Josh Howard got accidentally popped in the mouth by Peja Stojakovic during the 2nd quarter of Thursday's game vs Sacramento. He needed 9 stitches to the inside of his mouth and did not play the rest of the game. He also missed the next 2 games due to swelling and pain. Dallas at Sacramento (March 11) Dallas scored the 1st 4 points of the game and should have turned around and gone home then. Okay, it wasn't that bad (but I still have a bitter taste in my mouth). Dallas held small leads early on, the last at 17-15 with 5:55 remaining. The Kings scored the next 6 points. 2 free throws by Brad Miller and a 3-pointer by Anthony Peeler gave Sacramento a 35-25 lead with 36 seconds to go. Sacramento led 37-27 after 1. Mike Bibby had 11 points on 5-5 FG and 5 assists and Dirk Nowitzki had 11 points. Sacramento was shooting almost 70% FG. Michael Finley opened the 2nd quarter with a 3-pointer and the Kings then scored the next 8 points to go up 45-30 with 10:15 remaining. Dallas spent the rest of the quarter trying to play catchup, but were unable to cut the Kings' lead back into single-digits - but the Kings were also unable to truly pull away. The Kings took their largest lead at 64-46 with a minutes to go, but Finley closed the quarter with consecutive 3-pointers. Sacramento led 64-52 at the half. Josh Howard left the game with 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter after receiving an elbow to the mouth, got 9 stitches, and did not return. The Kings were still shooting well at over 50% FG. Consecutive layups by Antoine Walker did pull Dallas within 58-66 with 9 minutes left, but the Kings then went on a 10-1 run to go up 76-59 with 6:30 remaining. Dallas scored 7 straight points to pull within 76-85 with 1:50 to go, but did not score the rest of the quarter - Sacramento was only slightly better in scoring 3 points during that time. Sacramento led 88-76 after 3. A followup monster slam by Shawn Bradley pulled Dallas within 82-91 with 9:50 left, but the Kings then turned up the volume and scored on each of their next 6 possessions to go up 102-84 with 8 minutes to go. Dallas would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. Sacramento won 120-102. No bright spots from this game for Dallas. It was a big game and the Mavs did not bring their A game while the Kings did and had the easy win. Dallas never got their shooting going and never played enough defense to cool off the Kings' hot shooting. Sacramento shot 56.5% (48-85) FG including 9-20 3-pointers and Dallas shot 41% (43-105) FG including 6-16 3-pointers. Sacramento again killed Dallas inside in out-scoring Dallas 52-32 in the paint. Dallas did have 17 offensive rebounds and Sacramento only 4 offensive rebounds, but that is more reflective of the teams' shooting than effort. Sacramento played the much better team game with 39 assists while Dallas had 24 assists. It was a balanced attack for Sacramento as the Kings had 4 players with 20+ points and another with 16 points. And 3 of the 20+ scorers had a double-double. Doug Christie had 22 points including 9-14 FG, 12 assists, and 3 steals. Peja Stojakovic had 22 points including 4-9 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Mike Bibby had 21 points including 9-12 FG, 10 assists, and no turnovers. Brad Miller had 21 points including 8-10 FG and 16 rebounds off the bench. And Chris Webber had 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Dirk Nowitzki was the high man for Dallas with 21 points and also had 8 rebounds. Michael Finley had 18 points and 6 assists. Steve Nash had 13 points and 7 assists and Marquis Daniels had 10 points including 4-11 and 5 rebounds - all offensive. No other Mav was in double-digits. Antoine Walker had just 6 points on 3-10 FG, but did have 9 rebounds (but only 1 assist). Antawn Jamison had 9 points including 4-11 FG and 6 rebounds. Shawn Bradley did play decent during his brief time on the quarter. Quotes Rick Adelman: "That was really a great win. Our guys really played hard; they were in tune to what we were trying to do. They played great offensively - I mean 39 assists is a lot of assists. We needed to get this win to start this next 2 week period - with 6 tough games coming up, we needed to get this win to jumpstart us into the other games. So their concentration was there, their focus was there." Adelman on Christie: "Everybody on the floor can make shots. When he's knocking down shots, what do you do? They may stunt to him and not leave Peja, and when he's making shots they've got to come to him and it opens up for the next guy. Doug was terrific the whole game on both ends of the court. He had a key steal there at that one point of the game and got the 3 point play. When he's making shots, they don't know where to go." Adelman: "We kept saying don't quick shoot it and make them guard us and you're going to get good opportunities and we did that tonight." Adelman: "The ball movement was very good. The only part of the game I really didn't like was when they went to the zone and we acted like we had to shoot it right away. We just need to run our offense and make sure we still go through our big guys - it's a matter of just staying with it. Again, a focus has to be there. We're going to get a good shot but it doesn't have to be in the first 8 seconds of the 24-second clock and that's what it looked like we were trying to do." Adelman on Webber: "I don't know how many times I have to say it, it's an evaluation every game. I told him today I'm going to try to keep him around 33 or 34 minutes. I'll play him tomorrow and see how he reacts. He's going to be ready to play. He was so much more patient tonight. He seemed more relaxed and just let the game come to him." Chris Webber: "Right now we just need to win games. Well when we needed it we got a big win, we don't really make a big deal out of it as long as we win the game. We know who we are and we go to practice every day and we see how we play. I am sure a lot was made of the game tonight on talk radio and TV but for us it was just part of the job and being a professional." Webber: "I didn't feel it was a good game. The best is yet to come. But it does feel good not to stink the place up." Webber: "I just wanted to get the win, I did try to do the best that I can. So I am just happy about that. Yeah, I have been waiting to play back-to-back so hopefully if I have a successful back-to-back I will be able to let loose." Webber: "No, we were winning. The fact of the matter is coach has to do what he has to do. I'll rest for tomorrow's game so I understand that. Personally I just want to go out and play because I haven't played all year." Doug Christie: "I think we had a little bit better defensive effort, also on offense things were clicking and we just kept moving the ball. Ultimately, whether it is the Mavericks or whoever, I think that is the key - that we move the ball around." Christie on Webber: "It always looks good when the shot goes in the basket - he gives the same effort every time. He is invaluable for the different things that he brings to our team. Whether his shot is going or not, we are going to stick with him through the good and the bad times. We had good floor spacing tonight and guys were moving around, I think they were feeling a little more agile and feeling good. When that's happening, we are getting back cuts, making guys respond to the things that we are doing, that's when you get those easy buckets." Christie: "Every win is important. When the playoffs come if we see them and we had lost all 4 I don't think that it really would matter, we just have to go out and play good basketball. The win is good but right now it is just another win." Don Nelson: "It was nothing more than an old-fashion ass kicking. That's what it was. We got our butts beat tonight. Over the years, it's been tough to get a win here. And we've been pretty fortunate to have a lot of success. I think we won 5 out of our last 6 in this building. And nobody else has been able to do that. Tonight, they had it going. And we didn't play very well, I didn't think. And they played just terrific. They had 39 assists, moved the ball around, cut us apart. It wasn't a great performance by us. But still, it was an ass kicking. That's what it was." Nelson: "They had easy shots. We know they're good at what they do. We didn't guard them very well. And we didn't perform on the offensive end. I don't have any secrets for you. It was an ass kicking. That's all it was. But we had them before. And we'll have them again." Michael Finley on the road struggles: "It can change because we have a quality basketball team. We have to carry the same attitude we have at home on the road." Steve Nash: "I don't think we played well enough. I don't think we played particularly hard enough or with enough passion. I thought it was a pretty poor performance. We had a good start. But we let them get on top of us and suddenly, we're down by 20 in the 1st half. To me, there just wasn't enough passion tonight." Nash: "It's very frustrating. We've been inconsistent. That's kind of new territory for us. In the past, we've been such a good road team. Right now, we can't quite find the answers to it. So, it's really frustrating." Nash: "We haven't been losing to dummies. But at the same time, these are games we used to win. At least some of them." Antoine Walker: "We played well here last time on Christmas Day. And tonight they were very aggressive. They were hitting on all cylinders tonight. Brad Miller came off the bench and gave them a good spark. And Doug Christie, who is not always offensive minded, was very offensive minded tonight. And that hurt us as well." Walker: "You have to find a way to stop them. Obviously, it's going to be a tough month for us. We just put ourselves behind the 8-ball a little bit in the race for homecourt advantage. Now we have to do it on the road. But obviously, our starts at games are killing us right now. We have to somehow come out and match the team's scoring or just have the lead in the 1st quarter. That's when we play our best on the road." Sacramento Kings 120, Dallas Mavericks 102 at Sacramento (March 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Sacramento 37 27 24 32 - 120 .600 .450 .565 .833 Dallas 27 25 24 26 - 102 .416 .375 .410 .714 Halftime: Sacramento 64-52 3rd Q: Sacramento 88-76 Technicals: None Refs: Jason Phillips, Scott Foster, Steve Javie Attendance: 17,317 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Gerald Wallace (sprained left foot) Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Predrag Stojakovic 40 8-14 4-9 2-2 22 0-5 1 2 2 0 0 Chris Webber 27 8-15 0-0 0-0 16 0-8 5 0 3 1 1 Vlade Divac 19 2-7 0-0 1-2 5 0-4 5 4 2 0 0 Doug Christie 42 9-14 2-5 2-2 22 0-3 12 4 2 3 1 Mike Bibby 31 9-12 2-3 1-1 21 0-2 10 0 0 1 0 Brad Miller 35 8-10 0-0 5-5 21 3-16 3 4 1 1 0 Darius Songalia 7 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 1 1 1 1 0 Anthony Peeler 23 2-5 1-3 3-4 8 1-1 1 2 0 0 0 Rodney Buford 10 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 Tony Massenburg 4 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 0-2 0 1 1 0 0 Jabari Smith 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 48 48-85 9-20 15-18 120 4-43 39 18 13 7 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 13 2-7 0-0 0-0 4 2-4 1 0 1 1 0 Antoine Walker 28 3-10 0-1 0-0 6 3-9 1 1 2 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 37 8-19 1-6 4-4 21 1-8 4 2 1 1 0 Michael Finley 39 7-18 4-5 0-0 18 1-2 6 1 1 1 1 Steve Nash 32 6-12 1-3 0-0 13 1-2 7 2 1 2 0 Antawn Jamison 30 4-11 0-0 1-2 9 1-6 2 1 2 2 0 Marquis Daniels 19 4-11 0-1 2-3 10 5-5 2 3 1 2 0 Eduardo Najera 10 0-4 0-0 1-2 1 0-2 0 0 0 0 1 Scott Williams 9 4-6 0-0 0-0 8 1-1 0 0 1 0 1 Shawn Bradley 11 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 1-2 1 1 1 1 3 Danny Fortson 7 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 1-4 0 0 1 0 0 Travis Best 5 2-2 0-0 0-1 4 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 43-105 6-16 10-14 102 17-45 24 11 13 11 6 Dallas at Phoenix (March 13) The game stayed close early on with both teams holding small leads over the first 6 minutes of the game. Dallas led 20-17 with 5:15 remaining and went on a 15-2 run to go up 35-19 with 1:40 left. Antoine Walker got a layup as the quarter ended to give Dallas a 38-21 lead after 1. Michael Finley had 17 points including 7-8 FG and Walker had 10 points in the quarter. Zarko Cabarkapa had 10 points in the first 6 minutes of the quarter. Dallas was shooting 53% FG while Phoenix was struggling at 33% FG. In addition, Dallas was out-rebounding Phoenix 21-11. Dallas continued to roll and opened the 2nd quarter by out-scoring Phoenix 7-2 and took their first 20+ point lead at 45-23 with 9:15 to go. Phoenix got not closer than 18 points the rest of the quarter and Dallas' lead ballooned to 65-34 with 2:50 remaining. Amare Stoudemire got a dunk at the quarter buzzer. Dallas held a commanding 70-42 lead at the half. Finley had 25 points including 10-13 FG and 3-5 3-pointers in 20 minutes. A 3-pointer by Shawn Marion and technical foul free throw did cut Dallas' lead down to 67-85 with 4:30 to go, but Finley answered with a 3-pointer (and he was up to 33 points). Marion hit consecutive 3-pointers and Antawn Jamison got a layup as the quarter wound down. Dallas led 94-76 after 3. Marion had 11 points in the last 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter. But Dallas did not collapse this night and opened the 4th quarter with a 15-5 run to take a commanding 109-81 lead with 5:30 and Dallas' stars got to rest. Dallas won 113-90. Not only a road win, but an easy one - there haven't been many of those this season. Dallas shot well and rebounded better - and Phoenix shot poorly and did not rebound well. For the first time in 5 games (4 were losses), Dallas shot better than 45% FG. And for the first time in 25 games, the opponent shot less than 40% FG. Dallas shot 45.4% (44-97) FG including 6-14 3-pointers. Phoenix shot 37.6% (32-85) FG including 6-21 3-pointers. Dallas ruled the boards in out-rebounding Phoenix 64-43 including 20-9 offensive. Dallas had 12 turnovers and Phoenix had 13 turnovers, but Dallas scored 20 points off of Phoenix's turnovers while Phoenix only scored 5 points off of Dallas' turnovers. No question who the stud was from this game. Michael Finley had 38 points including 15-23 FG and 5-7 3-pointers in 38 minutes. And a number of his makes were tough ones. Antoine Walker finally had a nice outing (his first in 6 games). He had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Antawn Jamison also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki struggled offensively, but was very active on the boards. He had 8 points including 3-12 FG and 12 rebounds. Steve Nash wasn't looking to shoot and had just 7 points including 2-6 FG and 7 assists in 26 minutes. Eduardo Najera provided hustle and energy with 10 points including 4-5 FG and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. Shawn Bradley was very effective in his time on the court in disrupting Phoenix and had 6 points, 8 rebounds, and at least 1 more than his credited 2 blocks in his 15 minutes. Marquis Daniels chipped in 7 points including 3-10 FG, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 27 minutes. Phoenix remains just a trio of Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire, and Joe Johnson. Marion had 19 points including 4-8 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Stoudemire had 25 points including 9-11 FT and 5 turnovers. Johnson had 20 points and 7 rebounds. The rest of the team combined for just 26 points including 8-39 FG. Zarko Cabarkapa did have 12 points, but 10 of those came in the first 6 minutes of the game, including 3-10 FG and 6 rebounds. Quotes Don Nelson: "The game was probably over at halftime. We just needed to hang on." Nelson: Road games have not been easy for us this year, so any road kill is a good win for us. We have to start winning games on the road and hopefully this is a start." Michael Finley: "It was a good game, not only for me individually but the effort that the team had was tremendous. We haven't had much success lately because of the lack of energy and tonight we wanted to do that from the jump ball." Finley: "We needed to come out strong because we haven't had a lot of success on the road. Tonight we wanted to give ourselves a chance by having a lot of energy from the first jump ball all the way through the entire game." Finley: We haven't had a lot of success on the road. We wanted to come out with tremendous energy, and we did. The games we lost we had come out slow. We needed this. We haven't had a road win in a long time." Steve Nash: "We took a lot of pride tonight. We played with the pride and energy that was lacking in Sacramento. And Fin, what an incredible game. He had the stroke going." Nash: "It's nice to see Walk feel good about himself and play well. We all want him to feel positive." Antoine Walker: "Well, right now, I'm not worried about myself. We've got to become a good team on the road, and we've got to become it fast. It's got to be this month. We know that. We know there is a sense of urgency. We've already proven to everybody we can be tough at home. We need some road wins right now. We've got to build some road confidence now." Walker: "It was nice to finally go out and win it in the 1st quarter." Walker: "We're searching for some road confidence. We've been killing ourselves in the 1st quarter. This was the first time we maintained the lead all the way." Antawn Jamison: "We need to start something on the road. I don't care who it was against - we needed this game." Jamison: "I don't care if it was a blowout or we won at the buzzer because we haven't played well at all on the road. We needed to come out of the box strong and we did." Scott Williams: "It seemed like they were lifeless when they got down. Amare Stoudemire is going to have to start being a leader. Shawn Marion hasn't really warmed up to the role, but now that Penny and Stephon are gone, I think he knows he's going to have to lead more. They need that voice." Mike D'Antoni: "Something took the heart away from our team in the sense that the effort wasn't there in the 1st half. We can't survive. We can't put out a product that you'd even watch." D'Antoni: "It was a bad 1st half, just awful. A combination of bad defense and bad shooting does not make a pretty 1st half." D'Antoni: "Michael Finley had an incredible game, which he is quite capable of, but that does not excuse us by any means from the 1st half. We need to find some defense somewhere. Our defensive effort was absolutely zero." D'Antoni: "Shawn, Amare and Joe have to grab some people and say, 'Let's go.' Those are the 3 guys who are going to have to plow the road ahead. It was tough sledding in the 1st half." Dallas Mavericks 113, Phoenix Suns 90 at Phoenix (March 13) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 38 32 24 19 - 113 .458 .429 .454 .731 Phoenix 21 21 34 14 - 90 .406 .286 .376 .714 Halftime: Dallas 70-42 3rd Q: Dallas 94-76 Technicals: Phoenix defensive 3 seconds 6:09 1st, Phoenix defensive 3 seconds 0:45 1st, Dirk Nowitzki 4:27 3rd Refs: Courtney Kirkland, Ken Mauer, Rodney Mott Attendance: 16,705 (cap 18,422) Did not play due to injury: Josh Howard (mouth injury) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 29 3-12 0-3 2-2 8 2-12 4 1 3 0 0 Antoine Walker 35 8-17 0-2 2-2 18 4-10 5 0 2 0 1 Eduardo Najera 20 4-5 0-0 2-2 10 3-6 1 2 3 2 0 Steve Nash 26 2-6 0-1 3-3 7 0-1 7 2 0 0 0 Michael Finley 38 15-23 5-7 3-4 38 3-3 1 2 2 2 1 Shawn Bradley 15 2-3 0-0 2-2 6 3-8 0 0 4 0 2 Marquis Daniels 27 3-10 0-0 1-3 7 2-7 5 2 1 2 1 Antawn Jamison 31 6-13 1-1 2-4 15 2-10 0 2 0 0 1 Scott Williams 4 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-3 0 0 1 0 0 Danny Fortson 9 1-4 0-0 2-4 4 1-3 0 1 4 0 1 Travis Best 6 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 44-97 6-14 19-26 113 20-64 23 12 20 6 7 Phoenix Suns REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 42 7-13 4-8 1-1 19 0-6 1 1 2 2 0 Zarko Cabarkapa 22 3-10 0-1 6-6 12 1-6 3 2 1 0 2 Amare Stoudemire 40 8-16 0-0 9-11 25 3-5 0 4 2 0 5 Leandro Barbosa 18 1-4 1-2 0-0 3 1-3 2 2 6 1 0 Joe Johnson 46 9-17 1-2 1-3 20 1-7 4 1 3 2 0 Jake Voskuhl 17 1-3 0-0 0-3 2 1-6 2 1 2 0 0 Casey Jacobsen 26 0-7 0-3 0-0 0 0-2 2 0 2 0 0 Maciej Lampe 11 1-8 0-1 3-4 5 2-5 0 1 0 0 0 Jahidi White 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Howard Eisley 6 0-4 0-4 0-0 0 0-0 2 0 0 0 1 Donnell Harvey 8 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 0-3 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 32-85 6-21 20-28 90 9-43 16 13 23 5 8 Dallas at LA Clippers (March 14) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead in the first 10 minutes of the quarter. Dallas scored 6 straight points to go up 25-18 with a minute left. Dallas led 29-24 after 1. Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points. For the Clippers it was the Corey Maggette and Quentin Richardson show as Maggette had 12 points and Richardson had 10 points - all but 2 of the Clippers' points. The teams traded misses over the first 2 minutes of the 2nd quarter. Dallas started hitting before the Clippers did and the Mavs went on a 12-3 run to go up 41-27 with 6:30 to go. After a Shawn Bradley putback slam [always surprising], Maggette scored the next 4 points to pull the Clippers within 37-45 with 3 minutes left. Dallas' lead hovered between 8 and 10 points the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 52-43 at the half. Nowitzki had 21 points and 9 rebounds and Maggette had 19 points. Dallas used a 7-1 run to go up 64-50 with 7:40 left, but were unable to pull away as the Clippers then scored the next 9 points to pull within 59-64 with 5 minutes to go. 2 free throws by Antawn Jamison and a 3-pointer by Michael Finley gave Dallas a 75-65 lead after 3. Dallas' lead fluctuated between 7 and 10 points over the first 6 minutes of the 4th quarter. A 3-pointer by Steve Nash gave Dallas an 86-76 lead with 5:45 left. Richardson drained consecutive 3-pointers, Eduardo Najera got a layup, and Richardson nailed another 3-pointer to pull the Clippers within 85-88 with 4:20 remaining. Nash hit 2 free throws, Najera got a block, and Nash fed Najera for the layup to give Dallas a 92-85 lead with 3:35 to go. After Nash hit a technical foul free throw (on Bobby Simmons for a shove), Maggette hit the Clippers' 6th 3-pointer of the quarter to pull the Clippers within 88-93 with 2:40 left. Nowitzki hit a tough jumper, Simmons missed, and Jamison was fouled on the offensive rebound after Nash's miss, and Jamison hit both free throws to give Dallas a 9 point lead with 1:40 left. The Clippers continued to miss and Nash hit 2 short jumpers to finish the scoring. Dallas won 101-88. It was a tough game and in no way an easy win. Dallas again won thanks to shooting well and rebounding. And the Clippers stayed in the game thanks to their white hot 3-point shooting (maybe they should have just shot behind the arc). Dallas shot 45.2% (38-84) FG including 4-11 3-pointers and the Clippers shot 36.9% (31-84) FG including 8-16 3-pointers - that's just 33.8% for 2-pointers. Part of the Clippers good 3-point shooting is because they got some open looks as Dallas was determined to shut big man Elton Brand down - they did and the strategy worked for the win. Dallas out-rebounded the Clippers 50-42, though the Clippers did have 4 more offensive rebounds. After Michael Finley's strong outing the previous night, this night belonged to Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki was a stud both offensively and going aggressively after the rebounds. He had 34 points on 12-23 FG and 10-12 FT and 15 rebounds. Finley had a quiet outing with just 14 points on 6-16 FG and 6 assists. Steve Nash had 16 points and 11 assists. 11 of his points came in the 4th quarter. Antoine Walker was even quieter than Finley with just 6 points on 3-7 FG, 6 rebounds, and 0 assists in 22 minutes. Antawn Jamison had another nice outing with 17 points and 6 rebounds. The unsung heros of this game were Eduardo Najera and Shawn Bradley. Bradley gave the team a nice boost in the 2nd quarter and helped disrupt the Clippers when he was on the court. He had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes. And Najera was a monster in the 4th quarter - he was everywhere in going after rebounds and playing good defense. He had 4 points on 2-3 FG and 8 rebounds including 4 offensive in 14 minutes - 2 at the end of the 3rd quarter and all of the 4th. Danny Fortson also played a role in shutting Elton Brand down during his 17 minutes on the court. He had 9 rebounds [but 0-4 FG including a couple of shots that he shouldn't have taken]. The story of the night was easily Dallas containing Elton Brand. Going into this game, Brand was averaging 20.4 points including 51.3% FG. In this game, he only had 5 points including 2-11 FG. He manage to grab 10 rebounds, though. It was a 2-man team for the Clippers as Corey Maggette had 25 points and Quentin Richardson had 32 points including 5-9 3-pointers. Maggette also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Richardson also had 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. No other Clipper had more than 6 points. Chris Wilcox suffered a strained left Achilles tendon early in the 4th quarter and did not return. Quotes Don Nelson: "This was a dog fight. We got hot at the right time. Coming in, we felt if we controlled Brand we would be fine. Maggette and Richardson did a good job and played well. I have to give our centers a lot of credit. They defended Brand well. We had good rotations and double teams on him all night. They worked hard. Brand is very strong. I'm really happy with the way all of the big guys played." Nelson on Najera: "His knee has been kicking up and he had a bad hand with some swelling. I wanted to make sure he was fresh in the 4th. So I saved him when I needed him most and he came through with flying colors." Dirk Nowitzki: "I tried to be aggressive early. And when a couple of shots go in, your confidence starts to get bigger. After that, for a while, it felt like everything was going in. I had the opposite kind of game last night at Phoenix and I couldn't find my shooting rhythm. That's the NBA. It's always a different night." Nowitzki: "I don't know what it is but the Clippers have given us trouble ever since I came to the Mavericks. Tonight, we just played well as a team and had guys step up in their roles in the 4th quarter." Nowitzki on Brand: "We're not the most physical team in the league and we really struggling with dominating kinds of players, so we were just trying to get keep the ball out of his hands and make other guys take shots. Maggette and Richardson got hot for a while, but it's still better for them to shoot from the outside than to beat us inside. That's why we won the game." Steve Nash: "Dirk did a great job shooting the ball tonight. Najera brought a lot of energy when he came into the game. He rebounds, forces steals, and plays aggressive on defense. The last 2 games everyone has stepped up and played well. Our main focus was to pressure Elton Brand and put him into some tough situations. We were able to do that and get the win." Eduardo Najera: "I was ready to play. My knee is sore and my hand is swollen, but the best medicine is to win." Danny Fortson on Brand: "I have respect for his game. You have to be physical when you play him. He always plays hard and if you don't match it he can hurt you." Mike Dunleavy: "You're going to have a hard time beating a team as good as they are offensively if you're not making shots. We grinded as much as we could shooting 36%. We had good games obviously from Corey and Q, but nobody else could get it going. Wilcox got it going late, but then he got hurt." Dunleavy: "We defended them well but they still made shots. That's what they do. I thought in the 3rd quarter we made a run and in the 4th quarter our defense was good. We forced them into some tough shots and we were able to get back in the game." Dunleavy: "If you turn the ball over or if they get the rebound and get guys out on the break, they make you pay the price. They've got good speed, they've got the ability to take you off the dribble, and they make good decisions. That's why offensively they score the way they do." Elton Brand: "It was a tough night. They were in a zone defense pretty much the whole night and they just kept running double teams at me. Every time I touched the ball you could hear their whole coaching staff yelling 'Red' which meant a double team was coming. I tried to look to open guys and guys like Q, Corey, and Keyon knocked down some big shots." Brand: "It was a tough night. They ran zone, they double teamed. They had guys all around me, but I just missed shots." Brand: "I got the jump ball, and after that it was all downhill." Brand on his struggles against Dallas: "In Dallas, we got blown out and I didn't play the 4th quarter, so I don't count that. The game before that, I had 25 points and 20 rebounds against that same defense. But tonight I have to credit them. They had great defense, greats traps, and they were doubling every time. So I just tried to hit the open man." Corey Maggette: "They made some clutch shots down the stretch. Dirk hit a couple of pretty tough shots late in the 4th with people in his face. We have 16 games left and all we can do is focus on playing out the season with energy. We are going to try and stay together as a team and concentrate on getting better." Maggette: "It's tough right now because we're struggling. I think this should be a situation where we're playing to go into playoffs and getting ready to do a lot of good things, but it's clear that it's not our time yet." Dallas Mavericks 101, Los Angeles Clippers 88 at LA (March 14) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 29 23 23 26 - 101 .466 .364 .452 .875 LA Clippers 24 19 22 23 - 88 .338 .500 .369 .750 Halftime: Dallas 52-43 3rd Q: Dallas 75-65 Technicals: Mike Dunleavy 9:05 3rd, Shawn Bradley 6:32 3rd, Bobby Simmons 3:04 4th Refs: Anthony Jordan, Mike Callahan, Violet Palmer Attendance: 18,388 (cap 19,060) Did not play due to injury: Josh Howard (mouth injury) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antoine Walker 22 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 2-6 0 3 2 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 45 12-23 0-2 10-12 34 1-15 3 1 1 2 1 Danny Fortson 17 0-4 0-0 2-2 2 0-9 0 1 4 1 2 Michael Finley 37 6-16 2-6 0-0 14 0-1 6 2 2 1 0 Steve Nash 38 5-10 2-3 4-4 16 0-1 11 1 2 1 0 Antawn Jamison 29 6-11 0-0 5-6 17 1-6 0 0 2 0 0 Scott Williams 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 Marquis Daniels 21 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 4 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 13 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 2-3 0 0 2 0 0 Eduardo Najera 14 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 4-8 0 1 2 1 1 Totals 48 38-84 4-11 21-24 101 10-50 26 10 19 7 5 Los Angeles Clippers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Corey Maggette 46 9-19 2-5 5-7 25 1-8 6 3 4 1 0 Bobby Simmons 31 2-9 0-0 2-2 6 4-6 4 3 6 1 1 Elton Brand 42 2-11 0-0 1-2 5 3-10 0 2 1 1 2 Quentin Richardson 45 13-25 5-9 1-2 32 5-11 5 3 0 3 0 Keyon Dooling 27 1-7 0-1 8-8 10 0-0 3 0 4 0 0 Chris Kaman 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Matt Barnes 9 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 Doug Overton 23 1-6 1-1 0-0 3 0-0 4 1 1 0 0 Chris Wilcox 12 3-5 0-0 0-1 6 0-3 1 0 3 1 1 Totals 48 31-84 8-16 18-24 88 14-42 23 13 20 7 4 patricia