Dallas at Denver (December 26) For the 4th straight game, Denver was without Carmelo Anthony and Dallas was again without Jerry Stackhouse (missing his 5th out of 6 games). Dallas opened the game not looking sharp, but Denver wasn't much better. Denver held small leads through most of the 1st quarter. They took their largest lead of the quarter at 15-8 with 6 minutes remaining, but after the teams traded buckets, Dallas then scored the next 6 points to pull within 16-17 with 3:35 to go. Dirk Nowitzki was fouled with a minute remaining and then fouled on a 3-point attempt with 27 seconds left and he hit all 5 free throws while Denver did not score in the last minute of the quarter. Nowitzki's free throws gave Dallas a 25-24 lead after 1. Dallas only shot 33% FG in the quarter and Denver shot 41% FG. The game stayed close over the first half of the 2nd quarter with neither team holding more than a 2 point lead. The game was tied at 35-35 with 7 minutes left and Denver went on a 12-2 run to go up 47-37 with 1:40 remaining as Dallas shot 1-7 FG and committed 3 turnovers during the run. Denver led 52-43 at the half. Kenyon Martin had 13 points including 6-7 FG in the quarter, but he also strained his back near the end of the quarter and was unable to play in the 2nd half. For the 1st half, Dallas shot 36% FG and Denver shot 43% FG. Erick Dampier carried the load for Dallas over the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter as he scored all 9 of Dallas' points as the team continued to struggle. Marquis Daniels tweaked his ankle again and left the game for good 4 minutes into the quarter. Denver led 62-52 with 6:25 to go when Dallas finally woke up and took advantage of Denver missing their 2 best players. Dallas went on a 17-6 run including 7-9 FG - and got offensive putbacks on their 2 misses - to go up 69-68 with 1:50 left. The teams traded leads a couple of times over the rest of the quarter and Nowitzki nailed a jumper as the quarter ended to give Dallas a 75-72 lead after 3. Dampier had 11 points and 7 rebounds in the quarter and Nowitzki had 9 points in the last 2:15 of the quarter. Dampier picked up his 5th foul 2 minutes into the 4th quarter and had to sit (and actually did not return). Dallas continued to shoot well and Denver was unable to string together consecutive buckets. Nowitzki scored 8 straight points and Josh Howard got a putback as Dallas went on a 10-5 run to go up 93-86 with 3:35 to go. Andre Miller got a layup with 3 minutes remaining, but Denver would not score again as the Nuggets missed their last 7 shots. The breaks were on Dallas' side this night as Nowitzki threw up a prayer with the shot clock running out and banked in the 22-footer with 40 seconds left for the games' final points (Dallas did not attempt another shot). Dallas won 102-88. The final margin did not indicate how close of a game this was. There were 7 ties and 11 lead changes. Fortunately Dallas finally found their shooting touch and got aggressive after the rebounds in the 2nd half (and it definitely helped that Martin got wasn't playing). After shooting 38% FG in the first 30 minutes of the game, Dallas shot 64% FG in the last 18 minutes of the game. Denver never got hot (though they were never ice cold) and finished the game shooting 39.3% (33-84) FG while Dallas finished shooting 46.5% (40-86) FG. Dallas out-scored Denver 59-36 and out-rebounded Denver 32-13 in the 2nd half. It wasn't a game that Dallas will look back fondly upon as they only played well for a quarter and a half, but the team simply needed the win. Dirk Nowitzki got hot in the 2nd half - and for some strange reason Denver actually left him open at times. After shooting 4-10 FG in the 1st half, he shot 10-15 FG in the 2nd half. Nowitzki finished with 36 points including 14 in the 4th quarter and had 8 rebounds. Michael Finley struggled with his shooting all night, but did have a string of 3 straight jumpers during the 3rd quarter that helped get Dallas headed in the right direction. He finished with 20 points including 7-21 FG and 8 rebounds. Erick Dampier played well with 13 points and 10 rebounds including 4 offensive in 26 minutes. Josh Howard only had 4 points, but 2 of them came on a putback as Dallas was building a lead and 4 of his 6 rebounds came during that key stretch of the 4th quarter. 7 of Jason Terry's 11 points came in the 4th quarter. He also had 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Alan Henderson played well and had 4 points, 9 rebounds including 4 offensive, and 2 blocks and played all of the 4th quarter. Marquis Daniels had 12 points and 5 rebounds including 4 offensive before going out with his injury. Andre Miller was the high man for Denver with 18 points and also had 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Greg Buckner had 15 points and 5 assists. Kenyon Martin had 15 points including 7-10 FG and 5 rebounds including 4 offensive in 20 1st half minutes. Earl Boykins had 16 points including 5-14 FG and just 1 assist. Marcus Camby had 9 points including 2-9 FG and 11 rebounds. Quotes Don Nelson: "This was a nice bounce back game. We're not going to get too full of ourselves though. Their 2 best players were out of the game." Nelson: "We really struggled in the 1st half." Nelson: "Dirk was a tired lad tonight. I didn't know that he was going to be able to do that, playing 44 minutes here. He didn't have a whole lot left in the tank, but it didn't bother his shot and that was good." Nelson on Nowitzki: "He was tired, playing 44 minutes in this altitude. But at least it didn't affect his shot." Dirk Nowitzki: "We were a little flat in the beginning. We have to play with more energy." Nowitzki: "All December long I have been in a little slump and it was really good to go out there and make a couple of shots. I made a few in the 1st half, and in the start of the 3rd I had a couple of good looks that didn't go. It felt really good in the 4th and I just kept making them." Nowitzki: "I felt really good in the 4th quarter. I had a few good looks in the 1st half and early in the 3rd but the shots weren't falling early." Erick Dampier: "We came out in the 2nd half and played the way we are capable of playing. We knew when Martin left the game they were going to be playing with smaller guys. We got a lot of boards and second chance points in that 3rd quarter." Dampier: "It was a game we were supposed to win." Jason Terry on the win: "We needed it. In the 2nd half, we limited their transition baskets and got into transition ourselves." Marquis Daniels on his sprained ankle: "It's something that I unfortunately think will bother me all season." Jeff Bzdelik: "We got man-handled on the boards tonight. It's not like we haven't emphasized rebounding, though. Injuries are a part of this, we need to keep battling and we will get through it." Bzdelik: "We had a saying when I was with coach Riley: 'No rebounds, no rings.' So right now, it's, 'No rebounds, no wins.' I sound like a broken record: we got manhandled on the boards. It's been a negative staple of ours over the last 8 games." Bzdelik on Nowitzki: "We let up on him for whatever reason. We knew who he was, but we gave him too much air space." Kenyon Martin: "The back's not too good. We will see how I feel tomorrow morning. We haven't been keeping teams off of the glass and it hurt us tonight. I guess it is back to the drawing board." Martin on his back: "It happened in the last few minutes of the 1st half. I don't know what happened. It's irrelevant at this point. It's not too good right now. I'm still in pain." Martin on watching Nowitzki in the 2nd half: "That was the toughest part. I thought I did a fairly decent job when I was on him." Nene on Nowitzki: He was on fire. Every shot he took, he made." Earl Boykins: "Kenyon went down and it was the difference in the game. We were winning the 1st half because we were able to defensive rebound. Once Kenyon went out, we weren't able to defensive rebound the same. That cost us the game." Boykins: "It's hard to play well when you're losing. Right now, we've just got to play better as a team. I'm not worried about my individual performance. Eventually, I'll get my rhythm back." Greg Buckner on the injuries: "You can't use that as an excuse, but it definitely is in the back of our minds. We're human. We can act like it doesn't bother you, but it does. We haven't played with a whole team all year, except maybe one game. ... We've got to find a way to stick together." Dallas Mavericks 102, Denver Nuggets 88 at Denver (December 26) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 25 18 32 27 - 102 .521 .200 .465 .905 Denver 24 28 20 16 - 88 .406 .333 .393 .895 Halftime: Denver 52-43 3rd Q: Dallas 75-72 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 4:43 2nd, Nene 8:45 4th Refs: Ron Garretson, Violet Palmer, Bill Kennedy Attendance: 19,099 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Jerry Stackhouse (sore right hand), Carmelo Anthony (sprained left ankle) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 42 7-21 1-6 5-5 20 2-8 3 0 3 0 0 Jason Terry 28 4-9 1-2 2-2 11 1-4 4 2 2 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 44 14-25 1-6 7-8 36 0-8 2 1 2 1 1 Josh Howard 29 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 3-6 1 3 4 1 2 Erick Dampier 26 5-8 0-0 3-4 13 4-10 1 1 5 1 2 Alan Henderson 31 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 4-9 1 2 2 0 2 Marquis Daniels 21 5-10 0-1 2-2 12 4-5 0 3 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 13 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 0 1 0 0 Devin Harris 6 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 2 1 0 1 0 Totals 48 40-86 3-15 19-21 102 18-52 14 13 21 4 7 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Andre Miller 39 6-12 0-0 6-6 18 1-4 8 1 1 3 0 Greg Buckner 38 6-12 1-4 2-2 15 1-2 5 1 4 1 0 Kenyon Martin 20 7-10 0-0 1-2 15 4-5 1 1 2 0 0 DerMarr Johnson 17 2-7 0-2 0-0 4 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 Marcus Camby 36 2-9 0-0 5-6 9 3-11 1 1 1 0 0 Earl Boykins 30 5-14 3-6 3-3 16 0-2 1 0 3 2 0 Nene Hilario 29 1-8 0-1 0-0 2 1-4 2 1 3 0 0 Rodney White 17 3-9 1-2 0-0 7 0-2 6 1 0 0 1 Francisco Elson 8 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 Bryon Russell 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 33-84 5-15 17-19 88 12-34 25 9 17 6 1 patricia