Don't forget to vote for Michael Finley, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki for the All-Star game at http://www.nba.com/allstar2003/AS_Ballot.html You can vote online once a day. Dallas at Denver (December 18) Denver completed a trade just prior to the game where they sent away James Posey and got 2 spares (neither at the game) and some draft picks. Denver also cut Kenny Satterfield prior to the game (had to cut a player since they traded 1 away and got back 2). Thus, Denver was undermanned as well as undertalented. Posey was Denver's second highest scorer (14.1 points). Denver started 3 rookies - and only one of them was a 1st round draft pick. But Dallas came out flat and played down to their competition and it wasn't the blowout one would expect. Dirk Nowitzki (right ankle) and Steve Nash (right hip) were playing with nagging injuries and that left Michael Finley to carry the load for the 1st half. It was a really ugly game in the 1st quarter as neither team could shoot and the teams traded small leads. Dallas scored 9 straight points to go up 20-12 with 1:23 left and led 20-14 after 1. Dallas shot just 6-21 FG and Denver was worse at 5-25 FG. Dallas continued to hold a single-digit lead as neither team had a run in them, but at least their shooting went up slightly. Dallas led 42-37 at the half. Finley had 17 points. Nash and Nowitzki each had just 4 points. The ugliness continued in the 3rd quarter as neither team could score over the first 2 1/2 minutes of the quarter. Nash hit a jumper with 9:30 remaining to end the drought and Denver got on the board a minute later. 4 straight points by Nash gave Dallas their first double-digit lead of the game at 56-45 with 4:10 to go. Dallas scored the last 6 points of the quarter to go up 64-51 after 3. Nash had 12 points and Finley had 10 points as the 2 combined to score all of Dallas' points in the quarter. The torture continued in the 4th quarter and Dallas went up 74-60 on a jumper by Dirk Nowitzki (only his 2nd field goal of the game) with 6 minutes remaining. Denver finally made a run as they finally started to hit some shots (only shot 27.6% FG through 3 quarters) as they hit 4 straight shots and 2 free throws to go on an 11-3 run to pull within 77-71 with 2 minutes left. Nash then hit 2 free throws to give Dallas an 8 point lead and the teams reverted to form in missing shots. Donnell Harvey hit 1 of 2 free throws with a minute remaining and Nikoloz Tskitishvili drained a 3-pointer to pull Denver within 75-79 with 30 seconds remaining. Denver let 10 seconds go off the clock before fouling and Finley hit 1 of 2 free throws (Dallas' only missed free throw of the game). Denver wasn't able to get a good look and more time ran off the clock before Tskitishvili turned the ball over with 7 seconds left and Denver could not reach the player with the ball to foul and time ran out. Dallas won 80-75. Icky, icky, icky! Well, it wasn't as bad as the Dallas-Denver pre-season game [after which my dad told my mom that she gets to go to both Denver games], but it was UGLY. Dallas played lackluster and Denver played like the poor team that they are. Dallas shot just 32.9% FG and Denver shot 35.7% FG. Dallas' numbers drop down to 22.7% (10-44) FG when you remove Michael Finley's and Steve Nash's numbers. Denver also out-rebounded Dallas 52-38. The difference in the game? Turnovers and making free throws. Denver committed 22 turnovers and Dallas had just 10 turnovers. And Dallas only missed 1 free throw (20-21) while Denver missed 10 (21-31). Thank goodness for Michael Finley! Finley was the only Mav who could consistently score for Dallas and had a game high 31 points. With his strong 3rd quarter, Steve Nash had 18 points in 28 minutes. No other Mav was in double-digits. Though he didn't score (only attempted 1 shot), Shawn Bradley played well and had 12 rebounds including 5 offensive and 5 blocks in a season high 44 minutes - and he had just 4 fouls and no turnovers. Dirk Nowitzki had a terrible night and said that his ankle was still bothering him. He had 9 points including just 2-13 FG and just 3 rebounds. Raef LaFrentz had 9 points including 3-11 FG and 4 rebounds. Nick Van Exel also shot 3-11 FG and had 8 points and 6 assists. Juwan Howard was the high man for Denver with 21 points including 11-11 FT and 7 rebounds. Rodney White was the only other Nugget in double-digits with 16 points and 8 rebounds. That is just 4 players from both teams in double-digits for the game. Quotes Don Nelson: "This was ugly basketball at its worst. Between the 2 teams, we set basketball back about 10 years tonight. Denver was very aggressive on defense. They are athletic and do a lot of good things. We were lucky to win the game. It was like beating a dead horse, nobody had anything left. We found a way to win. Michael Finley was consistent all night long. He was the one guy that we could not afford to have out of the game. He was the one guy who we could not have won the game without." Nelson: "Our energy level was almost nil. It was ugly basketball, probably at its worst. Thank goodness for Finley. Boy, did we ever need him. He was as tired as anybody after the Indiana game. But he got us through." Nelson: "Boy, did we need Finley. With Nash and Nowitzki iffy to start the game, I don't think we could have won the game without him. He was just the one guy that I didn't think I could afford to have out of the game." Michael Finley: "I didn't have a particularly great game. I just did enough for us to win. I think as a whole, that's all we did as a team - just enough to win. A couple of years ago, we would have lost this game. Nobody played a good game. But some nights, we're good enough to get away with it." Finley: "We're looking to get better each and every game. It was a tough game for everybody. I could have played better. I just did enough. A couple of years ago, we would have lost this game." Finley: "In a game where everybody is not 100%, everybody has to pick it up." Finley on representatives from USA Basketball at the game: "I don't play this game to make other teams. If I get an invite, though, I would take it. I consider it an honor and a privilege to play for my country." Dirk Nowitzki on his ankle: "I probably shouldn't have played. I was not rebounding and couldn't push off. It's just tough when you play one of the best teams in the league one night and then come back and play one of the worst the next night. We were flat." Steve Nash: "You're going to have nights like this. Especially on the 2nd night of a back-to-back." Nash: "I don't know that we ever thought we were going to lose the game, but we were threatened and we knew we had to play in the end." Nash: "I'm a little sore. In the 3rd quarter I felt pretty good. It comes and it goes sometimes. I'm glad I was able to contribute." Nick Van Exel: "We knew that they played very hard. They attacked the screens and the big men play hard hitting the boards and go after the ball. I do not think we had a lot in the tank, but because of how physical Denver plays they brought it [effort] out of us. We did what we needed to do to win." Van Exel: "They are doing some good things. They are freeing up a lot of money and they are definitely going to get better. Raef LaFrentz: "I think it was a poor night shooting, but we shot the ball poorly because of their defense. Without Mike tonight, we get beat." LaFrentz: "You try to play well and blow people out every night, but that's not always going to happen. You're going to have letdowns, and have teams come out and rise to the occasion. It wasn't always pretty tonight, but we got the win. We can smile about that." Shawn Bradley: "Whatever we had left, it was enough. Denver's beaten a couple of good teams this year. About the only thing you can say is we were ready enough to win." Jeff Bzdelik: "We had a great defensive effort on our part tonight. We did a great job on the boards, we were plus 15 on the boards. They did not get a lot of clean looks on the offensive end. Shawn Bradley made us miss a lot of shots around the rim. They made it difficult for us tonight since they play both good offense and good defense. They do not get the credit on defense that they should. I did not intend to play Chris Whitney tonight [due to an ankle injury]. I put him in an unfair position by playing him, but with the trade just before the game I was forced to give him some minutes. Our young guys can play and we are going to continue to play them." Bzdelik: "The trade left us with a starting backcourt, one that was undrafted and one taken in the 2nd round, to work against Nash and Finley. This left us with a learning process and we are learning the hard way." Junior Harrington: "I realized I was going to start right before the game. I have to be ready every night. I just have to play as hard as I can and [opposing guards] are going to use their experience against me." Rodney White: "Just to see those 2 guys gone [Posey and Satterfield] and then still come out and get a great effort, I think it's a bright future. We gave them a scare." White on the trade: "It is a shock, part of the business. I just have to take advantage of it. It just creates more time at that position for me. It will help my development. I think it is a bright future, we just have to make some adjustments. I have been able to sit back and watch. Coach has us playing hard every night. I am looking to step up, take it game by game, and get better. Vincent Yarbrough: "I shot horribly. I've been working on my shooting every day since I've been here and to shoot like that. One of these days they'll start to fall in - I'm looking forward to that day." Dallas Mavericks 80, Denver Nuggets 75 at Denver (December 18) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 20 22 22 16 - 80 .362 .250 .329 .952 Denver 14 23 14 24 - 75 .382 .267 .357 .677 Halftime: Dallas 42-37 3rd Q: Dallas 64-51 Technicals: Don Nelson 4:55 1st Refs: Bennett Salvatore, Marc Davis, Tony Brothers Attendance: 13,183 (cap. 19,099) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 1 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 32 2-13 1-5 4-4 9 0-3 1 1 5 3 0 Raef LaFrentz 29 3-11 1-2 2-2 9 2-4 1 1 5 0 2 Michael Finley 44 12-27 1-7 6-7 31 0-4 2 2 3 2 0 Steve Nash 28 5-11 0-1 8-8 18 1-4 4 3 1 2 1 Shawn Bradley 44 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 5-12 1 0 4 2 5 Nick Van_Exel 32 3-11 2-7 0-0 8 1-4 6 1 1 0 0 Walt Williams 8 1-4 1-1 0-0 3 0-3 0 0 0 1 0 Raja Bell 13 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0-2 1 1 1 0 0 Popeye Jones 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 1 0 Totals 48 27-82 6-24 20-21 80 9-38 17 10 22 11 8 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Donnell Harvey 32 2-7 0-0 5-8 9 2-9 2 4 1 0 1 Juwan Howard 38 5-11 0-0 11-11 21 4-7 0 1 3 1 0 Nene Hilario 37 1-7 0-0 3-8 5 5-12 4 2 5 1 0 Vincent Yarbrough 18 2-9 0-4 0-0 4 0-5 1 2 5 1 2 Junior Harrington 32 3-7 1-2 1-2 8 0-4 4 4 6 0 0 Nikoloz Tskitishvili 16 4-8 1-2 0-0 9 2-3 0 3 0 1 1 Mark Blount 17 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 0-2 0 1 1 1 1 Chris Whitney 13 0-4 0-3 0-0 0 0-1 2 0 3 0 0 Rodney White 32 7-13 2-4 0-0 16 1-8 3 4 1 0 0 Ryan Bowen 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 25-70 4-15 21-31 75 14-52 16 22 26 5 5 patricia