Denver (10-35) at Dallas (36-9) (February 2) The game stayed close as both teams had the hot shooting hands and not much defense was being played. Denver scored 7 straight points to take their largest lead at 29-21 with 1:20 left. Walt Williams hit a jumper at the buzzer and Denver led 31-29 after 1. Denver shot 67% FG and Dallas shot 58% FG. Nick Van Exel had 11 points. Nikoloz Tskitishvili opened the 2nd quarter with a 3-pointer and Dallas then went on a 12-2 run to go up 41-36 on a 3-pointer by Williams with 8:30 remaining. A jumper by Michael Finley gave Dallas a 58-46 lead with 2 minutes to go, but Denver closed the quarter by scoring the last 8 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Chris Whitney, to cut Dallas' lead down to 58-54 at the half. For the half, Dallas shot 57% FG including 5-9 3-pointers and Denver shot 55% FG including 4-10 3-pointers. A 3-pointer by Van Exel gave Dallas a 71-60 lead with 7:45 left, but Tskitishvili answered with a 3 with 6:30 left. And in a blink of the eye, the game was over as Dallas rattled off the next 17 points to go up 88-63 with 3 minutes remaining. Denver even made a mass substitution of 4 players early in the run, but were unable to stem the tied. Dallas led 98-70 after 3. Van Exel had 15 points on 5-6 3-pointers in the quarter (including a short one that was goaltended by Chris Andersen) - his only miss was a forced one at the buzzer. Dallas out-scored Denver 40-16 during the 3rd. The 4th quarter was pure garbage time with Dallas' lead mostly in the 20s, with a brief visit in the 30s. Everyone who played scored. Dallas won 122-100. Dallas finally did it the easy way against Denver, unlike the previous 2 ugly wins (80-75 and 86-71). The only disappointment was that the Mavs' defense was not very good in allowing Denver to score 100 points and shot 48.7% as Denver had been just averaging 80.4 points and shooting 40.3% FG. Dallas shot 55.2% FG and had 31 assists, the 2nd most assists they've had this season. Dallas also was bombs away in shooting 12-20 3-pointers while Denver shot 6-15 3-pointers. The hot hand in this game was Nick Van Exel. Van Exel finished with a Mavs career high 30 points including 11-13 FG and 7-9 3-pointers and 7 assists in 26 minutes. Dirk Nowitzki had a balanced game with 20 points including 9-15 FG, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists and Michael Finley chipped in 22 points including 9-14 FG. Steve Nash was unproductive on the court and Don Nelson was happy to be able to limit his minutes as Nash was suffering from a sore shoulder. Nash played just 16 minutes, didn't score on 2 attempts, had 3 assists, and 2 turnovers. Raef LaFrentz had 10 points and 2 rebounds and Shawn Bradley had 12 points and 9 rebounds. Walt Williams also contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Raja Bell again sat out with a left thigh contusion, but hopes to play tonight. Rookie Rodney White was the high man for Denver with 17 points. Juwan Howard had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists against his former team. Donnell Harvey had 13 points and 6 rebounds against the team that drafted him. Nikoloz Tskitishvili had 15 points, Chris Whitney had 11 points, and Mark Blount had 10 points. Quotes Don Nelson: "It worked out better for us with a game that I was hoping my bench could play a lot and they did. Everybody made a really good contribution. I thought Van Exel was in a zone that we've seen him in a few times here, but many times with other teams. He proved what a great player he can be when the stars are in the right position and the shots are falling. He was tremendous. More than the scoring, I thought when I inserted him in the 1st half of the game he did what I wanted, which was ball movement. We played on the second side and as a result we had 31 assists for the game and shot 55%, so I was really happy with that. The barrage of 3-point shots was a bit unexpected, but was good to see. I was hoping to do what we did. I got some guys plenty of rest. We have 2 big back-to-back games and then we have the All-Star break which we are all looking forward to." Nelson on Van Exel's strong game: "No, I never see it coming. When I think he is going to have a good game, he's 2-13. I just never know. He plays with a different rhythm then anybody that I've coached for a scorer. He shoots the in-between shots, floaters, and shots you don't see very often. As a result, I try not to coach him offensively. I kind of let him do what he does best. He surprises me with a bad shot, but tonight he took a few of those and made them. It's kind of a rhythm thing with him so I coach the defensive end when he is on the floor." Nelson on resting Nash: "Steve's banged up and it was perfect. I didn't want to play him very much and I don't think he could do very much. He had a bad shoulder and I didn't think he could hardly shoot the ball. Nick came in and did everything coach wanted so we gave [Nash] the day off." Nelson on Van Exel with Dallas: "I think he is just about what we thought. I thought we would have more games like this as we go along, but I love him off the bench. If he is going to be a dominant 6th man, he's got to come in gunning and being really aggressive. There are a lot of positives about Nick's game and the shooting percentage isn't one of the strong points. His assist-turnover ratio is fantastic. Nelson on Rigaudeau: "It is not easy to come in and play in a different league and team and country. He has been struggling some, so it was good to see him get some minutes. I thought everybody played really well tonight." Dirk Nowitzki on Van Exel: "He's amazing. Nick would be a starter for any other team. He gave us a big lift tonight." Steve Nash: "It was nice not to be grinding it out for 35 minutes in this one. It was a much needed break." Nick Van Exel: "It felt good tonight. I don't really know what to say, but it was a good spark for our team tonight off the bench. Denver usually plays us well and tonight was the best night that we played against them this season." Van Exel: "Nellie has always been in my corner since day one. He's always told me to be aggressive and he gets really upset when I'm not aggressive, when I'm not attacking the basket so I need to always keep that in my mind. Van Exel on his hot shooting: "The basket looked huge. It was unbelievable to be honest with you. I hadn't felt like that in a long time. I was just feeling good tonight and I'm very thankful for that. I like shooting the long ball as opposed to trying to touch it up. The long shot is a lot easier for me." Van Exel on playing against his former team: "I don't really care much about that, to be honest with you. Now, LA is a different story." Shawn Bradley: "Nick played great. Denver came out and played tough, physical defense. They played pretty good defense in the 1st half. We were able to match their intensity and really stay consistent through the whole game. We had different guys step up tonight and especially Nick in particular. Our go to guys were fairly consistent and we took care of the business that we needed to take care of." Bradley: "Raef and I talk a lot about the game, a lot about the team, and a lot about what we bring to the team. We're in constant communication with each other and with the rest of the team about how we can help. It's an ongoing dialogue with everyone. Everyone does that, not just Raef and I. It is a comfortable, fun team to be a part of." Jeff Bzdelik: "We struggled a little bit out of the gates in the 3rd quarter, went to the bench, then we caved in. They are so explosive. They have so many weapons. It is hard to stop 1, 2, 3 guys, because they have so many guys. We are a very help oriented defensive team. They are hitting shots and they make shots. Last time, we struggled to make shots. When we miss 2, 3 in a row - they are so potent offensively, they come down and get 3 or 4 in a row and the game gets out of hand. I thought we did a lot of good things in the 1st half, especially offensively. They are such a great offensive team, it is very seldom do you hold them down. They might have 1 or 2 guys struggle, but they have 2 or 3 guys pick up the slack." Bzdelik: "The first 2 meetings against this team, we held them to 38% shooting. We are a pretty good defensive team. But like I said, you can do a good job on 2 or 3 guys, but it is hard because they have so many weapons - they are a team that can win it all." Juwan Howard: "We played the best team in basketball right now. That's a team that can put up a lot of points quickly." Howard on Dallas' play after a close game against Minnesota: "That's what good teams do. If you want to win and you want to make a true run in the playoffs, you've got to come out and play good against all teams. You can not be up and down and inconsistent. What I've seen lately, they have played really good and really consistent." Donnell Harvey: "The Mavericks have a great overall team and a lot of veterans. The offense really worked for them. We just came out to play hard and leave it out on the court. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for us." Dallas Mavericks 122, Denver Nuggets 100 at Dallas (February 1) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 29 29 40 24 - 122 .537 .600 .552 .824 Denver 31 23 16 30 - 100 .508 .400 .487 .818 Halftime: Dallas 58-54 3rd Q: Dallas 98-70 Technicals: Donnell Harvey 2:50 3rd, Shawn Bradley 2:50 3rd Refs: Joe Forte, James Capers, Gary Zielinski Attendance: 19,889 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Raja Bell (left thigh bruise), Marcus Camby (sprained right ankle), Ryan Bowen (left hip contusion) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 26 1-5 0-0 1-1 3 2-4 2 0 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 30 9-15 1-3 1-2 20 0-5 6 1 3 1 0 Raef LaFrentz 21 4-7 0-1 2-2 10 0-2 2 0 4 0 2 Michael Finley 30 9-14 1-3 3-3 22 1-4 1 2 2 1 0 Steve Nash 16 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 3 2 0 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 26 11-13 7-9 1-1 30 0-2 7 2 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 22 4-8 0-0 4-5 12 2-9 2 3 4 2 1 Walt Williams 29 4-9 2-3 1-2 11 3-7 6 0 2 4 0 Antoine Rigaudeau 14 2-4 1-1 0-0 5 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 Popeye Jones 14 2-7 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 0 0 1 0 1 Avery Johnson 12 2-3 0-0 1-1 5 0-1 1 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 48-87 12-20 14-17 122 8-36 31 12 20 8 4 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Donnell Harvey 25 5-9 0-1 3-4 13 1-6 2 1 3 1 1 Juwan Howard 25 4-10 0-0 6-6 14 1-5 5 2 3 1 0 Nene Hilario 27 3-8 0-1 1-2 7 1-2 1 0 0 4 0 Vincent Yarbrough 33 2-6 0-1 0-0 4 1-6 5 7 5 2 1 Junior Harrington 15 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-2 4 1 3 0 0 Chris Whitney 21 4-7 3-5 0-0 11 0-1 4 0 1 0 0 Nikoloz Tskitishvili 26 5-9 2-4 3-4 15 1-2 1 2 4 0 0 Rodney White 27 7-13 1-3 2-2 17 0-2 2 3 1 1 0 Mark Blount 20 4-7 0-0 2-2 10 1-3 1 0 2 1 1 Chris Andersen 21 2-5 0-0 1-2 5 3-8 0 2 3 1 2 Totals 48 38-78 6-15 18-22 100 9-37 25 18 25 11 5 patricia