Note that Thursday's game vs Houston has a 6:30 start time, instead of the usual 7:30 home game start time. The game is being televised on TNT. Evan Eschmeyer is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery Tuesday on his right knee to repair some damaged cartilage. It is not known yet how long he will be out. Esch hasn't played since November 4 due to his sore knee. Popeye Jones may be in uniform and available for Tuesday's LA Lakers game. Pop hasn't played this season due to back spasms. Dallas signed Mark Strickland to a 1 year, non-guaranteed minimum contract. The league granted the Mavs an injury roster exemption to carry an extra player. The roster must be reduced back to 15 players in 2 weeks. Dallas at Boston (November 15) Shawn Bradley had food poisoning the night before and there was concern how much, if any, he would be able to play. He did not start, but was subbed in 3 1/2 minutes in. The game stayed close in the 1st quarter. Dallas scored 8 straight points, including 4 from Bradley, to go up 23-16 with 2 minutes left. Dallas led 25-20 after 1. Dirk Nowitzki had 11 points. Dallas led 37-33 midway through the quarter and Dallas scored the next 9 points, capped by a dunk by Bradley from Steve Nash, to go up 46-33 with 3:20 remaining. Dallas led 50-39 at the half. Antoine Walker had 18 points, but wasn't getting any help as Paul Pierce only had 2 points on 1-8 FG. Boston was just shooting 33% FG while Dallas was slightly better at 41% FG. Pierce opened the 3rd quarter with a 3-pointer, but Dallas answered by scoring the next 8 points to push their lead back into the teens at 58-42 with 9:50 to go. Dallas led by 15 with 2:50 left, but 2 3-pointers by Boston closed the quarter and Dallas led 70-61 after 3. The Celtics continued their rally and a 3-pointer by Tony Delk pulled Boston within 70-76 with 8:35 remaining. But Michael Finley drained a 3-pointer, Nowitzki hit 2 jumpers, and Walt Williams nailed a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 86-70 with 6:20 left. Dallas led 91-75 with 3:30 to go and Boston made a final push as Pierce hit 2 jumpers (his first points since the start of the 2nd half) and Delk hit another 3-pointer as Dallas was playing stall ball on offense and not getting good shots, but a jumper by Nash ended Boston's run and it was too little, too late. Dallas won 97-86. With the Mavs many injuries and Shawn Bradley suffering from food poisoning and Boston with a 6 game winning streak of their own, the Mavs looked primed for their first loss this season. But thanks to the Mavs defense, the offensive power of Dirk Nowitzki, and the gutty performance by Shawn Bradley, the Mavs controlled most of the game and had an answer to every Boston challenged. Boston only shot 38.9% FG (including just 11-40 FG from their starting backcourt) while Dallas shot 46.9% FG including 10-16 FG in the 4th quarter. Dallas also out-rebounded Boston 50-42. There were 2 heros in this game. Nowitzki was a superstar and unstoppable with 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. He his full range of shots falling and was faking the Celtics like crazy for a number of good looks. Food poisoning and all, Shawn Bradley came in and was a major influence in this game. With Boston lacking a strong inside presence, Bradley was able to man the middle and had 5 blocks and a number of other altered shots. Bradley also had 10 points on a perfect 4-4 FG and 2-2 FT and 5 rebounds in 36 minutes. After being subbed out near the end of the game, Bradley headed straight to the locker room and threw up. It was a situation where he could have used his illness for a night off, but the Mavs needed him as they were already short hand in the front court and Bradley stepped up big time. Steve Nash and Michael Finley had sub-par games for them, but did contribute at key points. Nash had 14 points including 5-14 FG, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists, but did commit 6 turnovers. Finley had 12 points on just 5-18 FG (and no free throws attempted), but did have 8 rebounds and 5 assists and his 3-pointer stopped a Boston run and started a Mavs run. No other Mav was in double-digits. Eduardo Najera had 8 points and 8 rebounds and Walt Williams had 9 points (3 3-pointers) and 8 rebounds. Avery Johnson had 8 points on 4-5 FG and Raja Bell had 4 points in 11 minutes. Adam Harrington got off the bench for the final seconds in front of his home town. Antoine Walker tried carrying the Celtics in the 1st half, but only had 4 points in the 2nd half. He had 22 points and 6 rebounds. Paul Pierce had an absolutely terrible game as the Mavs focused on him and he had just 9 points on 4-20 FG and 1-8 3-pointers. He did have 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Tony Delk had 19 points, but shot a mere 7-20 FG - he should have stuck to behind the arc, where he shot 5-11 3-pointers. Delk also had 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Shammond Williams tried to fill in for the struggling backcourt and contributed 19 points and 6 assists. No other Celtic was in double-digits. Quotes Don Nelson on the steak: "We're not making a whole lot out of it. We're just doing the best we can, playing just one at a time, and just hoping we can keep it going. We know it's not forever. Actually, we played 2 poor games coming into tonight, so it looked like it was really in jeopardy and I wasn't really confident. But somehow we found a way to win, just rode Nowitzki's 32 and everybody else just pitched in and did a good job defensively." Nelson: "Surprising, but we'll sure take it. We're not making a whole lot of it. We had played 2 real poor games coming into this one and I thought it was in jeopardy. I wasn't very confident because we have so many guys out. But what that forces me to do is play the Big 3 more, which is good." Nelson: "Bradley was sensational. I told him he needs to get that food poisoning more often. He probably had more effect on the game than anybody else other than Nowitzki." Dirk Nowitzki on the streak: "It's fun. Other teams are trying to beat you and that's the fun of the game. Now, to have a back-to-back with Boston and New Jersey, that's about as tough as it gets in the East. We'll just try to grind it out." Nowitzki on the streak: "It's fun. We know the streak is going to end sooner or later, but then we'll just try to start another one." Steve Nash: "We all work at our game. We take it seriously and we prepare. That's the secret. We prepare, we want to be good, we want to be better." Nash: "We did a great job. We tried to play zone a lot, tried to know where Paul was. We definitely tried to not let Antoine get in a flow either. 2 great players and we're fortunate tonight the ball didn't go in for them, but we also deserve some credit for ganging up on them." Nash: "The streak is nice; we don't want to lose. But it's not something that we think about every day when we're not here, or when we get here. We're definitely a lot more concerned with improving and playing well every night." Shawn Bradley: "I ate something bad. I was throwing up all night and sweating all day and doing other unmentionable things. If it would have been like it was at midnight, I couldn't have played. I felt weak. I got exhausted just going from the bench to the scorer's table." Bradley: "The coach said just give me what you can when you're out there. I just tried to get as much water and Gatorade in me as I could and make a positive contribution out there. I didn't know how much reserve I was going to have out there. All I had was water and Gatorade all day, and a couple of crackers and a piece of toast." Jim O'Brien: "I think the main story of the game is when Dallas plays a zone they have a 7-6 shot blocker in the middle of it. We needed to penetrate the middle, which we did a pretty good job of, and then if you can't get a shot in the middle, look to the perimeter. I liked the shot selection we had. We didn't knock enough of them down." Paul Pierce: "It was hard, but we made it harder on ourselves. The zone really bothered us." Pierce: "It's kind of hard, you know, to get penetration when you're facing 3 guys. You beat the first defender, and then you have 2 other guys there." Antoine Walker: "They were the better team tonight, but I'd love to match up with them again. I think we have no problem matching up with them. I'd love to see them again in the playoffs." Walker: "I'll put our team up offensively against any team. They made long, long 3-pointers - tough shots. They made the shots that 8-0 teams need to stay undefeated." Walker: "They try to funnel you in to [Bradley], and then they make you try and beat them from the 3-point line. It's not a bad strategy." Walker on Nowitzki: "He gets out and runs the floor well. He's very aggressive in transition. That's when he looks for his shot." Walker on the end of their 6 game winning streak: "We wanted to keep our streak going. We were playing very good basketball. We don't feel like we're far behind them. They made the big ones when they had to and ours didn't fall." Shammond Williams: "I'm not going to say they had every answer for us. They were able to make more shots than we made. I think that's what it all came down to." Williams on Pierce: "I don't think he's struggling. He's just missed some shots. Everyone misses shots. Nobody's perfect. He'll come back and be the same Paul Pierce, regardless of whether he goes for 50 points or 15. When he struggles, then it's time for the rest of us to step up." Vin Baker: "If you tell me that one of the top 5 players in this league is going to get 9 points and we're going to only lose to the Mavericks by 11 points, I'd say you were kidding me. They're a very good basketball team. But I've seen the Lakers in the past. I've seen the Trailblazers. I've seen Sacramento. Take nothing from Dallas. [Boston] did a heck of a job the last 6 out of 7. We just ran into a very good team on a hot streak and we've just got to keep pressing because there's no moral victories." Dallas Mavericks 97, Boston Celtics 86 at Boston (November 15) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 25 25 20 27 - 97 .517 .333 .469 .778 Boston 20 19 22 25 - 86 .464 .265 .389 .583 Halftime: Dallas 50-39 3rd Q: Dallas 70-61 Technicals: Antoine Walker 6:57 3rd, Vin Baker 6:48 3rd Flagrant fouls: Eric Williams 3:37 2nd Refs: Bob Delaney, Sean Corbin, Tommy Nunez Attendance: 18,624 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Popeye Jones (back spasms), Evan Eschmeyer (strained right knee) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 8 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 3-4 1 0 0 1 0 Eduardo Najera 32 4-8 0-0 0-2 8 0-8 2 0 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 42 11-20 2-7 8-8 32 0-9 7 3 2 1 1 Michael Finley 39 5-18 2-6 0-0 12 3-8 5 4 1 2 0 Steve Nash 32 5-14 0-1 4-4 14 0-5 9 6 1 3 0 Shawn Bradley 36 4-4 0-0 2-2 10 1-5 0 2 4 1 5 Avery Johnson 16 4-5 0-0 0-2 8 2-2 2 1 1 0 0 Walt Williams 23 3-7 3-7 0-0 9 1-8 0 0 1 0 0 Raja Bell 11 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 0 0 1 0 1 Adam Harrington 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 38-81 7-21 14-18 97 10-50 26 17 14 8 7 Boston Celtics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antoine Walker 43 11-22 0-4 0-0 22 1-6 3 2 2 2 0 Eric Williams 27 3-4 0-0 3-6 9 2-8 1 0 1 0 0 Tony Battie 23 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 2-7 0 1 3 0 1 Tony Delk 38 7-20 5-11 0-0 19 3-5 7 3 2 1 0 Paul Pierce 39 4-20 1-8 0-0 9 1-7 3 1 2 3 0 Walter McCarty 14 0-3 0-2 1-2 1 0-2 0 1 2 1 0 Shammond Williams 32 7-13 3-9 2-2 19 0-2 6 2 3 1 0 Vin Baker 23 1-4 0-0 1-2 3 3-5 0 1 1 0 3 J.R. Bremer 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-90 9-34 7-12 86 12-42 20 12 16 8 4 Dallas at New Jersey (November 16) In the 2nd game of a back-to-back, Dallas faced another tough challenge in going to New Jersey, who were unbeaten at home. New Jersey also played the night before and Kenyon Martin was wearing a face mask, having suffered a broken nose during that game. Early on, it was obvious that the Nets' plan was to smoother Dirk Nowitzki and not let him get going. It was a tightly contested game during the 1st quarter with Dallas holding small leads and a couple of ties. A 3-pointer by Nowitzki gave Dallas their largest lead at 20-13 with 3 minutes remaining - but their lead would grow no larger. Dikembe Mutombo got a putback at the buzzer and Dallas led 25-21 after 1. The game remained close in the 2nd quarter and a 3-pointer by Michael Finley gave Dallas a 40-31 lead with 4:50 left, but New Jersey scored the next 9 points to tie the game at 40-40 with 3 minutes to go. Dallas answered by scoring the next 8 points, but a 3-pointer by Jason Kidd capped the scoring. Dallas led 48-43 at the half. Nowitzki had just 6 points. Despite the close game, neither team was shooting all that well with Dallas shooting 42% FG and New Jersey shooting 34% FG. The battle continued in the 3rd quarter as Kerry Kittles nailed a 3-pointer and Kidd alley-ooped to Marton to tie the game at 48-48 a minute in. But Dallas scored the next 4 points and was able to cling to a small lead. A layup by Steve Nash gave Dallas a 65-56 lead with 5 minutes to go, but New Jersey closed the quarter with a 17-2 run, with 10 points from Kidd including a 3-pointer at the quarter's buzzer, to go up 73-67 after 3. Shawn Bradley tipped in a miss to open the 4th quarter, but Lucious Harris responded with a 3-pointer and it was gut check time for Dallas. And the team responded with an 11-1 run to go up 80-77 with 6:45 left. The guns were blazing as Harris hit a 3-pointer, Nash hit a 3-pointer, and Harris hit a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 83-83 with 5:40 remaining. New Jersey knocked the ball out of bounds and Dallas had just 1 second left on the shot clock. Nash inbounded to Bradley on the baseline and he nailed the 18-footer [the baseliner is a good shot for him]. The teams exchanged misses and Bradley hit a jumper above the free throw line. Nowitzki intercepted the lob attempt, outletted to Nash, and Nash hit the quick fade-away jumper to put Dallas up 89-83 with 3:20 to go. The teams traded turnovers and Nash drove for 2 more with 2:25 remaining. The game wasn't quite over as Kittles nailed a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left. Walt Williams missed, but Dallas snagged the rebound and Nowitzki had the ball above the arc with lots of time of the clock and Bradley screening the defender in front of Nowitzki and no one else came over to help, so Nowitzki swished the killer 3-pointer to put Dallas up 94-86 with 1:30 left. New Jersey turned the ball over and a couple of free throws capped the scoring. Dallas won 96-88. Wow, what a good, fun game to watch. It was exciting and intense with a number of clutch shots. If you are a basketball fan, I hope that you got to see this one. Dallas' largest lead was only 10 points and New Jersey's was only 6 points. New Jersey gave a big challenge and scare with their 17-2 run, but Dallas showed that their now 10-0 start is no fluke as they sucked it up and came back for the win. Dallas out-scored New Jersey 29-15 in the 4th quarter. And, unlike the other wins, the Mavs showed emotion with the final buzzer. This game meant something. Michael Finley stepped up in the Cleveland game, Dirk Nowitzki stepped up in the Boston game, so it was Steve Nash's turn to step up, and he did big time. In a battle against one of the best point guards in the league, Nash more than held his own and came through in the 4th quarter. Nash had 30 points including 12-18 FG and 9 assists. 11 of his points came in the 4th quarter. Shawn Bradley showed some after affects of the food poisoning and tired more in this game, but still came through with some big time shots and won the center war with Dikembe Mutombo (who is looking old). Bradley had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 30 minutes. Finley played steady with 20 points and 13 rebounds. But when he started to get hot, New Jersey switched Jason Kidd on to him and Kidd had consecutive strips off of Finley. Nowitzki had a poor outing (by his standards) as New Jersey's defensive focus bothered him, but he came through with the killer 3 and did snag 12 rebounds (all defensive). He had 18 points (10 in the 4th quarter) including 5-18 FG and 5 turnovers. No other Mav was in double-digits. Jason Kidd led the way for New Jersey for 3 quarters, but was no where to be found in the 4th quarter as he did not score a single point and committed 3 turnovers in the quarter. For the game, Kidd had 22 points, 9 rebounds, 13 assists, 5 steals, and 5 turnovers. Kerry Kittles chipped in 21 points and 5 assists. Kenyon Martin had 11 points, most of which came from alley-oops, and 7 rebounds. 9 of Lucious Harris' 11 points came in the 4th quarter. Quotes Don Nelson: "The Nets looked like they had our number tonight. We couldn't get a lot going for a good portion of the game. In the 4th quarter we were able to go on a spurt, and when you're on a roll your confidence is soaring and your team never gives up hope. We would like to keep this winning alive for as long as we can." Nelson: "It looked pretty bleak going into the 4th quarter. I just told the guys, 'I'm going to give you one shot. Let's give the best 8, 9 minutes we've got and try to win this game, and if we can't do it, then we can't do it.' And, son of a gun, good things started happening." Nelson: "The league ought to love that game. Don't ask me how we did it because I don't know how we did it." Nelson: "This is the best team that we have played, although Boston is also a very good team." Nelson: "The team just never gives up hope. If somebody beats us, they beat us. It's no big deal. But we'd like to keep this alive as long as we can." Dirk Nowitzki: "We've just been finding ways to stay in games, then at the end make big plays to win it. It's been fun to watch, and we can be proud of what we've achieved." Nowitzki on Nash: "He was unbelievable. He just made plays at the end. He was the reason we won." Steve Nash: "Any time you play a finalist you feel it's a challenge. We love playing together. And we wanted [the win]. We didn't know if we had enough in the tank. So it was gratifying." Nash: "We didn't know if we had enough in the tank, but we wanted it and made enough plays down the stretch. Finalists, playing on the road, we expected it to be a tough game and it was. They hit us with a couple of punches, but we held on." Nash: "The key to our team is that we have so many weapons - pick your poison." Nash: "My job is to make them pay if they play Dirk like that. I just tried to be aggressive, impose my will on the game. We took this as a challenge. Streaks are nice, but our goals are higher. We want to be there at the end, have a chance to win a championship." Nash: "Sacramento exposed our lack of defense in the 2nd round of the playoffs. It wasn't there last year, and we know if we want to do something in the playoffs we first have to get better defensively. It's our mindset now." Shawn Bradley: "I would have to say this: People can play a lot of years in this league and never start 10-0. What determines how neat of a start this is depends on what we do from here." Byron Scott: "When you're playing against this team, you can't have any letdown whatsoever. 3 minutes to go in the game, you have a lead and you think you're safe against them, you're crazy. You got to play 48 minutes of good, solid basketball." Scott: "We did a great job in the 3rd quarter of attacking and making shots. In the 4th, for whatever reason, we didn't do a good job. We were a little passive offensively, just catching the ball and holding it instead of looking to really attack their zone. I think we had some fool's gold in the [3rd] quarter. We hit some 3s and then, in the 4th quarter, we started shooting a bunch of 3s, and that is not our team." Jason Kidd: "They are 10-0 for one reason - they play together. Tonight, Steve had a wonderful game, Finley had a great game and Dirk, by his standards, was just on. Those guys can knock down big shots at any time." Kidd: "They were the better team tonight and they deserved to win this game." Kidd: "They have guys who, once they get off the bus, can shoot it from there. The big thing is you hope that all 10 of them don't go off on you." Kidd: "Those guys can knock down big shots at any given time, and that's what they did." Kidd: "For them, 24 seconds never comes into play. These guys drive, kick and play with each other pretty well." Kidd on Nash: "Steve had a wonderful game. When you go against a talented team like Dallas, the best thing you can ask for is 83-83 [during the 4th]. We just couldn't knock down a shot." Kenyon Martin: "They just made shots and we didn't. We played great for 3 quarters. We just didn't make shots in the 4th quarter. When you don't score but 15 points in the 4th quarter, you can't win like that." Martin on if Dallas is better than New Jersey: "No, they're not. We just didn't make shots. Why would I say they're better than us? Chicago beat us, are they better than us? They're the best team we've played so far, but we just didn't make shots." Martin on the face mask: "It was uncomfortable, but to play I got to wear it. The last ball Lou threw to me I couldn't see it. Everything looking straight is fine, looking across bothers me. But I've got to wear it." Dikembe Mutombo on Bradley's baseliner at the shot clock buzzer: "Those are the types of shots you want him to take. I'd say they are one of the best shooting teams I've seen in a long while." Richard Jefferson: "They were the better team today. We had a 6 point lead going into the 4th but they just hit more shots." Dallas Mavericks 96, New Jersey Nets 88 at New Jersey (November 16) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 25 23 19 29 - 96 .405 .667 .432 .875 New Jersey 21 22 30 15 - 88 .383 .450 .400 .714 Halftime: Dallas 48-43 3rd Q: New Jersey 73-67 Technicals: New Jersey defensive 3 seconds 7:33 1st, New Jersey defensive 3 seconds 2:00 1st, Dirk Nowitzki 1:55 2nd, Jason Collins 1:55 2nd, Kenyon Martin 1:42 2nd Flagrant foul: Dirk Nowitzki 6:52 4th Refs: Derek Collins, Ted Bernhardt, Tony Brothers Attendance: 16,634 (cap 20,049) Did not play due to injury: Popeye Jones (back spasms), Evan Eschmeyer (strained right knee) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 29 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 2-5 0 0 3 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 43 5-18 2-2 6-6 18 0-12 4 5 4 2 1 Shawn Bradley 30 5-10 0-0 2-2 12 3-7 1 0 3 0 4 Michael Finley 45 9-20 2-4 0-0 20 4-13 1 4 0 1 0 Steve Nash 37 12-18 2-2 4-4 30 0-0 9 3 1 1 0 Walt Williams 21 2-7 0-1 0-0 4 2-6 0 0 3 0 1 Eduardo Najera 19 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Avery Johnson 11 1-5 0-0 1-2 3 1-2 2 0 0 0 0 Raja Bell 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 38-88 6-9 14-16 96 12-45 17 12 15 6 6 New Jersey Nets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Richard Jefferson 22 2-4 0-0 2-5 6 1-4 1 3 3 1 0 Kenyon Martin 37 4-9 0-0 3-4 11 1-7 1 5 5 0 0 Dikembe Mutombo 24 2-6 0-0 1-2 5 5-8 0 2 2 0 1 Kerry Kittles 36 8-17 3-6 2-2 21 1-3 5 0 1 2 1 Jason Kidd 43 9-20 3-8 1-2 22 1-9 13 5 3 5 0 Rodney Rogers 23 2-9 0-0 0-0 4 1-7 0 2 2 0 2 Lucious Harris 22 3-10 3-6 2-2 11 0-2 0 0 1 0 0 Anthony Johnson 5 1-2 0-0 2-2 4 1-2 0 0 1 0 0 Aaron Williams 22 1-3 0-0 2-2 4 0-2 0 2 1 0 1 Jason Collins 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 32-80 9-20 15-21 88 11-44 20 19 20 8 5 patricia