Thursday at 5 pm was the trading deadline and there was lots of talk about the Mavs just before the deadline. The first rumor to come down was that the Mavs had traded Shawn Bradley, Christian Laettner, and Courtney Alexander to Washington for Juwan Howard and Laron Profit. Well, I didn't like this rumor one bit - trading away our 2 centers and not getting one in return??? Turns out that rumor was incorrect (but may have been discussed, but Dallas did not want to give up Bradley) and I found out the real trade when I got to Reunion. Dallas traded Christian Laettner, Hubert Davis, Loy Vaught, Courtney Alexander, Etan Thomas, and $3 million to Washington for Juwan Howard, Calvin Booth, and Obinna Ekezie. Wow. Where to start. At first I wasn't keen on this trade, but it grew on me the more I thought about it and I'm very supportive of it. I had thought that Howard had 3 or 4 years left on his huge contract, but it is only 2 years left after this season. He is earning $16,875,000 this season (4th most in the league), $18.5 million next year, and $20.7 million in 02-03. There is no question that he is over-paid, but that is exactly why Washington traded him. How does that affect the Mavs cap wise? It really doesn't. Even if the Mavs didn't re-sign Shawn Bradley and Gary Trent this summer (which they likely will - or at least a sign-and-trade for Trent), re-signing Finley would have left Dallas with only a few million under the cap [they had over $35 million committed to next year, including Finley and the traded players (only Laettner is a free agent)] - and that wouldn't have been enough to get a big name free agent, much less a player of Howard's caliber. So once you get passed the contract issue, it comes down to the Mavs acquiring another team's best player without giving up any of the core players. Howard is averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds. It's a big win for Dallas. Howard is a 6-9, 250 forward (mostly power). He was an All-Star in 1996 (the year before he got his monster contract). On Dallas' roster, he is only the 4th best player behind Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. Calvin Booth ended up being the deal maker. Don Nelson wanted him and wouldn't do the trade without him and Michael Jordan did not want to give him up. Booth is a 6-11, 241 lefty center. He is in his 2nd season. He is averaging 2 blocks and 4.4 rebounds in only 16 minutes [the Mavs were saying his blocks and rebounds per 48 minutes, but I'm not a believer in per 48 stats]. He is currently injured. He underwent surgery last Monday on his left elbow to remove loose particles and will be out 2 weeks to a month. The Mavs placed him on IR on Friday. Obinna Ekezie was thrown in as cap filler. He is a 6-9, 270 forward-center in his 2nd season. He's only averaged 9.4 minutes this season. Don't expect much from him. As to what the Mavs gave up, Christian Laettner and Hubert Davis hurt the most. Laettner had been splitting time at center with Shawn Bradley, though only averaging 17.5 minutes. And he has been a good locker room presence. No gripping about his role and minutes. Everything he said was that he was happy here and accepted his role. Nothing of the malcontent that I feared. Hubert is a good all around person and played a nice role on the team. His defense had improved dramatically. He was averaging 24.7 minutes (higher than you'd expect largely due to the games missed by Nash and Buckner). The trade leaves the Mavs weak at backup center and backup guard (Hubert would play both shooting and point guard). Loy Vaught played spot minutes (and sometimes didn't even play) and, everything I've heard, is just a extremely nice guy, but his loss doesn't mean much to the team. For Washington, besides lossing Howard's contract, getting Courtney Alexander was the gem of this trade. I say enjoy him. Sure he cut down on his public griping about minutes after the first month, but everything I've heard is that he never grasped the concept of what he needed to do to become a complete player in the NBA. He's all about scoring and not concerned about winning. He'll be happy in Washington - lots of minutes and lots of scoring opportunities. He never would have been happy in Dallas. He reminds me a lot of Tony Dumas. Maybe after a few years Alexander will re-adjust his priorities. But at 23 years old, I expected more maturity. Etan Thomas is the wildcard of the trade. He hasn't played a minute in the NBA, not even pre-season. He's out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his injured toe. Washington did this trade purely for cap room - Alexander and Thomas are bonuses. They wanted Howard's contract off their roster, pure and simple. They will release Laettner this summer - he's playing to look good for other teams and earn a contract somewhere else for next season. They will free up $6.6 million from their cap [not put them under that much]. They will likely be able to pass Hubert and the rest of the 3 years on his contract to another team [freeing up a little over $2 million]. Loy Vaught has 2 years left on his contract [$5,162,025 next year and $5,512,025 in 02-03] - this does not go off the cap until the summer of 2003 and they likely won't be able to trade him (unless included in another deal). Washington is looking to have lots of money free up for the summer of 2002 (not this summer, but next). They'll likely buy out Rod Strickland this summer (whose contract will then stay on the cap for one more year). Who will be available for them to sign is unknown. Those drooling after the rookie class of 1998 (including Vince Carter and our own Dirk), need a reality check. They will be _restricted_ free agents in the summer of 2002. So, how does this affect Dallas for the rest of the season? Howard will play mostly power forward and Dirk will move back to small forward and Finley to shooting guard. Dirk will have to play some backup center (or even starting center with Nelson's love for strange lineups) until Booth is ready. Howard Eisley goes to the bench as 3rd guard. Greg Buckner will play minutes at both small forward and shooting guard (despite his size, he plays a lot at 3) and will have to pick up some point guard skills. The Mavs are not deep at guard (Nash, Eisley, Finley, and Buckner are the only guards on the roster). If Nash has to go out for a period of time, the team is in trouble. In any case, look for the Mavs to pick up a guard or 2 on 10-day contracts. This is one of those rare trades where both teams benefit. Washington frees up some cap room and gets some young potential and Dallas gets a solid starter. One other note on the trade: the Mavs did consult with Michael Finley before doing the trade - continuing the wooing of Fin and letting him know that it is his team. With the loss of all the players just prior to the Boston game, Dallas activated Eduardo Najera and Donnell Harvey. They had 11 players dressed for that game. Before the longer quotes from those with tape recorders, my scribbled notes from Nelson's press conference announcing the trade: "Juwan is an outstanding player who still has a lot of play left." "We have lost some good players." "Laettner has stepped up and done everything we've asked." Hate to lose Hubert. The rookies will get a change to play in Washington. Complementing Howard's low post game. on Howard: "Just a good all around player." "We had to address a need." "I'm worried about tonight [game vs Boston] because we lost some good friends." "Dirk, short term, will have to play some backup center." Trade quotes Don Nelson on Howard "Juwan is an outstanding player who still has a lot of good play left in him. We think Juwan Howard makes us a tough team." "It'll make us bigger. Hopefully it'll make us better." "Howard will fit right in with what we're doing. He's a wonderful guy, a good guy and a good team man. The only problem is he's overpaid. He definitely has a low post game. We had to address some of our needs, and that certainly was a need that we had." "He definitely has a low post game. I don't know if you'd call him a dominant low post player. He's evolved more into an all-around player. He's very difficult for anybody to guard." Nelson on the trade in general "It's never a happy day when you make a trade, even when you think it benefits your ballclub, because you basically have traded and lost some good players and good friends along the way." "We like our team but did not want to stand pat. We had a chance to improve and took the opportunity to improve." "Michael Jordan has made a good deal for his team. He got a bunch of good guys and he's cut his payroll. They gave us an opportunity to acquire a very fine player, and we took advantage of that." Nelson on Booth "Booth is going to help us with the rebounding once he joins our team. He's a good looking 7-footer who blocks shots and rebounds, just a wonderful young man that we really look forward to working with. I would not have done the deal without Booth. Booth was a guy that I thought had a chance. I thought - with development - that Booth could be better than Laettner. Maybe not this year, but maybe next year." Mark Cuban: "It's funny. If Juwan Howard was a free agent this summer, he'd be one of the top 3 or 4 free agents and everybody would be after him. That's the way we look at it. We wanted to get our team younger and improve our team, and we think we did both. We just felt that when you can add somebody of Juwan's caliber, someone who's capable of getting you 20 [points] and 9 [rebounds], and has done it repeatedly, and he's only 28 years old, we had to do it." Cuban: "We felt like this really was a piece that could help us, not necessarily go deep into the playoffs, but give us a better shot of getting into the playoffs." Cuban: "We felt this really was a piece that could really give us a better shot at getting into the playoffs. Juwan's position in Washington, he really had to be the go-to guy, which was difficult. Here, he won't have as much pressure to be the guy. By creating so much balance, we create more opportunities for everyone." Cuban: "We've said all along that we didn't really feel we were going to be in a position next year to use cap room to go out and get a player. But we were trying to develop a base where if we needed to make a trade we could. It was not a consideration in trying to save cap room. When you're over, you're over. It doesn't really matter," Michael Finley: "Juwan is not a selfish guy. He knows coming into this that we have something already established, and his role on this team won't be to put the ball in the bucket unless his number gets called. But he's a professional, and he'll fit in. We played against each other in high school and in college, and worked out together for the last 4 or 5 years during the summer, so our relationship is pretty strong off the court." Finley: "He's another veteran piece that we've added. Hopefully, he can come in and give us some aggressiveness inside, and some more rebounding, similar to what Laettner was giving us. But hopefully he can take us to another level." Finley: "I'm closer to him than just about anyone in this league. He knows he's coming into a situation where we already have some things established." Finley: "It was hard to see some of the guys leave from some of the personal relationships we've built over this season. It was a business decision. On the other hand, we're getting some quality players. Hopefully, both teams can benefit from this trade." Juwan Howard on being traded: "I would say it's a relief from all the booing I've experienced. It could have been a bad situation where a team does not win. Dallas is a team that's on the rise. As we all know, Mark Cuban, he's a guy who's proven he wants to turn his franchise into a winning team." Howard: "This is a first class organization that wants to win. They have already started and headed in the right direction. To be a piece of that puzzle is an exciting opportunity. There was still some unfinished business to take care of [in Washington]. I wanted to be part of the solution. But that's the past. I'm looking forward to the opportunity right here." Howard: "I wouldn't say it was a relief. These [Washington] fans have been wishing for a winning team and you can understand that as a professional. At the same time, you'd like to have that support. It was a test of strength. I've shown a lot of people that I remained strong through those though times. Hopefully no other professional athlete would have to experience what I've been through the last couple of years. I wouldn't wish that on no one." Howard: "I can't sit and lie to you - it's been a difficult time [in Washington]. It was a test of strength to overcome all the adversities there. I still wanted to be part of the solution, but that was the past and I am looking forward to this opportunity right here." Howard: We're not trying to come in here and become Superman or anything like that. We just want to fit in and help this team win." Howard: "I've always been a team player. I was one of the guys who helped assemble the Fab Five because I wanted to be surrounded by great players to win a championship. And now to be part of a situation like this. I'm happy to be part of a team that's in the midst of playing in the playoffs. This is a new season." Calvin Booth: "Right now, I feel like I'm a great shot blocker. And I think I have a lot of upside." Wes Unseld on Howard : "For 7 years, there has been nobody who worked harder and been more professional and was not appreciated for the right reasons than he was. It was hard for me [to trade him]. I appreciate the type of player and professional that he is." Michael Jordan, in not a ringing endorsement of Laettner: "In all honesty, Laettner is the only way we could make the deal work. We know Christian Laettner, and hopeful he can come in with a positive attitude." Michael Jordan: "We know Christian Laettner. We know what he can do. Hopefully, he can come in with a positive attitude. It's hard going from where he was to what he's coming to, but hopefully he'll make the most of it." Jordan on Alexander: "He was a lottery pick last year who hasn't been given an opportunity to play within Dallas' system because of Finley and Davis. And Nellie is more of a veteran coach, so we're hoping that when he comes here, where he'll have more of an opportunity to play more than he did in Dallas, we'll see some promising things coming from Alexander. He's a lottery pick and we didn't have a lottery pick last year, so we ended up with one even though we had to go through a transaction to get it." Lenard Hamilton: "We are doing the kinds of things necessary not only to help us now, but to start making moves toward solidifying ourselves for the future. Even though you hate losing a guy of Juwan's caliber, he does give us an opportunity to have some flexibility." Hubert Davis: "I feel sad, but not that sad, because it's just a business deal, and you have to know that. I'm from the area [Washington], so it's not going to be that bad." Courtney Alexander: "I can't say that I did or did not expect it, but it is something that I wanted. I never said anything publicly. That would be classless and the team was playing well. I didn't want to rock the boat." Boston at Dallas (February 22) It was a close 1st quarter with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. Dallas seemed a little rattled with the news of the trade and missing players. Boston led 28-24 after 1. Boston shot 12-19 FG and Dallas shot 11-19 FG. Boston led 30-24 with 11:40 remaining and Dallas went on a 19-5 run, sparked by the energetic performance from Eduardo Najera and capped by a rare 4-point play by Dirk Nowitzki, to go up 43-35 with 4:35 to go. Dallas scored the last 9 points of the quarter and led 56-46 at the half. Dallas was still shooting well at 13-25 FG, but Boston was down to just 5-16 FG. In the 3rd quarter, Dallas built on their lead and led 66-50 with 8:20 left on a 3-point play by Greg Buckner. Dallas led in the teens (with one dip to 9 points) the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 81-69 after 3. Boston opened the 4th with a 13-4 run to pull within 82-85 with 5:15 remaining. Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer and Najera got a layup to give Dallas a 90-82 lead with 3:45 to go. Paul Pierce ended Boston's almost 3 minute drought with a jumper with 2:15 left, but Najera's jumper with 2 minutes to go kept Dallas' lead at 8 points at 92-84. Pierce nailed a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining and Michael Finley hit a jumper with 1:15 to go. Chris Herren missed a layup with a minute remaining and Buckner's layup gave Dallas a commanding 9 point lead with 42 seconds left. The only dramatics left was that Steve Nash was fouled with 12 seconds left and Dallas at 98 points. 100 points would have given the fans free chalupas. Going to the line grinning and the fans cheering him on, the 90+% free throw shooter missed both. His teammates, especially Gary Trent who hit the chalupa bucket a few games ago, gave him a hard time. Dallas won 98-91. A scary moment occurred with 27 seconds left when Bryant Stith drove at Eduardo Najera and collided with Najera while in air (Najera was trying to just hold his position) and Stith landed awkwardly. Stith was carried from the floor by teammates and suffered a bruised right hip and sprained right wrist. Fortunately, the x-rays were negative. Good thing the Mavs won, other wise this would sound like whining. The officiating in this game was terrible. And not just terrible, but lopsided against the Mavs (bad officiating is one thing, but bad and lopsided is _really_ frustrating). The Mavs won despite playing 5-on-8. I can't even begin to tell you how many bad calls went against Dallas and non-calls there were. One example (and there were many): Nash drove in on the edge of the paint and two Celtics came over to stop him, one who really hammered him, and there was no call - even though the ref was standing right there with a clear view of the foul. Give the Mavs props for winning the game despite being distracted by the trade and upset with the officiating. The game was won because of the play of Eduardo Najera and Greg Buckner. Fresh off of IR (and in his uniform 90 minutes before game time anxious to go), Najera played all of the 2nd quarter and his energy, defense, and rebounding helped Dallas out-scored Boston 32-18 in the 2nd. Buckner also played all of the 2nd and infused energy and defense. And the game was won in the 2nd (for a change - the Mavs usually play poorly in the 2nd) as Boston out-scored Dallas in the 1st (4 points) and 4th (5 points) and Dallas only out-scored Boston by 2 points in the 3rd quarter. Najera had 9 points and 12 rebounds including 6 offensive - and he worked hard for those rebounds. Buckner had a season high 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 23 points and only 5 rebounds (lowest board total in 7 games) and Michael Finley chipped in 19 points and 7 assists. Shawn Bradley had a nice game with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. As expected, Paul Pierce lead the way for Boston with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Antoine Walker had 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Vitaly Potapenko had 16 points. Quotes Don Nelson on Eduardo Najera: "He did the dirty work. If he doesn't step up and play like he did, we don't win this game." Nelson: "Between [Najera] and Buckner, we really needed somebody to step up. I was worried about the game. I thought the Celtics played terrific. I thought we played pretty well. The effort was good." Dirk Nowitzki on the trade affecting the game: "It was a little hard to concentrate in the beginning of the game. I think we were thinking too much about the trade, but then we got it out of our head." Greg Buckner: "We did start sluggish, but it's expected when you have a change like we did prior to the game." Eduardo Najera on his rebounding and defense: "I have to do the things I'm best at. If I try to do something out of character, I'm going to be on the bench." Najera: "I was ready to play. I feel healthy and 100%. I was getting frustrated just practicing. There were a lot of distractions before the game. Coach just said don't worry about the trade. He said just focus on the game." Jim O'Brien: "Our guys scrapped to get back in the game. They had to go to the bench, and that's when we made the run back. But a little too little, too late." O'Brien: "I thought our guys scraped to get back in the game. This is a very tough group to play." Paul Pierce: "I thought we should have been more aggressive. We tried to shoot quick 3s and get us back in the game. We lived and died by the 3 tonight." Pierce: "I thought we played hard enough to win the game. I don't think we played as smart on D as we could have down the stretch. We gave them too many wide open looks and turned the ball over too many times, and they're a good team. You can't make mistakes, especially late in the game. They've got great shooters on the floor, and if you mess up they'll burn you." Pierce on Dallas' foul trouble: "We didn't really take advantage of that. As I look back, I don't think we drove the ball enough. We settled for the outside shot. We knew they were in foul trouble and I thought we should have been more aggressive. We tried to shoot the quick 3s to get us back in the game, and it didn't pan out. You know, you can live by the 3 and die by the 3. I thought we did that tonight.'' Pierce: "Defensively, we didn't get it done. We got ourselves in a hole and did not recover." Dallas Mavericks 98, Boston Celtics 91 at Dallas (February 22) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 24 32 25 17 - 98 .547 .333 .506 .684 Boston 28 18 23 22 - 91 .426 .391 .416 .720 Halftime: Dallas 56-46 3rd Q: Dallas 81-69 Technicals: Dirk Nowitzki 3:58 2nd, Dallas Illegal D 6:36 3rd, Paul Pierce 5:29 3rd, Vitaly Potapenko 8:36 4th, Shawn Bradley 8:36 4th Refs: Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Rashan Michel Attendance: 17,470 (cap 18,187) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Greg Buckner 32 6-10 0-1 3-5 15 2-7 2 1 4 3 0 Dirk Nowitzki 32 9-18 4-6 1-1 23 0-5 1 3 5 2 1 Shawn Bradley 27 6-10 0-0 2-2 14 3-9 1 2 5 2 4 Michael Finley 44 7-14 1-3 4-4 19 0-4 7 4 4 0 0 Steve Nash 36 2-7 0-1 1-3 5 0-2 12 4 0 1 0 Gary Trent 16 4-6 0-0 1-2 9 0-3 2 0 3 1 1 Howard Eisley 26 2-7 0-4 0-0 4 0-1 1 1 2 1 1 Eduardo Najera 27 4-7 0-0 1-2 9 6-12 1 1 2 1 0 Totals 48 40-79 5-15 13-19 98 11-43 27 18 25 11 7 Boston Celtics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Paul Pierce 45 8-12 3-4 4-4 23 1-11 2 5 4 2 1 Antoine Walker 45 6-17 4-10 1-2 17 2-9 6 2 2 3 3 Mark Blount 13 5-7 0-0 0-0 10 4-7 0 2 2 0 1 Kenny Anderson 19 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 3 1 2 1 0 Bryant Stith 39 2-10 0-2 2-2 6 2-7 2 3 3 1 0 Vitaly Potapenko 29 5-10 0-0 6-9 16 3-4 0 4 4 0 0 Milt Palacio 13 3-8 2-4 0-0 8 0-1 2 0 0 0 0 Eric Williams 18 0-1 0-0 4-6 4 1-2 1 0 1 1 0 Chris Carr 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Chris Herren 17 1-7 0-3 0-0 2 0-1 2 0 2 1 0 Jerome Moiso 1 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 32-77 9-23 18-25 91 13-42 18 19 22 9 5 San Antonio at Dallas (February 24) Dallas shot out to a 17-7 lead with 6 minutes to go. Don Nelson had an interesting lineup of Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Juwan Howard, Greg Buckner, and Steve Nash on the floor - and it was working, much to my surprise. Dallas led 28-21 after 1. Nash had 10 points. Dallas shot 12-19 FG and San Antonio shot 8-23 FG. Dallas led 32-23 with 11 minutes left and San Antonio scored the next 7 points to pull within 30-32 with 9:30 left. Dallas led 44-36 with 4:40 remaining and San Antonio closed the quarter with a 16-1 run, capped by an improbable 3-pointer from Tim Duncan at the buzzer, as Dallas missed 10 straight shots. San Antonio led 52-45 at the half. Duncan had 13 points, David Robinson had 12 points, Finley had 13 points, and Nash had 13 points. Dallas scored the first 2 buckets of the 3rd quarter and then the Spurs went on a 14-2 run to go up 66-51 with 5:40 left as Dallas again missed 10 consecutive shots. Dallas finally found the basket and San Antonio went cold as Dallas went on a 15-3 run to pull within 66-69 with 2 minutes left. San Antonio led 73-71 after 3. The game stayed close and exciting in the 4th quarter with the teams trading leads and neither team holding more than a 4 point lead until the last 15 seconds of the game. Derek Anderson drove at Shawn Bradley, cleared Bradley out with his arm, but Bradley was called for the foul [very bad call]. Bradley was upset with the bad call and got a technical - his 2nd of the game and he was ejected. Anderson made all 3 free throws to give San Antonio a 87-83 lead with 6:30 left. Howard got 2 up close and Nowitzki nailed 2 3-pointers to give Dallas a 91-87 lead with 4:40 remaining, but San Antonio went on a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Anderson, to go up 97-93 with 1:50 to go. Howard hit 1-2 FT, Duncan hit 1-2 FT, and Nash hit a free throw (San Antonio illegal D). Finley missed a 3-pointer and Avery Johnson threw the ball away with 50 seconds left. Nash drove for a layup with 47 seconds remaining and San Antonio only led 98-97. Duncan drove towards the basket, was fouled, and threw up a wild shot that somehow went in. He made the free throw to give the Spurs a 4 point lead. Nash was fouled driving and hit both free throws with 24 seconds left. Anderson was quickly fouled and hit both free throws with 23 seconds remaining to give San Antonio a 103-99 lead. Howard Eisley missed a layup with 16 seconds left [why is Eisley taking the shot???] and Duncan hit 2 free throws with 14 seconds left to give San Antonio a 6 points lead. Nash drove for the quick 2 [why go for 2 when you're down 6 with 10 seconds left and only 1 timeout left???] and Anderson made 2 free throws. Nowitzki drained a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left, but the Spurs were able to inbound the ball ahead of the Mavs' defense and ran the clock out. San Antonio won 107-104. Well, it was a great game and _much_ closer than I expected - due to the trade adjustment and losing Laettner with the Spurs 2 big men. And when Nelson came out with that starting lineup, I thought were going to get killed by Tim Duncan and David Robinson. But that's why I'm not the coach. I would have never thought of such a lineup against San Antonio, much less used it. The frustrating thing of the night was not the officiating (my dad thought it was really bad against Dallas, but I felt there were bad calls both ways and maybe slightly more against Dallas [the free throw difference (21 attempts to 40 attempts) didn't reflect the play on the court] - but the game at the end was decided by the players), but how many open shots the Mavs kept passing up. Juwan Howard was the main culprit of not taking the open shot, but others also passed up good looks. And I had to laugh early in the game as despite all the talk about Howard's post game, the first 2 times Howard got the ball in the post, he immediately turned and faced Duncan. It wasn't a great game for Howard and he just has to shot when he gets such open looks. His hesitancy hurt and when he did shot, it often wasn't with confidence. Well, it was his first game and he admitted to having butterflies. He had 12 points on a poor 4-14 FG and 7 rebounds in 35 minutes. The numbers through 3 quarters indicated that Dirk Nowitzki was having a poor game (only 7 points). He was having a poor offensive night, but he was playing very good and hard defense on Duncan. Dirk had 3 3-pointers in the 4th for a total of 16 points and 9 rebounds. The Spurs' defense was focusing on Michael Finley by double-teaming and even occasionally triple-teaming. Despite that, Finley had 23 points (10-24 FG, but only 2-2 FT - if your getting double-teamed, you need more free throws than that) and 7 rebounds. Steve Nash had another awesome night, despite his right hammy bothering him, with 29 points - the 2nd most points in his career, including 11-16 FG (and the circus shots were there) and 10 assists. The Spurs were led by, of course, Tim Duncan. Duncan had 31 points including 10-14 FT and 13 rebounds. His 3-point play near the end of the game is what killed the Mavs - how that shot went in... Derek Anderson really hurt Dallas with 24 points including 11-12 FT and Antonio Daniels had 17 points - all from the field. David Robinson struggled offensively, but finished with 16 points on 5-14 FG and 6-9 FT and 10 rebounds. I was surprised that Eduardo Najera only got 1 minute of play (at the end of the 1st half). With his play against Boston, he deserved more - unless there was concern about his injury, but I haven't heard anything. Quotes Gregg Popovich: "It was a hell of a game. We are thrilled to come away with a victory, just like I'm sure Dallas would have been. It was anybody's ballgame. These guys were after each other hard. Both teams competed fantastically. A lot of credit to both teams. We ended up knocking down a couple of shots down the stretch. We were fortunate at the end." Tim Duncan: "It was a hard fought game. Every time we come here it turns out to be a great game. Last time we came in here, we lost at the buzzer to a Michael Finley shot. Luckily, we were not in that situation again tonight, but it was a hard fought battle all the way through." Duncan: "We can score points, but that's not what we rest our hat on. We need to go out and defend. They hit a bunch of shots and really got back in the game. We stayed consistent, we went to the line and we kept defending. We made one or two stops when we needed to and that's what matters." Duncan on Howard: "He's definitely a good player and will help them out. He seems to fit into what they're doing. As he learns the system and figures out who he's playing with, he'll help them." David Robinson on Howard: "It's still early. But Juwan seems to be happy to be here and they seem happy to have him, so let's see how it works out." Derek Anderson: "Those guys are hard to beat. Any time you play this type of game you have to be aware that it is a long season. We can't worry about who's hot and who's not. We take everybody seriously. We stuck together tonight. That's the big reason that we played so well." Don Nelson: "I feel real good about our effort after one day of practice if you can call it that and a shootaround today. We knew we were in for a tough game anyway, but it ran a lot smoother than I thought. I felt good about that. Howard is so intelligent, he's picked a lot of things up so quickly. We actually executed pretty darn well. The mistake we made against San Antonio was not to shot our open shot when we had them. For whatever reason, we tried to get a better shot and often times that is hard to do against San Antonio. You got to take your shots when they are there. But it was a learning experience and I like what a saw." Nelson: "We've got to gel as quickly as possible. We don't have any room to fool around. We were aware of that when we made a trade." Nelson on Howard: "I thought he was a little tight. We got him some real good looks, and he was a little reluctant to shot them. Maybe it was too much to ask putting him in the fire like that. When I lost Bradley, I did not have any choice. I thought that was a big turning point for us. Shawn has to be able to hold his temper. We can not afford to lose him in games. He is very important to what we do. We were playing so well with him and established a couple things I liked. That pretty much took us out of the game and of course I had to play a guy who has only had one practice down the stretch, which I did not mind, but Shawn has to control himself better than that and I told him that." Nelson on Howard: "I thought he was a little tight. We got him some real good looks, and he was a little reluctant to shoot them. But I felt good about what I saw. I don't think there will be any major problems." Nelson on Nash: "What a competitor! He is on a leg in a half too. He's really important with what we do. I tell you, he is a terrific player." Michael Finley: "Duncan played big. He hit the big shots when their team needed it. That's what's making him an All-Star and what's making him one of the top players in this league." Finley on Howard: "He was just trying to find his way on the team and get into a comfort zone, but I think he put too much pressure on himself to make every shot. It's tough. It's real tough from the stand point that he wants to come in and do everything right. He's a professional that way, but it will all gradually come." Finley: "It wasn't about me and Juwan getting out there playing. It was about the Mavericks accepting Juwan on this team, and I think that's going to gradually come. I know what he can do. I know his strengths and his weaknesses as a player, but everybody has to be comfortable with him." Steve Nash: "It was a tough loss. We played with a lot of energy, but San Antonio got great balance." Nash: "It was a tough loss. We expected to win, and I thought we played well enough to win. We missed some shots we normally make. But overall we played with a lot of energy. They've got great balance. But, you make your own luck, and I thought we played well enough to win. Playing with Juwan Howard was great. He gives us another dimension, a low post guy. Stays around the basket. And that's great for the balance of our team. He really fit in well. He's a good guy, and a good player. He's very complementary to our team." Juwan Howard: "I felt good. I was a little nervous. Being in a new environment and a new atmosphere and playing with a new team, you never know what to expect. You still have to go out there and be confident, but you still get a few butterflies. As time goes by, I get used to the system, get used to playing here, everything will be like regular play." Howard: "Tonight was an off night, but it's going to get better. It's going to take some time to learn a new system and learn new plays. I only had one day of practice to learn some of the plays, and everything, at times, you feel a little brainlock when they called a play. But it's going to come, and it's going to come natural." Howard: "Everything was rushed, but that's an excuse. As a professional, you have to be ready to go out and play." Howard: "It was a big relief to hit my first basket. It made me feel good. Also to get the crowd in it. The team here is great offensively, and they have so many great shooters, they have guys who really know how to play the game and some guys with a lot of experience. One thing I just want to add to the team is rebounding and playing defense. As time goes by, we're going to be exciting. We're going have some fun out there. We're going to play hard. We're going to win some ballgames." San Antonio Spurs 107, Dallas Mavericks 104 at Dallas (February 24) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 21 31 21 34 - 107 .483 .467 .479 .750 Dallas 28 17 26 33 - 104 .484 .421 .470 .857 Halftime: San Antonio 52-45 3rd Q: San Antonio 73-71 Technicals: Don Nelson 3:50 1st, Shawn Bradley 8:25 2nd, Greg Popovich 4:53 2nd, San Antonio Illegal D 8:12 3rd, Shawn Bradley (ejected) 6:31 4th, San Antonio Illegal D 1:12 4th Refs: Joe Forte, Jim Clark, Kevin Fehr Attendance: 18,187 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Sean Elliott (sore left thigh) San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tim Duncan 47 10-20 1-1 10-14 31 3-13 1 4 5 1 1 Danny Ferry 18 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 David Robinson 34 5-14 0-0 6-9 16 6-10 2 3 0 0 3 Derek Anderson 44 6-11 1-4 11-12 24 0-4 6 0 2 1 0 Terry Porter 24 2-5 2-4 0-0 6 0-4 4 3 6 1 0 Samaki Walker 12 2-4 0-0 2-2 6 0-0 2 0 0 0 1 Avery Johnson 24 3-5 0-0 1-2 7 0-2 4 1 2 0 0 Antonio Daniels 33 7-12 3-5 0-1 17 0-4 4 1 2 1 0 Derrick Dial 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-73 7-15 30-40 107 12-42 23 13 18 4 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Greg Buckner 19 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 1-4 0 0 2 0 1 Juwan Howard 35 4-14 0-0 4-6 12 3-7 4 1 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 40 4-9 3-5 5-6 16 1-9 4 1 4 0 1 Michael Finley 46 10-24 1-5 2-2 23 2-7 4 1 2 3 1 Steve Nash 42 11-16 2-5 5-5 29 3-4 10 3 4 1 0 Howard Eisley 34 5-9 2-4 2-2 14 1-3 0 1 5 0 0 Shawn Bradley 20 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 2-3 1 0 5 1 3 Eduardo Najera 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Gary Trent 3 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 39-83 8-19 18-21 104 13-39 23 10 27 6 6 patricia