Dallas (49-16) at Sacramento (46-20) (March 16) The big news was that Dirk Nowitzki was available to play despite the sprained left ankle he suffered on Friday. The game stayed close early on and was tied at 14-14 with 7:25 left. Dallas then scored the next 7 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Raef LaFrentz, to go up 21-14 with 5:30 to go. Dallas' lead remained in single-digits the rest of the quarter and a 3-pointer by Nowitzki with 30 seconds left gave Dallas a 33-23 lead after 1. Nowitzki's 3-point shooting continued in the 2nd quarter as the Kings failed to get up tight on him as he scored Dallas next 9 points, all on 3s, and the last one gave Dallas their largest lead at 42-31 with 8:10 remaining. Keon Clark then converted a 3-point play and Sacramento hit 2 jumpers to pull within 39-42 with 7:10 left. Dallas continued to cling to a single-digit lead. Mike Bibby converted a 3-point play to tie the game at 53-53 with 1:25 remaining, but Dallas scored the next 6 points to go back up. Hidayet Turkoglu hit a jumper as the quarter ended. Dallas led 59-55 at the half. Nowitzki had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Both teams shot 47% FG. Dallas uncharacteristically shot very poorly from the line in only shooting 5-12 FT while Sacramento hit their free throws in shooting 7-8 FT. The exciting game continued in the 2nd half with Dallas still hanging on to the lead. Nowitzki hit another 3-pointer and Vlade Divac fouled Shawn Bradley as the shot went through and Bradley converted the unconventional 4-point play to give Dallas a 70-60 lead with 9 minutes to go. Sacramento scored the next 7 points to pull within 67-70 with 7:45 left, but could get no closer than 3 points. Dallas led 86-82 after 3. Dallas led 93-86 with 10:25 left and then got really sloppy in committing 4 straight turnovers after missing 2 shots and the Kings took full advantage in scoring 12 straight points to go up 98-93 with 6:15 remaining. 2 free throws by Nick Van Exel finally ended Dallas' almost 5 minute drought. The game stayed close. Bibby drove for the layup to give Sacramento a 104-101 lead with 3 minutes to go. Nowitzki hit 2 free throws, Bibby missed, and Steve Nash found Eduardo Najera for the layup to give Dallas a 105-104 lead with 2:15 remaining. Chris Webber missed, but Sacramento got the rebound and Bibby drained the 3-pointer to put Sacramento back on top with 2 minutes left. Nash drove, missed, got his own rebound, and got the layup to tie the game at 107-107 with 1:30 remaining. Webber missed and Najera was fouled, but he only hit 1 of 2 free throws. Webber hit a short jump hook to give the Kings a 109-108 lead with 56 seconds left. Van Exel missed and Sacramento ran some time off the clock. As the clock was running down, Bibby nailed a tough jumper over the defense to give Sacramento a 3 point lead with 14 seconds to go. Dallas called timeout. Nash and Nowitzki passed the ball back and forth behind the arc and then Nowitzki faked the 3-pointer and as he drew the defense toward him, he passed the ball back to Nash who rose for the open 3. The ball clanked off the side of the rim, but Michael Finley got the rebound and passed out to Nash in the corner and he rose and drained the 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to tie the game. Sacramento called timeout and advanced the ball to halfcourt. Bobby Jackson inbounded to Webber and he touch-passed the ball back to Jackson, but his 3-pointer hit high off the glass and wasn't even close as time expired. And we had overtime at 111-111. The teams traded misses to open the overtime. Nowitzki hit a jumper, but BJackson drove for 2 to tie the game at 113-113 with 3:45 left. Dallas missed and BJackson hit 1 of 2 free throws with 3 minutes remaining. Nash drained a quick 3-pointer, but Predrag Stojakovic answered with a 3 to give Sacramento a 117-116 with 2:40 to go. Dallas missed on 2 attempts and Stojakovic was called for palming. Nash hit a jumper, Stojakovic missed, and Nash hit another jumper to put Dallas up 120-117 with 1:30 remaining. Turkoglu missed and Nowitzki hit 2 free throws with 56 seconds left. Webber hit only his 3rd 3-pointer of the season to pull Sacramento within 120-122 with 47 seconds to go, but Nash answered with a 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining. Sacramento missed on 2 attempts and that was basically game. 2 Dallas free throws surrounded a Jackson jumper to cap the scoring. Dallas won 129-123. Wow. Yet another exciting game between these 2 teams. The league can only hope that the two meet up in the playoffs. It's not every game that wears out the viewers as well as the participants. Both teams played well, with lapses at times. Dallas' largest lead was just 11 points and Sacramento's was 5 points. Dallas shot 47.5% (47-99) FG including 10-25 FG and Sacramento shot 45.1% (46-102) FG including 11-23 3-pointers. Dallas did (finally) pick up their free throw shooting in hitting 20-21 FT in the 2nd half for a total of 25-33 FT. Sacramento shot 20-25 FT. And unlike the last game where Sacramento out-rebounded Dallas by 20 boards, Dallas out-rebounded Sacramento 55-49. No question who the hero was in this game - Steve Nash stepped up big time. Nash had 5 of Dallas' last 6 points in regulation including the shot that sent the game into overtime and had 12 of Dallas' 18 points in overtime. He finished with 27 points including 11-17 FG and 3-4 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists. And how about the performance from Dirk Nowitzki. Sprained ankle and all, he 34 points including 6-10 3-pointers and 18 rebounds in playing 50 minutes (you don't sit with a sprained ankle else it gets stiff). Michael Finley chipped in 21 points and 7 rebounds. Nick Van Exel only shot 6-18 FG, but his made shots seemed to always come to prevent Sacramento from pulling even. He had 17 points. Adrian Griffin started and his hitting the open shots in the 1st quarter helped Dallas build the early lead. Griff had 12 points on 6-7 FG and 9 rebounds. Eduardo Najera did not have high numbers, but his presence on the floor did help (despite getting yelled at by Don Nelson even after the final buzzer). He had 5 points and 4 rebounds including 3 offensive. Raef LaFrentz had 10 points and 3 rebounds in 25 minutes and Shawn Bradley had just 1 point and 1 rebound in 8 minutes. Bradley did start the overtime for the jumpball and injured his knee a few minutes later when he hit it on the floor. Peja Stojakovic was the high man for Sacramento with 30 points including 10-17 FG and 5-7 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Chris Webber almost had a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. Mike Bibby did not go off against Dallas like he normally does and had just 12 points and 7 assists. Bobby Jackson had 14 points, but shot just 5-16 FG and 1-7 3-pointers. Doug Christie had 10 points, Vlade Divac had 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu had 11 points and 7 rebounds. As much has been made about Sacramento having won the last 3 meetings between the two teams and Dallas needing this win for facing Sacramento in the future, I fall into the camp that this win was not important for that reason - but was important as the race for the Midwest division is so tight with San Antonio's great play since the All-Star break. San Antonio has only 2 more losses than Dallas and the 2 teams face each other twice in the remaining 4 weeks of the season. Of course, that makes Thursday's game vs San Antonio the next big event. But Dallas needs to first take care of business Tuesday vs Cleveland. Quotes Don Nelson: "It didn't feel like we had a monkey off the back against Sacramento. The Kings have still out-played us this year. Because we won an overtime game doesn't mean that much to me. But what it does do for our team is keep us in the division race with San Antonio. We could have very easily lost it here on this road trip. When we get back we have 2 tough games against San Antonio. We have some worth while things to pursue and we're trying real hard to stay in that race." Nelson: "We won a game in overtime. We lost 2 close games. What does it mean? It means that our teams are pretty close, and they seem to have an advantage over us. They're hard for us to beat. That's all that means." Nelson on starting Griffin: "Griff's a veteran who can make open shots, and he actually set the tone for our rebounding. He really stepped up. To me, he gets the game ball." Michael Finley: "It's good to finally beat a team that you haven't beat all year. Our confidence is high but to come in here, in a hostile environment, and get the win, we're going to use this the rest of the season." Finley on Nash's hot shooting: "It got to the point where he wasn't even looking at the basket anymore." Finley on Griffin: "Raja and Griff are both capable of hitting shots, but this was Griff's night and I'm happy for him." Dirk Nowitzki: "We stood up to the challenge and made some good plays. The first 2 out of 3 games, we didn't make plays down the stretch and they did. It was nice because Steve stepped up and made the plays." Nowitzki: "The game was huge, especially because they made a run in the 4th quarter and we didn't fold." Nowitzki on the shots to end regulation: "You want to take a shot early enough so you can go and get another 2nd shot opportunity, and Mike had a great offensive rebound and dished it out. You can't give Steve a 2nd look at it. That 3 to send it to overtime got him going. In overtime, he played out of his mind." Steve Nash: "I finally made the shot that sent us into overtime. I felt we deserved it. I thought we played well enough and hard enough; we deserved the break at the end of the game. We got one by getting an offensive rebound and getting a 2nd chance at the 3. Bobby Jackson is a good defender and I just tried to be aggressive." Nash: "I think their defense was pretty typical tonight. Other than the first game when we didn't show up, the rest was pretty typical defense of the Kings." Nash on the 1st 3 attempt at the end of regulation: "When Dirk pump-faked and got the defenders leaning toward him, I knew I was going to get a good look. It was just a little short on the first one. Thank goodness I got a 2nd chance. We were lucky. But after the incredible heist they stole from us in the game in Dallas, this is somewhat fair." [a banked 3-pointer sent that game into overtime and a putback off an airball won the game] Nash on beating Sacramento: "I don't think it really matters that much. Yeah, it's nice to beat them, but mainly it's big because it's a road win that we needed because San Antonio is breathing down our necks. We could have gotten swept, and what would it really have mattered when the playoffs come around?" Nash: "I don't think this game will have any bearing on the playoffs." Nash: "We need to win all these games. We can't lose or San Antonio is going to catch us." Nash on the early game time: "To be honest, I was pretty tired. I just rather would have been taking a nap or something." Nick Van Exel: "To finally get one against those guys - and do it in their building - it lets us know we're right there with them." Van Exel: "As far as our confidence goes against that team, we have all the confidence in the world that we can beat those guys. Everybody in this locker room feels we're 3-1 against those guys, but the record shows they're 3-1. But our confidence is so high. It's unbelievable." Van Exel: "We finally learned how to rebound. We had to do the best we can to stop those guys." Adrian Griffin: "They have a very good team and that is an understatement. We just had to come out and put forth the effort. We know what they can do and they know what we can do, it just came down to, like, a heavyweight fight, 2 of the best teams going at it, and we just felt like we needed this game." Griffin on hitting his shots: "I just took the open shot when it was there and was able to make a few." Raef LaFrentz on Sacramento's run during the 4th: "You watch it, and you're like, 'Damn, they keep hitting big shots.' At that point, it was up to us to answer." Rick Adelman: "That was a great game. They played really well. It seemed like we could never get over the hump until the 4th quarter and then Nash made a big shot to send it to overtime. Nash hit some big shots in overtime. You have to give them credit, they came in and played well. We just didn't do enough things to win the game." Adelman: "Dallas is so hard to defend. They're the best offensive team in the league with some great offensive players and shooters. If we get a rebound, the game's over. But we didn't get the rebound." Adelman on the lineup he used at the end of regulation: "I went with the group that got us into position to win the game." Adelman on the ref calling palming on Stojakovic in overtime: "There's no explanation they could give me. He made a carrying-the-ball call at that time of the game when there are guys who carry it all the time the whole game. If he's going to make a call like that, he shouldn't be in a game like this." Chris Webber: "The worst part was they were running off the court like they just won a championship. You never know. Maybe we'll see them again, and we'll remember that." [Which is exactly what Sacramento did after the win in Dallas.] Webber on Nash's shot that sent the game into overtime: "You'd like to think a shot like that doesn't affect you, but human nature takes its course. You try to put it out of your mind in overtime, but you can't. Maybe it was just their turn." Predrag Stojakovic: "We had the game in our hands, but somehow we got lost in our rotation on that last shot. Steve made an open shot. He made a lot of big shots." Stojakovic on when Jackson and he ran at Nowitzki on the pump-fake at the end of regulation: "When all that happened, that messed up our rebounding rotation. And they got the long one." Stojakovic on defending Nowitzki: "We had some miscommunication in the 1st half and he got open and hit shots. And he's a great shooter. He'll score. He's a great player; very hard to defend." Bobby Jackson: "They made some tough shots. We had them, all we needed was 1 rebound. They got the board and Nash was open. That's how the ball bounces sometimes. It was a hard fought game. We came out ready to play and left it all out there. It's too bad it came down to 1 rebound and a wide open 3-pointer. We'll just go back to the drawing board on Tuesday. Every game is important right now. We want to get into the best spot, have the best record going into the playoffs, and get home court advantage." Jackson on Dallas' last possession in regulation: "We had no concentration at all. And they had great execution. We know we have to have 5 men going to the boards in that situation, especially with Webb out, and I know we didn't because I was standing out there on the perimeter." Jackson on the possibility of facing Dallas in the playoffs: "Oh, man, that would be a headache. It would be real frustrating to guard those guys. I mean, we gave up too many points to them in the 1st half ... and the 2nd half; the whole game. We have to dedicate ourselves to guarding them better and containing them." Jackson: "Their mindset is you score on me and we score on you. But we've got to wake up and get back on defense against these guys. We let them score at will on us at times tonight." Hidayet Turkoglu: "[The last rebound] was a big rebound for them. They are a tough team and they comeback. It is hard to stop them. They played better than us and they won. Tomorrow we just need to get ready for our next opponent. We need to keep improving our record at home. Golden State is going to be tough; they have been playing pretty well. They are similar to Dallas in that they crash the boards well. We'll just prepare ourselves and get ready for the game on Tuesday." Dallas Mavericks 129, Sacramento Kings 123 OT at Sacramento (March 16) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 33 26 27 25 18 - 129 .500 .400 .475 .758 Sacramento 23 32 27 29 12 - 123 .443 .478 .451 .800 Halftime: Dallas 59-55 3rd Q: Dallas 86-82 4th Q: 91-91 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 6:35 3rd, Eduardo Najera 0:13 3rd Refs: Rodney Mott, Steve Javie, Tim Donaghy Attendance: 17,317 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 29 6-7 0-0 0-2 12 0-9 2 1 2 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 50 10-23 6-10 8-8 34 1-18 4 2 3 0 2 Raef LaFrentz 25 4-10 1-1 1-1 10 1-3 0 0 3 1 2 Michael Finley 44 7-16 0-4 7-9 21 3-7 3 1 4 1 0 Steve Nash 39 11-17 3-4 2-3 27 2-7 10 3 2 1 0 Nick Van_Exel 36 6-18 0-6 5-7 17 0-3 4 4 1 0 0 Eduardo Najera 21 2-3 0-0 1-2 5 3-4 2 0 3 1 1 Walt Williams 9 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 1 0 Shawn Bradley 8 0-1 0-0 1-1 1 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 2-2 1 0 2 1 0 Totals 53 47-99 10-25 25-33 129 12-55 26 11 22 6 5 Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Predrag Stojakovic 41 10-17 5-7 5-6 30 2-6 1 2 2 1 0 Chris Webber 47 10-26 1-1 3-5 24 3-15 9 2 4 1 1 Vlade Divac 24 4-6 0-0 2-2 10 0-7 0 1 1 0 2 Doug Christie 31 3-6 1-2 3-4 10 1-3 3 2 1 1 0 Mike Bibby 39 5-13 1-3 1-1 12 0-0 7 4 2 2 0 Keon Clark 14 3-4 0-0 3-3 9 1-4 1 0 2 0 0 Bobby Jackson 33 5-16 1-7 3-4 14 0-3 3 1 3 1 0 Jim Jackson 12 1-5 1-1 0-0 3 1-4 3 1 2 1 0 Hidayet Turkoglu 24 5-9 1-2 0-0 11 2-7 4 0 4 0 0 Totals 53 46-102 11-23 20-25 123 10-49 31 13 21 7 3 patricia