Hey, guess what? Our Jason Kidd was named as Player of the Week!! He joins Jay Vincent (also as a rookie), Mark Aguirre (twice), Roy Tarpley, and Jamal Mashburn (this season) as Mavs who have received player of the week honors. The other two guards who received player of the week honors as a rookie (since 1980)? Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Jason averaged 20.0 points, 10.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.75 steals as Dallas went 3-1 last week. Dallas at San Antonio (March 19) Just some short notes as the game is already a couple of days old. I was very surprised to see that they had opened the upper levels for the game. Normally the Spurs only do so for the "big" names (Orlando, Phoenix, etc). And it filled up. The attendance of 35,888 was the highest in the NBA for the season. The first couple of minutes was not that pretty for the Mavs. The Spurs kept running the ball down the Mavs' throat for some easy baskets in the paint. The Spurs built up a 10-2 lead before Dallas came back and made it a good game. Dallas scored the next 5 points on (I believe) 2 from Kidd and a 3-pointer by Mashburn. Not much defense occurred and San Antonio was up 33-30 after 1. Both teams were shooting right around 50% FG and Jamal Mashburn and David Robinson were leading their teams. San Antonio built up a a 43-36 lead with 8:13 left. But Dallas hung in there and Roy Tarpley led the charge back. Tarp had 2 3-pointers (what? whatdoyamean one of those wasn't a 3?) as Dallas rallied back to take a 60-57 lead. In the I've seen this before category, the Spurs had the ball with just a couple of seconds left and the Mavs played good D on the 3-point shooters, they pass the ball to Robinson who nails the 3 at the buzzer. Arrg. All tied up at the half 60-60. Robinson was up to 23 points. Dallas had 7 turnovers and San Antonio had 6. [Robinson _banked_ a 35-footer at the end of the first half on Nov. 28 in the Alamodome last season.] During the 3rd, Jason Kidd demonstrated his new offensive weapon: the turn around, fade away 15 foot baseliner after posting up. Sweet. The Spurs were up 88-84 after 3. The Mavs came out flat in the 4th as the Spurs rattled off a 7-0 run. Kidd finally scored 2 1/2 minutes into the quarter for Dallas' first points. Robinson responded with 2 of his own and the Spurs were up 97-86 with 9:03 left. The Mavs came back on a 7-2 run to cut the Spurs' lead down to 99-93 with 6:07 left. But the turnovers killed Dallas as Robinson scored 4 points and Elliott hit a 20-footer as the Spurs went up 105-93 with 4:55. The Mavs kept trying to get back in the game, but whenever they looked to cut the Spurs' lead down to 8 points or so, they would turn the ball over. The Spurs won 116-106. The Mavs played a good game and the effort was there. The poor start of the 4th quarter dug too deep of a hole for young Mavs to dig out of and the Spurs wouldn't let them back in. And the turnovers just killed them. The Spurs only had 1 turnover in the 2nd half and Dallas had 9 turnovers in the 2nd half. The Spurs also got control of the offensive boards in the 2nd half with 11 while Dallas only had 3. Dallas had 12 offensive boards in the 1st half while San Antonio had 7. Jamal Mashburn and Sean Elliott could not defend each other. Unfortunately, Mashburn's shooting touch was off. Both players had 29 points. Elliott shot 9-19 FG, 2-7 3-pointers, and 9-10 FT. Mashburn shot 8-24 FG, 3-7 3-pointers, and 10-12 FT and had 5 assists. David Robinson was the man in the middle. Lorenzo Williams had a poor game and Robinson just ate him alive. Roy Tarpley did a decent job of defending the all-star. Robinson had 36 points on 11-25 FG and 13-17 FT and 13 rebounds. Tarpley had a great game with 17 points on 8-12 FG and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes. Jason Kidd continued his strong performances in Jim Jackson's absence with 26 points on 9-16 FG and 7-8 FT and 8 assists, but had an uncharateristically high 5 turnovers. Quotes: Jason Kidd: "They knocked down the shots when they had to and cut the lead. Any time we made a run I turned the ball over or we didn't make the shot. It's a learning experience but we played them tough." David Robinson: "I really didn't feel that we were playing badly, but they were playing great. They hurt us on the offensive boards in the first half, and we were playing five on five basketball and not pushing it up the floor. We got some easy baskets in the second half and that was the difference." [Coach Bob Hill also had some nice things to say about the Mavs, such as how he is glad this was the last meeting with Dallas as they have been a thorn in the Spurs' side, but I don't have any exact quotes as I haven't seen the Dallas Morning News yet.] 1 2 3 4 Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 33 27 28 28 - 116 .468 .357 .451 .829 Dallas 30 30 24 22 - 106 .492 .421 .475 .880 Technicals: Dennis Rodman Refs: Paul Mihalak, Gary Benson, Bill Spooner Attendance: 35,888 (opened upper levels - highest attendance of season) San Antonio REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK Dennis Rodman 34 1-4 0-0 2-2 4 6-14 0 3 0 0 0 Sean Elliott 36 9-19 2-7 9-10 29 0-2 1 4 2 1 1 David Robinson 44 11-25 1-1 13-17 36 5-13 4 0 2 2 1 Vinnie Del Negro 42 8-15 0-1 4-4 20 2-3 3 3 1 0 0 Avery Johnson 24 3-8 0-0 1-2 7 1-2 7 1 1 2 0 Chuck Person 21 1-4 1-2 0-0 3 0-0 0 2 0 0 0 J.R. Reid 16 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 4-5 1 0 1 0 0 Terry Cummings 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Doc Rivers 19 4-8 1-3 0-0 9 0-2 3 3 4 2 0 Totals 240 41-91 5-14 29-35 116 18-42 19 17 11 7 2 Dallas REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK Jamal Mashburn 41 8-24 3-7 10-12 29 1-3 5 5 0 2 0 Popeye Jones 35 4-8 0-0 0-0 8 4-10 2 5 0 1 2 Lorenzo Williams 29 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-6 2 6 1 1 1 Jason Kidd 38 9-16 1-5 7-8 26 1-4 8 2 2 5 2 Lucious Harris 26 5-9 2-3 3-3 15 3-4 2 2 1 2 2 Scott Brooks 19 2-5 0-2 2-2 6 0-1 3 0 1 0 0 Roy Tarpley 27 8-12 1-1 0-0 17 4-13 0 4 1 2 2 George McCloud 20 2-4 1-1 0-0 5 1-3 1 1 1 2 1 Doug Smith 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 2 0 1 0 Totals 240 38-80 8-19 22-25 106 15-44 23 27 7 16 10 Dallas at Cleveland (March 20) John "Hot Rod" Williams did not play. 1st: Cleveland started off strong and led 11-2 8 minutes in. Dallas responded by scoring the next 7 points. Tyrone Hill made two free throws and Jason Kidd scored 4 points including a slam on a break away to tie the game at 13-13 with 6:17 left. The teams traded baskets, Michael Cage got 2 and Terrell Brandon hit a 3-pointer to put Cleveland up 20-15 with 3:20 to go. Dallas responded by scoring the next 7 points to go up briefly as Mark Price hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. 23-22 Cleveland. Both teams were shooting 45% FG. Kidd had 9 points and 2 steals and Cage had 6 rebounds. 2nd: Price started the quarter where he left off - with a 3-pointer. Roy Tarpley scored the next 4 points and Scott Brooks drove for 2. Tony Campbell tied the game at 28-28. George McCloud drove for 2 and Brooks fed Tarpley for the layup on the break. Dallas 32-28 with 8:15 left. Hill scored 6 points and Kidd chipped in 2 20-footers as Dallas was up 36-34. The teams traded baskets. Hill made the right hand reverse to tie the game at 40-40 with 3:10 left. A slam by Bobby Phills and a 3-pointer by Chris Mills put Cleveland up 45-40 at the 2 minute mark. The teams traded baskets and Cleveland led 47-42 at the half. Cleveland was shooting 50% FG and Dallas shot 42% FG including 39% in the 2nd quarter. Cleveland was out-rebounding Dallas 24-19. Cleveland made 5-7 3-pointers in the half. Brandon had 12 points including 5-7 FG, Hill had 14 points and 5 rebounds, Price had 6 points, and Cage had 6 points and 9 rebounds. Kidd had 13 points and 3 steals, Tarpley had 10 points and 7 rebounds, Mashburn had 6 points, Popeye Jones had 4 points, and George McCloud had 4 points. 3rd: Cleveland scored the first 4 points of the quarter as Dallas was ice cold. Mashburn made 1 of 2 free throws. Lucious Harris finally made a field goal for Dallas 4 minutes into the quarter. Cleveland 51-45 with 7:28 left. Cleveland went on a 7-0 run to go up by 13 at 60-47. Brooks got 2 and Kidd made 1 of 2 free throws as Cleveland was up 60-50 with 3:45 left. Hill converted the 3 point play and Mashburn made 1 free throw. Kidd made the long bounce pass to Popeye for 2, Kidd stole the ball and fed Mashburn for the lay up. Price responded by scoring the next 4 points, but Popeye answered back with 4 points of his own. Danny Ferry got a slam dunk at the end of the quarter to put Cleveland up 69-59. Dallas was shooting 40% FG. 4th: The quarter started with both teams missing shots galore and turning the ball over. Then Jason Kidd took charge. Kidd drove for 2 and completed the 3 point play. Kidd to McCloud on the break for 2. Kidd with the mid-court bounce to Doug Smith for the slam. Cleveland 69-66 with 8 minutes left. Kidd to Brooks for 2 on the break. Cleveland finally scored on 2 free throws. The teams traded baskets. McCloud drove for 2 and Brooks made 2 free throws to give Dallas the lead at 74-73 with 6:40 left. The teams traded 4 points. Price fed Hill for 2 inside to put Cleveland back up at 79-78 with 3:22 left. The teams traded several possessions and Smith made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 79-79 with 2:42 left. Price made 2 free throws and Hill made a lay up on Cleveland's 3rd attempt. 83-79 Cleveland with 1:10 left. Mashburn missed the 3-pointer, but Tarpley was there to tip it in. 50 seconds. Mills missed a lay up and Tarpley was fouled under the basket. He made both free throws to tie the game at 83 with 26 seconds. Cleveland ran the clock down and Brandon missed and time expired before the rebound could be controlled. Overtime. 83-83. The usually non-turnover prone Cleveland had 17 turnovers (they had only 4 in the last Cle-Dal game). OT: The teams traded misses and Kidd fed Mashburn for 2. The teams traded travels and Brandon nailed the pull-up jumper. 85-85 with 3:20 left. Dallas missed on 3 attempts and Price missed a 3-pointer. Popeye missed 2 free throws. Cleveland had a 24 second violation. It was still 85-85 with 1:48 left. Mashburn missed, but Kidd stole the ball and took it in for the lay up. Brandon hit for 2, but Kidd threw the ball ahead to Mashburn for 2 and the foul. He made the extra. 90-87 Dallas with 50 seconds left. Oh, Brandon nailed the clutch 3 for the 15th tie of the game at 90-90 with 33 seconds remaining. Kidd missed and Mills rebounded with 12 seconds. The Mavs used their foul to give with 5 seconds left. Brandon drove to the basket, but Lorenzo Williams blocked the shot as the clock ran out! 2nd overtime. 90-90. 2OT: Brandon opened the quarter by hitting a 20-footer. The teams traded misses and Mashburn drove for 2 and the tie at 92-92. Cage hit a jumper for his first points since the 1st quarter. Mashburn made 2 free throws. 94-94 with 3:11 to go. The teams traded possessions and Mills drove for 2. The teams traded possessions and Kidd was fouled on the break. He made 1 of 2 free throws. 96-95 Cleveland with 1:55 left. Price hit the long jumper with 1:39 left. Mashburn got 2 inside. Cleveland 98-97 with 1:20 left. Price drove for 2. 57 seconds. Oh, Mashburn nailed to 3-pointer to tie the game! 100-100 with 42 seconds to go. Hill missed and Mashburn rebounded with 25 seconds left. Dallas milked the clock down and Mashburn drove baseline around Cage for the layup with 2.4 seconds left! Hill missed at the buzzer and Dallas won! Dallas 102, Cleveland 100. Jason Kidd got Dallas back in the game in the 4th and Jamal Mashburn led them to victory in overtime. Mash and Kidd scored all of Dallas' points in the overtimes. Mash had 16 points in the OTs and 11 of Dallas' 12 points in the 2nd OT. Kidd finished with 20 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals in 47 minutes. Mashburn started the game shooting poorly, but finished strong with 28 points and 10 rebounds. George McCloud and Scott Brooks played key roles in helping the early 4th quarter comeback. McCloud had 12 points and Brooks had 9 points and 7 assists. Roy Tarpley and Popeye Jones had double-doubles with 14 points and 11 rebounds and 10 points and 13 rebounds respectively. Tyrone Hill was great in regulation but not effective in overtime. All of Hill's career high 29 points came in the 4 quarters; he had 0 points in overtime. Hill shot 11-19 FG and 7-7 FT and had 10 rebounds in 53 minutes. Terrell Brandon had great game and led the Cavs to the 2nd overtime. He had all 7 of Cleveland's points in the 1st overtime. He finished with 27 points and 5 rebounds. Mark Price contributed solidly in limited, but key, minutes (he recently returned from IR) with 18 points, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers in 28 minutes. Quotes: Jamal Mashburn: "We put McCloud at small forward, so that put me at power forward. I just went out to halfcourt because I knew I had a mismatch on me. Michael Cage told me he wasn't going to let me catch it, but I did. I just went out and got it and laid it in." Mike Fratello: "They isolated [Mashburn] against Cage and that's really an unfair matchup. But because of who we had on the court we didn't see the isolation soon enough. Nobody came to double and nobody recognized it." Dick Motta: "That was a great game tonight. There were a lot of big time plays. Jason kept us in it with the fast break. We were 15 down and then Mashburn took over. Two threes at the end and then the shot at the end of the game." 1 2 3 4 OT OT Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 20 17 24 7 12 - 102 .488 .111 .418 .621 Cleveland 23 24 22 14 7 10 - 100 .430 .429 .430 1.00 Halftime: 47-42 Cleveland 3rd Q: 69-59 Cleveland 4th Q: 83-83 1st Overtime: 90-90 Technicals: none Refs: Dick Bavetta, Lee Jones, Blane Reichelt Attendance: 20,562 (sell-out) Dallas REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK Jamal Mashburn 43 10-26 1-5 7-9 28 2-10 3 1 1 3 0 Popeye Jones 38 5-13 0-0 0-2 10 6-13 1 2 0 0 2 Lorenzo Williams 27 1-1 0-0 0-2 2 2-6 0 2 0 1 2 Jason Kidd 47 8-16 1-4 3-5 20 1-5 9 2 5 3 2 Lucious Harris 23 2-9 0-4 0-0 4 0-2 1 1 2 5 1 Roy Tarpley 31 5-10 0-2 4-4 14 4-11 0 4 0 0 0 Scott Brooks 35 3-7 0-1 3-5 9 0-4 7 3 1 1 0 Tony Dumas 6 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Doug Smith 20 1-4 0-0 1-2 3 3-3 2 2 2 0 0 George McCloud 20 6-10 0-2 0-0 12 1-1 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 290 41-98 2-18 18-29 102 19-55 24 18 12 13 7 Cleveland REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK Chris Mills 43 2-11 1-4 2-2 7 2-11 3 5 0 4 1 Tyrone Hill 53 11-19 0-0 7-7 29 2-10 3 5 1 4 0 Michael Cage 49 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 4-14 0 2 0 1 4 Terrell Brandon 45 12-24 3-3 0-0 27 1-5 4 2 2 1 0 Bobby Phills 34 3-9 0-0 1-1 7 0-4 4 3 1 2 1 Danny Ferry 15 1-4 0-2 0-0 2 1-2 0 1 0 1 0 Mark Price 28 6-12 2-5 4-4 18 1-2 7 2 1 5 0 Tony Campbell 9 1-6 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 2 0 1 0 Fred Roberts 11 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 Greg Dreiling 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 2 0 0 0 Totals 290 40-93 6-14 14-14 100 12-49 22 24 6 19 6 patricia