Dallas at Orlando (November 9) Dallas played like a team that played the night before and didn't arrive at their hotel until 4 am. But Orlando wasn't playing much better and neither team could buy a shot - it wasn't good defense, just players missing shots. The teams combined to score just 9 points in the first 4 minutes of the game as they shot 4-16 FG. It didn't help that the refs were letting lots and lots of fouls go, including fouls on the shooters - and they did so throughout the game. Josh Howard sprained his left ankle early in the game and left to get it re-taped, but was able to return midway through the quarter. Neither team was able to pick up their shooting and the largest lead in the quarter was just 5 points. Dallas led 22-19 after 1. Dallas shot 8-30 FG and Orlando shot 5-20 FG. Dallas took their largest lead at 30-23 on a layup by Marquis Daniels with 9 minutes left and then resumed the bricklaying fest. Orlando got their running game going and went on an 18-5 run, including 12 points by Steve Francis and he assisted on 2 other buckets during the run, to go up 48-35 with 50 seconds left. Dallas shot a mere 2-18 FG during the run and committed 5 turnovers. Orlando led 50-40 at the half. For the half, Orlando shot 42% FG while Dallas shot 27% (15-55) FG. Orlando had 16 fast break points. Francis had 14 points and Dirk Nowitzki, playing with a gimpy ankle, had just 3 points - all from free throws. Cuttino Mobley pulled a groin during the 2nd quarter and tried to play through it, but could not and left the game for good a minute into the 3rd quarter. Orlando scored 9 straight points, capped by a 3-point play by Dwight Howard, to go up 63-42 with 8:50 remaining. Dallas brought in Shawn Bradley and started playing zone defense [Dallas has hardly used a zone this season] and the zone seemed to disrupt the Magic. Things got worse for Dallas when Michael Finley sprained his right ankle a minute later and he had to leave the game and did not return. Orlando led 66-47 with 6 minutes to go and Dirk Nowitzki came alive to lead the Mavs on a 15-3 run over the rest of the quarter. Orlando led 69-62 after 3. Nowitzki had 9 points during the run and 13 points in the quarter. Dallas pulled within 69-75 with 9 minutes remaining but could get no closer as they reverted to their bricklaying form in shooting 2-15 FG over the next 7 minutes. The game took another casualty as Kelvin Cato went down and out with a sprained ankle with 3:40 left. A layup by Jameer Nelson followed by a 3-pointer by Hedo Turkoglu put the game away in giving Orlando a 90-76 lead with 2:50 to go. Dallas would get no closer than the final margin. Orlando won 94-84. It was an ugly, ugly, ugly game and unfortunately it has long term affects. Michael Finley's sprain is a 2nd degree and Don Nelson has said that he is sending him home and, thus, Finley will likely miss the remaining 3 games of the road trip. Except for the stretch in the 3rd quarter, Dallas never really found a semblance of a game. And it was not as if it was strong defense by Orlando that was killing the Mavs, Dallas was simply missing shots left and right - even a ton of bunnies. At one point, the TV showed a stat where Dallas had missed 17 shots from within 5 feet - and I know that they missed at least 3 more after that stat was shown. Dallas only shot 29.2% (28-96) FG including 3-12 3-pointers. Orlando also struggled with their shooting, but not to the extent that Dallas did. Orlando shot 41.7% (35-84) FG. They were pushing the ball early, in trying to take advantage of Dallas' tired legs, but went away from it in the 2nd half (only had 2 fast break points in the 2nd half). It was just a very ugly game. No one from Dallas had a good game - no player shot 50% FG and most were way, way, way under that. Dirk Nowitzki was the only player to have a good stretch during the game, during the 3rd quarter where he had 13 points including 4-6 FG. But he shot 1-10 FG the rest of the game and had 4 turnovers. Nowitzki finished with 20 points on 5-16 FG and 10-11 FT and 8 rebounds. Michael Finley was having a poor outing before suffering the sprained ankle. He had 8 points including 2-8 FG, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in 20 minutes. Devin Harris struggled with 3 points including 1-7 FG, 1 assist, and 3 turnovers in 15 minutes. Erick Dampier did snag 13 rebounds including 6 offensive and had a sweet pass, but you can't have your big man shooting 3-9 FG and not taking advantage of Orlando's smaller lineup. Dampier had 7 points in 24 minutes. Josh Howard was able to grab rebounds, but unable to hit a shot, even easy putbacks. He had 11 rebounds including 6 offensive and 2 points including 0-8 FG. Marquis Daniels had an up-and-down game. There was a stretch where he look superb and the only Mav producing, but he also missed a ton of bunnies. He had 16 points and 5 rebounds in 30 minutes - and his minutes will probably remain high with Finley out. Jerry Stackhouse again had a poor outing with 12 points including 4-14 FG, 4 rebounds, a team high 3 assists, and 4 turnovers. Jason Terry was quiet until the end of the game. His 2 3-pointers came in the last 2 minutes of the game and he shot 3-8 FG the rest of the game. He had 13 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 2 turnovers in 29 minutes. Shawn Bradley came in and changed the game in being the cornerstone for the zone defense that allowed Dallas to get back in the game. He missed 2 open looks that he normally makes and had 3 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes. Alan Henderson shot 0-3 FG and had 5 rebounds in 8 minutes. And Calvin Booth got in for the first time this season at the end of the game. Steve Francis got hot during Orlando's 8 minute run during the 2nd quarter where he had 12 points and shot 6-7 FG, but he missed the rest of his shots outside of that stretch. Francis had 16 points including 6-18 FG, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. It is good to see Grant Hill playing well and he had 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals in 34 minutes. He did turn the ball over 7 times [and Orlando had a number of sloppy turnovers during the game]. Rookie Dwight Howard showed flashes and had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu had Orlando's only 3-pointer (they shot 1-13 3-pointers) and led the team with 19 points. Cuttino Mobley had 7 points including 2-8 FG and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes before leaving with his injury. Quotes Johhny Davis: "We probably did a good job tonight defensively; Dallas coming in undefeated, a very good offensive team and us holding them to 29% shooting and really made them work for it. I thought that was the difference in the game, when we got out to a lead they went into a zone, it took us a little bit to get back the right way but finally we did, we moved the ball and finally we were able to get good scoring opportunities out of it." Davis: "I've said it before in terms of our depth, it's going to take all 12 guys over the course of this season and it's a luxury to be able to pull a guy off the bench and be able to insert him into the game and you get something from him and that's what happened tonight. We had a good total team effort with guys coming in and making contributions up and down the lineup and that's what it takes to be successful in this league." Davis on run-and-gun against Dallas: "Yeah, we made the decision and commit that this is how we play and this is who we are and it doesn't matter who our opponent happens to be, we have to play our game. We focus on just doing the things that we that we're capable of doing and not try to play according to who we are playing. We want to be consistent with what we do and each night out we know that the common denominators for us is our playing good defense, rebounding, and running and we try to do that each night." Davis: "I don't know that it is a statement; it's about what we do each night. You can go on statement games throughout the year. But the bottom line is each night you have to come out and play the game the way we practice so that everyone knows exactly what we are doing and that everyone is on the same page." Davis on DHoward: "There will be some shining moments with a young guy like Dwight, but what impressed me is how he well he bounced back after a tough game the other night in Charlotte. He got in foul trouble that night and he was in foul trouble again tonight, but this time when he came back in the game, he did some really good things." Davis: "Jameer Nelson was solid for us tonight. Cuttino, I think he tweaked his groin a little bit, I don't know the severity of that at this point. Jameer came in he was solid for us and made some nice plays and it really kind of settled us down in terms of giving Stevie a break." Davis: "I see Jameer's confidence growing nightly and he's a good basketball player. He's heady. He's smart and tough and he makes good decisions and he's not in awe of the situation. When you have a guy who has been in big games like he has at St. Joe's, a guy who stayed for 4 years in college, there's a certain level of maturity with Jameer and I think it showed tonight." Steve Francis: "I think we all came out knowing what was at stake. You know we lost to Charlotte on Saturday and that left a bad taste in our mouth. So, we wanted to come out and defend our home court because that's where you get a lot of our support, a lot of your drive. I think our young guys, Jameer and Dwight, came in and gave us great effort." Francis on the pace of the game: "It's going to be a challenge - the season is so long. And at times, like we've seen, you've got to slow it down, and get into some sets. Playing against a shooting team like Dallas, who pretty much plays small ball, we were able to neutralize them, trying to play to their weakness by getting up and down the court." Francis on the 2nd quarter: "We all got up, played defense. Cato came in, you know, gave us some marvelous defensive plays that really ignited the offense, not only for Grant and myself, but for everybody. Whenever you've got guys intimidating them and blocking shots inside, that's going to make the other team come in a little worried." Grant Hill: "We've still got a lot more improvement. I know I do, but that's why it's early in the season for us. ... As long as we can continue to get better and learn how to win games in different styles, whether it's having to win big or having to claw to get back into games, hopefully that will prepare us for our ultimate goal which is the post season." Hill on Dallas' comeback: "We have to learn to knock teams out, but it's a good problem to have." Hill: "I'm sure some people enjoyed seeing us down last season, and some teams enjoyed the warm weather down here and getting a win. We look at each game as an opportunity to send a message." Cuttino Mobley: "This was definitely huge. We did what we had to do. You're supposed to win at home." Dwight Howard on defending Nowitzki: "Try and not let him score a lot of points. You want to try and contest all his shots. He made the shots, there wasn't anything I could do about it but try and make sure that chances are if I was guarding him, he had to shoot some tough shots." Don Nelson: "We have our fill of ankle injuries now. Josh sprained his, Dirk sprained his last night and I didn't even know if I was going to have him. He wasn't very mobile tonight. Finley goes down with probably a degree 2 sprain and will miss some time. And we've had Marquis' to worry about as well. That's 4 of them now. That happens sometimes where you get a rash of things that happen all at once." Nelson: "The bottom line is we've struggled offensively now for 2 games in a row. It's hard to beat a team on the road when you do that. We had to go to our zone, since we weren't getting much done. I thought that helped us get back in the game, but as soon as I had to rest Dirk, just for 2 minutes, then when I put him back and he threw the ball away which cost us the momentum we established. That was about the end of it I guess." Nelson: "We couldn't make a shot. We shot 38% last night and 28% tonight. We had plenty of good looks around the basket. We were out-played tonight too. I don't want to make any excuses. They deserved to win and they got it." Nelson on Daniels: "Finley is probably out, but the good news is that Marquis was able to play 30 minutes. And I want to play him more if I can. He still looks rusty, but he's got to go through it, even if I have to lose games to get him to where I need him. Kind of like Stackhouse, he continues to play like a rusty player. He's had that one good game in New Orleans, but he hasn't played up to the potential I know he has. This time will be good for him. He's going to have to play his way through it and start being the player I know he is." Dirk Nowitzki: "You can fall behind at home and always get back with the home crowd. If you're on the road, you just can't always come from behind. That's very tough to do. We did it yesterday. We just can't dig ourselves in a hole like that." Nowitzki on his sore ankle: "I think one of those spurs is a little irritated. It was sore before yesterday's game and afterward it swelled up. If this only happens once or twice a year, it's okay. I don't want to have surgery if I don't have to." Michael Finley on his sprained ankle: "It's always frustrating when you're not able to help your teammates. I've rolled it like that before, but after I ran back after the free throws, I knew it wasn't right. I just want to get back as soon as I can." Finley: "[Injuries are] always frustrating, whether I'm playing good or bad. Just to be unable to help the team, I feel helpless. I'm just trying to get back as soon as I can." Jerry Stackhouse: "It was one of those nights that we really didn't think they did a lot to take us out of what we wanted to do. We just missed shots. I don't know if we were rushing them. We had good looks and had good opportunities tonight. You know that during an 82 game season you are going to have nights like that. We just weren't able to slow them down in transition and that was they key. They got so many easy baskets in transition." Stackhouse on the poor shooting: "It's contagious. When the basket is wide, it's contagious. When the basket is tight, it's contagious. That's why basketball is a team game." Stackhouse on the back-to-back: "I don't think with our depth that it should ever be a real factor real us. That should be a strong point for us. I just think that we just needed a little bit more effort. They pushed it and honestly they made great plays in the open court. That was the difference. We went to the zone and were able to get back into the game. You can't spot a team 20 points and expect to get back into it in the 2nd half." Stackhouse on DHoward: "He is going to be a great player. The way he competes, he has all the tools. He is long. He is athletic. He runs the floor. I think that when you see Grant Hill and all those other guys making plays on the break, but Dwight Howard is the reason. He was running the court full speed and sucking in the big and they were just filling the lanes." Stackhouse: "Dirk has been bothered a little bit by an ankle. I thought he did a great job of getting himself loose and competing in the 2nd half. Again, it comes down to not being able to spot a team 20 points in the 2nd half. We had it down to a decent margin at the break and we came out not as assertive in the 2nd half. It was an uphill battle from there." Josh Howard on if he'll miss any games due to his sprained ankle: "I hope not. It's real sore. I just don't want to hurt it later on." Marquis Daniels: "It is a learning experience for us. We just got to get back in transition and take away some of those easy baskets they were getting. We just have to be able to setup our defense." Daniels: "It is a long season. Guys are going to make those shots. They are not in the NBA for nothing. They are going to go down for us. You have to live with it some nights. Your defense, though, you have to keep that up. Defense has to be consistent. We focused on that all of preseason and giving up no easy looks." Orlando Magic 94, Dallas Mavericks 84 at Orlando (November 9) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Orlando 19 31 19 25 - 94 .479 .077 .417 .821 Dallas 22 18 22 22 - 84 .298 .250 .292 .714 Halftime: Orlando 50-40 3rd Q: Orlando 69-62 Technicals: Steve Francis 8:48 1st, Kelvin Cato 5:39 3rd Refs: Ken Mauer, Bennie Adams, Matt Boland Attendance: 13,155 (cap 17,283) Orlando Magic REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Steve Francis 39 6-18 0-2 4-6 16 2-10 9 4 4 3 0 Cuttino Mobley 19 2-8 0-2 3-3 7 2-5 3 0 1 0 1 Grant Hill 34 6-11 0-0 5-6 17 2-9 3 7 2 3 0 Dwight Howard 27 6-9 0-0 3-5 15 3-11 2 2 4 1 1 Kelvin Cato 22 2-4 0-0 2-2 6 0-6 1 0 5 2 3 Hedo Turkoglu 32 7-17 1-5 4-4 19 1-4 2 2 2 0 1 Pat Garrity 21 2-5 0-3 0-0 4 0-3 2 2 2 1 0 Tony Battie 21 0-3 0-0 2-2 2 1-6 1 1 2 1 1 Jameer Nelson 15 4-8 0-1 0-0 8 0-2 0 1 1 1 0 Stacey Augmon 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 DeShawn Stevenson 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Michael Bradley 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-84 1-13 23-28 94 11-56 23 20 26 12 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 20 2-8 1-1 3-4 8 1-1 1 0 1 0 2 Devin Harris 15 1-7 0-3 1-2 3 0-2 1 3 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 32 5-16 0-1 10-11 20 1-8 1 4 5 1 0 Josh Howard 31 0-8 0-0 2-2 2 6-11 1 1 2 0 0 Erick Dampier 24 3-9 0-0 1-2 7 6-13 1 0 4 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 34 4-14 0-3 4-7 12 1-4 3 4 2 1 0 Marquis Daniels 30 7-17 0-0 2-3 16 2-5 1 2 2 2 0 Jason Terry 29 5-11 2-4 1-2 13 1-1 1 2 2 3 0 Shawn Bradley 15 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 0-4 0 0 2 0 0 Alan Henderson 8 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 2-5 0 0 1 0 0 Calvin Booth 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 28-96 3-12 25-35 84 20-54 10 17 26 8 2 patricia