The NBA named Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Jordan (Was) as Players of the Week for the week ending Saturday, January 4. Dirk averaged 29.7 points and 10.7 rebounds as Dallas went 2-1. The league now selects a Player of the Week for each conference. Dallas released Adam Harrington. Harrington had a non-guaranteed contract and the guaranteed contract date is Friday (all non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed for the rest of the season). Raja Bell also has a non-guaranteed contract, but isn't going anywhere. Harrington's active roster spot remains open right now. Evan Eschmeyer could be activated to fill the spot or a free agent could be signed. Rumors are running rampant that the Mavs are looking to sign Antoine Rigaudeau of France. The Nelsons won't answer questions about if they are pursuing him. rtk reports on the Lone Mavs Forum (http://www.sportsonly.com/boards/mavs/) that Rigaudeau held a press conference saying that he is working on the deal with a buyout from his current team (Virtus Bologna (Italy)) and a new deal with the Mavs. Rigaudeau is a 6-7 guard and 31 years old. He's a shooter. The All-Star Voting is continuing. You can vote for the Big 3 online once a day at http://www.nba.com/allstar2003/AS_Ballot.html Friday is the last day at the AAC for in-arena voting (while ballots last). In the 2nd tally listed, Nowitzki was a close 3rd behind Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. So he really needs your vote, and don't vote for Duncan or Garnett as he needs to pass one of those two to be a starter (as much as both of them are deserving All-Stars). The Mavs have 3 deserving All-Stars and one of them needs to start as the coaches chose the reserves and the coaches don't like voting for 3 players from one team. So, get out and vote! Denver (7-25) at Dallas (27-5) (January 6) The Denver Nuggets were in town and it that usually meant that we were in for an ugly, ugly game. And that was the case this night. Dallas was shooting terrible and Denver scored 6 consecutive points to go up 12-7 with 6:40 left. Neither team would score over almost the next 3 minutes. A layup by Juwan Howard gave Denver their largest lead at 20-12 with 30 seconds left. Shawn Bradley answered with 2 inside in the wanning seconds. Denver led 20-14 after 1. Denver shot 50% FG while Dallas only shot 33% FG. Howard had 12 points and 6 rebounds. Dallas' shooting woes continued in the 2nd quarter, but Denver helped out by committing lots of turnovers. Denver could not get their lead larger than 9 points and led in single-digits until the final seconds of the 2nd quarter. Dallas scored 6 consecutive points to pull within 30-31 with 4:15 left, but Denver was able to hang on to their lead. Raef LaFrentz scored the last 4 points of the quarter, including a jumper with less than 4 seconds left, to tie the game at 40-40. LaFrentz had 13 points in the quarter. For the half, Dallas shot just 38% FG while Denver shot 47% FG. But, Denver committed 15 turnovers which Dallas converted into 16 points. The teams traded leads over the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter. Dallas went on a 10-2 run to go up 59-52 with 4 minutes remaining. Dallas' scoring slump returned as the team did not score over the next 3 1/2 minutes, but Denver was only slightly better with a jumper and 3-pointer during that span. Nick Van Exel answered Nikoloz Tskitishvili's 3-pointer with a 3-pointer of his own and the teams traded baskets to close the quarter. Dallas led 64-59 after 3. The teams traded buckets in the first minute of the 4th quarter and then Dallas finally found their shooting touch. The Mavs went on a 14-3 run, capped by a 3-point play by Dirk Nowitzki, to pull away at 81-64 with 6 minutes remaining. And there was no way this Denver team could overcome such a large deficit in half a quarter. Dallas won 86-71. Yuch. You see Denver on the schedule and you think, "Easy win." But the reality seems to be a very ugly, low scoring affair. Fortunately, how you win doesn't count, just the W counts. Dallas only shot 40.8% (31-76) FG while Denver shot 41.2% (28-68) FG. Dallas took the ball inside and challenged Denver a lot, which resulted in a free throw edge. Dallas shot 21-27 FT and Denver shot 13-19 FT [and it's long past time for Joey Crawford to retire (and it's sad because he used to be the best ref)]. Not only did Denver shoot better than Dallas, but they out-rebounded the Mavs 47-39. So, what was the difference? Turnovers. Denver committed 24 turnovers which Dallas turned into 27 points while Dallas committed just 11 turnovers which Denver turned into 4 points. Michael Finley was the high man and played well with 19 points and 5 assists. Dirk Nowitzki was right behind him with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Steve Nash couldn't shot and got a lot of rest in the game in playing just 26 minutes. Nash had 12 points including 4-13 FG and 4 assists. In a very welcomed sight, Raef LaFrentz had his best game of the season and his first double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes. He was hitting his outside shot as well as getting some points inside (and had 4 offensive rebounds) and didn't pick up his 2nd foul until 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter (and then picked up 4 fouls in a 4 minutes span). Nick Van Exel's shooting woes continued with 7 points on 3-12 FG, but did have 4 rebounds and 5 assists in 33 minutes. Shawn Bradley had a quiet game with 8 points including 3-3 FG (and opened the game with a monster one-hand slam), 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 28 minutes. Adrian Griffin had 2 points and 4 rebounds. Walt Williams returned to action after 10 days off due to a strained knee, but didn't do much with 4 points including 1-5 FG and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes. Juwan Howard was a monster in the 1st quarter and then sat the first 4 minutes of the 2nd quarter and was quiet the rest of the half. He finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds including 7 offensive. Rookie Vincent Yarbrough had 12 points including 5-14 FG and 7 rebounds and rookie Nene Hilario had 11 points including 5-7 FG, but was plagued by fouls (including picking up a 5th right after getting his 4th before he could be subbed out). No other Nugget was in double-digits. Quotes Don Nelson: "The end result was probably what most people expected but it was a hard fought game. I thought Denver played us well for a long period of time. They were very physical and then we finally started to pick up some fouls by being aggressive. It is like pulling teeth playing the Denver Nuggets. They control the tempo of the game. When you get into a game in which you don't shoot the ball very well, they have a chance to win. That was the case tonight. We continued to struggle with our shooting for whatever reason. It was good to see Mike make a couple of 3's after how many, 20 or something like that [straight misses]. The game isn't always easy and most of the games have been pretty hard for us here of late. We seem to struggle through them and win and that was the case tonight." Nelson on going 4-1 on the homestand: "I think when you look at the end result, it was a very successful homestand. You always want it to be better, but it certainly could have been a lot worse. We've continued to win a high percentage and did what we were supposed to do. The games are banked and behind us. We are now back on the road for 5 of 6 or something like that." Nelson: "Dirk struggled in the 1st half. Then we got him loose in the 2nd half. We had to move the ball and do things that good teams do. If you play just one side of the floor, they are very good defensive team. When we started to move the ball and play on the other side we did much better." Nelson: "I thought Raef LaFrentz took a major step to being the player that we hope that he is. We needed him tonight. There was no question that we needed something from somebody. It's been pretty void over there when I've made substitutions of late. It was really good to see him come through and make shots and rebounds and be very aggressive." Michael Finley: "We came out and got lulled into a slow game and as a result we were sluggish. We then started to pick it up defensively and as a result we picked up the tempo." Finley: "We came out and initially got lulled into playing the way they wanted to play the game. As a result, we made the game closer than it should have been. We started picking up our intensity on the defensive end. We got the tempo more in our favor. In the 2nd half, we got the game more the way we wanted to play." Finley: "We wanted to speed it up a little in the 3rd quarter and get our style of play." Dirk Nowitzki on if it was hard to get up for this game: "I wouldn't say it was hard, but we looked a little flat today. It had nothing to do with Denver, we just couldn't get anything going and they're a physical team. It's tough to play against that team. They get away with a lot of hacking and we always have some trouble against that. We've played them twice, but the big thing is that we've won twice, but it wasn't pretty." Nowitzki on the 4th: "We wanted to push them away and get the game over with and that's why we tried to push the ball a little more and tried to clamp down on defense a little more." Nowitzki: "They are a very young team, but they have talent. We did a nice job defensively by holding them to around 70." Nowitzki: "That's what the good teams have got to do. You've got to win ugly games. This year we've done a good job of finding ways to win games and that's what it is all about." Steve Nash: "You get fired up for teams that come in here on national TV, you get fired up for teams that make the playoffs and I think it takes a toll on you when a team like Denver comes in whose been struggling and has a lot of young guys. Everyone lets up a little bit before the game, which isn't necessarily the most professional thing, but it's somewhat inevitable some times and we've just got to do a better job of not letting up too much. Tonight we did a good job of coming back. We really came out of the gates slow and we fought our way back at the half and played well in the 2nd half." Nash: "It was a really good performance in the 4th, which was nice because we've had too many close games recently. It feels good." Nash on LaFrentz: "Raef was huge for us tonight. He had a really big game when we needed it. It's good to see him get his confidence and make some shots, get a bunch of rebounds and block some shots." Nick Van Exel: "They make teams look ugly, basically. They can really make it tough for you. That's the type of team where if you think you're going to go out there and walk away with an easy win, you will end up losing that game and be in a tough fight. We knew that the way they play and defend, it was going to be tough and we had to find a way to grind it out in the end." Raef LaFrentz: "I came into the game and the first few shots fell and it felt good. The legs felt strong and not quite as heavy." LaFrentz: "Tonight, I did some positive things. I got some rebounds, which I think has been the most disappointing part up until now when assessing my game. I'm going to keep working, putting up the shots and what happens, happens." LaFrentz: "I've been working hard the last week and tonight I felt pretty good. Some shots fell and it turned into a pretty decent night." Jeff Bzdelik: "It's a young basketball team starting 3 rookies, Donnell Harvey should still be in college; I say it over and over again - we battle, we compete, we out-shoot them, we out-rebound them, but we yield 27 points off 24 turnovers. You can't do that. They have too many guns." Bzdelik: "Give them a lot of credit. They can change up defenses and, against young guards, it can frustrate them. We missed a lot of shots, which is our Achilles' heel. We yield 27 points off 24 turnovers and you can't do that. They have too many guns.'' Bzdelik: "I'm realistic enough to know that the game is 48 minutes long. We've just got to keep playing. We can never relax and feel too good about ourselves. We are not good enough to do that." Bzdelik: "Our Achilles' heel is, we can't make shots and we turn the ball over." Bzdelik on if Dallas' adjustments during halftime changed the game: "Yeah they did, but we also missed a lot of open shots, which is our Achilles heel. We can't make shots and we turn the ball over, we do. It's pretty much our story. What did Don Nelson win in his first year [in Dallas], 19 games? It's a process that we have to go through, starting 3 rookies. I have Marcus Camby on the bench, and Chris Whitney on the bench, and John Crotty on the bench. I have never had a complete team. You are looking at a backcourt of Junior Harrington and Vincent Yarbrough who are competing and trying so hard, but let's face it, it's an undrafted rookie and a 2nd round pick in this league. The other night it was Christie and Bibby, and tonight it was your guys, Nash and Finley and Van Exel. We have to be real. We have to keep working. I'll tell you one thing, we have lost a lot of games, but we don't play like losers. And one day this is all going to come together for us." Juwan Howard: "In the 4th quarter around the 6 minute mark, that's when the Mavericks starting making some shots. Finley hit that 3 and they came back down and Dirk made a layup and we had to call timeout and that put momentum in their favor. It took them to a point where they were making good plays, and we couldn't capitalize on the other end." Howard: "Turnovers kill you because you lose possession when you turn the ball over like that. Of course, when you are playing a good team like the Mavericks, they find a way to score off those turnovers. I think at one point, when I looked, they had 24 points off turnovers. That's the difference in the game." Howard: "Turnovers kill you. It hurts you big time. It's hurting our rhythm and hurting our scoring and taking away from our defense." Dallas Mavericks 86, Denver Nuggets 71 at Dallas (January 6) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 14 26 24 22 - 86 .459 .200 .408 .778 Denver 20 20 19 12 - 71 .441 .222 .412 .684 Halftime: 40-40 3rd Q: Dallas 64-59 Technicals: Shawn Bradley 2:16 2nd Refs: Jason Phillips, Joey Crawford, Luis Grillo Attendance: 19,773 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: John Crotty (strained Achilles) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 22 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-4 3 0 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 44 7-17 0-0 4-5 18 1-7 2 1 1 1 1 Shawn Bradley 28 3-3 0-0 2-4 8 2-2 0 0 3 0 2 Michael Finley 36 6-13 2-4 5-6 19 2-4 5 3 1 1 0 Steve Nash 26 4-13 0-4 4-4 12 1-2 4 1 2 2 0 Nick Van_Exel 32 3-12 1-3 0-0 7 0-4 5 1 0 2 0 Raja Bell 10 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 2 2 2 0 Raef LaFrentz 24 6-10 0-1 4-6 16 4-11 0 0 5 1 2 Walt Williams 16 1-5 0-3 2-2 4 1-3 1 2 1 1 0 Popeye Jones 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 31-76 3-15 21-27 86 13-39 20 11 19 11 5 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Donnell Harvey 38 1-7 0-0 4-6 6 1-8 2 2 4 0 2 Juwan Howard 39 8-17 0-0 6-7 22 7-14 1 3 2 1 0 Nene Hilario 30 5-7 0-0 1-2 11 1-3 1 1 5 1 1 Vincent Yarbrough 32 5-14 0-2 2-2 12 2-7 3 4 2 1 0 Junior Harrington 45 1-6 0-1 0-2 2 0-6 4 2 5 0 0 Rodney White 20 3-5 1-2 0-0 7 0-4 2 2 2 0 0 Nikoloz Tskitishvili 13 2-6 1-4 0-0 5 1-2 2 2 2 0 1 Mark Blount 16 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 1-3 1 2 3 1 0 Ryan Bowen 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 4 1 2 0 Totals 48 28-68 2-9 13-19 71 13-47 16 24 26 6 4 patricia