Dallas released Mark Strickland on Friday. Dallas at Indiana (November 28) The day started out with an ominous note for the Mavs as their warmup pants were missing. It didn't get any better as the game started and Dallas simply looked out of sync as Indiana had their way with Dallas' defense (both man-to-man and zone) and Dallas had trouble on offense. Indiana had built up an 18-9 lead 4 minutes in. Indiana led 21-11 with 7:30 left and Dallas went on a 13-2 run to go up 24-23 with 2:30 remaining. The teams traded leads over the rest of the quarter and it was all tied up at 29-29 after 1. Ron Artest scored Indiana's first 10 points and Steve Nash had 10 points in the quarter. The game fluctuated between ties and small Indiana leads over the first half of the 2nd quarter. The game was tied 39-39 with 6:15 to go and Indiana rattled off the next 12 points to go up 51-39 with 4 minutes left. Dallas was not able to respond with a run. Raja Bell hit a jumper at the buzzer. Indiana led 59-49 at the half. Al Harrington had 17 points in the quarter. There was no rally in the 3rd quarter for Dallas as every time Dallas pulled within 8 or 9 points, Indiana would answer to put their lead back into double-digits. Indiana scored the last 5 points of the quarter to go up 84-69 after 3. Indiana led 88-73 with 9:15 remaining and Nash scored the next 7 points, capped by a 3-pointer, to pull Dallas within 80-88 with 7:20 left. But Reggie Miller answered with a 3-pointer to end the run. A 3-pointer by Nash again pulled Dallas within 8 points at 92-100 with 2 minutes to go, but Jermaine O'Neal scored inside to again move Indiana's lead into double-digits. A layup by Eduardo Najera pulled Dallas within 94-103 with 1:15 remaining, but Indiana rattled off the next 7 points to ice the game. Indiana won 110-98. It was simply an off night for Dallas and a good night for Indiana. Dallas' offense was lacking, their defense was ineffective, and they couldn't rebound. The only thing that was surprising is that it wasn't a blowout with the poor game Dallas had. And give Indiana full credit for never allowing Dallas to make a strong run during the 4th quarter to challenge for the win - every time Dallas pulled within single-digits, Indiana would answer to push their lead back into double-digits. Indiana shot 53% (44-83) FG and Dallas shot just 37.8% (34-90) FG, including 21-63 from the big 3. Indiana out-rebounded Dallas 54-36. Being out-shot and out-rebounded is a prime recipe for a loss. It was the first loss for Dallas of the season, ending a 14 game winning streak. The 14 game winning streak tied the 2nd longest winning streak to open a season in NBA history and was also the longest winning streak in Mavs history (was 11 games, and opening streak was just 4-0). Indiana had strong performances from a number of players. Jermaine O'Neal was unstoppable inside [and was allowed to camp in there (0 3 seconds violations called)] and had 28 points and 18 rebounds. Ron Artest had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. He also had 6 assists and 3 steals. The Mavs dared Jamaal Tinsley to shoot and he responded with a strong game. Tinsley had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 15 assists. Al Harrington gave a lift off the bench with 21 points including 9-12 FG - he hit his first 7 shoots - and 5 rebounds. Reggie Miller was relatively quiet in his 2nd game of the season with just 10 points, but his 3-pointer stopped the only real rally Dallas had in the 2nd half. And Brad Miller had 16 points including 7-8 FG and 5 rebounds in 26 minutes. Only Steve Nash had a good performance for Dallas, and even then he backed off for periods of time instead of keeping attacking. Nash was the high man with 29 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley would like to forget this game. Nowitzki was miserable in shooting just 4-20 FG and 0-8 3-pointers. He did make it to the line (9-13) and had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Finley also shot poorly at 7-20 FG and didn't make it to the line [never a good sign] and had 16 points and only 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Shawn Bradley did have a nice game with 10 points on 5-6 FG, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks, but the team needed more defensively in the paint from him in this game. Adrian Griffin had another poor start and only played 7 minutes as Don Nelson opted to go with Raja Bell. Bell played his role and had 9 points. Eduardo Najera had 8 points and 6 rebounds and Walt Williams had 7 points. Avery Johnson only played 6 minutes and didn't score. Adam Harrington made his first NBA bucket and Mark Strickland did not score - both were in for the final minute of the game. Quotes Isiah Thomas: "It's definitely a good win for us in terms of confidence and playing against the hottest team in the league. I thought we came out and played a really good basketball game tonight. Their zone was tough, especially with Bradley inside. But we were patient against it. I thought we were very patient and disciplined in our tact. I thought Jamaal was great tonight, the way he handled the game and he had a really difficult match up with Nash. He hit some big shots when we needed them and kept the ball moving. I thought the guys really played a good basketball game. I thought they were sharp. When Dallas made a run, we responded. I think the effort the players are giving defensively, you come up with a strategy, but the players execute it." Thomas: "We were very patient against the zone. I thought our execution was crisp and solid." Reggie Miller: "There are only so many statement games in this league, and this was one of them. When the rest of your peers are watching, you want to play well." Jermaine O'Neal: "I hope we get some more people to believe in us, both nationally and locally. Everybody is asking why we're having success. We play team defense and do what Coach asks. That's why were successful." O'Neal: "We knew we had to be tough inside to beat this team. We controlled the game from start to finish." O'Neal on Nowitzki: "I'm kind of surprised that I had 18 rebounds. He kept me on the perimeter most of the game. But as a team, we played a strong 48 minutes." O'Neal: "We are a strong unit. We think anyone on this team is capable of contributing in that manner. Al, Ron, Jeff, all of our guys are capable of helping contribute to a win." Ron Artest: "It was a big win. It's fun to play basketball on national television on Thanksgiving. But now I'm ready to go home and get the eats on. The win means a lot. They are the best team in the NBA but now they have one loss and that loss is to us. Games like this are good any time of the season. We came to play tonight. We played together and we played for 48 minutes." Artest: "They could have made history tonight, and I don't think anybody wanted history to be made against us. So that probably gave us a little extra boost." Artest: "I was going to take advantage of everything they gave me. I didn't want to hold back. I wanted to do everything I'm capable of doing." Brad Miller: "We were looking forward to this game. We came out focused. We've let some teams back into games this season. It was good to get a lead and sustain it throughout. We put together a good 48 minutes of basketball. It's hard to tell the difference between these 2 teams. They're good, we're good. It was a good effort. This is the kind of basketball we're able to play every night." Al Harrington: "We had to make a point. It was a great incentive with them being undefeated. They had a little swagger in them, but we knocked it off. Definitely." Don Nelson: "We were beaten fair and square tonight. It was a good ball game. They did what they had to do. It's unfortunate that we had to come in on a back-to-back with a game of this intensity. But that's the nature of the schedule and you must credit their defense and their game preparation. Congratulations to them. It was evident we didn't have enough in the tank. They had great preparation. All congratulations go to them." Nelson: "I've made little of the streak. Obviously our schedule was in our favor. It's nice to have a lot of wins in the bank. They can't take those away from us. We've been playing well, we just have to keep it going and hopefully we can start another streak. We've been playing good teams, but our lineup has been wearing guys out, therefore Van Exel will be activated for the next game. We'll have to wait and see at the end of the year before we find out how important this start was. I always emphasize fast starts but we've never started quite this well. This is the best start I've ever had." Michael Finley: "Bottom line, the Pacers out-played us on both ends of the court. Offensively, they got what they wanted inside. Defensively, they got us out of sync offensively. It was just their night." Finley: "Everybody wanted to knock us off. People booing us for the first time in opposing arenas. I think that's a sign of respect. Everybody wanted to be the first to knock us off. The Pacers did, but the season goes on." Finley: "This loss hurts, but we know the season is still early. We knew we weren't going to go 82-0. We knew this day would come. It was a good run for us. We wanted to establish ourselves early in the season around the league and I think we did that. We wanted to show people that we're better defensively. And I think we showed that too." Dirk Nowitzki: "We lost the game because we did not execute. Even when we've played bad games in the past, we have had good 4th quarters. We did not do that tonight. But overall it was a bad game. The 1st half they out rebounded us, got too many 2nd shots. Myself, I wasn't feeling my shot, so I tried to get to the line as much as I could; but it was just one of those nights. I wasn't hitting my shots." Nowitzki: "We didn't really execute the way we normally do. We've already had bad games, but then in the 4th quarter we picked it up. That's what we didn't do today. We didn't come up with any stops. They kept scoring in the 4th quarter. We didn't come up with any big baskets down the stretch. They pretty much out-played us from the beginning on." Nowitzki: "We looked a little flat. They out-rebounded us and out-hustled us. And there's no excuse for that. It doesn't matter if you played the night before or whatever. You still have to fight for rebounds and hustle all over the court. And that's where we choked a little bit, especially in the 1st half." Nowitzki: "They have good players. They had Jermaine O'Neal flashing down low, and they had some time to watch our zone when we were playing in Detroit." Nowitzki: "The Pacers are up there for sure. They are very good defensively. They've got guys who can create their own shots and they've got guys who can hit the 3s. With Reggie Miller back now, they're even more dangerous. They will be heard from in the East. We need everyone back as quick as we can. We've been playing 7 or 8 guys every game and that could wear us out in the long run. So, it will be good to get everyone back." Nowitzki on the streak: "It was never about the record. We just lost the game. Now, we have to try and start a new one. 14-0 was huge, it was great; but a winning streak like this doesn't mean anything in November if you do not do anything in the playoffs." Nowitzki on the streak: "It was a great run for us. We beat some good teams. We did it with injury problems. We fought through a lot. It was great, but we also know it's only November. There's a lot more basketball to play, a lot more games. It doesn't mean anything if you have a 14 game win streak in November and are out in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs." Nowitzki: "We just lost one game. It was never about the record." Steve Nash: "We did not play that well offensively, but more than that, we gave up too many points, especially fast break points in the 1st half. So we had to do a better job defensively. We're going to have to rely on our defense some nights. Even during the streak, we relied on it to win some games when we didn't play that well on offense. But, they did a great job and they deserve to win." Nash: "We could not get enough stops in a row to get a streak going [during the game]. But you have to give the Pacers credit for playing well tonight and not allowing that to happen." Nash: "They really stretched us in the zone and were able to get a lot of buckets inside. They got some fast break buckets in the 1st half and gave themselves a cushion that we couldn't come back from on a night like tonight. We were trying to get it going, but we just couldn't get enough stops together to get it under 8 points." Nash on the loss: "It hurts. It feels almost like our season is over and we're going home for the summer. It's like the end of the world in a way. But we still have a long season ahead." Avery Johnson: "We got beat by a team that played well and it hurts. But let's just give their team some credit. They beat us. They were physical and made us work. They had an answer for everything we did. But we had a great run." Johnson on the streak: "It sends a message that we're a better team. The first thing Isiah said to me after the game was, 'You guys are good enough to start another streak.'" Adrian Griffin: "I was waiting for a 3-pointer to get us going. I figured that would do it. But it didn't happen and give Indiana credit, they caught us on one of those nights. They came out attacking us early and set the tone for the entire game." Eduardo Najera: "To tell you the truth, everybody was exhausted in the 4th quarter. When you're not making shots, you get frustrated and start complaining [to the refs]. It's the first time we've done that this year. But this is also the first time this year we really haven't shot the ball well, and we took it out on the refs. Now we just have to forget about this and start another streak." Indiana Pacers 110, Dallas Mavericks 98 at Indiana (November 28) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Indiana 29 30 25 26 - 110 .571 .307 .530 .818 Dallas 29 20 20 29 - 98 .419 .286 .378 .786 Halftime: Indiana 59-49 3rd Q: Indiana 84-69 Technicals: Ron Artest 11:31 1st Refs: Derek Richardson, Eddie F. Rush, Mike Henderson Attendance: 17,948 (cap 18,500) Did not play due to injury: Evan Eschmeyer (strained right knee) Indiana Pacers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Ron Artest 40 7-14 1-3 5-5 20 4-11 6 3 4 3 1 Jermaine O'Neal 40 11-22 0-0 6-8 28 4-18 1 3 3 0 1 Brad Miller 26 7-8 0-0 2-3 16 0-5 2 3 5 0 0 Reggie Miller 35 4-8 2-5 0-0 10 1-2 1 3 2 0 0 Jamaal Tinsley 43 5-11 1-4 2-2 13 0-7 15 3 3 1 1 Al Harrington 23 9-12 0-0 3-4 21 1-5 1 1 5 0 0 Ron Mercer 16 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 2 1 0 Jonathan Bender 12 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 0-1 2 0 0 0 1 Jeff Foster 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-4 0 1 0 0 1 Totals 48 44-83 4-13 18-22 110 11-54 29 19 24 5 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 42 4-20 0-8 9-13 17 1-8 4 2 5 0 3 Shawn Bradley 26 5-6 0-0 0-0 10 2-6 0 1 5 0 3 Michael Finley 39 7-20 2-5 0-0 16 1-3 1 3 2 2 0 Steve Nash 41 10-23 4-7 5-5 29 4-7 9 4 1 2 0 Raja Bell 23 3-5 1-3 2-2 9 0-1 1 0 2 3 0 Eduardo Najera 28 2-6 0-0 4-4 8 2-6 0 0 3 1 0 Walt Williams 26 2-6 1-5 2-4 7 2-4 2 0 3 2 1 Avery Johnson 6 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 Adam Harrington 1 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Mark Strickland 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 34-90 8-28 22-28 98 12-36 18 11 24 10 7 patricia