Prior to Sunday's Minnesota game, Dallas activated Evan Eschmeyer and placed Walt Williams on IR with a strained left hamstring. Williams injured the hamstring late in the Portland game. With his appearance in the Portland game, Avery Johnson has played in 1,000 NBA games. He joined Calvin Murphy as the only players under 6-feet tall to have played in 1,000 games. Michael Finley continues to sit out games due to his strained left hamstring. He is listed as a game-time decision for the New Orleans game, but it is sounding like he won't play in that game either. Dallas (54-17) at Portland (44-27) (March 28) Portland jumped ahead 12-4 midway through the quarter as Dallas was struggling to score, including missing a couple of bunnies. The teams traded buckets and Dallas went on a 13-3 run to go up 21-17 with 30 seconds left. Dallas led 21-19 after 1. The teams trade leads over the first few minutes of the 2nd quarter and then Portland held a small lead the rest of the quarter. A 3-pointer by Rasheed Wallace and layup by Ruben Patterson gave Portland a 41-33 with 4:15 remaining. A 3-pointer by Derek Anderson gave Portland their largest lead at 51-41 with 22 seconds to go, but Avery Johnson converted a 3-point play in the waning seconds. Portland led 51-44 at the half. Then came the 3rd quarter. If the 1st half hadn't been ugly enough, the Mavs threw out this stinker. Portland led 63-74 with 4:40 left and went on a 16-4 run to go up 90-67 with a minute left. Portland led 95-71 after 3. Dallas had little offense, no defense, and no rebounding and Portland took full advantage by out-scoring Dallas 44-27 in the quarter. Portland only missed 4 shots in the quarter in shooting 17-21 FG including 4-6 3-pointers and out-rebounded Dallas 10-1. Dale Davis (yes, Dale Davis) had 16 points in the quarter. The 4th quarter was pure garbage time as Dallas would get no closer than 19 points until scoring the last 8 points of the game. Portland won 112-95. Well, this was the stinker that Dallas had been building up for with their recent poor performances (just those games were against poor teams and the Mavs managed to do just enough to get the win). Dallas could do nothing defensively - their interior defense was dismal in being unable to stop anything - and their rebounding was pathetic. No matter how good or bad a team is, every team (for some strange reason) has a couple of stinkers like this one and Dallas needs to simply learn their lessons from this loss and put it behind them. [And it must be something about being in Portland in March as they put up a 106-132 stinker there last March 14 (their 19th loss of that season)]. Portland finished the game shooting 54.3% (44-81) FG and Dallas shot 45.2% (38-84) FG. Portland shot 17-25 FT and Dallas shot 14-16 FT. But the key stat was rebounds, which highlighted Dallas' lack of effort. Portland out-rebounded Dallas 48-27 including 13-6 offensive. Portland, who had been playing poorly, simply wanted this one more. Portland had a balanced game with 7 players in double-digits. Rasheed Wallace was the high man with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Derek Anderson had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Damon Stoudamire had 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. All of Dale Davis' 16 points came in the 3rd quarter and he shot 6-9 FG. Zach Randolph had 13 points including 6-7 FG and 9 rebounds. Ruben Patterson had 11 points and 6 rebounds. And Bonzi Wells had 11 points including 5-14 FG, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. And, as he usual does in a Mavs game, he displayed his scumhood in throwing a couple of elbows at Eduardo Najera's chest (and could some one please explain to me how the ref called a double-foul???). None of the Mavs deserve mention for this stinker. Quotes Maurice Cheeks: "We approached this game with a business-like attitude. Not a lot was said before the game. The guys knew what we had to do. We had the weight on our shoulders." Cheeks: "We came out with a team game, not just because we had 7 players in double figures, but a team game all around in everything we did. Defense, rebounding, shooting ball movement - all of that was really good. I just think tonight's game was good because our guys were prepared. They knew what we had to do." Cheeks: "It was an intense game. We had a real businesslike attitude. We all understand the importance of this game." Bonzi Wells: "We said 'Coach, we need more movement.' If we're going to be a tough team to guard, it's going to take all 5 of us, not 1 guy pressing to the post and the rest of us standing there. We all have to move around and touch the ball. We exposed them. We moved the ball from side to side and got easy drives through the lane. It was just beautiful basketball today." Wells: "In this league, you are not going to win all the time. But we are still in this. We are still one of the top 4 teams and we still have time to prove our doubters wrong." Dale Davis on his 16 points in the 3rd quarter: "Probably the most I've scored in a quarter since high school." Davis on his shaved head: "Usually when I'm in a funk, I go back to the old roots. Cut it all off and go penitentiary-style. That's me, so that's the way it's going to have to go down." Damon Stoudamire: "We needed a win. We were able to force our will on the game, and usually they're the type of team that forces their will on the game. This was a big momentum gain for us." Stoudamire: "It gives us confidence. We lost 3 in a row. Any team that loses 3 in a row at this time of year has to question themselves. I think we are no different from anybody else. But with a win like this, we've got a little momentum." Don Nelson: "We didn't have much of a chance from the opening tipoff to the end. They just out-played us. The coaches have seen this coming the last couple of games. We've pushed our team real hard to make sure we didn't stub our toe the first 2 games out and it just kind of caught up with us." Nelson on being out-rebounded 48-27: "That's embarrassing. Rebounding has been a problem all year and they just totally dominated us there. We don't expect to win the rebound game every night, but we do expect to be a little closer than that." Nelson on only 1 rebound in the the 3rd quarter: "That's embarrassing. Rebounding has been a problem all year, and they just totally dominated us there. All I can tell you is I had my biggest players in there and they couldn't do anything about it." Dirk Nowitzki: "It wasn't just the 3rd quarter, it was the whole game. It was one of the worst performances of the season." Nowitzki: "We didn't rebound the ball, we didn't guard them in the zone or the man-to-man. We could see this coming in the last couple of games. We haven't really performed at our level the last 3 or 4 games, but we snuck through. Hopefully this will wake us up." Steve Nash: "It's going to take a lot of character to bounce back from this one. But the great strength of our team is character and mental toughness and staying together, so I look for us to have a good performance." Nick Van Exel: "We want to be #1 for a reason. But you go out here on national TV, playing against a team that's been struggling lately, and let them embarrass us. That's terrible." Avery Johnson in playing 1000 games: "I just thought I'd try to hang around for a couple of years when I first started. To make it this long is a testament to all the hard work and to all the coaches and teammates and everybody else who helped me along the way." Johnson: "It's not always about me. It's about everybody who put time in with me. To me, it's about setting an example for some other undersized point guard that's trying to make it in the NBA. I had guys like Nate Archibald that I looked at that was an example for me as a professional." Portland Trailblazers 112, Dallas Mavericks 95 at Portland (March 28) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Portland 19 32 44 17 - 112 .561 .467 .543 .680 Dallas 21 23 27 24 - 95 .485 .313 .452 .875 Halftime: Portland 51-44 3rd Q: Portland 95-71 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 8:10 2nd Refs: Dick Bavetta, Bill Kennedy, Luis Grillo Attendance: 20,580 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Michael Finley (strained left hamstring) Portland Trailblazers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Bonzi Wells 35 5-14 0-0 1-2 11 2-7 6 4 4 1 0 Rasheed Wallace 39 8-15 2-3 2-2 20 1-9 4 2 3 1 0 Dale Davis 24 6-9 0-0 4-5 16 0-2 1 0 3 0 0 Derek Anderson 35 6-11 3-6 1-1 16 0-7 6 1 1 0 1 Damon Stoudamire 30 5-9 2-4 5-5 17 1-5 5 3 0 1 0 Arvydas Sabonis 3 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Zach Randolph 23 6-7 0-0 1-2 13 4-9 3 2 1 2 0 Jeff McInnis 18 2-4 0-1 0-0 4 0-0 3 1 3 0 0 Ruben Patterson 20 5-8 0-0 1-4 11 5-6 1 0 1 0 0 Qyntel Woods 5 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Anthony Daniels 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 Charles Smith 4 0-1 0-1 1-2 1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 44-81 7-15 17-25 112 13-48 29 15 18 5 1 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 6 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 33 6-16 3-9 5-5 20 0-3 4 3 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 20 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-2 0 1 2 1 1 Raja Bell 26 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 1-2 4 1 1 2 0 Steve Nash 26 6-11 1-2 2-2 15 0-1 3 1 0 0 0 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 30 6-13 0-1 0-0 12 2-8 2 0 3 1 0 Raef LaFrentz 27 2-7 0-1 1-2 5 0-2 1 0 4 2 0 Nick Van_Exel 22 5-9 1-2 2-2 13 0-0 2 0 1 0 0 Walt Williams 19 2-5 0-1 1-2 5 0-4 1 1 3 0 1 Eduardo Najera 17 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 1-2 0 1 2 0 0 Avery Johnson 14 2-5 0-0 3-3 7 2-2 2 1 0 2 0 Totals 48 38-84 5-16 14-16 95 6-27 19 9 20 9 2 Dallas (54-18) at Minnesota (46-28) (March 30) A completely different team showed up in Minnesota than had been in Portland. Dallas held small digit leads throughout the 1st quarter, with none larger than 8 points. Dallas started by going to the big guy early and Shawn Bradley scored 7 of Dallas' first 12 points. Dallas led 33-27 after 1. Bradley had 9 points and Kevin Garnett had 11 points. Minnesota pulled within 33-37 with 9 minutes remaining on a jumper by Wally Szczerbiak, but Dallas then scored the next 10 points, including 6 points from Raef LaFrentz, to go up 47-33 with 5 minutes to go. Garnett picked up his 3rd foul with 3 minutes remaining. Dirk Nowitzki drained a 3-pointer, Minnesota missed on 2 attempts, and Steve Nash snagged the long rebound and passed ahead to Tariq Abdul-Wahad, who streaked down for the break away dunk just prior to the quarter buzzer. Dallas led 62-47 at the half. LaFrentz had 11 points in the quarter. Dallas shot 57% FG and Minnesota shot 44% FG. And in a change from the previous game, Dallas out-rebounded Minnesota 20-15. Nash had 10 assists in the half. And as Portland put the game away in the 3rd quarter on Friday night, Dallas put the game away in the 3rd quarter on Sunday afternoon. Dallas led in the teens the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter and Nowitzki scored 7 straight points to put Dallas up 83-61 with 4:45 to go (and Nowitzki then had a 3-pointer after a putback by Garnett to make it 10 straight Dallas points by Nowitzki). A pair of 3-pointers by Nick Van Exel surrounded a jumper by him and Dallas led 94-65 with 2:20 to go. Van Exel nailed another 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer to give Dallas a 100-71 lead after 3. Dallas shot 14-23 FG including 8-11 3-pointers in the 3rd quarter in out-scoring Minnesota 38-24. Nowitzki had 13 points and Van Exel had 11 points in the quarter. Dallas continued their domination by scoring the first 7 points of the 4th quarter to take a commanding 107-71 lead with 10:30 left and the rest was garbage time. Dallas won 119-95. It was a tale of 2 games - one in which Dallas stunk (Friday) and one in which Dallas played great (Minnesota). Minnesota, who also need this game as they are in a tight race with Portland for the #4 spot, just ran into a buzzsaw and they had a down game (and as I said in the Portland write-up, every team will have a couple of stinkers each season). Despite poor shooting in garbage time, Dallas finished shooting 55.7% (49-88) FG including 11-23 3-pointers while Minnesota shot 42.7% (35-82) FG including 3-13 3-pointers. Minnesota did get to the line more than Dallas [a little disturbing with such a large difference as Dallas was taking the ball inside a lot] in shooting 22-31 FT while Dallas shot just 10-14 FT. And the biggest difference from the Portland game, Dallas out-rebounded Minnesota 40-35. Dallas also had a season high 39 assists. Dallas never trailed in the game. Hopefully Dallas can use this win as a momentum builder and finish the last 9 games strong. They need to do so as San Antonio is just not losing. Dallas finished March with a record of 11-4, tied for the 2nd best record of the month, but San Antonio had the best record at 14-3. Dallas has a record of 55- 18, still the best in the league, but the Spurs are 2nd in the league with a record of 53-20. Dirk Nowitzki led the way for Dallas, but the key was that the team got balanced play from others, including rare performances by the big men. Nowitzki had a game high 33 points including 13-20 FG and 6-10 3-pointers [but only attempted 2 free throws - give me a break] and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes. Steve Nash had a double-double with 14 points and 15 assists. He also had 5 rebounds. His circus shots were falling, but he had one more impressive than usual - a fall-away (and he was falling) 5-foot baseliner over Garnett. Nick Van Exel chipped in 19 points and 9 assists off the bench. And the big men - Shawn Bradley had 12 points (9 in the 1st quarter) including 4-5 FG and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes and Raef LaFrentz had 15 points and 3 rebounds in 28 minutes. Yeah, they need to get more rebounds, but with the way they have been playing lately, this was a vast improvement. Tariq Abdul-Wahad was the 6th Mav in double-digits with 10 points and also had 6 assists. It was a one-man show for Minnesota as Kevin Garnett had almost no help. Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds. The next highest scorer was Anthony Peeler with 14 points. Kendall Gill had 11 points, Radoslav Nesterovic had 11 points, and Troy Hudson had 10 points. Wally Szczerbiak had a terrible game with just 8 points including 2-11 FG. No Minnesota player had more than 4 assists. Quotes Don Nelson: "It was kind of a crazy game and we'll just take it. It's good to have your team play well when you've been on the road. It feels good to win 3 out of 4 [on the road trip]. It feels good to win without Mike in the lineup. We were really worried about that." Nelson: "We did get the ball inside more than normal today, but when they double teamed, we made the appropriate pass. You always look good when you make your shots." Nelson: "We did get the ball inside more than normal today, but when they double teamed, we made the appropriate pass. We're not as good as the Wolves at getting it inside-outside. Still, we got people scattering around trying to cover us. The same thing with our screen-and-roll. They were rotating early and we were taking advantage of it - making the extra pass and making all of our shots." Nelson: "We looked like a team, didn't we? We thought this was going to be a hard game. There were a hundred reasons for us to be concerned. But we came out and played our best ball." Nelson: "We think we're pretty smart sometimes, but you never know where your wins are coming from and you never know where your losses are coming from. I've been wrong before and I was glad I was wrong this particular game because I thought this would be our toughest game of all." Nelson: "Our ball movement was crisp. Nash set the tone by moving the ball and making that extra pass. And it makes you look good when you're making shots." Nelson on Garnett: "We did a good job on him, but still we could do the same job tomorrow and he would have 40 points. He's still the MVP as far as I'm concerned, whether we did a good job on him or not. He's sensational. I love the guy. I love the Wolves. I think they're a class organization. There are good guys on their team, just like ours, and they're really well coached." Nelson on Abdul-Wahad: "He played both ends of the floor. In Portland, his numbers were good, but he didn't defend. This was much better. He could be a real positive for our team if he stays healthy. We're giving him this opportunity to see if he can help us in the playoffs. And what we're seeing now is kind of exciting." Dirk Nowitzki on the strong start: "It was important, especially after the way we've been playing lately. We haven't really performed well, even though it's a crucial time of the year. We've gotten away with it in Denver and in Phoenix it slipped away in the 2nd half. So we wanted to make sure that we came out stronger. We knew that we had to battle the boards better and move the ball and it worked out great." Nowitzki: "It's a tough time of the year and we have to step up our game, especially rebounding wise. We had only 1 board in the 3rd quarter [at Portland] and it was embarrassing how we got manhandled. That's what we wanted to correct today, and we won the rebounding game - which is huge because Minnesota is such a good rebounding team. That was pretty much a big key for us." Nowitzki: "We had a great team effort today after a bad loss in Portland. Everyone was looking for the open guy and knocking down some shots." Nowitzki on his performance: "I wouldn't say it was an MVP effort. We had a great team effort after what happened in Portland. Kevin should probably get [the MVP] for what he does for his team. He's been great." Steve Nash on how good the team is: "We're somewhere in between [this game and the Portland game], but hopefully closer to this game than the Portland game." Nash on 39 assists: "That's unbelievable. We moved the ball and made shots. It can be contagious when you start passing and guys are getting good looks and making shots. They're much more apt to continue doing it the next time down the floor when that happens." Nash: "Raef and Shawn were much bigger factors than they were in Portland. It was the opposite end of the spectrum." Nick Van Exel: "We needed this in a big way. Every game is a difference maker. Our schedule is tougher than [San Antonio's] - we can't afford to let it slip." Van Exel: "We responded well after what happened in Portland. Going 3-1 on this trip is good. We'll take it." Van Exel on who is the MVP: "Dirk played great. He's right up there among the MVP candidates. But I'm still going with KG." Raef LaFrentz: "I had a chance to come in and keep it going in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. They might have been a little flat for whatever reason, but when you get into a situation like that against a team like the Wolves, you got to take advantage of it." Adrian Griffin on the Portland loss: "It actually probably did us some good because we came back from it a lot more focused. It gets your attention, because we knew it could happen again in this game. Minnesota is a very good team." Flip Saunders: "I don't know if they were so good offensively or we were so bad or if it was a combination of both. They played extremely well. They played with more of a mental edge early and set the tone of the game right away. They knew the importance of the game. We knew the importance of the game, but they got us back on our heels." Saunders: "They knew the importance of the game, and I think we knew the importance, but they got us back on our heels. It was like a heavyweight fight, where they gave us 1, 2, 3 haymakers and we were groggy for the last 47 minutes." Saunders: "We never really mounted any kind of a run. They're too good of a shooting team [that] if you fall behind by as much as we did in the 3rd quarter... It was just like shooting practice for them. That's why they're such a dangerous team to play, because they can do those things." Saunders: "There's no question that defensively we're not very good right now. The main reason that we're not very good is that we're getting broken down. We're getting broken down on the perimeter and when they break you down, they draw coverage - and then you're in a help and recover situation." Saunders: "There's no question that their game plan was to go at Wally. They went at him regardless who he was guarding. When they're doing that with someone who isn't one of their main guys and we have to help out, it opens things up for some of their perimeter guys." Kevin Garnett: "I'm angry, but that's not going to fix it. It has to be fueled by hard work. If you're not angry right now, you don't care. But it's not like someone is going to walk in and abracadabra, poof, it's fixed. We have to do it. You can't give up 115 or whatever points to teams in this league. We have to get back to playing defense; the focus is nothing else." Wally Szczerbiak: "We were just a little bit late in rotating all game. Any time you let them get open shots, they're going to bury them. We need to continue to fight. Everyone is tired right now, but there are no excuses. They fed off of our misses. They got easy baskets in transition. Everything went right for them and we just weren't good. We need to limit their transition buckets and get more ourselves." Szczerbiak: "We need to trust each other and be aggressive. If you get beat, you have to know someone is going to be there to help you out. As a team I think we kind of lost that. It really is kind of a simple solution. We have to talk with each other and stop teams from the inside out." Szczerbiak: "We were just a little bit late in our rotations and any time you give them shots like that, they're going to kill you." Szczerbiak: "I missed some open looks. The shots aren't falling right now and we just need to get back at it Wednesday. We need to get back to the fundamentals on defense and communicate. We need to stop giving up easy baskets. We need to use these couple of days off to figure things out and correct them." Kendall Gill: "It was really tough. We weren't doing anything right today. I've been in the league 13 years and I've never seen a team shoot like that. We've played them tough all year and I thought we'd come out and play well - especially after our 2 losses and the game being on national TV. When you play like we were playing, with the way they were shooting, it was going to be a blowout. We're in a little slide right now, and we need to stop it. We need to make some adjustments and get back on the right track." Gill: "I hope we see them in the playoffs. We can beat them in a 7 game series. They're not going to be able to shoot the ball like they did over an entire series. I've been in the league 13 years, and I've never seen a team shoot like that." Dallas Mavericks 119, Minnesota Timberwolves 95 at Minnesota (March 30) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 33 29 38 19 - 119 .585 .478 .557 .714 Minnesota 27 20 24 24 - 95 .464 .231 .427 .710 Halftime: Dallas 62-47 3rd Q: Dallas 100-71 Technicals: none Refs: Bill spooner, Jack Nies, Nolan Fine Attendance: 19,304 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Michael Finley (strained left hamstring) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 21 3-8 0-0 0-0 6 1-4 3 0 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 34 13-20 6-10 1-2 33 0-7 3 1 2 0 1 Shawn Bradley 24 4-5 0-0 4-5 12 1-3 1 1 4 2 1 Eduardo Najera 22 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 3-5 1 0 4 0 0 Steve Nash 31 6-12 1-4 1-1 14 2-5 15 2 1 1 0 Raef LaFrentz 28 7-13 1-3 0-0 15 1-3 0 2 5 0 1 Nick Van_Exel 29 7-12 3-6 2-2 19 0-2 9 3 1 0 0 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 25 5-8 0-0 0-2 10 1-4 6 0 4 1 1 Raja Bell 12 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-4 1 0 2 1 0 Avery Johnson 7 1-3 0-0 2-2 4 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Evan Eschmeyer 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 2 1 0 0 Totals 48 49-88 11-23 10-14 119 11-40 39 12 27 5 4 Minnesota Timberwolves REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Wally Szczerbiak 35 2-11 0-4 4-4 8 1-3 4 0 2 0 1 Kevin Garnett 36 10-18 0-1 4-6 24 3-11 4 4 3 1 2 Radoslav Nesterovic 17 5-8 0-0 1-1 11 0-2 0 1 4 0 0 Anthony Peeler 35 6-10 1-3 1-2 14 0-4 3 1 2 1 0 Troy Hudson 35 3-7 0-0 4-4 10 0-2 2 2 4 0 0 Joe Smith 19 0-6 0-1 4-6 4 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 Kendall Gill 23 5-9 1-1 0-0 11 0-1 4 0 2 0 0 Mike Wilks 13 1-5 0-1 0-0 2 2-4 1 0 0 0 1 Marc Jackson 14 0-2 0-0 2-4 2 1-2 0 1 0 3 0 Gary Trent 7 2-4 0-0 0-2 4 0-1 1 1 1 0 0 Igor Rakocevic 6 1-2 1-2 2-2 5 0-0 2 1 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-82 3-13 22-31 95 8-35 21 11 18 5 4 patricia