Dallas at Utah (March 8) 1st: Jason Kidd started the game with a jumper after 2 Dallas offensive rebounds, but Utah went on to score the next 6 points to take a 6-2 lead with 9:30 left. Jamal Mashburn responded with 2 free throws and baseline fade away to tie the game at 6-6 with 8:35 left. The teams traded baskets and turnovers and the game was again tied at 8-8. Karl Malone made 1 of 2 free throws and Kidd converted the 3 point play as John Stockton collect his 2nd foul and sat for the rest of the quarter. Dallas was up 11-9 with 6:51 left. Kidd drove for 2, Malone made an 18-footer, Lorenzo Williams got a dunk, and Kidd fed Mashburn for the lay up. 17-11 Dallas. Malone got 2 inside and Kidd again fed Mashburn for the layup and Dallas was up 19-13 with 4:50 left. The teams traded possessions and points and Dallas was still up by 6 at 21-17. Mashburn made 2 free throws and nailed a 3-pointer to give Dallas' their largest lead at 26-17. Utah responded by scoring the last 4 points of the quarter. After 1, Dallas 26-21. Mashburn had 13 points, Kidd had 7 points, and Malone had 9 points. 2nd: Dallas started the quarter with a 5-1 run to go back up by 9 at 31-22. Utah responded by scoring the next 5 points. Roy Tarpley made a jumper and Dallas was up 33-27 with 9:35 left. Utah went on an 8-1 run to take the lead at 35-34 with 4:30 left. The teams traded lots of possessions and very few points and the game was tied at 37-37 with 2:30 left. The game was still tied at 41-41 when Utah closed the quarter strong with an 7-0 run on 2 free throws and a 3-pointer by David Benoit and 2 free throws by Jeff Hornacek. Utah was up 48-41 at the half. Dallas shot just 28% (5-18) FG in the quarter. I fought the radio, and the radio won. I didn't listen to the 2nd half as the annoying buzzing noise made understanding what was being said impossible. 2nd half notes taken from wire reports. Utah started the 3rd quarter with a 21-8 run and was up 69-49 with 5:34 left. [Sounds like the radio did me a favor.] Hornacek had 8 of those 21 points. Utah was up 81-62 after 3. Hornacek scored 11 points in the quarter. The key starters sat for the 4th quarter. Dallas managed to pull within 93-78 with 6:12 to go. Utah closed the game with a 20-9 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Bryon Russell. Utah 114, Dallas 87. The Mavs shooting slump continued. As I said before, you can't win a game if you can't make a basket. Dallas shot 36.6% (34-39) FG and Utah shot 51.2% (42-82) FG. Quotes: Jerry Sloan: "(The Mavs) were trapping us and we got out of synch. We weren't executing as well as I thought we should be and they were hanging in the ball game, even though they were weren't shooting the ball very well." Sloan: "Fortunately we picked it up a little in the second quarter and it gave us a lift and I thought we were a little better in the second half." Dick Motta: "You don't win ball games by shooting 37 percent. We spend probably 96 percent of our practice time now on shooting but we either were thinking about it too much or the pressure that's on them is being put on them by themselves." 1 2 3 4 Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Utah 21 27 33 33 - 114 .529 .417 .512 .806 Dallas 26 15 21 25 - 87 .380 .286 .366 .750 Halftime: 48-41 Utah 3rd: 81-62 Utah Technicals: 2 Dallas assistant Kip Motta (ejected) Refs: Jake O'Donnell, Jim Clark, Derrick Stafford Attendance: 19,911 (sell-out) Utah REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK David Benoit 22 4-10 2-3 4-4 14 1-4 1 3 0 0 0 Karl Malone 29 7-17 0-1 3-4 17 0-8 5 0 3 2 2 James Donaldson 16 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 0 1 0 1 1 John Stockton 29 3-6 1-2 2-2 9 0-2 7 3 2 3 0 Jeff Hornacek 28 7-10 1-1 4-5 19 1-5 7 0 0 1 1 John Crotty 15 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 4 0 0 1 1 Adam Keefe 29 5-8 0-0 5-6 15 4-11 1 3 1 2 3 Antoine Carr 28 7-9 0-0 5-6 19 1-5 0 3 0 2 1 Blue Edwards 20 4-8 0-0 1-2 9 0-1 3 3 1 0 0 Tom Chambers 17 1-6 0-1 0-0 2 2-6 1 2 0 1 0 Bryon Russell 3 1-3 1-3 1-2 4 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 Jamie Watson 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 3 0 0 1 0 Totals 240 42-82 5-12 25-31 114 9-46 32 19 9 14 9 Dallas REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST PF STL TO BLK Jamal Mashburn 26 6-10 1-2 4-5 17 2-3 1 0 0 1 0 Popeye Jones 15 2-7 0-0 0-0 4 2-4 0 3 0 0 0 Lorenzo Williams 26 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 3-9 1 2 0 0 0 Jason Kidd 27 5-11 0-1 3-3 13 1-2 5 0 2 4 0 Lucious Harris 24 1-9 0-2 1-2 3 1-2 1 3 1 2 1 Roy Tarpley 32 6-16 0-1 0-0 12 3-9 3 5 2 1 1 Scott Brooks 25 2-7 1-1 2-2 7 1-2 4 1 0 0 0 Tony Dumas 20 4-14 1-5 1-2 10 2-2 0 4 1 3 0 Doug Smith 14 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 1-4 1 2 0 1 1 George McCloud 16 2-5 1-2 1-2 6 3-3 2 1 1 1 0 Terry Davis 12 1-4 0-0 3-4 5 1-2 0 1 0 0 0 Donald Hodge 3 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 0 2 0 2 0 Totals 240 34-93 4-14 15-20 87 21-45 18 24 7 15 3 patricia