Dallas activated Marquis Daniels and placed DJ Mbenga on IR with a strained right hamstring prior to the Miami game. Miami at Dallas (February 1) Dallas enjoyed the return of youngsters Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels to action - Howard had missed the last 3 games with back spasms and Daniels had been out since the end of December with a sprained left ankle. Dirk Nowitzki was playing with a sinus infection. The game was a game of runs as one team would go on a run and then the other team would answer with a run. Miami led 12-11 with 7:10 left and scored the next 10 points [including a season highlight halfcourt lob from Damon Jones to Dwyane Wade who dunked it over his head with his back to the basket] to go up 22-11 with 5:20 to go. Dallas answered with an 11-2 run to pull within 22-24 with 2:25 remaining. Miami led 26-24 after 1. Dallas scored the first 9 points of the 2nd quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Devin Harris, to go up 33-26 with 9:30 left. It was then Miami's turn to rally as the Heat went on a 20-6 run, including 8 points by Shaquille O'Neal, to go up 46-39 with 3:30 to go. Dallas then scored the next 9 points to go up 48-46 with 1:45 left. Rasual Butler drained a 3-pointer and Wade nailed a turn around jumper at the quarter buzzer to give Miami a 53-50 lead at the half. Both teams were shooting well as Dallas shot 47.8% FG and Miami shot 46.7% FG. The game stayed close in the 3rd quarter with neither team holding more than a 5 point lead. 4 points by Erick Dampier and a layup by Daniels gave Dallas a 77-69 lead with 2:50 remaining. Dallas led 87-78 after 3. Wade had 10 points in the quarter. Dallas out-scored Miami 37-25 in the 3rd quarter. Dallas laid an egg to open the 4th quarter as they missed their first 6 shots of the quarter and didn't make a bucket until 4:15 into the quarter, and then missed their next 3 shots and Miami took advantage by going on a 16-2 run to go up 94-89 with 5:10 to go. Dampier hit 2 free throws and Butler drained a 3-pointer to give Miami a 97-91 lead with 4:35 remaining and it was then Miami's turn to lay an egg. Miami missed their next 7 shots and Dallas went on a 14-1 run, including 8 points by Jerry Stackhouse, to go up 105-98 with 22 seconds left. Miami missed another shot, but got a 2nd chance and Butler nailed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go to end Miami's almost 5 minute field goal drought. Stackhouse was intentionally fouled and hit both free throws. DJones hit another 3-pointer with 5 seconds left, but Jason Terry hit both free throws to seal the win. Dallas won 109-104. It was a very entertaining game. Neither team dominated the game and the largest lead was just 11 points. As you can tell from above, it was definitely a game of runs. Fortunately, Dallas had the hot run at the end. Not surprisingly, the numbers are fairly even across the board. Dallas shot 48.9% (43-88) FG including 7-18 3-pointers. Miami shot 48.3% (42-87) FG including 9-23 3-pointers. Dallas shot 16-18 FT (12-14 FT if you take out the 4 intentional free throws) and Miami shot 11-14 FT. Dallas out-rebounded Miami 46-41 including 11-7 offensive. Dallas had 25 assists and Miami had 28 assists. Dallas committed 11 turnovers and Miami committed 10 turnovers. With the win, Dallas swept the series vs Miami (2-0) - the first time Dallas has won a series vs Shaquille O'Neal's team and only the 2nd time Dallas has won 2 games in a season vs O'Neal's team (2-2 vs the Lakers last year, though O'Neal did not play in one of the Dallas wins). Dallas did enjoy having a healthy roster as they got 41 points off of the bench, where as they had just 36 total points off the bench over the previous 3 games with starter Josh Howard out. Dallas got good performances from a number of players. Jerry Stackhouse has to be mentioned first. He played stellar late in the 4th quarter as Miami could not stop him as he continually posted up Dwyane Wade in the 4th and hit tough shots and once passed out to an open Dirk Nowitzki for a bucket. 10 of Stackhouse's team high 24 points came in the last 4:15 of the game. He shot 10-15 FG and had 7 rebounds and 3 assists in his return to being the 6th man. Erick Dampier played well in guarding Shaquille O'Neal in not letting O'Neal get deep position in the paint too often. Dampier also produced in other areas of the game and had 15 points on 5-8 FG and 5-7 FT and 14 rebounds. His numbers won't tell the full story, but Dallas definitely enjoyed the return of Josh Howard. He had 11 points and 5 rebounds, including a key putback of a rare Stackhouse 4th quarter miss that gave Dallas a 3 point lead. Nowitzki looked a step slow all game due to his sinus problems, but he still had solid numbers with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Jason Terry played well with 18 points including 4-7 3-pointers and 8 assists. Michael Finley again struggled, but the Mavs were able to sit him longer due to the return of Howard and Marquis Daniels. Finley had just 5 points on 2-8 FG and 3 rebounds in 29 minutes - his lowest minutes since early November. Daniels had 4 points on 2-6 FG, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 16 minutes. Devin Harris played like a rookie - did some very good things and did some very bad things. He had 8 points on 3-7 FG and 2 assists in his 10 minutes. Pure and simple, Dwyane Wade is awesome. His dunks get all the talk, and some of them are spectacular, but he had other nice moves to the basket that impressed me more. He did get burned defensively by Jerry Stackhouse in the 4th quarter, but Stack was hot and Miami should have given him more help. Wade finished with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 blocks - he did have 5 turnovers, though. Shaquille O'Neal wasn't his usual monster self vs the Mavs. He did have 25 points on 11-18 FG and 3-5 FT [no hack-a-Shaq], but only had 2 points on 1-3 FG in the 4th quarter - the ball did go through him more than 3 times in the 4th, but he would pass out more often than try to barrel through Erick Dampier. He also had 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Rasual Butler got white hot after missing his first 3 shots in shooting 8-10 FG the rest of the way until missing a shot at the final buzzer. He had 20 points on 8-14 FG and 4-9 3-pointers. Udonis Haslem had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Damon Jones never found his shot in shooting 1-7 FG (all from beyond the arc) and had 4 points to go with his 7 assists. Quotes Avery Johnson: "We're excited about this win tonight. It was a really solid team effort. I really can't single anybody out because the team played their roles tonight. It was just a great team effort to get 5 guys in double-figures and Devin Harris was close to double-figures. We put up big scoring against a really good defensive team, with a dominant big man." Johnson on the win: "It ranks up there with the best of them. Any time we can beat the Heat - they're an impressive team. But we don't want to get ahead of ourselves." Johnson on the Philly loss: "I think I beat up myself more than I beat up on the team. I beat up on them enough at halftime of that game. I just wanted to make sure we could come back as a staff and help put these players in the best position to win games. That's what we have to do. We are only facilitators - players win games. The players really won this game and I am excited for them." Johnson describing how a sick Nowitzki looked during the morning shootaround: "looked like a wet vegetable" Johnson on Dampier: "He's been a monster. He's really been playing well. It's what we thought all along. We don't expect him to be Shaq, we just want him to be himself. It's the energy and he's trying really hard." Johnson on the 4th quarter defense on O'Neal: "We gave him different looks. We tried to front him, played behind him. We double-teamed him, we didn't double-team him. We had 4 or 5 different things and I'm sure half of them burned us a couple of times." Johnson on Daniels and Howard: "The sophomores gave us energy tonight. That was really the key to Stack being fresh in the 4th quarter. I hadn't really seen Stack be that fresh in the 4th over the last couple of games. I like Stack playing 30 minutes rather than 45." Johnson on Howard: "Defensively, you can put him on the best player. At the same time, you don't have to run plays for him. He still ends up scoring. That's a good situation to be in. You look up on the board and he has 14 points and 8 rebounds or 16 points and 7 rebounds, and you didn't even really run a play for him." Dirk Nowitzki: "In warmups, I never really got loose. Once I got a sweat going, I felt better." Nowitzki on his health: "I thought I wasn't going to go. Once the game got going and I got a little sweaty, I actually felt a lot better that I thought I would." Jerry Stackhouse: "We came out and had a tough team, a possible finalist from the Eastern Conference, and we just battled them all night. We made runs and executed down the stretch." Jason Terry: "We're all pretty healthy now. With all the guys playing, people know their roles better. Someone different can have a big game from night to night." Erick Dampier: "It went back and forth towards the end of the game. This was a game that we needed going on the road and this was a confidence builder for us. We went out there and played hard and we're glad we got this win." Dampier on the 4th quarter: "Guys were getting good shots and kind of got into rhythm of the game. We ran a lot of plays for Stack. He was posting up Wade so we continued to go to him during the game and he was able to hit a lot of his shots. Dirk was a little under the weather, but he came out and gave us whatever he could." Dampier on O'Neal: "I just went out there and played. We knew he was going to get his shot attempts, so I just tried to be physical with him, push him into spots where he's not really comfortable, and if he makes his shots then he makes them." Dampier on his defense on O'Neal: "Every shot he took, I tried to defend and hoped he missed. In the 2nd half, I just tried to get to him before he got in the paint and force him out of his comfort zone." Dampier on O'Neal calling him soft: "If he said that, it must be true. He just needs to look at the scoreboard and see that we won the ballgame. He out-scored me, but I think 15 points and 14 rebounds playing against him is okay." Dampier on O'Neal calling him soft: "If he says I'm soft, I'm soft. It's no big deal. Winning is more important than any remarks he might make." Dampier on O'Neal's comments: "I'm sure he's frustrated because they lost." Josh Howard on his tip in late in the game: "I was just trying to stay aggressive. I knew the play was call for Stack and I just went in there and wanted the rebound more." Howard on his defense on Wade: "We knew that we had to contain him. He had a lot of and-1's early on and a lot of finishes around the basket, but for the most part we kept him on the outside. We did a great job as a team." Howard on his and Daniel's return: "It's really good for us. It's good to have Marquis back and it's good to have me back. I feel great out there. I wish I could have shot the ball better, but other than that I think we all had an overall great game." Marquis Daniels on Dampier: "Damp has played real well 2 games in a row. To fight Shaquille all night and still get a double-double is tough. This is something we can definitely build on. That team could be the Eastern Conference champions." Stan Van Gundy: "When you are against a very good team on the road and you come out in the 3rd quarter the way we did and give up 37 points and 60% shooting, you are going to leave it to chance that you are going to make shots at the end. We still think that is how we are going to win the game is with our offense. We missed 5 straight good shots - 2 wide open 3s, 2 Shaquille post moves, and a Udonis layup. You miss all 5 of those and all of a sudden you can't get it done, but it is because you gave up 37 points in the 3rd quarter and let the game get to where it was." Van Gundy on their scoreless stretch in the 4th: "There were 2 possessions that I didn't like where we were fighting the shot clock. We got the ball to Shaquille 1-on-1 in the post twice and didn't get a score out of that. We got Udonis a layup right at the rim and didn't get a score. We ran a play and got Rasual a 3, and he was going good, and we got Eddie an open 3 and we missed it. I know we got 5 shots we were trying to get down the stretch, and did not get them in the basket. And we could not handle Jerry Stackhouse at all. He kicked our ass down there [in the post]. There is no way I should have stayed 1-on-1 with him as long as I did because it was obvious we didn't have anyone that could guard him. That's probably the decision that cost us the game." Van Gundy on O'Neal not producing in the 4th quarter: "He's got to get the ball in the basket on the ones he gets. And that's everybody. We got him the ball twice down there, he got the ball down the stretch a couple of times with the opportunity to make plays, just like other guys got shots." Van Gundy on Dallas' defense on O'Neal: "Even though he had 25 points, I thought they did a pretty good job on Shaquille." Shaquille O'Neal: "It was a hard fought game. I thought the guys played well; played hard. They got more shots than we did coming down the stretch. Stackhouse had an unbelievable game, but I am proud of the guys. It was the kind of game I felt we should have won. Rasual kept us in the game in the 3rd and 4th quarters. He shot the ball very, very well today. It's a game we should have won, but we let it slip away." O'Neal: "It was another game I feel we should have won. But it was nothing that we should hang our heads about." O'Neal: "I really didn't get the ball as close to the basket as I like to. [My teammates] were shooting a lot of jumpers. Rasual was shooting the ball well. Eddie was shooting the ball, Flash [Wade] was shooting the ball well. Then there were times I got it and the shot clock was running low. They were in-and-out." O'Neal: "Dampier is soft. Quote it, underline it, tape it, and send it to him. Don't ask me about that guy, ever. You can tell him I said it. You guys try to compare him and rate him and match him up against me, but I'm telling you there's nothing there." Dwyane Wade: "We still had a 5 point with 5 minutes left, so we were in control. They were hot and we weren't. They played great in the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, we had a lead. We just didn't stay with it." Wade: "We were in control of the game and then they made plays. We had good shots, they just weren't falling." Wade on their 4th quarter cold streak: "We had 3 shots go in and come out. We got good shots, they just weren't falling. Sometimes it's not meant to be." Wade: "They made plays, but they also got saved by a couple of questionable calls down the stretch. The blocking on Eddie, and the game turned around right there. That gave them confidence." [This comment surprised me as I thought the officiating was fairly even - not excellent officiating, but there were lapses both ways. I don't recall which call in particular Wade seems to have a problem with, but I can match him with calls that didn't go Dallas' way. Heck, not only did the refs make a bad call early in the game, but Miami got an extra free throw out of it from Avery Johnson complaining about the bad call - Avery's first T as a coach.] Dallas Mavericks 109, Miami Heat 104 at Dallas (February 1) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 24 26 37 22 - 109 .514 .389 .489 .889 Miami 26 27 25 26 - 104 .516 .391 .483 .786 Halftime: Miami 53-50 3rd Q: Dallas 87-78 Technicals: Avery Johnson 9:49 1st Refs: Joe Forte, David Jones, Olandis Poole Attendance: 20,465 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Qyntel Woods (suspended) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 38 6-12 4-7 2-2 18 0-1 8 2 0 0 0 Michael Finley 29 2-8 1-3 0-0 5 1-3 1 2 1 2 1 Dirk Nowitzki 39 8-15 0-1 3-3 19 0-7 4 1 3 1 3 Josh Howard 28 5-11 0-2 1-1 11 2-5 3 2 2 0 0 Erick Dampier 34 5-8 0-0 5-7 15 3-14 1 0 2 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 32 10-15 0-1 4-4 24 2-7 3 3 3 0 0 Marquis Daniels 16 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 1-5 3 1 0 0 0 Devin Harris 10 3-7 2-4 0-0 8 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 Alan Henderson 9 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 5 2-4 0-0 1-1 5 2-3 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 43-88 7-18 16-18 109 11-46 25 11 15 3 4 Miami Heat REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dwyane Wade 40 12-24 0-1 5-6 29 1-6 8 5 2 0 3 Damon Jones 31 1-7 1-7 1-1 4 0-2 7 0 0 1 0 Udonis Haslem 39 6-10 0-0 2-2 14 3-9 0 1 3 0 0 Eddie Jones 28 3-7 3-5 0-0 9 0-3 2 0 6 1 1 Shaquille O'Neal 38 11-18 0-0 3-5 25 3-13 5 3 3 0 3 Rasual Butler 28 8-14 4-9 0-0 20 0-2 1 0 2 0 0 Keyon Dooling 15 1-3 1-1 0-0 3 0-0 4 0 1 1 0 Shandon Anderson 11 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 1 1 1 0 0 Michael Doleac 10 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-4 0 0 1 0 1 Totals 48 42-87 9-23 11-14 104 7-41 28 10 19 3 8 patricia