Indiana at Dallas (December 17) Dirk Nowitzki returned to action after missing the past 2 games with a sprained right ankle and Dallas held small leads early in the game. Dallas led 11-8 with 8 minutes left and Dallas then scored the next 10 points to go up 21-8 with 5:20 left. Dallas led by 15 points with a minute left and Indiana scored the next 8 points in a 50 second span, capped by 2 free throws with 2 seconds left in the quarter. But Michael Finley made the long pass to Steve Nash who hit the baseliner to give Dallas a 35-26 lead after 1. Nowitzki had 10 points, Finley had 10 points, Nash had 9 points, and Jermaine O'Neal had 9 points. It was a very physical quarter as Indiana was banging away and the physicalness continued in the 2nd quarter. O'Neal opened the 2nd quarter with a jumper, but consecutive 3-pointers by Finley put Dallas' lead back in double-digits. Indiana scored 6 straight points to pull within 42-48 with 4:30 remaining, but Nick Van Exel got a layup and Raef LaFrentz nailed a 3-pointer to stop the Pacers' run. Ron Artest and Raja Bell had been banging in the post fighting for position a couple of times down and it ended with the 2 of them going toe-to-toe and exchanging words. The 2 were separated and the Artest went nuts in lunging after Bell (and ref Luis Grillo bear-hugged Bell to center court to keep the 2 apart). Both were assessed technicals and it was Artest's 2nd of the game (he and Nowitzki got Ts during the 1st quarter for jawing) so he was ejected. Reggie Miller escorted Artest all the way to the tunnel to make sure he didn't do something stupid along the way. The refs also decided to eject Bell (1-T ejection) for control reasons - when asked what Bell did to deserve ejection, Grillo said to the bench, "He didn't do anything, but he's gone." Despite all the theatrics, Dallas led 62-50 at the half. Dallas shot 49% FG and Indiana shot 40% FG. Dallas shot just 7-9 FT while Indiana shot 13-18, despite Indiana's physical play. Finley had 20 points and 9 rebounds. Indiana scored the first 6 points of the 3rd quarter to pull within 56-62 with 10 minutes to go. Van Exel hit a 3-pointer and then Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer to put Dallas back up 72-60 with 7 minutes remaining. Dallas led 87-73 with 3 minutes remaining and used an 11-2 run to put the game away at 98-75 with 45 seconds left. Dallas led 99-87 after 3. Indiana got no closer than 19 points in the 4th quarter. Dallas won 118-97. The Mavs avenged their first loss of the season by blowing out Indiana and led from start to finish. But, yuch! That is ugly basketball that Indiana plays. I'm glad that Dallas does not play them again this season (unless playoffs, which I'd be happy to see) and I definitely will avoid watching Indiana's other games. Even though it was a high scoring affair at halftime, I was disgusted with the style Indiana was playing - if I want to watch a contact sport, I'd watch football or hockey. It wasn't just physical, it boardered on (and sometimes crossed into) dirty. Unlike the first Indiana-Dallas game, Dallas mostly played a man-to-man defense instead of the zone (they flashed zone a couple of times and then went to man-to-man). The defense was effective in disrupting Indiana's offense. Michael Finley was a stud throughout the game. He had 33 points on 13-21 FG, 6-9 3-pointers and 1-1 FT and 13 rebounds. And his 1 free throw was to complete his first ever 4-point play (the 6th different Mav to have a 4-point play). Despite his ankle still being sore, Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and 5 rebounds. Nick Van Exel overcame an horrendous 1st half (7 points and I don't even want to figure out how bad he shot) to have a strong 2nd half to finish with 20 points including 8-20 FG and 10 assists off the bench. Steve Nash only played 26 minutes (most of those in the 1st half) and had 13 points including 4-11 FG, 7 assists, and 0 turnovers. In a great hustle play, Jeff Foster was lazily letting the ball roll out of bounds in the backcourt and Nash came running up the court and dove for the ball and got shoved and Dallas got the ball off the foul. He did suffer an injury during the game (back? hip?), which was why Don Nelson took advantage of the Mavs' lead to keep him off the court for most of the 2nd half. Raef LaFrentz had 13 points, but only 1 rebound before fouling out in garbage time and played 17 minutes. Shawn Bradley came in for LaFrentz and chipped in 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 26 minutes. He had an awesome block of a posterize slam attempt by Jermaine O'Neal early in the 4th when the Mavs were up big. Jermaine O'Neal was the high man for Indiana with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Al Harrington had 15 points and 7 rebounds and Brad Miller had 11 points. 2nd year point guard Jamaal Tinsley had a poor game despite a decent final line. He had 9 points including 4-10 FG and 0-4 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Reggie Miller had 11 points and his only 3-pointer came off an inbound play early in the 1st quarter. Quotes Don Nelson: "I am glad we don't have to play Indiana every game. Good grief. I don't know if we would have any players left. They were very physical tonight. I thought the referees did a good job of controlling that, in what easily could have gotten out of hand. We played a terrific game. They took care of business, competed, and executed and did the things we needed to do to win a ball game. I was very pleased with the way we played. Mike from the get-go put us on his back and carried us when things were the toughest. Van Exel struggled early, but just kept going and had a sensational game with 20 points and 10 assists. The guys gave me what they could and it was an amazing team effort." Nelson: "Nowitzki's ankle is sore, but I thought he played sensational on it." Michael Finley: "We knew what we were in store for before the game even started. They're a physical team who wanted to use their physicality as an intimidation factor, but for us, we with stood that and we were aggressive as well. We kept our composure and came away with the win." Finley: "Well I had some really good looks at the basket. My teammates were penetrating and then dishing the ball out to me for the open look and I was knocking them down. We wanted to attack them tonight and stay aggressive offensively. Defensively we wanted to be active and not let them get easy looks like they got at their place. We wanted to give them different looks on defense. Tonight we played mostly man-to-man and contested all of their shots." Dirk Nowitzki: "We had to prove a point - that we could play with a physical team. A lot of teams say we can't play physical. But we're not soft. You don't win 21 games [of 24] with a soft team." Steve Nash on the difference between this game and the last Indiana game: "We had a lot of energy tonight and played a much better game. It's also nice to be on your home court, but the last time we played them we definitely struggled, we didn't have enough energy, and we played a back-to-back on the road." Nash: "We started to spread them out with the pick-n-roll and they really didn't have an answer for it so we were able to build on our lead. But again, our defense was really good in stretches and that was the big difference tonight." Nash: "Well it's great to see Raja step up and play physical and stand up for himself." Nash: "Dirk is amazing. His ankle is still bothering him, but he was still able to come out and have a really good game for us." Nash: "Sometimes guys play without their heads and that's kind of characteristic of Artest." Nick Van Exel: "Tonight was a night to show if we need to play tough, we can play tough. To win a championship, you've got to have some kind of toughness." Van Exel: "The only way they feel they can beat us is to intimidate us and be physical. If that's the way they think they can do it, fine. We'll just shoot the ball and beat the [bleep] out of them." Van Exel: "Tonight, we just played our game and we let them do what they had to do. If they want to be tough, we can be tough. ... All of that old tough and physical stuff don't mean nothing." Shawn Bradley when asked which player hit him that caused a cut below his eye: "Take your pick. It's Indiana." Avery Johnson on Indiana trying to emulate the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons: "Detroit was physical and smart. The Pacers are playing physical, but not smart. But smartness and wisdom come from experience. They've got a great foundation and it wouldn't surprise me if they come out of the East." Johnson on Finley: "He had a great game. What was impressive was his rebounding. He really controlled the boards and his rebounds got us out into transition." Raja Bell: "Playing a team like that, that's calling themselves the 'new bad boys', you can't let them intimidate you." Bell on his ejection: "Once [Artest] realized he was ejected, then it escalated into him wanting to fight. I wasn't rushing at him, and the ref grabbed me and wrapped me up. When you're playing a team like that who are calling themselves the new bad boys, you've got to stand up and hold your ground, because the only way you can even compete with somebody who's going to try to rough you up like that. But at that point in the game - Ron Artest for me - and what it means to the team, I figure it's a fair trade." Bell on his ejection: "I really don't know what happened. I wasn't rushing at [Artest], but the ref got me in a hug and said it was all right, I was still in the game. And then I found out I wasn't. But at that point, me for Ron Artest was a fair trade for our team." Bell on his ejection: "I was walking back onto the court and all of a sudden they told me I wasn't in the game. Before that, [the ref] was just telling me I'm all right, I'm in the game, chill out." Isiah Thomas: "They were ready for us. They had 3 or 4 days to prepare. They knew everything that they wanted to do and they came out and played well. They are a good basketball team and a fun basketball team. Nelson has done a great job with them. They have a lot of weapons and they are difficult to guard." Thomas: "There is nothing you can do. Sometimes when you go out on the road, and Dallas experienced it once with us; when you are good basketball team and a good road team, teams are ready for you. And when teams are ready for you, there is nothing you can do but accept it and go to the next one." Thomas: "They were just good tonight; they played good in all areas of the game. And I thought when Artest was taken out of the game, that really hurt us. I thought his passion to play really kept the game close and kept us in the game." Thomas on Artest's ejection: "I don't see where Ron did anything wrong, other than stand up for himself. I thought all the instigating was done by Bell." Jermaine O'Neal: "They made shots tonight. They made a lot of big shots. They kept us off balance. There is not much to say; they really controlled the game from start to finish. They had so many guys step up and play well that every time we tried to get back in the game and put them on their heels, they had somebody else hit a 3." O'Neal: "You've got to tip your hat to those guys. Tonight, I think, was a situation where the 2 best teams in this league played." O'Neal on the difference between this game and the last Dal-Ind game: "They made shots and we didn't. It was really as simple as that. It was the same way when we got them in Indiana - we made shots and they didn't. They did the exact same thing." O'Neal: "Hopefully in June we'll see these guys again, and the outcome will be better for us." Ron Artest: "I don't know why I got ejected. But it happens. You take the good with the bad." Artest on his ejection: "2 horrible calls. Nowitzki cursed at me and Bell elbowed me in the face. I don't know why I got ejected." Jamaal Tinsley on playing physical: "That's how we want to play. We want to go out there and play hard every time we step on the court. They made shots and we missed shots we needed to make." Brad Miller: "We were ready to play; we just didn't play well. They hit everything and we didn't. You know, [bleep] happens. But we've come back from bigger deficits. This [bleep]'s really bad because we wanted to play a lot better. But that's the beauty of the NBA, you've got big games all the time. We've already beaten Houston, too. So we know we've got just as tough a game ahead of us." Erick Strickland: "Things got kind of testy out there. We knew they were going to come out and give it to us, and they shot really well." Dallas Mavericks 118, Indiana Pacers 97 at Dallas (December 17) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 35 27 37 19 - 118 .493 .417 .474 .889 Indiana 26 24 28 19 - 97 .484 .211 .422 .742 Halftime: Dallas 62-50 3rd Q: Dallas 99-78 Technicals: Ron Artest 3:45 1st, Dirk Nowitzki 3:45 1st, Jamaal Tinsley 3:10 1st, Ron Artest (ejected) 1:24 2nd, Raja Bell (1-T ejection) 1:24 2nd, Indiana defensive 3 seconds 2:44 3rd, Jeff Foster 0:27 3rd, Walt Williams 7:06 4th Refs: Joe Forte, Luis Grillo, Violet Palmer Attendance: 19,954 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Jonathan Bender (sore left calf) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 19 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 2-6 1 3 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 28 8-15 2-6 2-2 20 1-5 1 1 3 0 2 Raef LaFrentz 17 5-8 1-2 2-3 13 0-1 0 1 6 0 2 Michael Finley 35 13-21 6-9 1-1 33 3-13 3 0 0 2 0 Steve Nash 26 4-11 0-1 5-5 13 0-2 7 0 2 2 0 Raja Bell 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 1 0 2 0 0 Walt Williams 29 1-4 0-1 1-2 3 1-6 2 1 3 2 0 Shawn Bradley 26 2-5 0-0 2-2 6 5-5 1 3 4 1 4 Nick Van_Exel 31 8-20 1-5 3-3 20 0-2 10 1 1 0 0 Popeye Jones 11 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 Avery Johnson 8 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 0-1 1 1 0 1 0 Adam Harrington 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 46-97 10-24 16-18 118 16-47 27 12 25 9 8 Indiana Pacers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jermaine O'Neal 26 7-16 1-2 5-7 20 5-7 1 3 3 0 2 Ron Artest 20 3-8 0-1 0-2 6 1-5 0 0 3 2 2 Brad Miller 23 3-7 0-0 5-5 11 1-5 0 2 3 0 0 Jamaal Tinsley 33 4-10 0-4 1-2 9 1-9 6 4 4 0 1 Reggie Miller 29 3-8 1-6 4-5 11 0-3 2 0 0 1 0 Al Harrington 27 6-10 1-1 2-2 15 3-7 2 2 3 0 0 Ron Mercer 29 3-10 0-0 0-0 6 1-2 0 1 3 1 1 Erick Strickland 24 2-6 1-4 1-2 6 0-1 4 4 2 0 0 Jeff Foster 7 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 1-5 0 2 1 0 0 Austin Croshere 15 3-4 0-1 2-2 8 2-5 0 0 1 1 0 Primoz Brezec 7 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 48 35-83 4-19 23-31 97 15-49 15 18 23 5 7 patricia