Dirk Nowitzki sprained his left ankle late in the 2nd quarter of the Golden State game and did not return. He was able to (gingerly) walk off the court (leaning on Popeye) so it wasn't bad enough that he couldn't put any weight on it. He says that the ankle is no where near as bad as his right ankle sprain that kept him out 2 games earlier in the season. He is a game-time decision for today's game against Sacramento. Dallas activated Tariq Abdul-Wahad and placed Avery Johnson on IR with a strained right calf. It is the first time this season Abdul-Wahad has been on the active roster. The start time for the April 3 game vs the LA Lakers at Dallas has been changed from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The game will still be broadcast on TNT. Dallas (48-15) at Seattle (28-34) (March 13) There wasn't much defense played by either team throughout the entire game and both teams took advantage by shooting well. The game stayed very close throughout the 1st quarter with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. Raja Bell hit a jumper with 3 seconds left to give Dallas a 26-24 lead after 1. There were 7 ties and 4 lead changes. It was the Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis show for Seattle as Allen had 10 points and Lewis had 11 points - all but 3 points in the quarter coming from those 2. The game remained close in the 2nd quarter. Seattle slowly managed to build up a small lead and 2 free throws by Elden Campbell gave them their largest lead at 55-47 with 3 minutes to go. Dallas then scored the next 6 points to keep the game close. Michael Finley got a putback at the buzzer. Seattle led 59-55 at the half. Seattle shot 57% FG and 12-15 FT and Dallas shot 53% FG and 4-4 FT. Lewis had 16 points including 7-9 FG and Allen had 18 points. Seattle led 61-57 with 10:45 left and Dallas scored the next 8 points to go up 67-61 with 8:20 remaining. Seattle responded with a 9-2 run to go up 70-69 with 5:30 to go and the game see-sawed the rest of the way. It was all tied up at 78-78 after 3. The teams traded leads and ties over the first 6 minutes of the 4th quarter and it was tied at 87-87 with 6 minutes remaining. Seattle then scored the next 6 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Vladimir Radmanovic, to go up 93-87 with 4:30 to go. Nick Van Exel responded by scoring the next 6 points to tie it at 93-93 with 3 minutes remaining. Allen drove for 2 and was fouled and hit the free throw to give Seattle a 100-94 lead with 1:30 left. Steve Nash drove for 2, Seattle missed, and Dirk Nowitzki hit 1 of 2 free throws to pull Dallas within 97-100 with a minute to go. As the clock was running down, Seattle got the ball to Lewis at the top of the key with Nowitzki in front of him and Lewis drove by a flatfooted Dirk for the uncontested jam with 36 seconds remaining. Finley missed, Adrian Griffin got the rebound, but stepped out of bounds. Dallas intentionally fouled and Lewis hit 2 free throws to ice the game. A 3-pointer by Van Exel and 3 more free throws by Seattle capped the scoring. Seattle won 107-100. As close and exciting of a game as it was, it was a pathetic performance on the defensive end. Seattle was able to score at will as Dallas' defense reverted to last year's matador worthlessness - with Nowitzki being a big culprit in re-earning the nickname Irk. Seattle wasn't much better defensively, but benefited from the whistles not blowing (not blaming the loss on the refs, but the free throw difference was glaring and both teams took the ball inside a lot). Seattle shot 29-38 FT and Dallas shot almost 2/3rds less at 11-13 FT. As would be expected with the lack of defense, both teams shot well with Seattle shooting 50% (36-72) FG and Dallas shooting 48.8% (41-84) FG. Seattle out-rebounded Dallas 41-32, but both teams had 8 offensive boards. It was a close game throughout as neither team led by more than 8 points, there were 17 lead changes, and 20 ties. It was a 2 man show for Seattle as Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen took charge. Lewis had a game high 30 points including 12-18 FG and 10 rebounds. 10 of his points came in the 4th quarter. He also had a season highlight skying monster one-handed power rebound slam during the game. Allen had 29 points including 11-18 FG and 6 assists. Vladimir Radmanovic was the only other Sonic in double-digits with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Brent Barry had 9 points and 5 assists, Reggie Evans had 4 points on 1-3 FG and 2-6 FT and 8 rebounds, and Elden Campbell had 9 points including 2-9 FG and 6 rebounds. Kevin Ollie had 9 points including 4 during a key stretch in the 4th quarter as Allen found him with the nice passes. Though he wasn't doing anything on defense, he was a force on offense as Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in the last seconds of the game. Nick Van Exel had the hot hand with 26 points including 10-16 FG. 9 of his points came in the 4th quarter. Steve Nash had 18 points in 36 minutes, but just 3 assists. Michael Finley continued his cold streak with just 10 points on 5-18 FG and 0-6 3-pointers, but did have 5 rebounds (a low number where that has been the one place where he had been contributing during his cold shooting). Adrian Griffin played 34 minutes in trying to stop Allen or Lewis and had 7 points on 3-4 FG and 8 rebounds. Raja Bell got 17 defensive minutes and had 2 points. Eduardo Najera was not his usual energy self and had no rebounds in 17 foul plagued minutes. Don Nelson went small in this game as Raef LaFrentz played only 12 minutes and Shawn Bradley played only 8 minutes. Quotes Nate McMillan: "I was happy at the fact that Rashard wanted the ball. He wanted to take responsibility and be a part. He asked for the ball. I like the fact that he wants the ball and he feels like he can make a difference. Tonight, he definitely did that." McMillan on Lewis: "He wants to be an integral part of the team. He's worked hard all season. He got lost for a few games with the new guys coming in, but tonight he was able to be aggressive." McMillan on the free throw difference: "I complained about it a week ago in Utah, and tonight we go to the line 38 times. But I always feel if you win the free throw line and if you win the rebounding game, it shows that you're being aggressive and normally you win the game. Tonight we were able to do both and beat a very, very good team in Dallas." Ray Allen: "You can focus in on me trying to penetrate and I found Kevin [Ollie] a couple of times. I should be insulted that they think I might not be able to pass a little bit. ... I found the open man." Allen: "In the locker room before the game, we had the emphasis on Rashard being aggressive to start the game. He's a guy that is still trying to figure out exactly what he can give to this offense because he's extremely talented." Allen on Lewis: "He stayed on the whole time. It was a benefit for us because we got him into the game early. And I see now that this team has to keep Rashard going early. Make sure that he forces his will on this game." Rashard Lewis: "I was a little more aggressive. I was playing with a lot of anger tonight. I think that's what made me play more aggressive. I guess somebody is going to have to piss me off every night. I was just angry at the way I've been playing the last couple of ball games and just the way we have lost 3 in a row." Lewis: "I think the emotions just kind of came out a little bit. By me being aggressive, they are going to come out a lot more, as long as I continue to play aggressive. I can't show too much emotion if I am not playing well." Lewis on his driving dunk near the end of the game: "That's my high-school days right there. I didn't think it would be that open. Once I got past him, it was like everybody else was standing around watching." Vladimir Radmanovic: "Rashard was struggling the last couple games and that's probably why we lost. Tonight he stepped up and showed what he can do." Radmanovic: "We took them out of what they wanted to do. They didn't have an answer for us. We beat them in every statistic." Don Nelson: "There was a breakdown in our defense for whatever reason. The bottom line was when they needed to score down the stretch, they found a way to do it." Nelson: "We had a breakdown, for whatever reason. Nick left a guy [Ollie] under the basket twice to go for a guy on the perimeter. He was trying to make something happen defensively, but that's not the way to do it." Nelson: "Lewis' drive and dunk is not the way that your man-to-man defense can operate. He drove around Nowitzki and at that time I know he's tired, but he's got to buckle down and guard him." Nelson: "We gave it our best shot and we were unable to beat these guys. Their two best players stepped up and had great games. We couldn't guard them. And then we didn't make shots when we needed to. We were just a little short and a little late." Nelson: "We gave it our best shot and were unable to beat them. Their best 2 players stepped up. It's a tough loss because of the race with San Antonio, and it's going to get harder, not easier. But this is not the time of year to get mad at anybody. We're going to stick together and get through this together." Dirk Nowitzki: "We really didn't get the stops when we needed to. The past couple of games, we're not executing offensively and not getting the stops defensively at the end." Nowitzki: "They were making all their shots down the stretch. I wasn't tired out there. We just didn't get the stops when we needed to." Nowitzki: "The last couple of games we haven't been executing on offense. Teams have been playing us very hard and have been ready with the best team rolling into town." Nowitzki on San Antonio and the division race: "They've been [playing] extremely well. They've won a lot of games on the road and they've won 17 of 19. They're right behind us, so every win should be crucial right now. The last 2 losses we couldn't afford, but that's the way basketball goes. We just got to make sure we win tomorrow and find our rhythm again." Nowitzki: "These last 2 losses, we couldn't afford them. We've got to make sure [the losing streak] doesn't go any further than this. The Spurs have stepped their game up and we haven't." Steve Nash: "You can always highlight what happens down the stretch, but I think there were a lot of breakdowns throughout the game. We have to hold a team like that under 100 points for sure, and we let them feel confident and comfortable tonight." Seattle Sonics 107, Dallas Mavericks 100 at Seattle (March 13) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Seattle 24 35 19 29 - 107 .545 .353 .500 .763 Dallas 26 29 23 22 - 100 .586 .269 .488 .846 Halftime: Dallas 59-55 3rd Q: 78-78 Technicals: Dirk Nowitzki 5:57 1st Refs: Bernie Fryer, James Capers, Phil Robinson Attendance: 14,621 (cap 17,072) Seattle Sonics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Reggie Evans 24 1-3 0-0 2-6 4 2-8 0 2 2 1 0 Rashard Lewis 43 12-18 1-2 5-6 30 3-10 1 2 3 1 1 Predrag Drobnjak 20 1-7 0-3 1-1 3 0-3 0 0 2 0 0 Ray Allen 42 11-18 0-3 7-7 29 1-4 6 1 3 0 0 Brent Barry 36 2-4 1-3 4-6 9 0-4 5 5 3 1 0 Kevin Ollie 27 3-7 0-0 3-4 9 0-0 5 3 3 0 0 Vladimir Radmanovic 28 4-6 4-6 2-2 14 0-6 0 0 3 1 0 Elden Campbell 19 2-9 0-0 5-6 9 3-6 3 1 2 1 0 Joseph Forte 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-72 6-17 29-38 107 9-41 20 14 21 5 1 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 35 5-18 0-6 0-0 10 1-5 4 3 2 0 0 Eduardo Najera 17 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 1 1 4 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 43 9-20 3-8 6-8 27 1-12 4 4 6 1 0 Raja Bell 17 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 1 0 2 0 0 Steve Nash 36 8-15 0-4 2-2 18 1-1 3 0 2 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 33 10-16 3-6 3-3 26 0-1 1 1 1 1 0 Adrian Griffin 34 3-4 1-2 0-0 7 3-8 3 1 3 2 0 Raef LaFrentz 12 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 2 1 1 Shawn Bradley 8 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 1-1 0 0 3 0 0 Walt Williams 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 2 0 1 Totals 48 41-84 7-26 11-13 100 9-32 17 11 27 5 2 Dallas (48-16) at Golden State (31-33) (March 14) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with Golden State mostly holding a small single-digit lead - no larger than 6 points. Golden State lead 33-30 after 1. Antawn Jamison had 14 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points. Golden State continued to lead in the 2nd quarter and scored 4 straight points to go up 48-38 with 5:30 left. Golden State led 55-45 with 3:30 remaining and Dallas scored the next 8 points to pull within 53-55 with 1:20 to go. Nowitzki went up for a jumper (missed) with a minute left and stepped on Jason Richardson's foot when he came down and crumpled to the floor. He left the game with a sprained left ankle and did not return. Mike Dunleavy hit a 3-pointer and Bob Sura hit 1 of 2 free throws to close the quarter. Golden State led 59-53 at the half. Missing their leading scorer, it was up to Dallas' other players to step up in the 2nd half, and they did so. Golden State led 67-60 with 9:40 left and Steve Nash hit a 3-pointer and drove for 2 and Shawn Bradley tipped in a miss to tie the game at 67-67 with 8 minutes to go. 8 straight points - 6 from Bradley and 2 from Nash - by Dallas gave them a 78-71 lead with 4:40 left. Golden State scored the next 6 points, but Dallas answered with 2 3-pointers and their lead stayed in single-digits the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 89-84 after 3. Nash had 12 points and Bradley had 8 points and 5 rebounds in the quarter. Earl Boykins had a jumper and 3-pointer to tie the game at 91-91 with 10:40 left and it was going to be a close one to the finish. The teams traded leads a couple of times and there were 7 more ties the rest of the way. A jumper by Nick Van Exel gave Dallas a 110-108 lead with 2:45 to go. Golden State missed and Dallas turned the ball over and, shockingly, Adonal Foyle hit 2 free throws to tie the game at 110-110 with 1:50 remaining. Van Exel hit a one-handed runner and Jason Richardson hit 2 free throws with 1:30 left as the game stayed tied. Michael Finley missed, but Steve Nash got in front of Gilbert Arenas to take the charge with a minute left. Finley hit a fade away jumper with 37 seconds to go, but Arenas answered with a jumper to tie the game at 114-114 with 26 seconds to go. Nash had the ball at the side near the half court line and Golden State double-teamed him. Running the clock down to about 6 seconds, Nash drove out of the double, passed to Raef LaFrentz at the top of the arc, and he passed to Eduardo Najera on the baseline. Foyle stepped in front of Najera to stop his drive and Najera stopped and turned his back to the basket as if looking for someone to pass to, but no one was there and the clock was running out, so he turned, jumped and nailed the baseliner with 2.6 seconds left to give Dallas the lead. Golden State called timeout. They inbounded the ball to Arenas, but his 3-pointer hit the back of the iron at the buzzer. Dallas won 116-114. It was another tight game for the Mavs and this time they came out on top. Golden State is a much improved young team and not the cupcake they used to be. Dallas shot 49.5% (47-95) FG and Golden State shot 46.4% (39-84) FG. The disturbing trend continued as Golden State doubled Dallas free throw attempts even though both teams were taking the ball inside. Golden State shot 28-33 FT and Dallas shot 12-15 FT. In the last 13 games, the opponent has averaged 9.5 more free throw attempts than Dallas as in all but 2 of those the opponent had more attempts than Dallas - and Dallas was just even in those other 2. Dallas did win the rebounding war in out-rebounding Golden State 42-40 including 18-12 offensive. Next up is this afternoon's much anticipated Dallas-Sacramento game. It is the last regular season meeting between the 2 and Sacramento has won all 3 of the previous ones. It is also the first time Eduardo Najera will be available to play in a Sacramento game this season - but the big question is if Nowitzki will play. With Dirk Nowitzki out for the 2nd half, a number of Mavs stepped up their play. 10 of Michael Finley's 21 points came in the 4th quarter - he only had 6 points in the 1st half. He also had 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Steve Nash's energy lifted the team in the 3rd quarter and set the tone for the 2nd half. 12 of his 17 points came in the 3rd quarter. He also had 12 assists and took 2 critical charges. Shawn Bradley had 8 points and 7 rebounds in the 2nd half. He finished with 16 points including 7-11 FG, 11 rebounds including 6 offensive, and 4 blocks before fouling out with 3 minutes left in the game. Dallas has won the last 28 games where Bradley has had a double-double. And, of course, Eduardo Najera was the hero of the game in hitting the game winner. He finished with 13 points including 6-8 FG and 6 rebounds. Nowitzki was playing very well before his injury and had 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 19 minutes. Raef LaFrentz had 11 points and 5 rebounds. Nick Van Exel was the 7th Mav in double-digits with 12 points. Tariq Abdul-Wahad saw his first action of the season and showed some hustle and defense in his short time on the court. He had 2 points and 3 rebounds in 5 minutes. Gilbert Arenas was the high man for Golden State with 29 points - 25 of which came in the 2nd half. He shot 12-24 FG, but only 1-8 3-pointers and had 8 assists and 5 turnovers. Antawn Jamison had 20 points - 14 points in the 1st quarter. Troy Murphy had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds including 6 offensive. Jason Richardson shot just 4-13 FG and had 13 points. Mike Dunleavy had 13 points, Adonal Foyle had 10 points and 3 blocks, and Bob Sura had 10 points and 10 assists. Quotes Don Nelson: "Minus Nowitzki I thought a lot of guys stepped up and did a great job. It's not a major injury but I don't know when he'll be able to play again." Nelson: "It was a game we really needed, and when Dirk went out, our guys really stepped up. And what can you say about Eddie. That was one of those shots we saw him make in college a lot. I think he did that one on muscle memory. But that shot is golden for him. He is very good with that one." Nelson: "They almost beat us the first 2 times. We were lucky to win here. They gave us all we wanted at our place." Nelson: "This was a game we really needed, and I know they did too. It was a heck of a basketball game, and I feel very lucky to get out of here with a win." Nelson on Nowitzki: "I don't think he's too bad. I don't know when he'll play again, but he's had these problems before and he usually comes back pretty quickly." Michael Finley: "We need to get every game." Nick Van Exel: "Everybody came up big when Dirk went out. And we needed it in a big way." Eduardo Najera on his game winner: "What we were running broke down and I just happened to be there. I knew time was running down and I just took a chance." Najera on his game winner: "It's not like I'm a crunch-time [shooter]. But the good thing is I was aware of the shot clock. I knew if I threw it out, we weren't going to get a better shot. And I figured, what's the worst that could happen? Nellie's going to yell at me? I'm used to that." Najera: "Finley carried us down the stretch. He hit some tough shots." Eric Musselman on Dallas' last shot: "We wanted to take the ball out of Nash and Finley's hands and thats what we did. We did a great job closing out on Najera. He actually picked the ball up and takes a fall away shot. When you look at the group that they had out there between Finley, Nash, and Van Exel you don't want any of those 3 to have the ball in their hands and take a shot to beat you. I thought defensively we did exactly what we wanted." Musselman on their last shot: "We had [Arenas] breaking to the ball and we wanted him to make a decision. It could have fallen and it didn't. That's the kind of decision you have to live with." Musselman: "I just feel for the team. This group plays so hard against great teams. Dallas has the best record in the NBA and it was game we could have won. We won 3 of the 4 quarters. Last time we played them in this building we won 3 out of 4 quarters and they got us in the 4th quarter. Tonight they got us in the 3rd quarter. ... Everybody in our organization should be extremely proud of the effort and the growth this team is making." Musselman: "This team is fighting and scratching and getting everything out of what we've got. Not a mad bone in any of the coaches' bodies. We're just drained and feel for the players." Musselman: "We'll bounce back. We have all year. You hate to play a back-to-back against a Seattle team that is playing really well, but that's the way the schedule goes." Antawn Jamison: "In the 1st half we did a good job as far as our shot selection. The 2nd half we did a poor job. That was the biggest difference." Jamison: "We knew Nash was going to do a better job of taking over. That's just common sense. He's an all-star. He did a tremendous job as far as coming out in the 3rd quarter and giving them a spark." Jamison on Dallas losing Nowitzki: "That's a talented team. One guy doesn't make or break that team. They have a lot of guys who have a lot of playoff experience. Those guys know how to play when one of their own goes out. We were more worried than anything. That didn't affect us as far as coming out in the 2nd half." Jamison on last second losses: "We cant take too many more, but we still have got a little way to go. The good thing about it is that we have a game tomorrow and we have a good opportunity to rebound and get back on track." Mike Dunleavy: "We made a guy take a fade away from behind the basket over Adonal. Unfortunately he made it and you just go onto the next game." Dunleavy: "They made a lot of tough shots to beat us. We wanted to take the ball away from Nash at the end but Najera made the shot." Dunleavy on their defense on Dallas' last play: "You can't do much better than that. We wanted it out of Nash's hands, out of Finley's too. He hit a tough shot over one of the best shot-blockers in the league. You tip your hat to him and go on to Seattle." Dunleavy on last second losses: "Its tough. On the one hand its a good thing in that we've played 3 really good opponents who have taken us down to the wire, but on the other hand its part of the growing process. ... There's been 5 or 6 games where they've hit last second shots with under 3 seconds. It's something we need to get better at. It's part of the growing process." Dunleavy on the last second losses: "We've lost 5 or 6 games like that. I guess it's part of the growing process of becoming a really good team. You've got to go through tough losses. It's unfortunate but this is where we learn. Maybe next year we get these 5 or 6 wins and then look at where we'll be." Troy Murphy: "It was a fun game. There were no crazy schemes. It was like playing on a playground." Murphy: "Those are tough ways to go. We're in these games and its going to take a while for us to get over the hump and win them." Murphy: "I think we have a short memory with some of these losses. Hopefully we can play well tomorrow." Dallas Mavericks 116, Golden State Warriors 114 at Golden State (March 14) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 30 23 36 27 - 116 .536 .385 .495 .800 Golden State 33 26 25 30 - 114 .544 .296 .464 .875 Halftime: Golden State 59-53 3rd Q: Dallas 89-84 Technicals: Eric Musselman 6:07 1st, Troy Murphy 6:07 1st, Michael Finley 5:10 1st, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 4:24 1st, Golden State defensive 3 seconds 3:58 1st Refs: Don Vaden, LeRoy Richardson, Tony Brown Attendance: 19,787 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 19 6-12 3-6 3-3 18 1-4 4 2 2 1 1 Eduardo Najera 30 6-8 0-0 1-1 13 2-6 1 0 3 0 2 Shawn Bradley 31 7-11 0-0 2-3 16 6-11 0 1 6 1 4 Michael Finley 38 9-21 2-7 1-2 21 2-5 5 2 4 2 0 Steve Nash 37 6-16 2-4 3-4 17 1-2 12 2 1 2 0 Raef LaFrentz 32 4-7 1-4 2-2 11 1-5 2 1 5 1 1 Adrian Griffin 12 2-7 0-1 0-0 4 1-1 0 0 4 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 26 5-9 2-4 0-0 12 1-2 1 2 0 0 0 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 5 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-3 1 0 0 0 0 Walt Williams 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 0 0 0 Raja Bell 5 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 48 47-95 10-26 12-15 116 18-42 27 10 25 7 9 Golden State Warriors REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Troy Murphy 27 3-5 0-0 6-6 12 6-12 1 2 3 0 0 Antawn Jamison 32 7-16 1-3 5-5 20 0-2 2 1 4 1 0 Erick Dampier 18 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 3-8 2 1 2 0 0 Jason Richardson 31 4-13 1-4 4-4 13 1-3 2 1 0 1 0 Gilbert Arenas 43 12-24 1-8 4-6 29 0-4 8 5 2 1 0 Mike Dunleavy 20 4-8 3-6 2-2 13 1-4 1 0 0 0 0 Bob Sura 24 2-6 1-3 5-6 10 1-3 10 1 2 1 0 Adonal Foyle 29 4-4 0-0 2-3 10 0-4 0 0 2 0 3 Earl Boykins 15 2-5 1-3 0-0 5 0-0 1 1 3 0 0 Jiri Welsch 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 39-84 8-27 28-32 114 12-40 27 13 18 4 3 patricia