I'll start with the most important news. Don Nelson underwent surgery to remove his prostate on January 4. The doctor reported that the surgery went well and was "routine and successful". Further tests showed that the cancer had not spread and the surgery fully rid Nelson of the cancer. He flew to his home in Maui on Sunday and is expected to have a full recovery. Nelson's last game coaching was the December 30th game. He did not coach the January 4th game vs Detroit as Nelson had to fast for 48 hours before his surgery and the medication he was taking was making him ill. Mark Cuban was not a happy camper after the Detroit game and the NBA did not like Cuban's reaction. The refs blew a goaltending call that would have tied the game with 13 seconds left [and to make matters worse, the ref did see the goaltending, but told Finley that the shot had no chance of going in]. Cuban had the shot of the goaltending freeze framed and put on the jumbotron after the game and made sure the press saw it. He also put the picture out on the net [go to http://photos.yahoo.com/mcuban and click on "My Photo Album" and then on "Oops Ref Blow gametying shot" (the direct link is long and ugly)]. The NBA was not happy with Cuban and came down hard with a $250,000 fine. It was a record NBA fine for an individual. Cuban has not back down in saying that the league needs to work on improving the officiating. Cuban would like the league to hire two people - one to analyze the individual refs for tendencies and areas they need to improve and another to go out and work one-on-one with the refs to improve. The NBA does not acknowledge publically any problems with refs. Cuban matched the fine by donating $250,000 to ProCure [a prostate cancer foundation] in Don Nelson's and Cuban's grandfather's [who died due to prostate cancer] name. I could see the fines with Cuban regarding the refs, but what the NBA fined Cuban for next had me saying, "You've got to be kidding!!!" The NBA fined Mark Cuban $100,000 for "decorum not becoming an NBA owner". Not having a seat available in his usual position behind the bench, Cuban took a seat on the floor along the baseline near the Mavs bench. He wasn't obstructing anything. The Mavs broadcast did not focus on him sitting there. The national media did not pick it up. No one told him he couldn't sit there. The league was way out of line with this one. Even if they had a problem with Cuban sitting on the floor, this would have been a case where a warning of "don't do that again" would have been in order. But to fine him $100,000??? It's funny, when I saw him sitting there, I thought about sending him a note about not being able to afford a seat anymore, but it turns out to be the most expensive seat for one game. Cuban: "[Thursday], I get a call from the league saying I was being fined for sitting on the floor. I laughed, thought they were joking. They aren't. It's amazing. Of all the things to do, they are watching to see where I sit." Cuban: "Seriously, I have no clue what I did wrong. If it weren't so insulting, it would be comical." The Mavs are road warriors. The Mavs went 4-1 on the recent 5 game, 7 day road trip (back-to-back, day off, game, day off, back-to-back) and won 7 straight road wins from December 15 to January 10. That's the most consecutive road wins in team history (was 5). The Mavs currently have a road record of 14-8. That is more road wins that the Mavs had total in 10 of the Mavs' 20 seasons. The Mavs have never had a winning road record (best was 20-21, 3 times). Steve Nash did not play in the Milwaukee game due to the flu and a slightly strained left hamstring. He did play in the Minnesota game the night before despite the strained hamstring. Courtney Alexander missed the Detroit, Toronto, and Washington games due to the flu. He re-joined the team for the Chicago game on Monday, but did not play in that game. Don't forget that Saturday's game vs Phoenix has a new start time of 4:30, not 7 pm. The game is being broadcast regionally on NBC. And Monday has start time of 2 pm [ says someone who had to take the day off of work as I don't get MLK as a holiday]. Detroit at Dallas (January 3) Dallas did not show up for the start of the game and Detroit surged ahead to a 24-11 lead with 4 minutes left. Dallas did start finding the basket for the end of the quarter, but their defense was still no where to be seen. Detroit led 35-26 after 1. Jerry Stackhouse had 14 points and Michael Finley had 11 points. Detroit held a 7 to 15 point lead for most of the 2nd quarter. Dallas scored 7 straight points to pull within 49-55 with 36 seconds left. 2 Joe Smith free throws capped the scoring for the half and Detroit led 57-49 at the half. Stackhouse had 20 points and Finley had 19 points. Dirk Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer, Finley made a layup, and Nowitzki hit another 3 to pull Dallas within 57-58 with 9:45 to go. Dallas scored 7 straight points to take a 66-63 lead with 7:35 left. The game stayed close the rest of the quarter with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. Dallas did not score in the last 2 minutes of the 3rd and Detroit scored the last 5 points of the quarter to take an 82-76 lead after 3. Nowitzki had 13 points and Smith had 10 points in the 3rd. It was a serious of runs in the 4th. Detroit scored 6 straight points to go up 94-82 with 7:50 remaining. Dallas answered with a 10-1 run to pull within 92-95 with 5:45 to go. Smith made a layup and Chucky Atkins nailed a 3-pointer to give Detroit a 100-92 lead with 4:45 left. Dallas responded by scoring the next 7 points capped by a 3-pointer by Nowitzki to pull Dallas within 99-100 with 3 minutes to go. Dana Barros hit a jumper and Nowitzki nailed another 3 and it was all tied up at 102-102 with 2:30 remaining. Detroit missed and Nowitzki rebounded and dribbled full court, taking the ball to the hoop and was fouled. But Nowitzki missed both free throws with 1:55 left. Stackhouse hit a jumper with 1:35 to go. Steve Nash missed a 3-pointer with 1:25 left, Stackhouse missed a jumper with 1:10 left, Nash missed another 3-pointer but Nowitzki rebounded. Finley finally scored for Dallas on a layup with 41 seconds left and it was tied at 104-104. Stackhouse hit 2 free throws with 26 seconds left. Nash missed a jumper, but Ben Wallace grabbed the ball while it was still on the rim (should have been goaltending, but no call), Stackhouse got the rebound and was fouled by Shawn Bradley. Stackhouse missed his first free throw, but made the second to give Detroit a 107-104 lead with 12 seconds left. Nash missed a 3-pointer, Nowitzki rebounded and got the ball back out to Nash for another good look at a 3-pointer, but Nash missed again and time expired. Detroit won 107-104. Much was made about the bad no goaltending call, but the Mavs lost this game with their poor play in the first half. You get out-rebounded by 15 and allow 35 points in a quarter, and you've dug yourself a huge hole. The Mavs were just not clicking the 1st half nor playing much defense. Their 2nd half showed why the Mavs have such a strong record, but the game is 48 minutes long. Jerry Stackhouse was the man for Detroit and led the way with 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Joe Smith also had a monster game with 28 points and 15 rebounds. For Dallas, the individual performances did not total to a solid team performance. Michael Finley had 35 points including 11-14 FT, Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 12 rebounds, and Steve Nash hod 22 points including 7-20 FG and 2-11 3-pointers and 9 assists. Quotes George Irvine: "I'm pleased. We beat a very good team on their home court. I thought Ben was doing a great job on Nowitzki, but he ended up with 25 points on tough shots. The guy is a hell of a player." Irvine: "I thought this was Jerry's best game of the year. His whole game was great. I thought he was good defensively. We stayed within our scheme for the most part, but we did break down some in the 2nd half." Irvine: "I think that this is really Jerry's best game of the year. His whole game was great - they double and triple teamed him, and he found people and knocked down the shots." Jerry Stackhouse: "We needed one of these - to win a close one. We've given ourselves a chance to win in the past, but things haven't worked out. I had one turnover, and that was important. I tried not to force anything and get the other guys involved." Stackhouse: "It's a huge win for us because we just got through playing our worst stretch of the year. To start the year off with a win on a road trip, that's a good thing. If we didn't get this win that spiral down may have continued. Hopefully it stopped here." Stackhouse: "We gave ourselves a chance all night long by doing the right things, especially in the late stretches. We did all the things that coach has talked about." Joe Smith: "We were really hungry for this one. We knew how embarrassing we played in Washington and we wanted to start the new year on a good note." Donn Nelson: "We had great looks, they just didn't go in." Nelson: "When you play catch-up, like we did, especially with the greatness of Stack, it makes it tough." Michael Finley: "We came out in the 1st quarter and the defense was in a funk and offensively we didn't have it. And when you have those 2 things going, it's tough." Finley on the team's poor 3-point shooting: "That's one of our big weapons. A lot of the 3-point shots we took tonight, we weren't forcing. They just weren't going in the basket." Shawn Bradley on the coaching change: "I don't think that had anything to do with how hard the game was. We came out flat in the 1st quarter and let them have 35 points. We can't do that in order to win. We set goals before this game in practice and the day before. It definitely wasn't to let the other team get 35 points in a quarter." Detroit Pistons 107, Dallas Mavericks 104 at Dallas (January 3) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Detroit 35 22 25 25 - 107 .453 .333 .442 .645 Dallas 26 23 27 28 - 104 .538 .280 .455 .794 Halftime: Detroit 57-49 3rd Q: Detroit 82-76 Technicals: Del Harris 0:23 1st, Dallas Illegal D 7:31 2nd, Dallas Illegal D 11:32 3rd, Joe Smith 7:35 3rd, Mikki Moore 11:17 4th, Shawn Bradley 11:17 4th, Dallas Illegal D 7:28 4th Refs: Don Vaden, Tommy Nunez, Leon Wood Attendance: 12,789 (cap 18,187) Did not play due to injury: Courtney Alexander (flu) Detroit Pistons REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Curry 17 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 1 0 4 0 0 Joe Smith 44 12-23 0-0 4-6 28 4-15 1 0 3 1 1 Ben Wallace 36 4-9 0-0 2-7 10 6-14 1 2 2 0 0 Chucky Atkins 31 5-13 1-3 0-0 11 0-1 7 1 3 1 0 Jerry Stackhouse 42 11-25 2-5 9-12 33 2-7 8 1 1 1 0 Mateen Cleaves 14 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 1-2 3 2 4 1 0 John Wallace 7 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 4 0 0 Mikki Moore 15 1-5 0-0 1-2 3 3-4 0 2 2 0 0 Jud Buechler 16 1-2 0-0 2-2 4 2-6 1 0 1 0 0 Dana Barros 18 3-6 0-1 2-2 8 0-2 3 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 42-95 3-9 20-31 107 18-52 25 9 25 4 1 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 48 12-23 0-2 11-14 35 1-3 4 1 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 40 7-12 4-6 7-10 25 2-12 0 6 5 0 1 Shawn Bradley 36 2-3 0-0 1-1 5 1-10 0 0 6 0 6 Howard Eisley 44 3-9 1-5 0-0 7 1-7 7 2 4 1 0 Steve Nash 46 7-20 2-11 6-7 22 1-6 9 2 2 1 0 Christian Laettner 10 3-4 0-0 2-2 8 2-4 0 0 5 1 0 Hubert Davis 8 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Gary Trent 8 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 0 1 0 Totals 48 35-77 7-25 27-34 104 9-44 20 12 26 5 7 Dallas at Toronto (January 5) The game stayed close in the first quarter with Toronto holding one-digit leads as there was not much defense going on. The game was tied 23-23 with 2:50 left and Toronto scored the next 7 points to go up 30-23 with 1:40 remaining. Toronto led 34-27 after 1. Vince Carter had 10 points, Corliss Williamson had 11 points, and Steve Nash had 12 points on a perfect 6-6 FG. Dallas cut Toronto's lead down to 1 point at 40-41 with 8 minutes left. Dallas took their first lead at 51-50 with 3:40 to go, but Toronto responded by scoring the next 10 points to go up 60-51 with 55 seconds left. Toronto led 62-54 at the half. Carter had 16 points and Nash had 19 points on 9-9 FG [tied Mavs record for most FG made in a half without a miss - he also hit 2-2 FG in the 3rd and his first miss came a minute into the 4th]. Toronto led 71-64 with 7:50 to go and Dallas rattled off the next 13 points to go up 73-71 with 4:45 left. Dallas led 87-82 after 3. Dallas out-scored Toronto 33-20 in the 3rd quarter. Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points and Michael Finley had 12 points in the 3rd. Kevin Willis made a layup 1:15 into the 4th and then Nowitzki scored the next 9 points to give Dallas a 98-84 lead with 7:30 remaining. Carter tried to carry Toronto to victory by scoring 15 of Toronto's last 19 points. Dallas led 102-86 and Toronto went on a 13-2 run to pull within 99-104 with 1:25 to go. Nash drove for a layup with 1:10 left and Carter nailed a jumper with a minute left and Dallas led 106-101. But Hubert Davis put the game away with a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left. Dallas hit 6 free throws in the last 25 seconds. Dallas won 115-105. It was a good win for Dallas. The team started poor and recovered with a solid 3rd quarter and hung on for the win. 25 of Dirk Nowitzki's 29 points came in the 2nd half. Nowitzki also had 11 rebounds. Steve Nash was incredible! He finished with 27 points on 12-16 FG (started 11-11 FG), 1-2 3-pointers, 2-2 FT, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Okay, he did commit 6 turnovers, but I think we can forgive him for that. Michael Finley gave the Mavs a trio of 20+ scorers in the game with 20 points. Shawn Bradley was strong defensively (he's showing lots of game in the past month) and affected Toronto. Toronto also helped in losing their aggressiveness in the 2nd half. Toronto shot 27 free throws in the first half and only 9 in the 2nd. Vince Carter was great, but did not have enough support. Carter had 33 points, including 11 points in the last 5 minutes of the game, and 8 rebounds. Corliss Williamson had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kevin Willis had a surprising 15 points and 10 rebounds while filling in for an injured Antonio Davis. Dallas surprisingly out-rebounded Toronto 44-42. Quotes Donn Nelson: "That's a big monkey off our backs to start the road trip off. That was an important game and a huge game, especially for a young team whose confidence is so important." Nelson: "I felt pressure in the Detroit game. But I felt double the pressure in this game. I know the road is tough. And then when you're out 5-6 games, and you lose 1 or 2, it can be a momentum thing." Nelson on Hubert's 3-pointer: "That was maybe the biggest shot of the game. Maybe he's broken through that [slump]. But we love Hubert for, not just his jump shot, but for his game. He guarded Vince-sanity excellent in the 4th quarter, and that's the reason he stayed in the game." Nelson on Nash: "Steve's always that aggressive, no matter if it's in the States or in the heartland of Canada. It doesn't matter. The guy just plays hard in every practice and every game and that's why we love him." Nelson: "Steve is the straw that stirs the drink for us. He's done so many things chemistry wise. He's really made us a team in the same way he did with Canada." Steve Nash: "It was great. I got my first career high in Vancouver. And to get one in Toronto, it's a great feeling. A lot of people here were rooting for me and supporting me, so to have a good game was very exciting." Nash: "Any time you get in a groove like that it's always fun and you just try to enjoy it because we know that they don't last forever." Nash: "This would have been a tough loss for us the way things were going, We didn't play particularly well defensively to start it, but we hung around. It's also good because Donnie has worked hard, and he deserves this." Dirk Nowitzki on Nash: "It was so great to see him put on a show. It's fun to see him do so well in front of his home country. He's playing with so much confidence." Nowitzki: "Steve was the difference. He's been aggressive all year. You can see what see what confidence does for you. In the last 2 years he was passing up a lot of shots, and we told him he's one of the best shooters in the league. He's really done it this year and he did it tonight." Nowitzki on his 0-3 FG 1st half: "I really don't know why I started so slow. At the beginning of the game, I was just floating through it, not really being aggressive. I don't know why. But then I started to feel my rhythm." Shawn Bradley on Nash: "He's just doing the things necessary to help this team get even better. Tonight, in front of his own country, he was able to go out and put on a great show. You've just got to take your hat off to him and hand him the game ball." Hubert Davis on (hopefully) the end of his slump: "I just felt like I wasn't shooting the ball well before. When that happens, you go into the gym and make sure there's nothing technical wrong, then you just go out there and keep shooting." Lenny Wilkens: "You keep telling these guys to not give a team life. We have to come out and be fired up to put teams away." Wilkens: "It's like I tell them all the time, you cannot give a team life. You've got to come out and put a team away." Wilkens: "I'm disappointed. We begin the 2nd half and we can't make free throws. We couldn't defend their screen and roll.'' Vince Carter on the team's struggles: "Oak said it best, 'You want to be a warrior, you have to go out there and act like it. You have to go out and play 48 minutes instead of 30.'" Carter: "Everyone's getting frantic like this is the 82nd game. This is #32, there's no reason to panic. We can be concerned but we don't want to panic. When a person is panicked, it's hard to settle down. We are just a little frustrated and we have to figure it out." Mark Jackson: "It's frustrating to lose but I think we're going to be fine. You have to just take it from this point on and maybe we can look back and laugh at this. We're a bunch of veteran guys, we'll be okay." Jackson: "We can do all the talking we want. The only way we can stop the bleeding is by getting it done collectively and individually." Dallas Mavericks 115, Toronto Raptors 105 at Toronto (January 5) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 27 27 33 28 - 115 .523 .529 .524 .833 Toronto 34 28 20 23 - 105 .442 .400 .437 .694 Halftime: Toronto 62-54 3rd Q: Dallas 87-82 Technicals: None Refs: Bernie Fryer, Nolan Fine, Dee Kantner Attendance: 19,800 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Courtney Alexander (flu), Antonio Davis (strained left groin) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 42 7-19 1-4 5-6 20 1-4 4 2 4 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 39 9-17 2-3 9-10 29 1-11 0 3 3 0 2 Christian Laettner 14 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 1-3 2 0 5 1 1 Howard Eisley 33 3-10 2-5 0-0 8 1-4 4 3 3 1 0 Steve Nash 44 12-16 1-2 2-2 27 2-5 8 6 1 2 0 Shawn Bradley 33 2-6 0-0 3-4 7 2-14 0 2 3 1 5 Loy Vaught 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Mark Bryant 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Hubert Davis 19 4-6 3-3 1-2 12 0-1 1 0 1 1 0 Gary Trent 5 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 0-1 0 0 2 0 1 Donnell Harvey 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 43-82 9-17 20-24 115 8-44 19 16 25 8 9 Toronto Raptors REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Charles Oakley 40 4-11 0-1 3-3 11 2-10 3 2 2 1 0 Corliss Williamson 37 7-13 0-0 4-9 18 3-6 5 1 3 1 0 Kevin Willis 36 5-12 0-0 5-5 15 2-10 1 4 4 3 0 Vince Carter 43 10-26 1-3 12-16 33 3-8 2 1 5 3 2 Mark Jackson 34 6-11 3-4 0-1 15 0-3 8 3 1 1 0 Alvin Williams 30 6-14 0-2 1-2 13 1-3 4 1 3 4 0 Kornel David 10 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Morris Peterson 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 1 0 0 0 Dell Curry 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 38-87 4-10 25-36 105 12-42 23 14 20 13 2 Dallas at Washington (January 6) It was an ugly first quarter for Dallas as the team committed 11 turnovers in the quarter. Despite the Mavs' poor play, the game stayed close as neither team held more than a 4 point lead and Washington led 25-22 after 1. Washington scored the first 4 points of the quarter, but could not get their lead larger than 7 points. The game was tied 49-49 with 45 seconds left and Dirk Nowitzki scored the last 5 points of the quarter to give Dallas a 54-49 lead at the half. Nowitzki followed up his donut in the first quarter with 14 points in the 2nd quarter. Nowitzki continued his monster roll by scoring the first 7 points of the 3rd quarter to give Dallas a 61-51 lead with 9:45 to go. Washington answered with the next 8 points to pull within 59-61 with 6:45 remaining. Dallas led 65-63 with 4:25 left and scored the next 10 points as Washington could not find the basket (8 missed shots) and Dallas led 75-63 with 45 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Tyrone Nesby with 12 seconds left ended Washington's drought and Dallas led 75-66 after 3. Nowitzki had 10 points in the 3rd. Dallas scored the first 8 points of the 4th (6 of those on free throws and the Wizards were foul prone) to go up 83-66 with 9:25 remaining. Washington scored the next 8 points to pull within 74-83 with 7:20 left, but could get no closer than 8 points. Dallas led 95-85 with 3 minutes left and scored the last 8 points of the game to make the final score not indicative of the game. Dallas won 103-85. It was another slow start and ugly game against a team that Dallas should have easily beat. Fortunately, Washington is a bad team and could not take advantage of Dallas' lack luster start. The Mavs won this game due to their shooting accuracy. Dallas shot 50% (36-72) FG and Washington shot 35.8% (34-95) FG. Dallas shot 26-30 FT (10-11 in the 4th) and Washington shot 12-12 FT. After scoring 0 points in the 1st quarter and not even attempting a shot, Dirk Nowitzki came alive and finished with 28 points including 9-16 FG and had 10 rebounds. The two-headed center monster was effective in this game as Christian Laettner started strong (9 of his 11 points came in the 1st) and was a perfect 5-5 FG and 1-1 FT and Shawn Bradley finished strong with 14 points including 6-8 FG and 17 rebounds as well as affecting the Wizards' shooting on defense. Michael Finley had a quite 25 points. Steve Nash only shot 3-9 FG, but hit all 8 of his free throws for 14 points and dished out 13 assists - his 6th double-double. For Washington, no one really had a strong game. Juwan Howard had 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 turnovers; Felipe Lopez had 16 points and 10 rebounds; and Richard Hamilton had 16 points. Quotes Donn Nelson on the Mavs winning ways on the road: "We focus a little more on the road. Our camaraderie is on another level and players get to hang out together and we seem to execute a little better." Nelson on giving the team a day off after the game: "We're just real happy to get out of here with a win. As you guys saw there in the 2nd half we were running on empty. You had guys that were really gassed out there, physically." Nelson on Nowitzki's rebounding: "The defensive rebounding is something he's taken tremendous pride in and as a result, he's gotten a lot better at it. If he doesn't rebound, we're in serious trouble." Nelson on Bradley: "The game ball's got to go to Shawn Bradley for his rebounding performance and intimidation in the middle. This is one of those games where I don't think we come up with the win if we don't have Shawn Bradley on the team. I think his presence probably gets us 5, 6, 7, 8 wins a year. I think this is one of those games." Dirk Nowitzki: "I think I was kind of floating around out there in the 1st quarter, not really being aggressive. I had a couple of good looks and Steve always sets me up good. That's my game." Nowitzki: "I was kind of floating around, not really being aggressive. I decided I had to get involved a little more in the 2nd quarter and was feeling my rhythm a little more." Nowitzki: "In the 3rd quarter, we wanted to put it away now." Michael Finley: "We started off slow and our shots weren't falling. fortunately, their shots weren't falling either. We got to a point where we had a little something going offensively and defensively we were stopping them." Steve Nash: "It was an ugly game. We didn't play very well, but we hung on defensively in the 2nd half. We weren't really in a great groove, and no one really felt too good out there tonight on a back-to-back. We expended a lot of energy [Friday] night, so it was a good win for us, because it would have been a devastating loss." Nash: "Dirk's continuing to grab the boards, and he's always going to be there scoring. It's great when he continues to rebound so well. It's going to make him a really complete player." Nash on Nowitzki: "You know he's going to be there scoring. He had some very important rebounds." Nash on Bradley: "It's intensity. When Shawn is intense, he is successful for us, and we're successful because of it." Shawn Bradley: "I'm just trying to do the things necessary to make my team better. I try to get rebounds, get my hand on the ball, keep it alive and then bog down the middle by blocking shots and altering what people are doing. We've got great scorers already. They need me to do the other things." Leonard Hamilton: "They shot the ball well, and they scored so easily. Psychologically it put a lot of pressure on our guys." Hamilton: "We allowed their abilities, the pressure that they put on us, because they shot the ball so well, and they seemed to make their baskets so easily that psychologically, I think that put a lot of pressure on our guys. It sped us up and we didn't execute as well offensively." Hamilton: "I thought we allowed their abilities and the pressure that they put on us because they shot the ball so well to affect us. They seemed to make their baskets so easily and psychologically, it threw us off. They have a lot of weapons, and we got caught trying to play the same kind of game they played." Hamilton: "They utilized their talents very well and it was a difficult matchup for us. We got caught trying to play the same kind of game they play and it had an adverse effect on us." Hamilton on Bradley: "He has an enormous influence on the game. Psychologically, you have difficulty shooting over top of him. He is just a threat from every way in the defensive standpoint. Even though you're not attacking him, a lot of things you are doing are as a result of him being in there. You go away from him, guys don't post up as much and he creates a mindset that's hard to overcome unless you have a big man who is shooting well from the perimeter." Juwan Howard: "I just thought we missed some shots that we normally make. It is not like we didn't come out and bring effort, intensity or weren't ready for them. They played better than us." Howard: "We hurt ourselves because there were shots we normally make, but we missed. We still came out and came hard. You have to give Dallas credit. They've won over 20 games. They just played better tonight." Dallas Mavericks 103, Washington Wizards 85 at Washington (January 6) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 32 21 28 - 103 .525 .385 .500 .867 Washington 25 24 17 19 - 85 .345 .455 .358 1.00 Halftime: Dallas 54-49 3rd Q: Dallas 75-66 Technicals: Washington Illegal D 2:41 3rd, Leonard Hamilton 0:45 3rd, Dallas Illegal D 8:02 4th Refs: Jess Kersey, Danny Crawford, Tony Brothers Attendance: 12,741 (cap 20,674) Did not play due to injury: Courtney Alexander (flu), Rod Strickland (sore left shoulder), Jahidi White (left knee sprain) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 42 9-21 1-2 6-8 25 1-2 3 3 2 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 42 9-16 3-6 7-8 28 0-10 0 2 2 1 0 Christian Laettner 18 5-5 0-0 1-1 11 2-4 2 5 2 2 0 Howard Eisley 23 2-7 0-1 0-0 4 0-2 1 0 2 2 0 Steve Nash 40 3-9 0-1 8-8 14 0-3 13 1 2 0 0 Hubert Davis 34 1-4 1-3 2-3 5 0-3 1 2 2 0 0 Gary Trent 6 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 35 6-8 0-0 2-2 14 3-17 1 3 1 0 0 Totals 48 36-72 5-13 26-30 103 6-42 21 20 13 6 1 Washington Wizards REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Juwan Howard 38 6-16 0-0 4-4 16 4-8 2 5 3 1 1 Tyrone Nesby 23 2-6 2-3 0-0 6 0-1 1 0 3 2 0 Calvin Booth 20 2-7 0-0 4-4 8 4-6 0 1 2 1 0 Felipe Lopez 35 8-20 0-3 0-0 16 3-10 1 0 2 1 0 Chris Whitney 39 4-10 3-4 0-0 11 0-3 8 3 6 1 0 Richard Hamilton 33 7-18 0-1 2-2 16 0-2 4 1 1 0 0 Obinna Ekezie 23 3-9 0-0 2-2 8 3-8 0 1 1 0 0 Gerard King 19 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 1-3 1 0 2 0 0 Michael Smith 10 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 0-3 1 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 34-95 5-11 12-12 85 15-44 18 13 21 6 1 Dallas at Chicago (January 8) Dallas has a tendency to play down to the lesser competition and the Chicago game was no exception. The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with neither team holding more than a 6 point lead. Dallas led 29-24 after 1. Michael Finley had 11 points. Dallas led 31-26 with 10 minutes remaining and Chicago scored the next 9 points to go up 35-31 with 7:20 remaining. Chicago led 39-34 with 6 minutes left and Howard Eisley hit a 3-pointer with 5:10 to go to start a 12 point Dallas barrage over the next 90 seconds to put Dallas up 46-39 with 3:40 left. Dallas led 55-50 at the half. Dallas led 61-60 with 8 minutes to go and Finley scored the next 8 points to go up 69-60 with 7 minutes left. Dallas held a 5 to 11 point lead the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 80-72 after 3. Finley had 12 points in the 3rd quarter. Chicago opened the 4th with a 9-3 run capped by a 3-pointer by Fred Hoiberg to pull within 81-83 with 7 minutes to go. Dallas scored the next 11 points, starting and ending with a 3-pointer by Steve Nash, to go up 94-81 with 5:50 left. Khalid El-Amin hit a 3-pointer and Dallas scored the next 7 points to take a commanding 101-84 lead with 2 minutes remaining. Dallas won 104-91. Well, it wasn't pretty and the final score was not an indicator of the game, but it was a win. Michael Finley carried the team in his home town of Chicago. Finley had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dirk Nowitzki chipped in 22 points on 6-17 FG and 10-11 FT and 10 rebounds. Steve Nash had 14 points and 8 assists. As expected, Shawn Bradley's height intimidated the youngsters. Bradley had 12 points including 5-5 FG and 8 rebounds. Elton Brand led the way for Chicago with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Khalid El-Amin had his second strong game versus Dallas with 18 points on 8-10 FG and 7 assists. Quotes Donn Nelson on the game staying close: "If you look at our history - I don't know if 'play down to our level of competition' is the right phrase. But it's close. This is a scary game for any coach." Nelson: "You saw some tired bodies out there. But Dirk and Michael helped us play through it." Nelson: "Michael is the main cornerstone we started the franchise out with. There's been many a game, like tonight, that he put the team on his back and through sheer will and desire, got us a victory." Nelson: "Michael Finley did all he could. He carried this team on his back for a good part of the game. He always wants to put his best foot forward in front of his hometown. He's our All-Star and he showed it tonight." Michael Finley, who is from Chicago: "It's a lot of fun for me to come home and play in front of my family and friends. I just wanted to come out and have a good showing." Finley: "Coach talked to me before the game. He wanted me to come out aggressive and set the tone for the team." Finley: "We knew it would be tough coming in here. The Bulls have been playing great basketball and are much improved from the first time we played them. We knew in the 2nd half we'd be able to get to them, even though they had stayed close in the 1st half." Steve Nash: "We didn't really play well today. We just played harder. I think that was the key to stopping the spurts." Shawn Bradley on Finley: "I know he feels real good about putting on a good performance in front of the people he grew up with and in his home town. My hat's off to him - he did a great job." Tim Floyd: "We played decent for 40 of the 48 minutes. We had two 4 minute stretches that absolutely killed us." Floyd: "Their defensive pressure simply disrupted us and got us out of our offense." Elton Brand: "It was a good ballgame. We cut it to 1 or 2 but could not capitalize. Our defense did not play well at the end." Brand: "Khalid came off the bench and provided a big spark. Khalid is a solid offensive player. If we set the screen, he will shoot well." Brand: "It's not only the number of blocked shots Bradley gets that hurts you anyway. It's the fact that he is there with that 7-6 frame trying to block shots. He alters a lot of things. He makes you think twice before shooting. It was hard trying to score against him and Nowitzki. That's the biggest front court twosome in the league." Fred Hoiberg on Finley: "He was throwing in everything. He looked like MJ on the block." Dallas Mavericks 104, Chicago Bulls 91 at Chicago (January 8) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 29 26 25 24 - 104 .517 .364 .476 .783 Chicago 24 26 22 19 - 91 .493 .625 .507 .667 Halftime: Dallas 55-50 3rd Q: Dallas 80-72 Technicals: None Refs: Mark Wunderlich, Gary Benson, Hue Hollins Attendance: 21,344 (cap 21,711) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 46 13-25 3-3 1-1 30 0-10 6 2 0 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 44 6-17 0-6 10-11 22 3-10 3 2 1 0 1 Christian Laettner 20 4-7 0-0 2-2 10 2-4 2 0 4 1 0 Howard Eisley 36 4-11 2-6 0-0 10 0-1 3 2 2 1 1 Steve Nash 38 5-11 2-4 2-2 14 0-1 8 3 1 3 0 Gary Trent 8 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 1-3 0 0 1 1 0 Hubert Davis 24 1-4 1-3 0-0 3 2-4 3 1 2 1 0 Shawn Bradley 22 5-5 0-0 2-3 12 4-8 1 1 4 1 2 Donnell Harvey 1 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Courtney Alexander 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 39-82 8-22 18-23 104 12-41 26 12 16 10 4 Chicago Bulls REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Ron Artest 23 6-10 0-0 0-0 12 2-5 3 6 4 1 0 Fred Hoiberg 36 5-8 3-6 0-1 13 0-5 6 1 4 3 0 Elton Brand 44 7-18 0-0 9-10 23 3-10 5 4 4 1 1 Bryce Drew 28 5-9 0-0 0-0 10 0-3 3 3 1 1 0 Ron Mercer 47 2-12 0-0 0-2 4 0-2 2 1 2 1 1 Michael Ruffin 25 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 2-5 3 1 3 2 0 Khalid El-Amin 24 8-10 2-2 0-0 18 0-2 7 0 3 1 0 Marcus Fizer 11 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 0 1 2 0 0 Corey Benjamin 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Dragan Tarlac 1 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 38-75 5-8 10-15 91 7-35 29 18 23 10 2 Dallas at Minnesota (January 10) Dallas came out strong and the Timberwolves were no where to be seen. Dallas surged to a 16-9 lead with 6 minutes left and led 30-20 after 1. Michael Finley had 12 points and Kevin Garnett had 9 points. Dallas shot 12-22 FG and Minnesota only shot 8-26 FG. Dallas continued their strong play and were able to push their lead up to 17 points at 46-29 with 5:40 left. Dallas led 58-43 at the half. Finley had 18 points, Christian Laettner had 10 points and 9 rebounds while guarding Garnett, and Garnett had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Minnesota woke up during halftime and started the 3rd quarter with a 10-2 run to pull within 53-60 with 8:15 to go. Dallas answered with a 14-2 run to take a commanding 74-55 lead with 3:15 remaining. Shawn Bradley found the loose ball behind the basket and made a pretty layup to give Dallas an 82-60 lead after 3. Dirk Nowitzki had 11 points in the 3rd. Dallas took their largest lead at 97-70 with 5:40 left and coasted the rest of the way. Dallas won 106-86. Hey! After facing close games against lesser competition, Dallas finally started a game strong and continued playing strong the entire game (minus a lackluster 2 minutes near the end of the 4th when the game was over). Dallas was in control the entire way and Minnesota never led. The Mavs dominated offensively (50% (44-88) FG) and controlled Minnesota defensively (only 37% (34-92) FG) and controlled the rebounds (47-45). Dallas is 11-0 when out-rebounding their opponent. Michael Finley (26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) and Dirk Nowitzki (28 points - 20 in the 2nd half, 8 rebounds) get the glory for their scoring, but Christian Laettner deserves special recognition for his solid game. Laettner contributed 14 points on 7-11 FG and 9 rebounds, but it was his defensive work that excelled in this game against his former team. Laettner started and his assignment was to guard Garnett. The Mavs did not double Garnett unless he got the ball in the paint or in the post. Laettner helped limit Garnett to only 2 points in the 2nd quarter and 6 points in the 3rd quarter ("only" 26 points and had 13 rebounds). LaPhonso Ellis was the only other 'wolf to have a decent game (10 points and 12 rebounds). The Mavs did go big at times where they had Nowitzki, Laettner, and Gary Trent or Shawn Bradley on the court. Quite a change from small ball. Quotes Donn Nelson: "This was the big one for the road trip. We're going to be looking right at these guys come playoff time." Nelson: "I'm just real proud of the guys. We had our priority to come in here and continue our positive rebounding effort, and defense was a big key for us." Nelson: "I'm real proud of the guys. We made a point of coming in and keeping our positive effort going and we wanted to create that with rebounding and defense." Michael Finley: "We played hard. We weathered the storm, they had runs, and we had lulls where we couldn't score. But we overcame that with defensive stops, and big rebounds. Little things that we weren't doing in the past, we're doing now and getting the wins. It's all come together and making us a pretty good team." Finley: "Every game in the Western Conference is tough, because you never know what might happen toward the end of the season. On this road trip this is the biggest Western Conference challenge that we've had. It was up to us to come out and be the aggressors and play with the type of intensity that we would need to win the ballgame, and we did that." Finley on the Mavs' strong road trips: "We still need home cooking once in a while. But it's taken our road struggles, and now our road wins, to really find ourselves." Finley: "I had high expectations for this team, and I knew our time would come. Me being here when we were winning 20 games, to the point we are right now, it's very gratifying." Finley: "I guess it has taken the road wins and the road struggles to find ourselves. I have high expectations for this team all the time. I knew that our time would come. It was just a matter of weathering the storm, and now it's here." Christian Laettner on the game: "The best defense of the year, I would think." Laettner on playing against his former team: "I feel extremely good about this win, for reasons you can figure out. But more than that it is just a big win for us. We have big aspirations for this year and we just want to keep improving." Laettner: "Obviously shooting well can take us a long way, but sometimes the jumpers aren't hitting. But we've been winning some games when our jumpers aren't hitting, too." Flip Saunders: "We laid an egg tonight and they didn't. We were never in the ballgame. They totally dominated us. We were just never in the game, from beginning to end. There isn't mush more to say than that." Saunders: "We didn't have the energy we had in the previous two games, which is disappointing. We played with not half the amount of energy." Saunders: "You've got 3 guys right now in Nash, Finley and Nowitzki that are having All-Star-type years." Saunders: "They beat you off penetration, and suck you in. Then they're sitting in the corner for 3-point shots, and that's when they hit them." Kevin Garnett: "You want to make stops on defense. We couldn't make any." Garnett: "Finley is what makes that team go by far. He was making stuff out of bounds and hitting all kinds of shots." Terrell Brandon: "We're a good team. We have a lot more basketball to play, and we'll play them 3 more times." Brandon: "They've got a bunch of great shooters on their team and they are very unselfish. I don't think I have ever seen a team hit that many off-balanced shots." LaPhonso Ellis: "That was pretty much the tone of the game - we didn't shoot well." Ellis: "Their front 5 is as good as any in the league, and they have depth off the bench. They can come at you in different ways." Sam Mitchell on Minnesota's game plan: "We went hunting for bear tonight with a bow." Dallas Mavericks 106, Minnesota Timberwolves 86 at Minnesota (January 10) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 30 28 24 24 - 106 .514 .438 .500 .579 Minnesota 20 23 17 26 - 86 .407 .091 .370 .850 Halftime: Dallas 58-43 3rd Q: Dallas 82-60 Technicals: Kevin Garnett 5:40 4th Refs: Joey Crawford, LeRoy Richardson, Scott Foster Attendance: 16,274 (cap 19,006) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 40 12-24 0-3 2-2 26 1-6 5 0 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 39 9-17 3-6 7-9 28 1-8 2 0 3 0 2 Christian Laettner 21 7-11 0-0 0-0 14 5-9 2 1 2 1 1 Howard Eisley 39 5-13 1-3 1-2 12 0-5 5 2 2 3 0 Steve Nash 30 4-10 2-3 0-0 10 0-3 11 2 1 1 0 Shawn Bradley 32 2-4 0-0 0-2 4 2-9 0 1 3 0 2 Gary Trent 14 2-4 0-0 1-4 5 0-6 0 1 4 1 0 Hubert Davis 12 3-4 1-1 0-0 7 0-0 0 2 0 1 0 Loy Vaught 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Courtney Alexander 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 2 1 0 0 0 Donnell Harvey 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 3 0 1 Totals 48 44-88 7-16 11-19 106 9-47 27 12 22 7 6 Minnesota Timberwolves REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kevin Garnett 40 10-18 0-0 6-7 26 3-13 6 3 4 1 2 Wally Szczerbiak 32 3-9 0-0 4-4 10 2-6 2 1 4 0 0 LaPhonso Ellis 24 5-13 0-1 0-0 10 4-12 0 4 0 0 3 Terrell Brandon 29 5-15 0-0 2-2 12 1-4 4 1 1 2 2 Anthony Peeler 24 2-8 1-3 0-0 5 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Radoslav Nesterovic 22 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 0-3 0 0 1 0 0 Chauncey Billups 25 2-7 0-1 0-0 4 2-3 3 1 0 1 0 Sam Mitchell 16 2-5 0-1 2-3 6 0-1 0 1 1 0 0 Todd Day 9 1-3 0-1 1-2 3 0-0 1 2 2 0 0 Reggie Slater 10 2-4 0-0 2-2 6 2-3 1 1 3 0 0 William Avery 9 0-4 0-4 0-0 0 0-0 2 0 4 0 0 Totals 48 34-92 1-11 17-20 86 14-45 19 14 22 4 7 Dallas at Milwaukee (January 11) Mavs played the game without their floor leader Steve Nash as Nash sat out due to the flu and a strained left hamstring. Despite missing Nash, having played the night before and this being the 5th road game in only 7 days, the Mavs started off playing well and took an early 14-7 lead with 8 minutes left. Christian Laettner scored Dallas' first 8 points. Then the Mavs' stopped hitting shots and their energy level dropped while Milwaukee was playing well. Dallas led 23-19 with 4:20 left and Milwaukee scored the next 6 points to go up 25-23 with 3 minutes to go. Milwaukee scored the last 7 points of the quarter to go up 36-29 after 1. All but 2 of Dallas' points came from 3 players - Laettner (8 points), Michael Finley (8 points), and Dirk Nowitzki (11 points). Milwaukee continued their run into the 2nd quarter by scoring the first 4 points of the quarter to go up 40-29 with 10 minutes remaining. Dallas did not have a run in them in the quarter and Milwaukee held a 13 to 7 point lead the rest of the quarter. Finley hit a jumper with less than a second left in the half and Milwaukee led 55-47 at the half. Ray Allen had 14 points, Nowitzki had 16 points, and Finley had 15 points. Milwaukee led 62-55 with 8 minutes left and scored the next 8 points to go up 70-55 with 6 minutes to go. Milwaukee led 80-70 after 3. Sam Cassell had 9 points in the 3rd quarter. Milwaukee led 89-75 with 8:15 remaining and Dallas dug in for a burst of energy and made a push as Dallas went on an 11-2 run to pull within 86-91 with 5 minutes left. At the end of the run, Finley missed his second free throw and flew in to grab the rebound and make the layup. Glenn Robinson hit a jumper and Finley hit consecutive fade away jumpers to pull Dallas within 90-93 with 3 minutes left. Robinson answered with another jumper and Finley was sent to the free throw line. However, Finley missed both free throws. Cassell missed a layup, but was able tap the ball before Nowitzki was able to snag it and Cassell ran down the rebound. Tim Thomas drained a 3-pointer to give Milwaukee an 8 point lead with 1:45 remaining. Dallas was unable to score again until 40 seconds remained. Milwaukee won 102-94. This looked like a tired Dallas team and missing Nash hurt. The Mavs were able to keep Milwaukee from pulling away during the game, but it was a struggle to do so. Milwaukee played very well and Dallas ran out of energy at the end. Milwaukee's big 3 carried the team to victory. Sam Cassell had an awesome game, including a great steal of an unsuspecting Hubert Davis in the backcourt that resulted in an easy layup, and finished with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. Glenn Robinson had a quite 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. And Ray Allen chipped in 18 points. Tim Thomas also helped out with 18 points including 4-8 3-pointers (but only 1-6 2-pointers). For Dallas, Finley tried to carry the team, but wasn't enough. Finley had 30 points (11 in the 4th) and 5 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki started strong, but finished poor with only 7 points in the 2nd half. He had with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Christian Laettner was the only other Maverick in double-digits with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Quote George Karl: "It was a solid game against one of the hottest teams in the league. It might be our best home win of the year. I'm glad they played last night. I saw some fatigue in their team at the end." Karl: "I think we played a very solid basketball game tonight. We had a number of guys play well tonight in a lot of different areas. I think it may be our best home win, maybe our best win of the year." Sam Cassell on Dallas trying to comeback: "You spend so much energy when you're coming from behind. You need everything to go right for you. We fought them off." Cassell: "Glenn's shot took the air out of them. We've matured a lot over the last few seasons. We understand the importance of every possession now. We beat them because we did the little things well. I'm proud of the team tonight, we played well." Glenn Robinson: "It was a big win for us tonight. They hurt us in the opener, we wanted to come out and play well tonight. We needed to maintain focus to win tonight and we did that. We kept that focus for 4 quarters and beat a good basketball team." Robinson: "We had an answer for every challenge they gave us. I tried to pick up my game tonight and had a nice game." Lindsey Hunter: "They've got explosive scorers. Of course, tonight we had to stop them. I think we did a good job." Donn Nelson: "I think we just ran out of gas. This was a long road trip. I'm proud of the effort our guys made. We made 4 to 5 good runs at them, but they made the plays they had to each time. Sam is the key to how they play. We threw a lot of things at Sam tonight, and he handled them all. He takes big shots and makes big shots." Nelson: "We were fatigued a bit but I'm proud of our guys. They gave us everything they had. My hat's off to George Karl. Their defensive game plan was extraordinary. They contested every shot and seemed prepared for all of our offensive sets." Nelson: "We were fatigued a bit coming into tonight's game. Obviously we miss Steve's leadership." Nelson on missing Nash: "I think we could have gotten a little bit more creative with our offense. That's no knock on Howard. I think Steve is a very special player that Dirk and Michael's been familiar with. They just read each other a little bit better, but that'll come in time with Howard." Nelson on Nash: "Obviously we missed Steve tonight. He's a big part of our offense." Nelson: "They just seemed to have an answer for everything tonight. We obviously didn't make shots, either. That's a big part of our identity, and when we don't make shots it has an effect on our defense. It seemed like we were always trying to climb out of that barrel tonight." Michael Finley: "It could have been a great trip if we had won tonight. We were hot on the road. They were hot at home. One of us had to go down tonight, and unfortunately it was us." Finley on 2 free throws he missed with 2:30 left: "I just choked. 2 free throws I had to make and I didn't." Finley on the 4-1 road trip: "Could have been a great trip. But it was good. For the most part, we've found ourselves on the road, and hopefully we can build upon that and start winning at home. We're kind of the talk of the league. We're surprising a lot of people who expect the Mavericks of the past." Christian Laettner: "Just because we lost the last game, we can't get too down. We didn't have Steve this game, and he is a big player on our team." Shawn Bradley on the comeback attempt: "You just had a feeling that if one more thing would have happened down the stretch, we were going to win." Steve Nash on missing the game: "It's really frustrating. You'd like to think you can help, but you know you've got to be smart. I'm trying to limit how many games I miss." Milwaukee Bucks 102, Dallas Mavericks 94 at Milwaukee (January 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Milwaukee 36 19 25 22 - 102 .492 .353 .462 .889 Dallas 29 18 23 24 - 94 .472 .176 .416 .810 Halftime: Milwaukee 55-47 3rd Q: Milwaukee 80-70 Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 3:15 2nd, Milwaukee Illegal D 0:47 3rd Refs: Jack Nies, Tom Washington, Violet Palmer Attendance: 15,675 (cap 18,717) Did not play due to injury: Steve Nash (flu and strained left hamstring) Milwaukee Bucks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Glenn Robinson 40 9-17 0-2 2-3 20 1-10 5 5 4 0 0 Tim Thomas 31 5-14 4-8 4-4 18 1-5 2 2 3 0 1 Mark Pope 17 2-2 0-0 3-4 7 1-2 0 1 2 0 2 Ray Allen 39 6-12 2-4 4-4 18 1-4 4 2 1 2 1 Sam Cassell 40 8-20 0-1 5-6 21 2-9 9 5 3 2 0 Ervin Johnson 29 2-2 0-0 2-2 6 2-9 0 0 0 0 2 Scott Williams 24 1-4 0-0 2-2 4 2-6 0 0 4 0 0 Lindsey Hunter 20 3-7 0-2 2-2 8 0-2 0 1 0 2 0 Totals 48 36-78 6-17 24-27 102 10-47 20 16 17 6 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Mark Bryant 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 0 1 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 39 8-19 2-4 5-5 23 2-11 3 3 4 0 0 Christian Laettner 30 7-17 0-0 2-2 16 4-12 1 1 5 3 0 Michael Finley 45 14-29 0-6 2-6 30 2-5 2 0 1 2 0 Howard Eisley 39 2-8 1-4 3-3 8 0-1 4 2 2 4 0 Shawn Bradley 27 1-2 0-0 2-2 4 0-4 0 1 2 1 1 Gary Trent 9 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-2 0 1 1 0 0 Hubert Davis 36 2-6 0-3 0-0 4 1-2 3 2 3 1 0 Courtney Alexander 9 2-4 0-0 3-3 7 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 37-89 3-17 17-21 94 12-40 13 11 21 11 1 patricia