As expected, Dallas released Jason Sasser, Felipe Lopez, and Derek Hood on Friday. The Mavs placed Tariq Abdul-Wahad (left knee tendinitis), Pavel Podkolzin (torn cartilage right knee), and Dan Dickau (sprained left ankle) on IR on Monday to set the opening day roster. Dallas unveiled a 25th anniversary banner with the names of the 200 season ticket holders who have been with the team since the beginning. Sacramento at Dallas (November 2) The regular season was finally here and the Mavs came out with a good start. Don Nelson had announced the day before that rookie Devin Harris would start with Jason Terry coming off the bench. And it was a deep bench as Marquis Daniels and Jerry Stackhouse were finally healthy and able to play in this game (Daniels missed all of preseason with a sprained ankle and Stackhouse missed most of preseason with a thigh contusion). Sacramento was without Doug Christie due to plantar fasciatis. The Mavs scored the first 7 points of the game as Sacramento missed their first 6 shots. The Kings finally got on the board with 9:15 left and Dallas held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter. Josh Howard had a nice bounce pass into Erick Dampier and Dampier got the slam and a minute later Devin Harris had the pretty lob pass that Dampier slammed home - when was the last time you saw a successful alley-oop to a Mavs big man? The alley-oop was also Harris' 4th assist of the quarter. Dallas led 30-23 after 1. Dirk Nowitzki had 10 points, Erick Dampier had 9 points, and Chris Webber had 10 points. Dallas shot 57% FG and Sacramento shot 43% FG. Dallas' defense continued to impress as Jason Terry stole the ball to open the 2nd quarter (and Nowitzki was fouled on the break). A jumper by Nowitzki gave Dallas their first double-digit lead at 38-27 with 8:15 remaining. A layup by Brad Miller pulled Sacramento within 34-42 with 5:40 to go, but Dallas then scored 7 straight points to go up 49-34 with 2:55 left. Dallas led 54-40 at the half. Nowitzki was still hot and had 19 points and 7 rebounds in the half. Dallas opened the 3rd quarter cold and didn't score in the first 2 minutes - but the Kings didn't take much advantage as they only scored 4 points. Dallas then went on a 9-2 run to take their largest lead at 65-46 with 7:15 remaining. Dallas had a defensive lapse late in the 3rd quarter and the Kings scored 7 straight points to pull within 59-70 with 3 minutes to go. As the quarter was ending, Jerry Stackhouse passed out to an open Nowitzki and Nowitzki swished the 3-pointer at the buzzer. Dallas led 79-66 after 3. Nowitzki was up to 29 points. Dallas continued to hold a double-digit lead early in the 4th quarter (their largest being 16 points), but the Kings wouldn't go away as the Mavs kept leaving the door open. Dallas led 91-78 with 6:30 left and Webber scored the next 5 points to pull Sacramento within 83-91 with 4:45 to go. A jumper by Webber pulled Sacramento within 93-99 with 2:25 left. Michael Finley hit a jumper and Bobby Jackson missed a jumper. Harris had the ball up top, drove, and when he was about 10 feet from the basket with 3 defenders collapsing on him, he made the pretty bounce pass through traffic to Finley who got the jam to put Dallas up 103-93 with 1:30 remaining. Harris was called for a questionable foul and Jackson hit 2 free throws. Harris then turned the ball over and Brad Miller got a layup on the break and was fouled (and Harris was subbed out). He made the free throw to pull Sacramento within 98-103 with a minute to go. Nowitzki missed a jumper with 38 seconds left, but Miller missed and Stojakovic missed and Dallas finally got the rebound with 15 seconds left. Nowitzki was intentionally fouled and hit both free throws. Dallas played tight defense and Jackson's 3-point fling with 6 seconds left was way off and Marquis Daniels got the rebound and was fouled. He hit both free throws for the final points. Dallas won 107-98. Dallas played a very good game - it wasn't perfect as they had lapses in the 3rd and 4th quarters that allowed Sacramento to stay in the game instead of putting it away. The Mavs' defense was pretty good and they managed to take Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic out of the game - unfortunately their focus on those 2 and Webber allowed Brad Miller and Matt Barnes to get going with open outside looks (which to their credit, they made most of them). Sacramento only shot 41.4% (36-87) FG including 3-17 3-pointers while Dallas shot 49.4% (40-81) FG. Dallas was also good at sharing the ball and had 27 points. The rebounds were even with 43 each and Sacramento only had 5 more offensive rebounds despite the poorer shooting. Dallas led from start to finish. Dirk Nowitzki was the man. He led the team for the first 3 quarters, but was quiet in the 4th quarter except for a key rebound late in the game and 2 free throws (and annoyed me some with some of the good looks he passed up in the 4th quarter in opting to pass the ball - he only attempted 2 shots in the quarter (and was fouled on one of them)). He had a game high 33 points on 12-19 FG, 2-2 3-pointers, and 7-8 FT, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in 43 minutes. It is so pretty when his shot is falling like it was this night. Michael Finley was the opposite in being fairly quiet through 3 quarters and turning it on in the 4th quarter. 11 of his 18 points came in the 4th quarter and he shot 5-6 FG in the quarter. He also had 6 rebounds in his 36 minutes. Erick Dampier had a nice outing and played the inside well [unlike the previous preseason game, a number of Brad Miller's outside jumpers did not come while Dampier was guarding him]. Dampier had 11 points and 5 rebounds in 34 minutes. The rookie Devin Harris did not show any jitters and got no respect from the refs (a couple of his fouls were questionable and he got fouled a couple of times with no calls). His numbers were not stunning, but any one who watched the game can easily recall a couple of plays (assists, steals, 3-pointers) that he made at key points. He had 8 points including 2-7 FG and 2-5 3-pointers, 7 assists, 2 steals, and just 1 turnover (though it came late in the game) and played good defense in 30 minutes. Josh Howard was one of the reasons that Peja Stojakovic never got going. Howard's numbers were slight with 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists in 19 minutes, but his defense was good. Jerry Stackhouse did not have a good outing and seemed to be forcing things a couple of times. He had 8 points including 3-11 FG and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes. Marquis Daniels chipped in 8 points on 4-6 FG and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes. Jason Terry had 9 points including 4-10 FG, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 18 minutes. Alan Henderson was the Mavs' surprise performer of the night. Henderson played his role in blocking shots and grabbing rebounds with 3 blocks and 8 rebounds including 5 offensive. He also had 6 points on 3-4 FG in his 18 minutes. Shawn Bradley came in for half a minute and had a block that he didn't get credit for. Chris Webber had an up and down outing - he was quiet for 2 quarters and very visible for 2 quarters including hitting 2 tough layup shots. Webber had 21 points on 10-17 FG and just 1-5 FT and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. Brad Miller was missing shots early but got going later as 15 of his 24 points came in the 2nd half. He also had 6 rebounds. Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic had poor outings as both never found their shot. Bibby had 8 points including 2-8 FG but did have 5 rebounds and 6 assists but also had 3 turnovers and the coach opted to go with Bobby Jackson in the 4th quarter. Stojakovic had 12 points including 3-16 FG and 0-7 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 3 turnovers. Bobby Jackson also struggled with his shot in only shooting 4-12 FG and 0-4 3-pointers. He had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 20 minutes. Rookie Maurice Evans started and didn't do much with just 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in his 21 minutes. Matt Barnes was Sacramento's surprise player of the night. The Mavs kept leaving him open and he responded by hitting the shots. And he also got a couple of baskets despite some defense being played. A great outing for him with 17 points including 7-11 FG and 9 rebounds in 30 minutes. Quotes Don Nelson: "It was a good start. We were challenged in the 4th period and it wasn't our strongest quarter. I thought we let our guard down a little bit defensively. They hurt us inside and had some good success in there. Overall, we played a pretty good opening game. I'm very pleased with coming away with a win because I didn't know what to expect. I thought our first 3 quarters were our strongest and then they tired in the 4th. Still they executed well enough and made some big plays when they needed them. They scored too much in the 4th too easily on us. That has to be our best quarter defensively." Nelson: "We did enough to win down the stretch, but the 4th quarter has to be our best quarter defensively. It wasn't our best quarter, but it will be before the year is out." Nelson: "Overall, we played a pretty good opening game." Nelson: "We've been seeing all these things in practice: making the extra pass, executing, playing well together, playing unselfishly. We've liked what we've seen the last 4 days and were hoping it would carry over into the game and it did." Nelson on the extra pass: "We've done a really good job with this. However, you can make the extra pass to a fault. We passed up 3 or 4 really good shots; ones that I wanted us to take." Nelson: "I overused Mike a little bit. Stackhouse hasn't played very much. I saw he got tired a couple of times. Marquis tired a little bit. It's not going to be that way all year for Mike. He's not going to play 36 minutes a night." Nelson on Nowitzki: "He was pretty good tonight, wasn't he?" Nelson on Harris: "He did fine. Maybe he's numbers weren't great, but I thought he guarded all night. I had to take him out at the end and put the veteran back in. I think Devin is the reason Bibby didn't have his best game on opening night and his defense was really solid." Dirk Nowitzki: "I felt good right from the warmups. I tried to be aggressive and make things happen. When I made my first couple, I thought I'd just keep it going." Nowitzki on he and Finley: "We are still going to be important parts of the team. Hopefully we'll keep going and make big plays down the stretch to win games. Mike and I kind of have the team leader role. We did a good job tonight." Michael Finley: "The way this team is set up, the ball is going to go through Dirk. We need him to give us that. He's really stepping up and taking that role." Finley: "If Dirk doesn't score, we are in trouble. The way that the team is set up this year, everybody knows that the ball has to go through Dirk when we are looking for something offensively. He's given that to us not only in tonight's game but in practices and the preseason." Finley: "I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing - keep making shots when I have to and make the most of my time on the court." Finley: "A lot of guys said it feels good to win the first game. So far, so good." Erick Dampier: "It's not my best night offensively, but I tried to find other ways to keep myself in the game. I didn't get rebounds like I wanted to, but some nights it's going to be like that." Dampier: "Our team chemistry is not there, but it's definitely getting there. We're just getting used to one another - we're still making little mistakes - but I'm sure, as we continue to play and practice, we're only going to get better from this point." Jerry Stackhouse on all the players being on the court: "It was good to see. We have so many options that can do so many different things at different times in the game. It's just a matter of us finding the guys that are clicking and going with them. At any given night that can be a different group. We have a lot of depth and Detroit really was the model last year. They really showed what you could do with depth and sacrifice and we're trying to do the same thing here." Stackhouse: "You can't win them all unless you win the first one so we're excited to win the first game, but we've got to get right back on the road and get ready for one tomorrow night. It's going to be a tough test. It's going to be somebody else's home opener and all the energy that we had behind us tonight it going to be working against us tomorrow night." Stackhouse: "We have to keep this edge and stay sharp. We've got a lot of skilled players out here and when you have that, good things happen." Jason Terry: "This was everything I expected it to be. The fans were into it, and we got a win." Terry: "We're going to be a well-oiled machine come money time. If we continue to go about our business the way we have throughout training camp, we're going to have something special." Terry on he and Harris: "We can't lose with either one of us. We're both tremendous players. He brings something to the table and I bring something else. We're going to look for big things from the rook." Josh Howard on defense: "Just a lot of athleticism. I think we'll be able to surprise teams with that. We do have something to prove." Devin Harris: "We had a few stretches where we kind of lost what we wanted to do out there, but when it really counted we executed the way we wanted to and got some good shots at the basket." Harris: "Obviously I need some stuff to work on, but I think it was a good starting point for me and I felt very comfortable out there. It was a couple of instances where we kind of lost our focus out there on the offensive end as well as defensively, but I think we picked it up and kind of gelled at the end." Harris on if he was trying to do too much at the end: "Yes, but there were mistakes that can be corrected. I just need to keep the ball up and try not to turn it over in that situation. I just need to learn from it and move on to tomorrow." Harris: "Overall, it was a good start." Harris: "We had back-to-back games during the preseason so I know what it feels like. It's a quick turnaround, but hopefully we can go out and make the same effort as we did tonight." Alan Henderson: "I was just happy to be back out there and get a win. It's been a while since I won a first game." Rick Adelman: "We didn't do a very good job on their pick-and-rolls. They hurt us with that all night long. Obviously, Nowitzki really got it going early and I don't think, offensively, we did what we wanted to. Finally in the 2nd half we started doing a little better there. I think we gave up a lot of points on mental mistakes more than anything else. You can't afford to do that when you are playing a team that is as good as they are." Adelman: "I think we were better tonight than we were in the last 2 preseason games, our effort was better. I still think, defensively, we made a lot of mental mistakes. A lot of that I attribute to the way we had to play them. You can't make the mental mistakes we gave up. The play at the end of the 3rd quarter; they all knew we had a foul to give. We didn't give the foul. They know not to leave Nowitzki out there, there is no reason to drop off him; we give him a wide open 3. Those are things you just don't do." Adelman on not playing Bibby in the 4th quarter: "I was playing the 5 people I thought would give us the best chance to win. They were doing a good job at both ends of the court. That's why. There was no other reason." Adelman on Barnes: "He was terrific. He hit 3 or 4 jumpers when it looked like Dallas had us on the ropes." Chris Webber on the comeback in the 4th quarter: "It was good to get back in it, even though you know you should not have got yourself in a hole in the first place. Overall, it's a tough game, a tough road game. I really like what I saw; I think we all did as far as late in the game. I hate saying I am encouraged by a loss, as a rule of thumb. Truthfully, I like the way we played. Not in the beginning, but the way we played together in the 2nd half." Mike Bibby on not playing in the 4th quarter: "I know I didn't play well in the 1st half, but I thought I played all right in the 3rd quarter. But what can I say? [Adelman] is the coach." Bobby Jackson: "We had a big hole. If we stayed there and don't have to use so much energy on the defensive end in the 4th quarter, then we are going to have a chance to win a lot of games. We have to learn not to break down mentally in different areas; offensive rebounding, and turnovers." Dallas Mavericks 107, Sacramento Kings 98 at Dallas (November 2) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 30 24 25 28 - 107 .508 .438 .494 .870 Sacramento 23 17 26 32 - 98 .471 .176 .414 .767 Halftime: Dallas 54-40 3rd Q: Dallas 79-66 Technicals: none Refs: Dick Bavetta, Gary Benson, Jess Kersey Attendance: 20,041 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Doug Christie (plantar fasciatis) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 36 7-12 2-4 2-2 18 0-6 3 4 2 1 1 Devin Harris 30 2-7 2-5 2-2 8 1-1 7 1 3 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 43 12-19 2-2 7-8 33 1-10 5 3 3 2 2 Josh Howard 19 2-4 0-0 2-3 6 0-2 4 2 3 1 0 Erick Dampier 34 3-8 0-0 5-6 11 1-5 1 1 3 2 2 Jerry Stackhouse 22 3-11 0-0 2-2 8 1-4 2 1 3 1 0 Marquis Daniels 19 4-6 0-1 0-0 8 3-5 1 1 3 1 0 Jason Terry 18 4-10 1-4 0-0 9 1-2 2 0 1 1 0 Alan Henderson 18 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 5-8 2 1 1 0 3 Shawn Bradley 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 40-81 7-16 20-23 107 13-43 27 14 23 11 8 Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Mike Bibby 28 2-8 1-2 3-4 8 1-5 6 3 2 1 1 Maurice Evans 21 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 1-2 2 1 2 0 1 Predrag Stojakovic 39 3-15 0-7 6-6 12 2-5 3 3 1 2 1 Chris Webber 35 10-17 0-0 1-5 21 3-10 1 3 2 0 0 Brad Miller 38 8-14 0-0 8-8 24 4-6 1 1 5 3 2 Matt Barnes 30 7-11 2-3 1-2 17 4-9 4 2 2 1 1 Bobby Jackson 20 4-12 0-4 3-3 11 3-4 3 1 3 2 0 Darius Songaila 13 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 1 0 0 0 0 Greg Ostertag 10 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Kevin Martin 6 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 36-87 3-17 23-30 98 18-43 21 17 19 9 6 patricia