0 Carlos Rogers 14 6-9 0-0 1-3 13 7-10 0 2 3 0 2 Cutino Mobley 27 2-9 0-1 3-3 7 1-2 0 3 3 0 0 Kelvin Cato 14 2-3 0-0 1-2 5 2-6 0 0 3 1 0 Bryce Drew 37 5-18 1-7 4-6 15 0-3 2 1 1 1 0 Tony Massenburg 8 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 2-4 1 1 0 0 0 Thomas Hamilton 6 2-5 0-0 2-3 6 2-4 1 0 1 0 1 Kenny Thomas 5 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 1-2 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 34-92 5-20 22-35 95 22-57 19 19 23 8 5 Dallas at Charlotte (Nov. 17) It was a game of runs. The Mavs scored 10 consecutive points early to go up 10-2 and pushed their lead to 14 at 19-5 with 6:30 left on a 3-pointer by Erick Strickland. Dallas led 21-7 when Charlotte went on a 12-2 run to pull within 19-23 with 2:20 remaining. Dallas led 30-25 after 1. The Mavs led 34-27 with 10:30 left and then fell to pieces. Charlotte rattled off 16 consecutive points to go up 43-34 with 6 minutes to go. Steve Nash's 3-pointer ended that rally, but Charlotte then rolled on with 7 more points to go up 50-37 with 4 minutes left. Charlotte led 56-41 at the half. Dallas shot shot 17% (4-23) FG in the 2nd and Charlotte shot 55% FG. Charlotte led 58-43 a minute into the 3rd quarter, but Dallas scored the next 8 points to pull within 51-58 with 9 minutes remaining. Charlotte pushed their lead back into the teens by scoring 9 straight points. Then it was the Mavs' turn to rally with 8 straight points and Charlotte led 67-59 with 5:15 left. Brad Miller scored the last 5 points of the quarter to give Charlotte a 80-65 lead after 3. Dallas opened the 4th quarter with a 16-3 run to pull within 80-83 with 6:45 left. The teams traded points with Charlotte having a 3, 4, or 5 point leads over the next 5 minutes. Dirk Nowitzki's jumper with 1:40 made it 90-87 Charlotte. Robert Pack's 3-point attempt was blocked by Eddie Jones with a minute left and then the Mavs started fouling. Eddie Jones hit 2 free throws to put Charlotte up 92-87 with 57 seconds left. Robert Pack missed a layup and Baron Davis hit 2 free throws. Dallas missed on two attempts and Derrick Coleman hit 2 free throws. Michael Finley hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left and Charlotte led by 6 points, but Davis hit 2 more free throws. Pack hit 2 free throws and Jones hit 2 free throws. Pack converted a layup and Jones hit 2 free throws. Cedric Ceballos hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left and Coleman hit 2 free throws. And Ceballos got a meaningless layup with 2 seconds left. Charlotte won 104-99. Charlotte closed the game hitting 14-14 free throws in the last minute. The teams scored 26 points in the last minute of playing time. Quotes Paul Silas: "We played well tonight with a lot of intensity. What can you say about Derrick Coleman? He is feeling better and gives us a big presence. He was scoring and rebounding and went all out tonight." Silas: "I thought Derrick played well with a lot of intensity. The big lineup really played well. With Derrick hurt we were without this. He's a lot better from the accident and he gives us a big presence in there with his rebounding and shot-blocking. We needed every bit of it tonight." Silas: "We expect something big from Eddie every night." Eddie Jones on Derrick Coleman and Brad Miller: "Those guys can do that every night. That's the best thing for us when you get guys coming off the bench like that and giving you a lift." Derrick Coleman on his struggles this season: "It was just the after effects of the accident. It was like everything was tight. So I was getting massages and things like that to get it loosened back up, and right now, I feel fine." Coleman: "I feel pretty good. The more time I get the better I feel. I was very comfortable out there on the floor. There are no lingering effects at all [from the accident]. Basketball-wise I started feeling better maybe 2 or 3 days ago. My neck and back weren't hurting as much. I'll have to see how I feel as far as back-to-back games and all, but now I feel fine." Brad Miller: "I felt like I really needed to do something. The starters played a lot of minutes last night. D.C. came in early in the rotation which meant I came in early. We've had to battle in all our games and we've only won the ones at home." Don Nelson: "We had the 2nd quarter blues. It just killed us. We looked like two different teams in each of the first two quarters. We played so well in the 1st quarter and so poorly in the 2nd. It was not one guy, it was everybody. I give our team a lot of credit for fighting back the way we did. We gave ourselves a chance at the end, and I am proud of that." Nelson: "This is one game where Gary Trent would have definitely given us an edge. I'm not saying we haven't missed him; we miss him every day. But we might have had a shot at this one had we had him." Michael Finley: "If we would have just packed it up [after the 2nd quarter] and said, 'Well, it's another road loss,' then I would have been discouraged. But we didn't do that." Finley: "I think this organization has had a lot of moral victories. We need real victories now." Finley: "Offensively, we couldn't hit a shot, and defensively we couldn't stop anybody. When you've got those two things going against you, it's going to be tough to be successful on the road." Robert Pack: "We thought we could come in here and sneak one out, but it was a bad swing in the 2nd quarter. You can't expect to give up leads like that and win on the road." Cedric Ceballos: "I can't say we got overconfident or say we slacked off. The tables just turned. Ours went off and theirs went on." Ceballos: "We can't feel bad, because it's not like we didn't play hard or weren't ready. We had a lot of intensity, a lot of passion. We don't quit. I don't let them quit and they don't let me quit." Steve Nash on his tender ankle (which is why he played only 15 minutes): "I don't think it's that's serious. It's just not very strong. It's causing me a lot of discomfort, and I don't have a lot of strength in it." Charlotte Hornets 104, Dallas Mavericks 99 at Charlotte (November 17) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Charlotte 25 31 24 24 - 104 .420 .308 .402 .829 Dallas 30 11 24 34 - 99 .446 .267 .416 .808 Halftime: Charlotte 56-41 3rd Q: Charlotte 80-65 Dallas' largest lead: 21-7 6:03 1st Dallas' last lead: 34-33 8:33 2nd Charlotte's largest lead: 67-51 6:58 3rd Lead changes: 2 Technicals: Dallas illegal D 4:55 3rd Refs: Gary Benson, Leon Wood, Joey DeRosa Attendance: 15,137 (cap 23,799) Did not play due to injury: Rick Hughes (flu), Randall Jackson (bruised right thigh) Charlotte Hornets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Bobby Phills 29 2-7 0-2 0-0 4 1-3 3 3 2 0 0 Anthony Mason 35 3-9 0-0 3-4 9 3-10 1 3 4 0 0 Elden Campbell 31 6-18 0-0 3-4 15 4-7 2 1 4 0 0 David Wesley 23 1-7 1-3 2-2 5 1-2 2 3 6 1 0 Eddie Jones 43 7-13 2-4 8-8 24 0-6 9 2 4 4 1 Baron Davis 25 3-7 0-3 7-8 13 0-2 5 4 2 3 0 Derrick Coleman 37 6-12 1-1 8-12 21 3-18 3 5 3 0 8 Brad Miller 17 5-9 0-0 3-3 13 5-12 2 0 2 0 1 Totals 48 33-82 4-13 34-41 104 17-60 27 22 27 8 10 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 37 6-19 1-5 3-4 16 1-5 4 0 3 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 45 6-14 0-1 4-4 16 2-6 1 3 4 1 1 Sean Rooks 19 4-8 0-0 0-0 8 0-2 0 1 4 0 0 Robert Pack 40 11-18 0-1 5-5 27 0-2 14 6 3 2 0 Erick Strickland 27 1-9 1-4 2-2 5 1-4 1 0 4 3 0 Shawn Bradley 24 4-6 0-0 2-4 10 1-2 0 1 6 0 4 Hubert Davis 9 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 2 0 0 Cedric Ceballos 25 4-11 1-1 5-7 14 3-14 0 2 4 2 0 Steve Nash 14 1-2 1-2 0-0 3 0-0 2 2 2 0 0 Totals 48 37-89 4-15 21-26 99 8-35 23 15 32 10 5 Sacramento at Dallas (Nov. 19) It was a closely contested game. There were 4 ties in the 1st quarter. Sacramento led 10-8 with 9 minute left and Dallas scored the next 8 points to go up 16-10 with 7 minutes remaining. The Mavs led 3026 after 1. Sacramento opened the 2nd quarter by scoring 8 straight points to go up 34-30 with 9:40 left. The Kings led 38-37 wtih 6:30 left and scored the next 6 points, but they could not build on that lead. Dallas chipped at the Kings' lead and breifly took a 1 point lead, but Darrick Martin's long jumper gave Sacramento a 55-54 lead at the half. Dallas went up by 5 points on a 3-pointer by Cedric Ceballos to take a 76-71 lead with 2:30 to go. The Mavs led 78-75 after 3. A 9-0 run by Sacramento gave them a 86-80 lead with 8:30 remaining. Dallas responded with a 7-0 run to go up 87-86 with 7 minutes left. Dallas led 91-90 with 4:50 left and two Sacramento layups gave the Kings a 94-91 lead with 3:30 to go as Dallas attempted two dumb 3-pointers. Dirk Nowitzki hit 1-2 free throws and Chris Webber got a layup with 2:45 left. Two Dallas turnovers surrounded a missed Sacramento 3-pointer and then Webber hit 2 free throws to give Sacramento a 98-92 lead with 1:15 remaining. Shawn Bradley got a layup with a minute left. Jason Williams turned the ball over, but Robert Pack missed a 3-pointer. Jon Barry hit 2 free throws with 29 seconds left and Nowitzki missed a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left. Barry closed the game with 4 free throws. Sacramento won 103-94. The Mavs were in this game, but made a ton of dumb mistakes in the last 5 minutes of the game. Dallas only scored 3 points in the last 4:50 of the game and was out-scored 28-16 in the 4th quarter including a dreadful 5-20 FG. Cedric Ceballos was a negative in the game and only had 3 points on 1-13 FG - but he did snag 10 rebounds (but he did miss a couple of layups). Dirk Nowitzki continued his strong performances with 17 points and 8 rebounds. He has been taking it strong to the basket lately. Erick Strickland had a good game with 18 points and 10 rebounds and defended almost every King who saw time on the court (including Webber). Michael Finley continued his All-Star bid with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists - but he did not score in the 4th quarter. This was the first game where the Mavs were not out-rebounded (58-58). Sacramento shot 28-32 FT and Dallas shot 11-12 FT. Quotes Rick Adelman: "We've had some games where we've really played solid and some that we played well in spurts. This was one where we played well in spurts. Our team has lots of resiliency. They just keep coming at you. We do just enough to win the games." Rick Adelman: "There's no way we're going to get away with playing like that every night. I talked to them about it after the game. We're going to have to get better at thinking on the court because I can't call 15 timeouts to tell them what to do - especially our young guys. But we will get better. I mean, we took some shots when we shouldn't have taken shots and went for steals when we shouldn't have gone for steals. But I think there will be growth a game at a time. And it can't come from me. It has to come from the players themselves, and that's what I like about this team. The players are so receptive." Jon Barry: "We're executing at ends of games. That's something we didn't do much of last year. We learning to win. We want to get better and better and hopefully play well enough not to be in close situations, but put the game away." Barry: "If our bench continues to play the way we have been, we're going to be awful tough to beat." Barry: "I've been waiting seven years for playing time like this." Chris Webber: "The confidence we have in our bench is based on us going at each other in practice. We don't like each other then. The black team which is the 'bench team', always tries to kill the 'gray team', which is the starters. It happens a lot in practice, so none of this surprises us." Darrick Martin: "You should see our practices. We beat [the starters] all the time. It gets ugly. We all play like we're starters. When we go in there, we either maintain the lead or lengthen it." Don Nelson: "We played pretty darn good considering everything. We couldn't get much going in the 4th, that was frustrating. But we did have our chances." Don Nelson: "Their [reserves] are almost as good as their starters." Cedric Ceballos on Sacramento: "They're young, they're on the rise, people are watching for them. I'm concerned with our lost opportunity to shine against a team where we want to be." Robert Pack: "I thought there was going to be a lot more scoring. We just made a whole lot of mental mistakes down the stretch. We have to learn from this. They did a good job of getting their hands on our passes, but what it came down to was we just didn't execute like we can." Pack: "Them making their shots in the 4th quarter was definitely the difference in the game. It came down to execution and we didn't make plays. Unfortunately, they did. They're learning to win in the 4th quarter. That's the point we have to get to. We need to learn to win down the stretch like they did tonight." Erick Strickland: "That's [Webber], he's a big time player. We didn't defend him well enough to make him kick it back outside. They're good, but we can play with anybody. We have to finish. We're tired of moral victories." Sacramento Kings 103, Dallas Mavericks 94 at Dallas (November 19) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Sacramento 26 29 20 28 - 103 .485 .130 .396 .875 Dallas 30 24 24 16 - 94 .435 .188 .396 .912 Halftime: Sacramento 55-54 3rd Q: Dallas 78-75 Lead changes: 12 Technicals: Vlade Divac 3:46 1st, Dallas illegal D 0:49 1st, Jason Williams 1:42 2nd, Sacramento delay of game 4:22 3rd Refs: Ken Mauer, Bennie Adams, James Capers Attendance: 15,507 (cap 18,187) Did not play due to injury: Randell Jackson (bruised right thigh) Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Chris Webber 38 10-19 0-0 4-5 24 3-11 1 3 2 1 1 Corliss Williamson 15 1-4 0-0 8-10 10 1-3 2 2 4 1 0 Vlade Divac 29 7-11 0-0 0-0 14 4-11 3 1 3 0 4 Nick Anderson 24 0-7 0-6 0-0 0 0-6 1 1 1 1 0 Jason Williams 25 1-9 1-5 0-0 3 0-0 3 5 3 3 0 Predrag Stojakovic 33 5-15 2-8 3-3 15 3-8 3 1 0 2 1 Lawrence Funderburke 10 2-2 0-0 2-2 6 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Darrick Martin 23 4-10 0-2 4-4 12 1-1 5 0 1 1 0 Scot Pollard 19 1-3 0-0 2-2 4 4-12 0 0 2 0 0 Jon Barry 24 5-11 0-2 5-6 15 1-5 1 0 1 2 0 Totals 48 36-91 3-23 28-32 103 17-58 19 15 17 11 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 43 11-26 0-4 2-2 24 3-12 8 3 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 37 7-18 0-2 3-4 17 2-8 2 2 2 1 0 Sean Rooks 16 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 2-8 1 1 3 0 0 Robert Pack 39 9-14 0-2 2-2 20 0-0 6 5 3 0 0 Erick Strickland 38 6-13 2-4 4-4 18 3-10 1 3 5 3 0 Shawn Bradley 24 5-10 0-0 0-0 10 2-8 0 0 2 1 0 Cedric Ceballos 23 1-13 1-3 0-0 3 4-10 2 1 3 1 1 Hubert Davis 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 0 1 0 0 Steve Nash 13 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 0 1 0 Totals 48 40-101 3-16 11-12 94 17-58 21 17 22 7 1 Dallas at San Antonio (Nov. 20) I knew it was going to be a long night when I found out before the game that in addition to Steve Nash not playing, Cedric Ceballos would sit out with the flu. Dallas scored the first basket of the game and then went home. Okay, it just seemed that way. San Antonio went on an 11-2 run to go up 11-4 with 7:35 left. The Spurs led 17-8 and Dallas scored the next 7 points to cut the Spurs' lead down to 17-15 with 4:30 remaining. San Antonio led 26-21 after 1. Dallas pulled within 3 pointers with 4:15 to go and then the Spurs took off. San Antonio scored 10 straight points to go up 45-32 with 2 minutes left and led 48-36 at the half. A layup by Dirk Nowitzki a minute into the 3rd quarter made it 38-50, but the Spurs then went on a 12-2 run to go up 62-40 with 7:30 remaining. Dallas cut the Spurs' lead into the teens 3 times in the quarter, but they did not have a serious rally in them. San Antonio led 77-59 after 3. Dallas shot a sorry 34.8% FG through 3 quarters. Garbage time continued in the 4th quarter and the Mavs' "bench" (starters Erick Strickland and Dirk Nowitzki were still on the floor due to the limited number of players Dallas had) made the final result a little more respectable than the game really was. San Antonio won 106-90. Jaren Jackson was on fire and had 23 points including 7-16 FG. The Spurs did not consistently pound the ball inside like I expected them to do, but they didn't have to with the good out-side shooting they had. San Antonio shot 48.1% for 2-pointers and 10-25 3-pointers. Though not dominant in points, Tim Duncan had a solid game passing the ball and rebounding and had 14 points, 17 rebounds, and 7 assists. Partly due to the Spurs sticking to the outside, San Antonio only shot 2-5 FT and Dallas committed a team record low 5 fouls. It is hard to praise any Mav for their performance in this game, but, though not a real strong game, Shawn Bradley showed signs of life and this was probably his best game of the season. Quotes Gregg Popovich: "Overall it was a good defensive effort against a team that is hard to guard. All the guys have the green light to let it fly. We guarded well and stayed with them. I'm pleased with the overall team effort." Jaren Jackson: "It's fun when they go in. I have been struggling lately, I felt good tonight. They were all good looks and I continued to let it go." Jackson: "The way they were rotating tonight just left me open a lot. They were just doing what their coach wanted them to do. They cut down on us inside. Teams have been pretty attentive to me in past games. Maybe I was just due, I don't know." Don Nelson before the game: "I've only got about 7 guys, sure it's going to be tough. But, you never know." Nelson: "We tried to take away their inside game, leave the perimeter open. If they make the shot, we lose. They did" Nelson on the Mavs taking the ball inside at times and the Spurs' 12 blocked shots: "You're not going to get to the rim too often against this team. We had a game plan but sometimes the players forget in the heat of the battle." Nelson on how good the Spurs are: "In our condition, I don't think this game could be an accurate gauge. They are a great team, they are the world champions. But Miami is the best team we've played so far this year." Erick Strickland: "We didn't give up, we kept fighting. We didn't have enough bodies to go up against them. When they made a run, there wasn't anything we could do about it." Hubert Davis: "When they get the ball down low, the other guys know their roles real well. They just spot up and with that many good shooters, two of them are bound to get hot." Shawn Bradley: "They have two great shot blockers, you don't want to keep challenging them. So you take some little short Js and see what happens." Bradley: "They're the champions. They are a good, big ballclub. We had quite a challenge in front of us tonight. As a team we left it all on the floor tonight. We just came up a little short." San Antonio Spurs 106, Dallas Mavericks 90 at San Antonio (November 20) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 26 22 29 29 - 106 .481 .400 .461 .400 Dallas 21 15 23 31 - 90 .405 .375 .402 .813 Halftime: San Antonio 48-36 3rd Q: San Antonio 77-59 Dallas' only lead: 2-0 11:30 1st San Antonio's largest lead: 87-63 9:33 4th Technicals: Don Nelson 1:59 2nd Refs: Joey Crawford, Mark Wunderlich, Violet Palmer Attendance: 16,596 (cap 20,557) Did not play due to injury: Cedric Ceballos (flu), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), Randell Jackson (bruised right thigh) San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Chucky Brown 23 8-11 0-1 0-0 16 1-3 0 0 1 1 0 Tim Duncan 40 7-14 0-0 0-0 14 5-17 7 4 5 0 2 David Robinson 27 3-7 0-0 1-1 7 4-7 1 0 0 0 5 Mario Elie 24 3-7 1-3 1-1 8 1-7 4 3 1 2 0 Avery Johnson 26 6-12 0-0 0-0 12 0-0 8 1 3 2 0 Jaren Jackson 23 8-19 7-16 0-0 23 0-3 1 1 2 0 1 Jerome Kersey 21 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 2 0 3 0 0 Malik Rose 13 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 3-5 2 1 3 0 1 Terry Porter 8 1-5 0-2 0-0 2 1-4 1 1 0 0 1 Samaki Walker 17 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 4-8 1 1 2 0 1 Antonio Daniels 15 3-8 0-0 0-3 6 0-2 3 1 1 0 1 Steve Kerr 3 2-4 2-3 0-0 6 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 47-102 10-25 2-5 106 19-58 30 13 21 5 12 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 40 8-20 2-3 1-3 19 3-9 4 2 1 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 34 7-17 0-0 2-3 16 4-12 2 0 2 1 1 Shawn Bradley 43 7-17 0-0 2-2 16 3-10 3 0 1 1 4 Robert Pack 27 2-7 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 4 2 0 3 0 Erick Strickland 39 3-10 0-2 8-8 14 1-7 4 3 0 0 0 Hubert Davis 33 4-9 1-3 0-0 9 0-1 7 0 0 0 0 Sean Rooks 11 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 0 2 1 1 0 Rick Hughes 10 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 2-5 1 0 0 1 0 Bruno Sundov 3 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-92 3-8 13-16 90 14-48 25 11 5 8 5 patricia