The NBA suspended Danny Fortson for 3 games for his flagrant foul against Zarko Cabarkapa during Wednesday's Dallas-Phoenix game. Fortson missed the Denver and Minnesota games and will miss the Washington game. Dirk Nowitzki missed the Denver and Minnesota games with a sprained right ankle. He likely will also miss Tuesday's Washington game due to the ankle, but hopes to return for Thursday's Lakers game. Dallas at Denver (November 28) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with both teams holding small leads. Dallas led 18-14 with 5:50 remaining and Denver went on a 16-4 run to go up 30-22 with 42 seconds left. Denver led 32-24 after 1. Dallas wasn't playing much defense and allowed Denver to shoot 58.3% FG while the Mavs shot 41.7% FG. The 2nd quarter saw Denver hanging onto a single-digit lead (unable to get it larger than 9 points). Denver led 43-35 with 6:50 left and Dallas went on a 9-1 run to tie the game at 44-44 with 4:15 to go. But Andre Miller got a layup and Voshon Lenard nailed a 3-pointer to put Denver back up. Michael Finley got 2 up close at the quarter buzzer. Denver led 57-53 at the half. I have no idea how it was just a 4 point game as Denver shot 57.1% FG and 16-22 FT and Dallas shot 43.1% FG and 7-9 FT and Denver out-rebounded Dallas 25-17. But Denver did commit 13 turnovers. Antoine Walker was doing his best to keep Dallas in the game as he had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the half. Denver opened the 3rd quarter with a 8-2 mini-run to go up 65-55 with 8:45 left. Denver took their largest lead at 78-65 on a 3-pointer by Earl Boykins with 3 minutes remaining. Dallas got back in the game by scoring the next 9 points to pull within 74-78 with a minute to go. Denver led 80-77 after 3. Dallas shot 8-8 FT in the 3rd quarter while Denver did not get to the line once. Denver went up 87-81 with 9:30 left on a fricken banked 3-pointer by Carmelo Anthony, but Dallas then scored the next 10 points, including 8 points by Finley, to take a 91-87 lead with 6:40 left - Dallas' first lead since midway through the 1st quarter. Lenard drained a 3-pointer from the elbow, Steve Nash hit a 3, and Lenard nailed another 3 from the same spot. The teams traded jumpers and misses and yet another 3-pointer from Lenard from the elbow gave Denver a 98-96 lead with 3:25 remaining. A layup by Walker tied the game with 3 minutes to go. Lenard finally missed a 3-point attempt, but Anthony stole the rebound from Shawn Bradley and got the layup to give Denver a 2 point lead. Neither team scored for a minute and Nene hit 3-4 FT to give Denver a 103-98 lead with 1:09 left. Finley hit a long jumper and Antony missed a 3-point attempt, but Marcus Camby got the rebound, putback, and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but it was Denver ball out of bounds as the Mavs again struggled trying to get the defensive rebound. Dallas started intentionally fouling and Denver hit 8 straight free throws over the last 45 seconds to seal the win. Denver won 113-103. That was a very frustrating game to watch. The Mavs seemed to be lacking hustle and energy for most of this game. In fact, I was very surprised when the Mavs actually took the lead. But the better team won this night. All the numbers, except turnovers, favored Denver. The Nuggets shot 52% (39-75) FG including 8-20 3-pointers. Dallas shot 42.3% (41-97) FG including 6-16 3-pointers. Denver shot 27-35 FT and Dallas shot 15-21 FT. Denver out-rebounded Dallas 47-38. Denver had 23 fast break points while Dallas had just 11. Denver did help Dallas by committing 22 turnovers while Dallas had 14 turnovers. Rookie Carmelo Anthony led the way for Denver with 26 points and 3 blocks, but had 5 turnovers. Voshon Lenard came up big with 22 points including 5-7 3-pointers (and 3-4 3-pointers in the 4th quarter). Andre Miller had 18 points and 7 assists, but 5 turnovers. Nene, fresh from missing 5 games with a strained left groin, chipped in 15 points including 5-7 FG and 7 rebounds. Marcus Camby was the only starter not to reach double-digits with just 6 points, but he snagged a game high 15 rebounds. Rookie Francisco Elson had 10 points and 7 rebounds and Earl Boykins had 7 points off the bench. Antoine Walker was the only Mavs to have a solid game. He had 30 points including 13-30 FG and 15 rebounds. Michael Finley did have 20 points, but was no where to be found in the 1st half where he had just 4 points. He also only had 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 35 minutes. Antawn Jamison didn't produce well in his first start of the season with 13 points and 4 rebounds. Steve Nash had 10 points on 4-11 FG and 9 assists, but turned the ball over 6 times. Eduardo Najera did not look like Eddie Energy with just 2 points on 1-5 FG and 6 rebounds in 12 minutes. Josh Howard did get some quality playing time and produced 10 points and 7 rebounds in 26 minutes. Shawn Bradley missed all 3 of his shots and had just 1 rebound [including not getting a critical one that came right to his hands] in 18 minutes. Travis Best had 12 points in 16 minutes, Tony Delk had 2 points in 15 minutes, and Marquis Daniels had 4 points in 8 minutes. The Mavs' road woes continue. The differences between when Dallas plays on the road and when Dallas plays at home is stunning. [home numbers do not including the Minnesota game.] record points FG% 3pt% FT% turnovers oppo pts Road 2-6 90.5 39.6% 26.9% 74.2% 14.5 99.1 Home 8-0 111.4 48.8% 37.4% 82.1% 10.3 95.9 Quotes Jeff Bzdelik: "Denver is a great, great NBA city and it's amazing that the fans have stuck with this situation here for as long as they have. The loyalty here is unbelievable and just to see the response they are giving this basketball team is just wonderful. Of course, this team wants to give that right back." Bzdelik: "We are growing together as a team and we are learning about ourselves." Bzdelik: "I can't say enough about Voshon Lenard, the way he delivered in the clutch. I was with Voshon a long time in Miami. I know what he can do." Carmelo Anthony: "Our confidence level is real high right now. I'm not saying we can beat anybody, but we can compete with anybody. That's one thing I know we can do." Anthony: "The thing I like about us tonight is we kept our composure and ended up with a win." Anthony on Bradley: "That's a big dude, man. He's like a light post out there. We needed a rebound, and I went up there and tried to grab. No special technique. I just climbed [Bradley]." Marcus Camby: "We use the altitude to our favor. At the end of the night, Antoine Walker was like 'I don't know how you guys practice in this.' I knew we had him a little bit. The altitude plays on a lot of team's minds when they come in here." Don Nelson: "I thought we battled pretty hard and we did get back in it." Nelson: "I don't know how much the altitude has to do. I thought some of my players were tired early and I tried to sub. But the short bench hurts you there." Nelson: "We had a real shot at them there when we took the lead, but Josh missed a little short one, and the offensive rebounds really killed us. Those bothered me more than the 3-pointers we gave them. We knew without Dirk and Danny we were going to have some problems with rebounding." Nelson: "We had enough players to win the game. Without Dirk Nowitzki and Danny Fortson, we are going to suffer in rebounds." Nelson on playing without Nowitzki and Fortson: "We needed everybody to pick it up a notch, and for a long period of time it looked like they just didn't understand that. The rest of the guys needed to play at a higher level when you have a guy out." Nelson: "I like the Denver team a lot. They are well coached and they have some good young players." Steve Nash: "We fought back hard and got back into it, but we did not play well down the stretch. Even though we are missing two big rebounders, we have got to get the most out of ourselves. We gave up some open 3s to Lenard in the corner and some big offensive rebounds." Nash on Denver: "They have a lot of young guys that can play. They are up and coming." Nash on Denver: "They have a good, young team and Anthony looks a little like Nowitzki because he can play inside and outside. They got a chance to be a playoff team soon." Antawn Jamison: "This one is definitely hard to swallow." Jamison: "We knew what we had to do, and we knew rebounding was a big key to the game. Mentally, we just didn't get it done and didn't go out there and execute what we wanted to do before the game." Denver Nuggets 113, Dallas Mavericks 103 at Denver (November 28) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Denver 32 25 23 33 - 113 .564 .400 .520 .771 Dallas 24 29 24 26 - 103 .432 .375 .423 .714 Halftime: Denver 57-53 3rd Q: Denver 80-77 Technicals: Denver defensive 3 seconds 0:28 3rd Refs: Leon Wood, Monty McCutchen, Scott Wall Attendance: 19,628 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Dirk Nowitzki (sprained right ankle), Danny Fortson (suspended) Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Carmelo Anthony 41 9-16 2-6 6-6 26 1-3 4 5 5 1 3 Nene 34 5-7 0-0 5-8 15 3-7 4 4 3 2 2 Marcus Camby 33 3-5 0-0 0-1 6 3-15 4 1 4 0 2 Voshon Lenard 33 6-14 5-7 5-6 22 1-5 1 0 2 1 0 Andre Miller 32 5-8 0-1 8-8 18 0-4 7 5 3 0 0 Francisco Elson 19 4-6 0-0 2-2 10 2-7 0 3 2 1 0 Earl Boykins 17 3-5 1-2 0-0 7 1-2 4 3 3 0 0 Jon Barry 15 0-6 0-2 0-0 0 0-2 2 0 1 1 0 Chris Andersen 9 2-2 0-0 1-4 5 1-2 0 1 4 0 2 Rodney White 7 2-6 0-2 0-0 4 0-0 0 0 1 0 1 Totals 48 39-75 8-20 27-35 113 12-47 26 22 28 6 10 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antoine Walker 40 13-30 2-7 2-4 30 4-15 4 2 3 1 0 Antawn Jamison 35 6-13 0-0 1-3 13 3-4 2 0 3 1 0 Eduardo Najera 12 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 4-6 0 2 3 0 1 Michael Finley 35 8-15 2-3 2-2 20 0-2 3 1 2 2 0 Steve Nash 35 4-11 2-4 0-0 10 1-1 9 6 5 1 0 Tony Delk 15 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 3 0 0 Josh Howard 26 3-7 0-1 4-4 10 2-7 0 1 4 1 1 Travis Best 16 3-5 0-0 6-8 12 1-1 1 1 3 1 0 Shawn Bradley 18 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 1 1 Marquis Daniels 8 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 1 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 41-97 6-16 15-21 103 15-38 20 14 28 8 3 Minnesota at Dallas (November 29) It was the 2nd night of a back-to-back and the 4th game in 5 nights for both teams, so both had to be concerned if they'd have enough energy. And Dallas had even more concern as they were missing 2 of their big men (Dirk Nowitzki and Danny Fortson) and going against a tall lineup of Kevin Garnett and Michael Olowokandi. Despite the lineup disadvantage, Dallas led 9-7 with 9:45 left. The Timberwolves then scored the next 8 points to go up 15-9 with 8:15 remaining and held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter. Minnesota led 29-26 after 1. Dallas' shooting woes continued as the Mavs shot a mere 42% FG while Minnesota shot 58% FG, but Dallas was out-rebounding Minnesota 15-10 including 5-1 offensive. Minnesota led 33-28 with 10 minutes to go and went on a 7-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Fred Hoiberg, to go up 40-29 with 7:30 remaining. Minnesota took their largest lead at 46-33 with 4:40 left, but Dallas then scored the next 9 points to pull within 42-46 with 1:30 remaining. Garnet picked up his 3rd foul (with 2 of them from offensive fouls) with 2:10 left and sat the rest of the quarter. Minnesota led 48-44 at the half. Dallas shot a mere 32.7% FG while Minnesota shot 56.1% FG in the half, but the Mavs were still in the game thanks to some friendly whistles as the Mavs shot 10-16 FT (6-11 in the 2nd quarter as Minnesota got in the penalty early) while Minnesota only shot 1-2 FT. Dallas also helped themselves with 12 offensive rebounds and Minnesota hurt themselves with 10 turnovers. Minnesota opened the 3rd quarter strong by connecting on their first 3 shots to go up 54-44 with 10:45 left. Minnesota led 64-52 with 4:45 remaining and Dallas then went on a 17-4 monster run to close the quarter, including 8 points by rookie Josh Howard (and a quick pull-up 3-pointer over Garnett that stunned everyone), to go up 69-68 after 3. Howard had 10 points in the quarter. The Mavs continued their run in the 4th quarter by opening the quarter with a 10-3 run, started and ended by 3-pointers by Michael Finley, to go up 79-71 with 7:30 remaining. The Wolves didn't fold as they used a 10-2 run to tie the game at 81-81 with 3:45 left. Antawn Jamison got a quick 2 with 2:45 remaining, Garnett hit 1-2 free throws, and a jumper by Finley gave Dallas an 85-82 lead with 2 minutes remaining. Olowokandi missed and Dallas missed on 3 attempts inside, but still kept the ball (3 offensive rebounds on the possession) and pulled it out to set up a better play. Finley was fouled and hit 1-2 free throws to make it a 4 point game with 1:15 to go. Antoine Walker got a clean block, but was called for the foul [made up for the blown blocking foul for Finley early in the game that should have been a charge as Finley clearly lowered his shoulder], but Trent Hassell also only hit 1-2 free throws with 1:04 left and Dallas led 86-83. Nash missed inside, Howard got the rebound, and Finley missed the quick 3-point attempt with 42 seconds left. Garnett got his 20th rebound and Minnesota came down quickly and Latrell Sprewell missed a 3-point attempt with 36 seconds to go. Hassell intentionally fouled Nash [much to his coach's disbelief] with 31 seconds left and Nash hit both to give Dallas an 88-83 lead. Minnesota called timeout and advanced the ball to halfcourt. They got the ball into Garnett and he was fouled attempting a shot and hit both free throws with 27 seconds left. This time Minnesota did not take the intentional foul and Dallas ran the clock down and Walker hit a little floater with 5 seconds remaining. Minnesota used their last timeout. Garnett nailed a 3-pointer and Nash was fouled off the inbounds and made both free throws for the final margin. Dallas won 92-88. Dallas kept digging themselves a hole and then using a ton of energy to try to get out of it that I was worried that the were not going to have enough left to finish, but somehow they found a way. It was even more impressive in that not only were they missing big men Dirk Nowitzki and Danny Fortson, but they lost Shawn Bradley for the 2nd half as Bradley suffered a coughing fit during halftime due to bronchitis and was unable to play [he didn't look well when he finally came out to the bench - even paler than usual]. The amazing thing was that Dallas killed Minnesota on the rebounds. Out-rebounding them 60-52 doesn't sound like "killed" until you factor in that Dallas had _26_ offensive boards. Granted that there were a lot of offensive boards available as the Mavs only shot 34.3% (34-99) FG including 6-24 3-pointers. Minnesota joined Dallas' shooting woes in the 2nd half as they only shot 33.3% FG during that half. For the game, they shot 44.2% (38-86) FG including 3-16 3-pointers. The Mavs had a major advantage at the line in shooting 18-27 FG [though 4 of them were from intentional fouls] while Minnesota shot 9-12 FT. The Mavs even out-scored Minnesota 42-36 in the paint. The Mavs got great production from the bench as the Mavs' bench had 34 points and 34 rebounds - including 18 offensive. Minnesota didn't get much from their bench as they had just 11 points and 9 rebounds (none offensive). There were 2 heros in this game - one of whom you would have never guessed. Michael Finley didn't shoot well except behind the arc, but had a game high 25 points including 8-23 FG and 5-12 3-pointers. He also had 8 rebounds. Josh Howard shone in the 3rd quarter and earned valuable playing time during the 4th quarter. He was every where. He had 15 points, 7 rebounds including 4 offensive, and 3 steals in 25 minutes. Both Steve Nash and Antoine Walker struggled mightily with their shots as both shot 4-18 FG. Nash had 17 points (thanks to 9-9 FT) and just 3 assists in 33 minutes. Walker had 8 points (and missed all 4 free throws he attempted) and 10 rebounds. Antawn Jamison contributed well off the bench as he had 14 points and 13 rebounds including 6 offensive. Eduardo Najera contributed 3 points (just 1-5 FG) and 9 rebounds including 6 offensive - and a number of them were hustle rebounds where he just went after them. Shawn Bradley and Tony Delk started and neither was a big factor in the game. Bradley had 4 points on 2-3 FG and 3 rebounds in 16 1st half minutes. Delk had 4 points on 2-3 FG and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes. Like a number of players, Travis Best struggled with his shot in shooting just 1-5 FG, but he did have 5 rebounds in his 15 minutes. No surprise that Kevin Garnett had a studly game. He didn't get much help, though. KG had a 20-20 with 28 points and 20 rebounds including 9 offensive. He did commit 6 turnovers, though. Sam Cassell was the only teammate to help out with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists [he normally plays well against the Mavs as he's averaged 20 points and 7.8 assists over the last 8 seasons vs the Mavs]. Latrell Sprewell had 14 points, but shot 6-17 FG. He also had 7 rebounds and 4 steals, but turned the ball over 5 times. Michael Olowokandi was the only other TWolf in double-digits with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Quotes Don Nelson: "That was certainly the best win of the year. We were between a rock and a hard place, especially when Shawn went down. We were lucky because I don't know how you win a game shooting 34%." Nelson: "It's certainly the best win of the year so far and hopefully we'll have lots of others too." Nelson: "Josh Howard had a lot to do with winning this game. We are seeing his maturity as the season goes on. He has a nice, quiet confidence about his game and I really think he is going to be a good player." Nelson: "I didn't like Finley's performance as a veteran in the Denver game, and I didn't like Antawn Jamison's showing either. I told both of them that they were too passive." Michael Finley on Howard: "Josh came in off the bench and was a big lift. He made some big shots, got some key rebounds, but what I was more impressed with was his heart. He had an All-Star and one of the top players on him in Kevin Garnett. He didn't back down and continued to attack the basket. ... Hopefully, he can build on that and continue that throughout the season." Steve Nash: "It was a big effort considering the circumstances, having lost 2 games and really not playing that well. It was a huge effort by a lot of guys and we got a big boost from the rook." Antawn Jamison on missing Nowitzki: "He makes it easy. He brings that sense of comfort that we're so used to having. When he's gone, there is a sense of urgency that everybody has to step up. It's good that we're finding ways to win without him because you never know what could happen." Josh Howard: "I just go out there and try to do what I can do. Whatever is given to me, I'm going to take it." Howard: "I know we have a lot of stars, so whenever I get a chance to replace them, I'm going to play hard and do what I've been doing since college." Howard, who Minnesota elected not to select in the draft instead choosing Ndudi Ebi: "They were probably happy they have their rookie on the bench." Flip Saunders: "We have a tendency still [where] we're playing the right way and we go away from what we're doing, and all of a sudden the other team goes on a run. You have to control the tempo the whole game. You can't say we're going to take a 3 minute rest and see what happens." Saunders on Garnett: "He gets no calls as much as he goes to the basket. That's why a lot of guys complain to the refs, because they get the calls. He's just too nice." Saunders: "You look at their bench, look at what Jamison and Howard did. Their bench helped them, no question." Sam Cassell: "We can't just depend on Kevin Garnett. I don't usually dwell on losses, but this is going to be a long flight home for me." Cassell: "We just have to understand that we have to rebound. We can't just depend on KG to get 20 every night. We have to battle on the boards. The Mavericks getting 27 offensive rebounds? It's ridiculous. We can't keep using 'it's a growing process' either. It's almost December now. We have to turn this thing around. Everybody has to look in the mirror. People have to be accountable." Dallas Mavericks 92, Minnesota Timberwolves 88 at Dallas (November 29) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 26 18 25 23 - 92 .373 .250 .343 .667 Minnesota 29 19 20 20 - 88 .500 .188 .442 .750 Halftime: Minnesota 48-44 3rd Q: Dallas 69-68 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 11:06 1st, Minnesota defensive 3 seconds 5:48 1st Refs: Michael Smith, Ted Bernhardt, Tim Donaghy Attendance: 20,089 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Dirk Nowitzki (sprained right ankle), Danny Fortson (suspended), Mark Madsen (back spasms) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 44 8-23 5-12 4-5 25 3-8 1 1 0 2 1 Antoine Walker 38 4-18 0-3 0-4 8 2-10 3 1 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 16 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 Tony Delk 13 2-3 0-1 0-0 4 0-3 0 0 1 0 0 Steve Nash 33 4-18 0-5 9-9 17 1-2 3 3 3 0 0 Eduardo Najera 23 1-5 0-0 1-2 3 6-9 1 2 3 0 1 Travis Best 15 1-5 0-2 0-0 2 2-5 2 1 2 0 0 Antawn Jamison 33 6-13 0-0 2-2 14 6-13 1 2 3 1 1 Josh Howard 25 6-11 1-1 2-5 15 4-7 2 0 2 3 1 Totals 48 34-99 6-24 18-27 92 26-60 13 10 17 6 4 Minnesota Timberwolves REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Latrell Sprewell 39 6-17 0-5 2-2 14 1-7 3 5 1 4 0 Kevin Garnett 40 11-20 1-1 5-6 28 9-20 4 6 4 0 2 Michael Olowokandi 31 5-11 0-0 0-0 10 1-7 1 1 2 0 4 Sam Cassell 38 8-14 1-4 1-1 18 1-6 7 1 4 2 0 Trenton Hassell 31 3-7 0-0 1-3 7 0-3 4 0 4 0 0 Gary Trent 24 1-7 0-0 0-0 2 0-4 2 1 3 0 1 Fred Hoiberg 24 2-7 1-6 0-0 5 0-4 1 0 4 0 1 Keith McLeod 10 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Quincy Lewis 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 Totals 48 38-86 3-16 9-12 88 12-52 22 16 24 6 9 patricia