Keep in mind that tonight's game vs Minnesota at Dallas has an early 6:30 pm start time. Mark Cuban is purchasing 2 billboards to be placed in Atlanta during the All-Star break. One is titled Dirty and Nasty Time in Hotlanta and features Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. The other is titled Where's Fin? and features All-Star snub Michael Finley. [Dirty, Filthy, and Nasty are nicknames for the big 3.] To see what the billboards will look like, go to: http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/Mavs_to_Grace_Billboards_in_Atlanta.html Dallas (34-9) at Houston (24-19) (January 29) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with 2 ties and 7 lead changes. Houston scored 9 straight points to go up 27-20 with 1:45 left, but Dallas scored the last 4 points of the quarter. Houston led 27-24 after 1. Yao Ming had 12 points including 5-5 FG. Despite the close game, Dallas was not playing all that well and Houston was. That trend continued in the 2nd quarter. Houston scored 6 consecutive points to take their first double-digit lead at 39-29 with 6:45 left. 4 straight points by Yao gave Houston their largest lead at 45-33 with 4:20 left. Dallas finally started scoring (only 11 points in the quarter at that point) and kept Houston's lead from getting larger. Dallas hit 6 straights free throws to pull within 44-49 with a minutes left. Houston led 53-46 at the half. Houston shot 50% FG and Dallas shot 42% FG. Houston also out-rebounded Dallas 25-14 and had 36 points in the paint. Yao had 16 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points. With their poor play and Houston killing them inside, Dallas had to be thrill to be down by just 7 points at the half. And halftime did wonders for Dallas as a completely different team emerged. The team looked more aggressive and was hitting shots. Dallas opened the quarter with an 11-4 run to tie the game at 57-57 with 9:50 left on a 3-pointer by Raef LaFrentz. A 3-pointer by Steve Nash gave Dallas their first lead since the 1st quarter at 63-62 with 7:50 remaining. Yao hit 2 free throws to briefly give Houston back the lead and then Michael Finley went nuts as the Mavs went on a 17-2 run that including 3 3-pointers and 3 free throws when he was fouled attempting a 3 by Finley to go up 80-66 with 3:10 to go. Both teams struggled over the next 3 minutes with a jumper by Cuttino Mobley and a technical free throw (defensive 3 seconds) by Mobley being the only points scored. Finley was again fouled shooting a 3-pointer (dumb foul) as the quarter ended and hit all 3 free throws to give Dallas an 83-69 lead after 3. Dallas out-scored Houston 37-16 in the 3rd quarter - and Finley out-scored Houston himself as he had 18 points in the quarter. Dallas connected on 8 3-pointer in the 3rd. Dallas' fire storm continued in the 4th quarter. Dallas opened the 4th with a 17-4 run, capped by 3 killer 3-pointers, to take a commanding 100-73 lead with 5:20 left. The subs came in and the rest was garbage time. Dallas won 104-81. Again it was a tale of 2 halves, with Dallas playing the role Portland had in the previous game. It was 2 completely different performances by both teams in the halves. Dallas shot 42% FG including 4-13 3-pointers in the 1st half and shot 54% FG including 11-19 3-pointers in the 2nd half. Houston shot 50% FG including 1-5 3-pointers in the 1st half and shot 27% FG including 0-4 3-pointers in the 2nd half. Houston out-rebounded Dallas 25-14 in the 1st half and Dallas out-rebounded Houston 26-17 in the 2nd half. And the key change in the game between the halves: Houston had 36 points in the paint in the 1st half and only 10 points in the paint in the 2nd half. When Dallas plays the way they did in the 2nd half, few teams came compete with them, much less defeat them. When they play the way they did in the 1st half, they are very beatable. Dirk Nowitzki had his 8th game of the season with 30+ points. Nowitzki had 34 points including 9-10 FG, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. 12 of his points came in the 4th quarter (and just 6 1/2 minutes of that quarter). Michael Finley thumbed his nose at the All-Star snub by taking the game over in the 3rd quarter and finished with 29 points including a career high 7-10 3-pointers and also had 7 rebounds. Steve Nash was quiet with just 10 points and 5 assists in 27 minutes. Raef LaFrentz played solid when he was able to stay on the floor with 12 points on 5-6 FG, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 13 minutes. The problem was that he got into foul trouble (and a couple of them were not smart fouls) and couldn't stay on the court. But Shawn Bradley filled in nicely in the 2nd half (nothing in the 1st) in grabbing the rebounds and plugging middle defensively (I also won't mention his 2 blown layups). He finished with 9 rebounds and 6 blocks - didn't have a point as he missed all 5 shots he attempted. Raja Bell played the physical defensive role and got under Steve Francis' skin. Bell did get tagged for a foul for pulling Francis down with him after Francis shoved him (this is where the double T occurred), but Francis got away with a couple of forearms on Bell. Nick Van Exel had 9 points including 3-9 FG (a couple of them ill advised). Don Nelson again inserted Antoine Rigaudeau in the middle of the game and Rigaudeau again did almost nothing in his time on the court. He did snag a nice rebound, which probably was his best play of his young NBA career. He also blew 2 gimme layups, but did hit his first outside jumper during garbage time. Yao Ming had a wonderful 1st half, but did almost nothing in the 2nd half. Yao had 16 points on 6-6 FG (all up close) and 5 rebounds in the 1st half, but only 4 points and 4 rebounds in the 2nd half. Cuttino Mobley had 13 points and 3 steals. Steve Francis didn't give his team what they need in this game with just 10 points including 2-13 FG, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. I'll repeat what I've said before about Francis - he gets away with obvious 3-step travels (I saw 4 in this game). James Posey had 10 points, but got overly physical in the 2nd half. His undercut, riding Nowitzki out of bounds was dangerous and shouldn't have happened (and should have at least been a flagrant). Between Posey, Francis, and Bell, I was surprised that a fight didn't break out. Quotes Don Nelson: "We were just beautiful in the 2nd half. We really started to wake up and make some 3s." Nelson: "It all started on the defensive end. When you start on defense, the game opens up. We played an ugly 1st half and a beautiful 2nd half. We felt fortunate we weren't down 20 at the half." Nelson: "We were really good in the 2nd half. It was like the ugly duckling. We were ugly in the 1st half. But we were a beautiful swan in the 2nd half." Nelson: "It got pretty physical out there, and I really believe the way to play in a physical game is to get out and run." Nelson: "We were anchored by our defense, and we really contained their game up in the middle." Nelson: "If you could bottle that stuff, it would be great. But you don't know, the next game you might not make those shots." Dirk Nowitzki: "We had a good talk at the break. They just had way too many easy points in the 1st half and too many offensive boards. But we really started hitting some 3s." Nowitzki: "We talked about it at the half that we weren't tough enough. We wanted to go out and play a little tougher, especially on defense. When we did that and rebounded better we were able to get our break going." Nowitzki: "We talked about at halftime that we just weren't tough enough in the 1st half. It was a layup drill out there and they had way too many offensive rebounds. We just wanted to go out there and be a little tougher, especially on the defensive end, and be more solid and take their layups away and make them beat us by shooting their jumpers." Nowitzki on the up-tempo 2nd half: "That's our pace. We've been letting teams slow the ball down lately, and that's not our pace. There are some teams that can run with us, like Sacramento. But not many." Nowitzki: "Finley was amazing. It was fun to watch him out there tonight. He really carried us when we needed it." Michael Finley: "Our offense was generated by our defense. Shawn Bradley got some big blocks and on the other end our point guards found me and Dirk." Finley: "Our defense is generated from our offense. We wanted to make them take tough shots and get into the open court. When we did that, that was the way that we wanted to play the game." Finley: "We thought we were fortunate to be down by just 7 at the half. The coaching staff told us we should have been down by 20. We were fortunate that we played terrible and we were still in it at the half." Finley: "We played terrible in the 1st half. We were lucky to only be down 7 points. Then in the 2nd half, we got our running game going. A lot of teams fall into that trap against us, and it usually works in our favor." Finley on not being named to the All-Star: "I'm not here holding grudges for not being selected. I felt that I was deserving, but life goes on. My goal coming into this year was, individually, yes, to make it to the All-Star game. But more importantly to get my team to the next level, and I think I'm pace on doing that." Shawn Bradley: "I think we really stepped up to the challenge, especially in the 2nd half. We toughened up, I guess you can say." Rudy Tomjanovich: "The 1st half was the best we had all year. We had good shots and created good situations. We followed the game plan, both offensively and defensively. In the 2nd half, we came out and Dallas spaced the floor to take the 3s. It was a barrage and they made the shots. Now we see why they have the record that they have." Tomjanovich: "We got frustrated and the spacing, the things we had in the 1st half, our fast break and everything, we just tried to will it in. They went on a barrage and we got frustrated. It blew the game open. To me that's the problem, dealing with a storm and not making the right response. We talked about it. We have to keep our composure." Steve Francis: "Offensively, we tried to beat our heads into a wall. But it's hard to stay focused when shots are going down like that. Our hands were in their face. They were knocking them down big time. We didn't shoot well. Put those together and you get a blowout at home. It was one, a lack of experience in a situation like that and two, they were bombing on Betty." Francis: "This is the first game I can really say they beat us without us beating ourselves. Last time, we had 26 turnovers. But they shot the ball excellent tonight. We didn't play the way we were playing [in the 1st half]. The response was not really sure what to do. As long as we stick to our game plan, we're good. When we get off our game plan, we struggle." Cuttino Mobley on previous criticism of Dallas: "Sometimes you have to admit when you're wrong. They played well. They shot the ball well. Dirk Nowitzki - oh man, he's something else. Michael Finley, he's something else. They have a really good team. And we have a long, long way to go to know our identity. They know theirs. They're a step ahead of us." Yao Ming: "It's pretty unbelievable. They shoot a lot of 3s, score a lot, and we have to be prepared for that. Our biggest problem was on offense in the 2nd half. Our shooting percentage went down and we couldn't get any rebounds." Dallas Mavericks 104, Houston Rockets 81 at Houston (January 29) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 24 22 37 21 - 104 .396 .469 .424 .944 Houston 27 26 16 12 - 81 .426 .111 .390 .909 Halftime: Houston 53-46 3rd Q: Dallas 83-69 Technicals: Raja Bell 9:03 3d, Steve Francis 9:03 3rd, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 0:51 3rd Refs: Blane Reichelt, Hue Hollins, Ron Olesiak Attendance: 16,285 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Raja Bell 28 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-4 3 1 5 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 38 11-20 3-8 9-10 34 0-6 5 3 0 2 2 Raef LaFrentz 13 5-6 2-3 0-0 12 2-4 2 2 4 0 2 Steve Nash 27 4-10 2-4 0-0 10 1-1 5 0 2 2 0 Michael Finley 40 8-14 7-10 6-6 29 1-7 4 1 2 1 0 Walt Williams 16 2-6 1-4 0-0 5 0-4 1 1 2 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 24 3-9 0-2 2-2 8 0-2 4 2 0 1 0 Shawn Bradley 24 0-5 0-0 0-0 0 2-9 0 0 3 2 6 Antoine Rigaudeau 11 1-6 0-1 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 1 2 0 Adrian Griffin 10 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 Avery Johnson 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Popeye Jones 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 36-85 15-32 17-18 104 9-40 25 12 22 11 10 Houston Rockets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK James Posey 34 5-10 0-1 0-0 10 0-3 1 2 4 2 0 Eddie Griffin 26 3-10 1-3 0-0 7 2-6 5 0 3 0 0 Yao Ming 31 7-9 0-0 6-7 20 2-9 2 4 1 0 1 Steve Francis 35 2-13 0-4 6-7 10 0-5 5 2 1 3 1 Cuttino Mobley 39 5-11 0-1 3-3 13 1-3 3 3 4 3 0 Kelvin Cato 12 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-5 0 1 0 0 0 Maurice Taylor 17 2-7 0-0 1-1 5 2-5 0 2 3 0 0 Moochie Norris 24 2-5 0-0 4-4 8 1-4 2 2 0 0 0 Terence Morris 7 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Juaquin Hawkins 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 1 0 0 1 Bostjan Nachbar 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 1 2 1 1 Jason Collier 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 30-77 1-9 20-22 81 10-42 20 18 18 9 4 patricia