The NBA fined Raja Bell $7,500 for verbally abusing a ref following his ejection in Sunday's game 4 at Sacramento and fined Dirk Nowitzki $5,000 for improper conduct when he kicked a pile of towels and scattered them into the first couple of baseline rows during Sunday's game 4 at Sacramento. Game 5: Dallas at Sacramento (May 13) Adrian Griffin was again unavailable due to a sprained right ankle and Don Nelson went with a new lineup of the big 3, Raja Bell, and Raef LaFrentz. It didn't do much in the 1st quarter as Dallas opened the game ice cold in shooting 4-17 FG. As usual, Sacramento went up early and led 12-4 with 7:40 left. It was a foul plagued quarter and Vlade Divac pick up his 2nd foul 30 seconds after picking up his 1st when he hammered Steve Nash, who had snuck in for an offensive rebound, and Divac left the game with 7:40 remaining and sat for the rest of the quarter. The Kings held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter as Dallas got no closer than 3 points. Sacramento led 33-24 after 1. Peja Stojakovic had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Divac, Keon Clark, Dirk Nowitzki (though he kept playing), and Eduardo Najera each had 2 fouls in the quarter. Sacramento shot 11-22 FG and 10-13 FT and Dallas shot 8-24 FG and 6-6 FT. Sacramento opened the 2nd quarter with a 6-1 mini-run go up 39-25 with 10:35 to go. The Kings took their largest lead at 44-29 with 9 minutes remaining on a 3-pointer by Doug Christie. Divac was re-inserted with 8:30 left, but picked up his 3rd foul a mere 2 1/2 minutes later and sat for the rest of the half. Sacramento led 52-41 with 4:40 left and Dallas scored the next 6 points to pull within 47-52 with 3 minutes to go. A pair of Kings 3-pointers surrounded a jumper by Nash to give Sacramento a 58-49 3-pointers. A Bobby Jackson 3-pointer answered by a Michael Finley 3-pointer closed the quarter. Sacramento led 61-54 at the half. For the half, Dallas' shooting was slowly rising and the Kings' was slowly sinking. Sacramento shot 11-30 FG (but 5-9 3-pointers) and Dallas shot 10-21 FG in the 2nd quarter. Dallas had the free throw advantage in the 2nd quarter in shooting 9-11 FG while Sacramento shot just 1-1 FT (the Kings got in the penalty with 6:50 left) [the refs weren't very good both ways, but overall the edge did seem to favor Dallas - of course, there were fouls that I vocally disagreed with against Dallas, but there were also a couple against Sacramento that left me shaking my head]. Doug Christie had 15 points in the half. Then came the melt down of the 3rd quarter ... for Sacramento. Dallas came out attacking the basket and opened the 3rd quarter with an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 65-63 with 8:50 remaining. The foul trouble continued for Divac as he started the quarter and lasted only a minute as he again fouled Nash, who had gotten inside for an offensive rebound. After 2 free throws by Stojakovic tied the game, Dallas went on a 15-4 run to go up 80-69 with 2 minutes left. The quarter ended with 5 free throws - 3 for Dallas and 2 for Sacramento. Dallas led 83-71 after 3. Raja Bell had 9 points on 4-5 FG in the 3rd quarter and Nowitzki had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Sacramento only shot 3-25 FG (and didn't have a field goal in the last 6:20 of the quarter) as Dallas out-scored them 29-10. Ouch. And it wasn't simply Sacramento not hitting as Dallas did play good defense and had 5 blocks in the quarter. Dallas opened the 4th with an 8-3 run to take their largest thus far lead at 91-74 with 9:20 remaining. Sacramento scored the next 5 points to pull within 12 points, but Nash was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and hit all 3 free throws to end that run and Sacramento never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way. Dallas scored the last 4 points of the game, capped by and drive and power dunk by Bell, to give them their largest lead of the game. Dallas won 112-93. It was a tale of 2 halves. Sacramento had 61 points in the 1st half and only 32 in the 2nd half - less than the 33 points they had in the 1st quarter. Both the 32 half points and 10 points in the 3rd quarter were Dallas opponent playoff records for any half or quarter (old: 34 and 12). And it was a 34 point swing for the halves as Sacramento's largest lead in the 1st half was 15 points and Dallas' largest lead in the 2nd half was 19 points. Things got so bad for Sacramento that they had 2 24 second violations in the 4th quarter - one an airball heave and on the other one they didn't even get a shot off. After shooting 50% FG in the 1st quarter, Sacramento only shot 31.4% FG in the last 3 quarters. Of course, shooting 3-25 (12%) FG in any quarter will kill your shooting percentage. For the game, Dallas shot 44.2% (38-86) FG including 7-23 3-pointers and Sacramento shot 35.9% (33-92) FG including 7-18 3-pointers. Dallas had the free throw edge at 29-36 FT while Sacramento shot 20-27 FT. And Dallas had a monster game on the boards with team playoff records 58 rebounds and 43 defensive rebounds. They out-rebounded Sacramento by 5 boards. Despite all the bricks the Kings were throwing up, they just had 17 offensive rebounds - and just 7 in the 2nd half. Dallas had 15 offensive rebounds. Dallas also had a team playoff record 11 blocks. Dallas attacked the basket in this game instead of just settling for outside shots (including passing up some good outside looks and choosing the drive) and out-scored Sacramento 50-36 in the paint. The Kings were limited inside as both of their big men got in foul trouble (and it really wasn't ref-missed/bad calls as they mostly were not smart fouls - especially Vlade Divac's 4th foul a minute into the 3rd quarter). Dallas leads the series 3-2 and Sacramento is now in a win or go home situation. Game 6 is Thursday at 9:30 pm in Sacramento. For the first time this playoffs, all 5 starters were in double-digits - Dallas had a balanced attack with 6 players in double-digits and a 7th with 8 points. Steve Nash was super in attacking the basket and getting players in foul trouble. He had a team high 25 points including 15-16 FT (and 9-9 FT in the 4th quarter) and 7 rebounds including 3 offensive. He only had 4 assists, but Dirk Nowitzki made up for that low number with a career high 9 assists. Nowitzki was 1 off a triple-double with 16 points including 5-15 FG, 15 rebounds (all defensive), and 9 assists. To complete his all around solid game, he also had 3 blocks. Michael Finley also had an all around good game and attacked the basket and hit outside shots with 16 points including 3-6 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Raja Bell over came a poor start with a solid 3rd quarter and had 13 points on 6-7 FG and 5 rebounds in 27 minutes. Raef LaFrentz also played a good role in the 3rd quarter with 6 of his 14 points on 3-4 FG and 3 of his 5 blocks coming in the quarter. He just had 3 rebounds, but all were offensive, and he played 18 minutes. Nick Van Exel provided the boost off the bench with 18 points and 6 rebounds. 9 of his points came in the 4th quarter. Eduardo Najera was very active (but not accurate in only shooting 3-9 FG) with 8 points and 8 rebounds including 6 hustle offensive boards in 17 minutes. Shawn Bradley chipped in 2 points (only attempted 1 shot and hit 2 free throws) and 5 rebounds in 12 minutes. Walt Williams and Evan Eschmeyer came in for the final minutes of the game. Doug Christie was the high man for Sacramento with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists (all 3 were team highs). He (8-16 FG) and Bobby Jackson (6-12) were the only Kings to shoot 50% FG or better. BJackson had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic had 19 points but shot just 6-18 FG. He also had 7 rebounds. Mike Bibby had a terrible birthday with just 13 points including 4-12 FG and 4 assists in 37 minutes. No other King was in double-digits. Hedo Turkoglu continued his his bad game-good game-bad game string with just 3 points including 1-5 FG and 4 rebounds in 27 minutes. Vlade Divac only played 13 minutes due to foul trouble and had 5 points and 2 rebounds. Keon Clark was also limited due to foul trouble and shot 0-5 FG, but did have 5 points off of 5-6 FT [and I continue to ask when did he learn to shoot free throws???] and 8 rebounds in 14 minutes. Scot Pollard played 12 minutes due to his teammates foul trouble and had 4 points on 2-8 FG and 0-2 FT, but did have 9 rebounds including 5 offensive. Jim Jackson had 9 points and 6 rebounds. Gerald Wallace and Lawrence Funderburke got in for the last minute of the game. Quotes Don Nelson: "Well, it was one of our best defensive games in the 2nd half. I thought we really knuckled down. Of course, it helped not to have Vlade in a lot of the 2nd half - he got into foul trouble and it took some of their great passing away. But we were just a little worried the 1st half, I thought they were really playing well. The teams are very evenly matched, I think at this point. We just got a little lucky in the 2nd half, started making shots, got into rhythm. Our crowd helped us as much as Sacramento's did up there. For those people who say that crowd's don't matter, they're just totally wrong. I think that is a big part of what we do and the emotions that we play with. It certainly does help the home team. But, another really good basketball game; I thought both teams played hard. We got balanced scoring tonight like they did the last game at their place. I thought we got a good performance out of our big guys. Shawn Bradley hasn't had a chance to play very much. In studying the films, I thought we could use him and use him effectively for periods of the game and the match-up with Pollard is one that he can play. He gave us a lift. He didn't score, but he was there, his presence was felt, and he got some rebounds and I thought he was active. We just struggled against their defense, but finally found a way to gain some avenues to the basket and some shooting opportunities, some open looks, which were really hard the 1st half. And once we found a couple things that were working, we stayed with it and that was very successful, that and the open court." Nelson: "Bell was our best player in game 4. That's not saying a whole lot however, but he was really the only player that did well in that game. But I thought he played well again tonight. It wasn't that he can make his shots once in a while - and that's good. He works hard at it and eventually he's going to be a good spot-up shooter. But it was him being active and rebounding and he's able to physically do some things that our other players can't do. He's one of our best athletes and we think a lot of him, for a young player, and the future is bright for him." Nelson: "Well, it's quite obvious for basketball people who watch their defense against Dirk, they're keying on his dribble. They're spotting players up. We've told Dirk all along that his next step is going to be the pass. He's worked on it some this year, he's gotten better, but he's got a ways to go, passing off the dribble, we haven't got there yet. He's now being forced fed because of the demand of this series. I think their coaching staff has done a marvelous job. And he has to understand, like the other great players, there will be occasions where he can win a game with his pass. This was as close, I think, as he's come to a triple-double. I think it's a career high in assists and there will be a day where it will be a common thing, him getting stats and numbers like Chris Webber does. Because he does have the ability to see the floor, but he's been such a great scorer that it takes series like this to get the best out of him where he can see for himself that he has work to do in the summer and this summer when he goes home, he's going to come back with the jump hook and he's going to work on his pass off the dribble and his vision of the game so I can go point forward with him a little bit. So we're looking forward to that. It's just his growth as a player. I'm trying not to demand not too much from him all at once, but just gradually let him develop and develop and fortunately or unfortunately, he's kind of forced into becoming a better passer off the dribble and it's just great for him." Nelson on Sacramento playing hard in game 6 due to it being an elimination game: "You know, I hear a lot about that and, you know, I think Sacramento gave their all tonight and it just sometimes doesn't look like that when the score goes the other way or the baskets don't go in. I thought we played as well as we could play in game 4 and we looked pretty poor 'cause we couldn't make shots and our energy level was low. But I think both teams are giving it everything that they have, everybody that plays in the game. I don't know that I could ask any more out of either side. It's just that who's lucky on a given night, which shots fall at sometimes, and which team has the better rhythm." Nelson on LaFrentz: "You know, he has games where he really looks like a good all around player - he makes shots, blocks shots, and is active and runs. Then other games, we don't see that as much. I started him for a reason - I liked the combination of he and Bell better than Najera and Bell and I like Eddie's energy off the bench. I thought, again, my team was looking for something from me as a coach to bring to the party and I needed them to play well and I was going to bring that to the party and see if that would have some positive effect on the game. And I thought that it did. That and playing Bradley and getting Bradley ready to play." Nelson: "We're not making too much out of one win away from anything. I thought this would be a long series. I still think that it will and it's still up in the air. These teams are very close. I think with Webber, they're the best team in basketball and without him, of course, it takes something away from their team, but they're still a marvelous team, well prepared and full of talent, and the next guy just steps up. They can play as well as anybody in the league." Dirk Nowitzki: "Yeah, we wanted to get the win. We know we can't go back to Sacramento one down. Our energy, I thought, in the 1st half was lacking a little bit, but 2nd half I thought we held them to like 30 points, something. It was great. We're rotating, we were contesting the jumpers, and it was a great defensive effort." Nowitzki: "We stayed in front of them, we didn't let them penetrate and kick and get that game going. We have to run back on defense and take away the easy breakaways." Nowitzki: "We made it hard on them. We didn't let them drive to the hoop, we contested their shot. It was great. We stopped defensively and we're rebounding. They weren't out-rebounding us. So the 2nd half, it was just an all around good effort. They really wasn't shooting the ball well, but defense really won us the game." Nowitzki on game 6: "It's a great team and we know that. But our energy has got to be there defensively. When we play defense and rebound. We already stole one at Arco, so we go see what we have to do." Nowitzki on game 6: "Like I said, defensively we've just got to be sharp like we were in the 2nd half. We stayed in front of them, we didn't let them penetrate and kick and get that game going. So, we got to run back on defense, take away the easy breakaways and then we should be in good shape." Nowitzki on Van Exel: "When he's aggressive for us and making shots, we're a whole different team. We need some scoring off the bench and he's been doing that for us the whole year and it's been great." Nowitzki on his 9 assists: "They were doubling me a lot in the low post. They were sending somebody over early and I was just able to find a couple of people and they made some big shots." Nowitzki on not staying in the game to try to get the triple-double: "At this point, it doesn't really matter. We wanted to get the win - it's the playoffs now. In the regular season, it's the thing to go for, but in the playoffs, it's about getting rest." Michael Finley: "In the 2nd half, we took it upon ourselves to make more of an effort defensively and as a team go out there and be more aggressive on the defensive end. When we did that, we were able to get into the open court and able to get easy transition baskets, which in turn pretty much turned the game around." Finley, joking about Nowitzki's 9 assists: "He fell into 8 of them. But when he does that, he's a true triple threat and it makes us that much more explosive." Finley on Nowitzki: "He's getting everybody involved, he's able to read double-teams and kick it to the open man and he just makes our team even more explosive. So, I was proud of him from that aspect of the game." Finley on Nash going after rebounds: "When you see that from your point guard, it just kind of ricochets to the other teammates and lets them know that, 'Boy, this guy is doing it at [6-3]. We're taller than him, maybe we can get a little more energy.' It was good to see." Finley on game 6: "We learned in the Portland series where we went up there in Game 6 and were just happy to get back here and get a chance to win it in game 7. When we went to Sacramento, we were content with just getting 1 of the 2 wins, and you can't have that mindset if you want to advance and ultimately win a championship. You've got to take advantage of all situations, and the situation for us right now is to close this thing out and hopefully end it in Game 6." Steve Nash: "We realized that we had to do everything we could, we came out and didn't get a jump on them and it took us a moment to realize, hey we're digging ourselves a huge hole if we don't win. We had to pick it up and we saw a lot of guys make a lot of great plays, a lot of hustle plays. When you do the little things it allows your team to get on a roll and get in rhythm. We didn't have the energy to do the little things on Sunday, but tonight if our shots weren't going in we could do the little things until we started to make a few." Nash on the 3rd quarter: "Tonight was the absolute picture of team performance. We had an incredibly balanced team effort tonight. It's a lot of fun when you win like that. It makes everyone feel good and it makes us realize that we can take this to another level if we get everyone involved and get everyone believing and playing and contributing." Nash: "Tonight was an absolute perfect picture of a team performance. It's a lot of fun when we play like that." Nash: "It's all balance, which is a beautiful thing. They came out with a great balanced attack the last game. Tonight, you know, we had a tremendously balance attack. It just makes things a lot easier. It takes a lot of pressure off our team when we have balance." Nash on game 6: "If we play with the energy and passion and heart we showed in this game, we have a heck of a chance." Nash on the difference between the 1st and 2nd halves: "It was a combination of many things. Character is the basis of all those things, and competitiveness and belief and I think we had all those things tonight. We didn't want to let 2 opportunities slip away and put ourselves in a real tough position and tonight we showed the toughness that this team has been characterized by for a while now." Nash on the possibility of going down 2-3 into Sacramento: "You never say never, but it would have been a pretty tough situation when they had another crack at home. We realized we had to do everything we could to get this one. We would have dug ourselves a huge hole if we didn't win it." Nick Van Exel on coming out strong in game 6 and not thinking about having a cushion with game 7: "Game 6, we have to be hungry. We have to have that mentality that we're here to close this thing out. We're not trying to go to a game 7. Sacramento is going to feed off their crowd again. Their crowd is great. So, it's going to be important for us to understand that this is a great situation for us, being able to close a series out on someone's home court, we have to take advantage of it and it starts from the beginning of the game." Van Exel on balanced scoring: "It was big. I thought Dirk played great. He was a little upset he shot 5-15, but his all around game was unbelievable. To have 9 assists, it speaks a lot about his game because I think he's learning more and more that he's not going to be able to get it done by himself and it's going to take a lot of other guys to help him out. But to have that many guys in double-figures in a playoff game is saying that the team is really playing together." Van Exel: "I think we're still young as a team and we're still learning how to get better. The more we play these playoff games, the more experience we'll get. I think we all know that we're a better team when we move the ball and not just one guy shooting it or not just one guy trying to do it himself. We're a lot better team when everybody has the ball." Van Exel: "Especially the 3rd quarter, I thought the defense was great. I thought the starters came out with the energy level that we needed from the start of the game, which we didn't have. To me, it looked like as if we were playing with our backs against the wall in the 3rd quarter. You know, the offense really set the tone. Steve came out, pushed the ball. Once we started going offensively, we picked it up defensively. The defense was great in the 3rd quarter, unbelievable." Van Exel on what was said at halftime: "Absolutely nothing was said. I think we all realized what was at stake, how important game 5 meant to us, and what we needed to do to get the win. And we sort of all knew what was going on, how we were playing in that 1st half, and what we needed to do to pick it up in the 2nd half." Raef LaFrentz: "We tried to turn up our energy and be as active as possible in the 3rd quarter. We had a good run defensively at the end of the 1st half and we continued that in the 3rd quarter." LaFrentz: "My job is to knock down shots on the weak side. I stepped inside the 3-point line and knocked down a few and it spurred me a little on the defensive end." LaFrentz' on Bell's performance: "That's what we needed. We can't just rely on 3 or 4 guys to carry us. Raja was huge and really helped us." Raja Bell: "I think our whole team played great in the 3rd. I, personally, just felt like I didn't do my job in the 1st half and I really wanted to come out and do the job defensively and rebounding-wise in the 2nd half. It just so happened that I got some open looks, some throw-in kicks, and I was able to knock them down. But I was more focused on picking up the energy, playing defense, and rebounding." Bell: "We realized the only way we were going to beat that team was to play better defense. At the half, we talked about making stops. What was bigger than that was getting rebounds. If we got the stops, cleared the glass, and run, we're at our best." Bell on Nash: "That energy is what we needed. Stevie might have been one of the only ones that had it. Coming out in the 2nd half, we all stepped up and played like that." Bell: "When we lose, we're usually real stagnant offensively. So we try to move it around and find people who are open, out of double-teams and what not, and it's really fun to play with guys who aren't afraid to get you the ball and vice versa." Bell: "My role is to defend people and keep them off their game, but my teammates did a good job of setting me up for some open shots in the 2nd half and I made them." Bell: "It's fun to contribute. Other guys on our team command double-teams. They're so unselfish. It's a credit to them. Early, I passed up on a few open looks. I made a concerted effort in the 2nd half to let it fly." Bell on his dunk at the end of the game: "It felt great. I've been waiting for that one all year." Bell on his dunk: "My teammates have been telling me to dunk the ball in traffic all year. I finally listened to them." Bell on his dunk: "I turned the corner and there was nothing between me and the basket. I was just going to dunk it. They could have grabbed me by the head and I would have still tried to dunk it. So it was just a good exclamation point on it. I haven't had a dunk like that in a long time, so it was really pretty cool." Rick Adelman: "They turned it up the 2nd half offensively, got more aggressive, and we couldn't do anything right in the 2nd, especially the 3rd quarter. They defended us pretty good and we couldn't make open shots and I think as they kept making their run, we just got a little more disorganized. And give them credit, they came out and did what they had to do in the 3rd quarter. We just got to get back to it on Thursday, the way we played the 1st half." Adelman on Divac's and Clark's foul trouble: "I have no idea. I mean, obviously, that was a killer for us having Vlade never got involved in the game at any time. I don't know. I guess I'd have to look at it as why the fouls, but we can't afford to have those guys just sitting down over there on the side line, especially Vlade. We got to get things ran through him and I think that really hurt us in the 3rd quarter because when they made their little run, we needed him in the game. And it didn't happen. But again, that's part of the game, fouls are part of the game and you got to be smarter. And however he picked them up, he's got to be smarter in trying to stay in the game more." Adelman: "We missed a lot of shots that normally you would make, and that's one of the problems we have when we don't have anybody inside is we sometimes turn into a jump shooting team. That we're kind of like them that when they're going in, we look pretty good; but when they're not, it starts to unwind. And I really thought that we just did not move the ball to the other side. We kept attacking one side of the court and they were standing there and if Nowitzki wants to jump out and attack our guards on pick-and-roll, you need to move the ball, because someone is going to be open on the other side. They got to rotate. And we kept trying to force the issue and I think that really hurt us. We forced the issue and forced the issue and know you're keeping it over there. Their defensive set, when we missed, they're out running and their getting baskets at the other end. So it's kind of a, it's a combination of things. And I just thought everybody tried to do it themselves - it's not a selfish thing, but it looks like it because they're all trying to get something done and turn the tide themselves. So they got to trust each other and play with 5 people. You can't do it by yourself and I thought we did that in the 3rd quarter." Adelman on Nash-Bibby matchup: "I don't know. I don't know. I think you give Steve a lot of credit. It seemed like we couldn't stay in front of him at all tonight whether they played the pick-and-roll or not. It looks like he likes to go left to me. We did talk about that; before, during, halftime, and after. But sometimes the guy gets it going, and he's a clever player, he's very good. He had a lot of confidence going tonight, and I think sometimes that's what it is, the confidence level. Mike's missed some shots he normally makes, you know, but I have a lot of faith in him too. I think he's ready for a break out game himself. And as quiet as maybe Steve was in 1 or 2 games, well the next game is a new game. Mike's got to respond. We all have to respond. Our backs are against the wall now. We got to win Thursday and try to bring it back here. But I've always liked the way Steve Nash has played. He's a tough sucker. He's going to take it at you. And once he gets that confidence level going, he creates so much for their team and disrupts our defense, obviously." Adelman on missing Webber: "I really thought the 4th quarter of the double-overtime game, we really missed Chris in that part of the game. Because that's when we had a 7 to 9 point lead and they're kind of hanging around and they're coming at us. And that's when he becomes invaluable to us because they have no answers for him. So you can go inside with him, you can play pick-and-roll. I can't say we would have held them off in that game, but there is a good chance, we had a chance to hold them off because he's in the game. I thought during that 4th period it was kind of like the 3rd quarter tonight - we didn't have anybody going and we had nothing happening and, you know, he's always is kind of the momentum breaker for us and that's where you miss him, in those stretches of the game and here in the 3rd tonight, you know, it's the same thing. But he's not here, so we have to find a way to make that happen. Again, I think, by having more player movement and ball movement - they haven't improved that much defensively since the last game, so it's a matter of what we're - it's they're doing, I mean they worked really hard, but it's also what we're doing and we got to understand that." Adelman on controlling the tempo: "I think it is very important because we know from the 2nd game to this game that they were going to push it at us every time. And when you are at the opponent's home court, it's just like someone comes to Arco and you let us start running up and down the court and our crowd gets into it, it feeds the frenzy. And tonight we wanted to be sure we didn't allow that, but we did in the 3rd quarter by the way we played offensively, it kind of just got them going, the crowd into it, and we couldn't stop the momentum. But it's really important against this team, especially here. You got to stop that and you got to make them guard you at the other end with a lot better execution than we had tonight." Adelman on getting back instead of going after offensive rebounds: "Well, that's not our strong suit anyway. It's something that we don't, especially if we're playing small. I think if you have good floor balance and you're moving the ball and moving them around, obviously, if they could take it out of the net, it would be real helpful for us. But, you know, they got so many guys that can attack you, when they have Van Exel and Nash on the court with Finley and Nowitzki, I mean, they're out going. It's like a wind tunnel when they're coming at you. I didn't think tonight we started back - when you play this team and you miss, your 1st 3 or 4 steps back to defense has to be hard. And it's just not the guys who are running for them, it's all our defenders. And then you can adjust. But we were very slow rotating that 3rd quarter tonight. I mean they were coming at us in waves. And, again, it was a combination offensively what we did and them pushing the ball." Adelman on the end of the 2nd quarter: "I thought that we were still making some plays. The last possession really hurt us when, I think, Finley got that 3. You know, we had a 10-point lead and he got that that wide-open 3. But, yeah, we had some periods where you could say that, but I thought we were still pretty much in control and we made some pretty good plays in the last minute to keep it a 10-point game, but at halftime, everything went out the window in the 3rd quarter." Mike Bibby: "I think it kind of got out of control a little bit in the 3rd quarter. We didn't stop. We were playing too little defense, so they were scoring on us and we weren't scoring. So it happens like that sometimes." Bibby on the 3rd quarter: "We were kind of rushing some shots. We weren't making any shots really. Like I said, I've seen 10 points. Got to bounce back at home, take a game 7." Bibby on his play: "I could have been a little more aggressive. I don't think I was as aggressive as I could have been. We lost. That's all that really matters." Bibby: "The main thing is we lost. We got to watch a little bit of film tomorrow, see what happened. And, like I said, bounce back when we play in Arco." Bibby on Divac's foul trouble: "It kind of messed us up a little bit. We were trying to run some things through Vlade. Without him in there, it was a little hard." Doug Christie on the 3rd quarter: "I think they really came out aggressive and they got in the penalty early. They hit some shots. Raja hit one, then Raef came back and hit another 3 and I think that put us on our heals. You got to give them credit. I mean, they were at home, they played very aggressive, they made shots, and made things happen at a crucial times when they needed to. Now we have our backs against the wall. We have to go out and try to get game 6 and come back here for game 7." Christie on Divac's foul trouble: "It's tough because our strategy is a little bit to push the ball definitely, but if we don't have it we want to throw the ball in to Vlade and go inside out. To have him being so talented - he has a nice hook shot, jump shot, pass the ball - to not have him on the floor takes a lot of options away. So it was very critical, especially at that time of the game." Christie on missing Webber and not responding as well without him: "Yeah, but as a unit, I think we've been in this situation before with our backs against the wall. Obviously, not having Chris is just tough. Those are a lot of numbers across the stat sheet that you, is very difficult to replace. So, we're just going to have to find a way. I don't think there is any excuses. That's a good team over there. We still feel we're a good team and they got the better of us this evening." Christie on if the scouting report said to give Bell his shot: "No. I really think there was a few missed assignments that as we ran back, I think they got some momentum and started running and then all of the sudden they were wide-open for some shots and those aren't the type of shots at the professional level we want to give guys, no matter if the scouting report says let him shoot, we want to get a hand in his face and make it, obviously, as tough as we can. And those 2 shots that I can remember really vividly, were wide-open shots and they both knocked them down." Christie on Dallas running and slowing it down: "We have to make stops. You know, obviously, it's a lot harder for us to go back at them when we're taking the ball out of the basket. And you know, once they get 2 or 3 buckets, you know, we have to slow down a little bit and make sure that we're making the right plays and the rights calls and running our stuff and not really get flustered. You know, we're very open court, so we're going to take a really good shot, hopefully the 1st shot, but a lot of times when you're on the road, you don't want to take jump shots and that's what we did a little bit tonight. Maybe just getting a little rattled. And when those don't go, it's tough." Christie if Dallas defense improved during the stretch: "I really think that they got very active on the boards. That was the biggest key - all of the sudden they were getting all of the loose balls, all the rebounds, all the hustle plays. And, you know, without a guy like Webb in the lineup, those are all the things that need to go in our favor for us to win the ball game. We have to get the loose balls, we have to be doing all the extra things to win. And during the little stretch there - I'm seeing 10 points in the 3rd quarter - it's tough. We got to find a way to bring that up and get them back down." Christie on Nash driving: "Yeah, he got in there. Got to give him credit. He just pushed it and pushed it and pushed it and pushed it and, you know, he got some of our guys in foul trouble, made some big shots, and he was very creative. Like I said, we have to find a way to slow that down." Christie on when the team doesn't do what the coach tells them: "I don't really think that it's like deliberately we're trying not to do what coach says, it's just sometimes they make good defensive plays, a guy might play him differently than we're thinking in the huddle, might front him instead of being behind him, and all of the sudden the play breaks up and we have to improvise. and sometimes the improv goes good and sometimes it doesn't." Bobby Jackson: "I just tried to come and do my game, play an important role with this team. Majority of this is put on me and [?Nick show?]. They look for him to do a lot of scoring, they look for me to do some scoring, come in and play defense and put some energy in the game. How me and him go really determines how the team goes. But not just us, but everybody has to come in and play. We can't have guys shooting jump shots where [something] touches the ball, but everybody has to contribute and make things happen on the court." Jackson on Dallas' defense: "Not to be confident, I don't think that they're a great defensive team. I just think we shot the ball quick instead of weighing our options and moving the ball, making them rotate and making them play defense. And we didn't do that. Every time we came down the court, we shot it like it was a hotcake. We got to learn from our lessons. We got to come in Thursday, move the ball and execute the ball like we done in the 2 games that we won." Jackson on being able to win on the road in Dallas: "Oh, most definitely, but like I said, we still have a lot of confidence in this team. I think with us, we just got to come out and play instead of talking about it, instead of reading the papers. I think we just got to come out and leave it out on the court. If we don't do that, then we'll be home for the summer time. We're going to go fishing, gone fishing. [You and Charles (Barkley)?] Yeah, me and Charles, we gonna go fishing. So, think this is really going to show the character of the team on Thursday and Saturday." Jackson on Pollard's shooting (1-7 in the 3rd): "That's not his role. He's not a scorer. His teammates put him in a bad position. It's tough when you don't have that person in the paint making something happen." Keon Clark: "They didn't do what they wanted, they just did it. We did everything in our power to play like we've been down the whole game. You can't ever let anybody get the up-and-up on you, and they came out in the 3rd quarter and they did it." Clark: "Foul trouble had to do with us being out of position, period. Whenever we feel as if the referees are going toward us, we go toward the referees instead of our opposition." Clark: "I'm staying on everybody's butt and either they're going to take it or they ain't going to take it. We've got to come out and take it as constructive criticism because we're here for a common goal, and that's winning this series. Ain't no championship now; it's winning the series. We've put ourselves in a bad position and it's hard climbing out. So get your nails sharpened and start digging in." Dallas Mavericks 112, Sacramento Kings 93 at Dallas (May 13) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 24 30 29 29 - 112 .492 .304 .442 .806 Sacramento 33 28 10 22 - 93 .351 .389 .359 .741 Halftime: Sacramento 61-54 3rd Q: Dallas 83-71 Technicals: Del Harris 1:12 1st, Nick Van Exel 10:37 2nd Refs: Bennett Salvatore, Ken Mauer, Tom Washington Attendance: 20,556 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Adrian Griffin (sprained right ankle), Chris Webber (torn meniscus left knee) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 44 6-16 3-6 1-2 16 0-9 6 2 2 3 3 Dirk Nowitzki 45 5-15 1-6 5-6 16 0-15 9 3 3 0 3 Raef LaFrentz 18 6-9 0-2 2-2 14 3-3 0 2 4 0 5 Raja Bell 27 6-7 1-2 0-1 13 2-5 0 0 2 2 0 Steve Nash 39 5-12 0-1 15-16 25 3-7 4 1 2 0 0 Nick Van_Exel 34 7-17 2-6 2-4 18 1-6 3 2 4 1 0 Eduardo Najera 17 3-9 0-0 2-3 8 6-8 1 0 3 1 0 Shawn Bradley 12 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0-5 0 1 4 1 0 Walt Williams 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Evan Eschmeyer 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 38-86 7-23 29-36 112 15-58 23 12 25 8 11 Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Hidayet Turkoglu 27 1-5 0-2 1-2 3 1-4 2 0 3 0 1 Predrag Stojakovic 42 6-18 1-6 6-6 19 1-7 3 2 3 1 0 Vlade Divac 13 2-5 0-0 1-3 5 0-2 0 1 5 0 0 Mike Bibby 37 4-12 2-4 3-3 13 1-2 4 2 4 0 1 Doug Christie 39 8-16 2-3 3-3 21 2-9 7 3 4 0 0 Keon Clark 14 0-5 0-0 5-6 5 3-8 0 1 5 0 1 Bobby Jackson 28 6-12 2-2 0-0 14 2-5 1 0 2 1 0 Scot Pollard 12 2-8 0-0 0-2 4 5-9 1 3 2 0 0 Jim Jackson 26 4-10 0-1 1-2 9 2-6 1 0 3 0 0 Lawrence Funderburke 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 1 0 0 Gerald Wallace 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 33-92 7-18 20-27 93 17-53 19 15 32 2 3 patricia Go Mavs!