Eduardo Najera's strength test for his left knee was not very good and it will be at least another week before he is able to resume practicing. New Jersey at Dallas (January 20) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter and New Jersey took the largest lead of the quarter at 18-13 with 5 minutes left. After the teams traded 2 buckets, Dallas scored the next 9 points to go up 24-20 with 2 minutes remaining. Dallas led 27-24 after 1. Both teams were shooting around 50% FG. New Jersey struggled to open the 2nd quarter and Dallas was only slightly better and scored the first 4 points of the quarter to go up 31-24 with 9:20 to go. New Jersey finally scored (free throws) 3 minutes into the quarter. Dallas led 40-34 with 6:15 remaining and went on an 11-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki, to go up 51-36 with 3 minutes left. Dallas led 54-41 at the half. Dallas shot 4-7 3-pointers in the quarter and did not have a turnover. Kerry Kittles scored 5 straight points to pull New Jersey within 48-56 with 10 minutes left, but Dallas then scored the next 6 points to put their lead back in double-digits. Dallas led 72-59 with 3:40 remaining and Kenyon Martin scored 6 straight points to pull New Jersey within 65-72 with 2:25 to go. Travis Best drained a pull-up 3-pointer as the quarter ended to give Dallas an 82-71 lead after 3. A 3-pointer by Antoine Walker gave Dallas an 89-75 lead with 8:25 to go. New Jersey scored the next 6 points, but Dallas answered by scoring the next 5 points. Dallas led 96-83 with 5:20 left and New Jersey scored the next 7 points to pull within 90-96 with 3:45 remaining. After the teams traded misses, Dallas scored 6 straight points to go up 102-90 with 1:50 left and New Jersey would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game. Dallas won 106-93. Except for the little scare when New Jersey pulled within 6 points with 4 minutes left, Dallas was in control for most of the game. Jason Kidd never got going and backcourt teammate Kerry Kittles also struggled. The 2 combined to shot 8-24 FG. And, surprisingly, Dallas controlled the inside game. Dallas had 46 points in the paint while New Jersey had 38 points in the paint and Dallas out-rebounded New Jersey 52-38 including 15-7 offensive. Dallas had a team record tying 4 turnovers for the game. New Jersey was pretty clean themselves as they had just 7 turnovers and the 11 combined turnovers set a new league record (was 12). It was the 5th straight win for Dallas - their longest of the season so far. It was also the 7th straight win vs New Jersey. Dallas has reached the halfway point of the season with a record of 25-16. It was a balanced attack by Dallas as all 5 starters were in double-digits. Antoine Walker was the high man for both points and rebounds with 22 points and 13 rebounds including 8 offensive. Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. He got hit on the thumb 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter and didn't score after that point, but contributed 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The thumb injury has been diagnosed as a sprain and he is not expected to miss any playing time. Michael Finley had 18 points including 7-21 FG and 6 rebounds. Steve Nash contributed 18 points and 5 assists. Josh Howard had a nice outing with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Antawn Jamison only had 8 points (3-6 FG), but did have 6 rebounds. Danny Fortson had 3 points and 4 rebounds, Travis Best had 7 points in 12 minutes, and Shawn Bradley had 3 rebounds and 4 fouls in 8 minutes. Tony Delk (sprained ankle) and Marquis Daniels (flu) did not play. For New Jersey, Kenyon Martin led the way with 29 points including 12-22 FG and 9 rebounds. Richard Jefferson had 21 points including 9-15 FG and 7 rebounds. And the 2 did not get much help. Jason Kidd had 10 points including 4-11 FG and 12 assists and Brian Scalabrine had 10 points as the only other Nets in double-digits. Kerry Kittles had 9 points on 4-13 FG, but did have 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Quotes Don Nelson: "5 in a row ain't bad. I think our guys are figuring out a little more about themselves. It doesn't hurt that we've had some time together now." Nelson: "This is the 41st game, fellas. Feels like we've been here a year and a half." Nelson on the offensive rebounds and inside play: "The tone was set by Walker, who had 8 and was doing more work around the basket - cutting and making his dominance felt." Dirk Nowitzki: "We know we can get a lot better. We're taking steps in the right direction. But if we want to do something in the playoffs, we've got a lot further to go." Michael Finley: "We've always been a low turnover team. We have high turnovers when guys try to do too much." Steve Nash: "I think perhaps familiarity with everybody is starting to make a difference. Guys are more assertive rather than confused or lost." Nash: "We've had some pretty solid stretches defensively. We've haven't played a full game yet, but we're playing a more sustained effort. We're having better patches for a long duration, and it's really made a big difference." Nash: "I never was pessimistic, but we have to face it that 3 of our best players play the same position. But we're having better patches for a longer duration and we can be pretty formidable when we play defense and play together." Nash: "Thankfully we're playing pretty well at the midway point, and we've had a lot of ups and downs. It's been a really difficult year in a lot of ways. We're optimistic. We think we can continue to find a way to be a better defensive team and, with that, we have the potential to beat anybody." Antoine Walker: "I think right now, it's different. We have so many offensive weapons. I'm kind of in a situation where it's very difficult for one guy to guard me - and any of us on our team - because we have so many weapons. You can kind of do other things on the floor to get yourself going." Antawn Jamison: "I wouldn't say we're playing our best, but we're doing what we need to do to win basketball games." Byron Scott: "All streaks have to come to an end sooner or later. 52-38 on the boards ... they're one of the better rebounding teams and they proved it tonight." Jason Kidd: "We had them close, and that is what you want on the road. We had it at 6 - 2 3s or a basket there gets it to 4. Now it becomes getting stops on the other end. Unfortunately, we just didn't get that tonight." Kidd: "They have so many weapons. They've seen every switch, every pick-and-roll defense. Sometimes you just can't guard or stop it." Kenyon Martin: "They put you in different spots. They put everybody in different spots because all of those guys are interchangeable. It's just tough to defend them." Martin: "We left too many guys wide open. When they're hitting like that, it's going to be a tough night. You're not going to outscore them." Martin: "They got too many shooters, man. They present problems for everybody. If they're missing shots, you've got a chance. You're not going to outscore them. You've got to get stops, which we didn't do." Richard Jefferson: "Some teams just have your number. Sometimes it's just the way matchups go." Jefferson: "They're a great rebounding team and Kenyon Martin has to be out on the perimeter guarding Dirk Nowitzki. So our best rebounder is away from the rim most of the time. JKidd is completely occupied the entire game with Steve Nash." Dallas Mavericks 106, New Jersey Nets 93 at Dallas (January 20) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 27 27 28 24 - 106 .464 .444 .460 .750 New Jersey 24 17 30 22 - 93 .530 .286 .488 .647 Halftime: Dallas 54-41 3rd Q: Dallas 82-71 Technicals: None Refs: Bob Delaney, Courtney Kirkland, Sean Corbin Attendance: 19,906 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Tony Delk (sprained ankle), Marquis Daniels (flu) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 20 3-7 0-1 5-7 11 3-7 1 0 2 0 0 Antoine Walker 36 10-19 1-3 1-2 22 8-13 3 0 2 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 38 7-14 3-6 2-2 19 0-10 6 1 4 0 1 Michael Finley 43 7-21 2-4 2-2 18 1-6 4 0 0 0 0 Steve Nash 36 6-12 1-3 5-5 18 0-3 5 2 0 2 0 Antawn Jamison 30 3-6 1-1 2-4 8 1-6 0 0 2 1 0 Travis Best 12 3-5 0-0 0-0 7 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-3 0 1 4 1 0 Danny Fortson 17 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 2-4 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 40-87 8-18 18-24 106 15-52 20 4 16 4 2 New Jersey Nets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kenyon Martin 44 12-22 0-0 5-6 29 2-9 4 0 2 0 0 Richard Jefferson 44 9-15 0-1 3-7 21 2-7 4 2 3 0 0 Jason Collins 21 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 2-6 1 1 1 0 0 Jason Kidd 36 4-11 2-5 0-0 10 0-4 12 2 4 0 1 Kerry Kittles 38 4-13 1-5 0-0 9 1-6 6 0 1 3 0 Rodney Rogers 15 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-2 1 1 4 0 0 Lucious Harris 21 3-6 1-2 0-0 7 0-3 2 0 0 0 0 Brian Scalabrine 16 4-6 0-0 2-2 10 0-1 2 0 2 0 0 Aaron Williams 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Zoran Planinic 1 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Brandon Armstrong 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 39-80 4-14 11-17 93 7-38 32 7 17 3 1 patricia