Walt Williams is expected to be out 7 to 10 days with a strained left knee. Steve Nash was named as winner of the Lionel Conachar Award, which is given to Canada's male athlete of the year. Nash received 23 of 111 1st place media votes and had a total of 130 points. The 2nd place winner had 83 points (Jarome Iginla, NHL player). 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. New York at Dallas (December 28) Dallas shot out to an early 20-8 lead halfway through the quarter as the Knicks could not stop Dallas - and used 3 timeouts during that span. The teams traded bucks and Shawn Bradley sat after collecting his 2nd foul with 4:30 left. Bradley had 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Knicks enjoyed Bradley's absence as they scored the next 9 points to pull within 20-22 with 2:45 remaining, but Dallas scored the next 7 points to close the quarter. Dallas led 29-20 after 1. Dallas shot 59% FG and New York shot just 30% FG in the quarter. Nick Van Exel opened the 2nd quarter with a jumper, but Shandon Anderson scored the next 8 points to bring New York within 28-31 with 10:15 to go. Dallas then went on a 15-4 "run" (it was too slow to call a run) to go up 46-32 with 3:30 remaining. Dallas led 55-42 at the half. Dallas shot 54.5% FG and New York shot 36.4% FG - and the Mavs were out-rebounding New York 24-23. Dallas scored the first 6 points of the 3rd quarter and never looked back as the Knicks would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. Shandon Anderson suffered a strained left Achilles during the quarter and did not return. Dallas scored the last 6 points of the quarter to make it an early blowout at 84-57 after 3. Steve Nash had 13 points in the quarter. The big 3 sat the entire 4th as it was pure garbage time as Dallas led in the 20s the entire 4th. Dallas won 107-82. The Mavs did it the easy way and found their missing offense (had averaged just 84 points including 36.3% FG over the previous 4 games) against a poor New York team that had played the night before. New York is now 0-5 in the 2nd game of a back-to-back. Dallas shot 54.2% FG and New York shot just 35.2% FG. My favorite stat is that Dallas had 31 assists (2nd most of the season) - it's a team game. And Dallas committed just 8 turnovers. You can't pick one hero for Dallas from this game as every player that played scored. Dirk Nowitzki was on pace for a triple-double with 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in 35 minutes. For the 4th straight game, he had no turnovers - take it back 7 games and it's just 2 turnovers in 247 minutes. The only down is that for the 2nd straight game (and only times this season), Nowitzki did not attempt a single free throw - I don't think there is another player out there who gets hit more than Dirk without getting the call. Steve Nash also had 19 points in just 21 minutes and Michael Finley chipped in 14 points in 33 minutes. It was the 4th straight sub-20 point game for Finley (he's due for a strong outing). Shawn Bradley was the difference maker in the 1st quarter with his 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 4 points, and a number of other shots altered. He didn't play much after sitting (to a nice ovation) with 2 fouls and had 4 points and 9 rebounds in 14 minutes. Raja Bell got the starting nod, but started out sluggish. He picked up his game and energy and was all over the floor - literally as he dove for a number of balls and ended up in 3 jumpballs. And he had offense as well as his usual defense with 13 points including 5-6 FG and 5 rebounds in 32 minutes. Nick Van Exel re-found his shooting touch and had 15 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes. And there was finally a positive game from Raef LaFrentz. He took his game inside for a number of baskets and then (finally) hit some outside shots later in the game for 15 points including 7-10 FG. He also contributed 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Popeye Jones had 2 points and 5 rebounds including 3 offensive. Avery Johnson, Adrian Griffin, and Adam Harrington had a bucket each. Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston did not catch fire, so the Knicks had little chance since Dallas' offense was really clicking. Sprewell was the high man with 16 points and 5 rebounds and Houston had 15 points including 5-15 FG. Othella Harrington had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds including 5 offensive. Shandon Anderson was the only other Knick in double-digits with 12 points in 13 minutes. Quotes Don Nelson: "We played pretty well actually and they were on a back-to-back. We were able to score a 100 points again and that was good to see. We gave Bell a chance to play and a couple of other guys. Raef worked his way out of his slump a little bit. I was able to rest Griffin and not over play the big 3. I was pretty happy about that." Nelson on 31 assists: "That's moving the ball around pretty good." Nelson on Dallas' offense returning: "Good, that whole game felt good. I felt we were in control against the man and the zone. We executed the half court and all the things we've been doing all season. It felt good to do that. We didn't miss a beat when I went to my bench and that's the most important part." Nelson on Bell: "I was very disappointed about the beginning of the game. He's a great kid and he tries to do right, but he needs to be our stopper and he didn't do that when he first went into the game. So he had a couple more chances during the game and he decided to give a little more and I thought he did an outstanding job from that point on. He also went after loose balls on the floor, which is his job to do so I don't have to have the long minute guys continually do that. Subs have to set that tone, that standard. He had a ball he didn't go after and we had a chat about that and the next 3 he was on the floor and got 2 out of 3 and a couple of jump balls. I was very pleased with his 2nd half." Nelson: "Popeye was a different player than we've seen. It's definitely injury related, but there's not a lot you can do about that. The coach has to play the guys who are going to perform. You can play with a lot of injuries in this league, most players do, but you can't play with a bad back, its just impossible. Those of us who have bad backs or have had one know exactly what I'm saying." Michael Finley: "Raja played big. He saw an opportunity to prove to himself, the fans, and the coaching staff that he can give quality minutes. He made it tough for Sprewell and Houston and he hit open shots." Steve Nash: "It's way more fun when our team gets up and down the court, spreads the floor and makes people pay. People tell me all the time that we're their favorite team to watch. A lot of people call it old school. That's when we're at our best." Nash: "We've really sputtered and lacked energy lately. So we really wanted to be aggressive. Tonight we started scoring a variety of ways early and it got us going and we were kind of back to our normal selves offensively." Nick Van Exel: "Tonight we did a good job on defense and held them to 35% shooting and we held them most of the time to just 1 shot. Once our defense is clicking the way it has been we're going to find a rhythm offensively. We're not worried about our offense, we want to have a good defense. Steve got out and really pushed the ball tonight." Van Exel: "We set the tone early. Once our defense is clicking the way it has been, we're going to find a rhythm offensively." Van Exel on the bench: "Tonight it was great. We need that a lot more, a lot more consistency from our bench. Tonight was a lot better bench play and we need that throughout the rest of the season." Van Exel on the Big 3 sitting out the 4th quarter: "It's always good when we can rest those guys." Shawn Bradley: "They've been playing a lot better than their record, so we knew we had to get out quick and be aggressive and protect the ball. That's what we did right off the bat." Bradley: "New York has been playing very good basketball lately and they have beat some good teams. We knew we were going to have our work cut out for us tonight because they beat a very good Houston team last night." Bradley on the team's injuries: "We just have guys on this team that step up and play when other guys are injured and that's what it's going to take every night for us to be successful." Raef LaFrentz: "My touch was really never gone. It's just a matter of doing the other things to give myself an opportunity to shoot the ball." Raja Bell: "They did a good job of getting me the ball in places where I just had to put it up. It's always cool to score. I've been a scorer everywhere I've been except the NBA." Don Chaney: "I have a lot of respect for Dallas, but I am very concerned with us not being able to play on back-to-back nights. And it doesn't matter who the opponent is. The way we played last night, there's no way we should play just the opposite way. We should be able to compete and run our offense and be strong and alert. This team is capable of doing that." Chaney on the team's poor play on the 2nd night of a back-to-back: "It appears to be fatigue. Maybe our routine has to change. But I think it goes beyond that. Sometimes it becomes a mental factor." Chaney: "They have all the ingredients. They have versatility, size, skill, they have shooters, they have speed. They present a multitude of problems." Chaney: "They have all the ingredients. We couldn't take advantage of any mismatches, because we had none." Chaney on Bradley: "When you think you have him beat, he's there. I mean, you can't see the basket - he's just huge. We had a couple of shots when we were looking for him. Instead of taking them right away, we were looking to see where he was." Allan Houston on poor shooting: "It's definitely a mental thing for us now. When shots don't fall or go a certain way it becomes frustrating." Houston: "What happens is, at every position they just come at you. You can't make any mistakes against them. When you don't make a shot, they push the ball up and at every position they can shoot or drive - at every position. It's a tough matchup for any team." Houston: "At every position they come at you. We just tried to limit their 3s and their transition baskets, but obviously weren't very successful." Houston: "What makes each individual so tough is that they have 4 other guys that can do the same thing. Not to take anything away from Dirk or Michael Finley or Nash. But they have LaFrentz, Nick Van Exel who can start on a championship team. They're deep and they're probably the most skilled team in the NBA." Houston: "Our mental focus and resolve is just not there. That 2nd and 3rd effort dies down. It's a mental barrier we have to get over." Latrell Sprewell: "We didn't have time to prepare for this team. Even if we did, I don't know how much it would have helped." Sprewell: "I think back-to-backs are an issue. But this team is the best team in the league, no question about it. Offensively, we definitely had trouble trying to contain their guys and their sets. They pretty much got anything they wanted when they ran their offense. This was a team we were totally unprepared for what they were doing and their zone caused us problems too. We just weren't ready." Sprewell: "They're long and with Nowitzki being able to step out and hit 3s it really spreads the floor the way [Larry Johnson] was able to do for us. He plays inside, he plays outside. That creates serious problems for us." Dallas Mavericks 107, New York Knicks 82 at Dallas (December 28) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 29 26 29 23 - 107 .603 .267 .542 .765 New York 20 22 15 25 - 82 .366 .294 .352 .882 Halftime: Dallas 55-42 3rd Q: Dallas 84-57 Technicals: none Flagrant fouls: Charlie Ward 0:49 3rd Refs: Danny Crawford, Kevin Fehr, Scott Foster Attendance: 20,060 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Walt Williams (strained left knee) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Raja Bell 32 5-6 1-2 2-2 13 0-5 2 2 5 4 0 Dirk Nowitzki 35 9-18 1-2 0-0 19 1-9 7 0 1 2 1 Shawn Bradley 14 2-3 0-0 0-1 4 1-9 2 0 2 0 2 Michael Finley 33 6-13 0-3 2-2 14 0-1 2 2 2 0 0 Steve Nash 21 6-9 0-0 7-9 19 0-1 3 1 0 0 0 Adrian Griffin 9 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 2 0 0 1 0 Raef LaFrentz 34 7-10 0-2 1-2 15 0-6 5 2 3 0 2 Nick Van_Exel 25 6-14 2-6 1-1 15 2-4 5 1 0 0 0 Popeye Jones 20 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 3-5 2 0 2 0 0 Avery Johnson 12 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Adam Harrington 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 1 0 0 0 1 Totals 48 45-83 4-15 13-17 107 8-43 31 8 15 7 6 New York Knicks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Allan Houston 25 5-15 1-6 4-4 15 0-1 1 2 2 0 0 Kurt Thomas 25 2-9 0-0 2-2 6 3-6 1 1 4 2 1 Othella Harrington 27 6-12 0-0 2-3 14 5-10 1 1 3 0 0 Howard Eisley 15 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 2 0 4 0 0 Latrell Sprewell 27 6-12 2-4 2-2 16 1-5 2 2 0 0 0 Charlie Ward 32 1-5 1-5 0-0 3 0-2 8 2 1 1 1 Shandon Anderson 13 4-8 1-2 3-3 12 0-5 1 3 1 1 0 Lee Nailon 20 1-9 0-0 0-0 2 3-5 3 2 2 1 0 Clarence Weatherspoon 21 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 1-4 2 0 2 0 0 Michael Doleac 15 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 Lavor Postell 11 2-5 0-0 1-2 5 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Travis Knight 9 1-3 0-0 1-1 3 2-4 2 0 0 1 0 Totals 48 31-88 5-17 15-17 82 18-49 23 15 20 6 2 patricia