Don't forget that today's game at Cleveland has a new start time of 2:30 pm Central (instead of the listed 12:00). It will be shown regionally on ABC. Dallas activated Erick Dampier and placed Pavel Podkolzin on IR with torn cartilage in his right knee (the same "injury" he has been placed on IR with all season). Dampier had missed the last 21 games with a stress fracture in his foot. Dallas at Philadelphia Philadelphia was playing without Chris Webber. The score was close early on with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. A jumper by Josh Howard gave Dallas an 18-13 lead with 4 minutes remaining, and 5 points would be the largest lead of the quarter. Dallas held a small lead the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 24-19 after 1. Dallas led despite having 6 turnovers in the quarter. Consecutive jumpers by Philly tied the game at 25-25 with 10:15 left, but Dallas then scored the next 9 points to go up 34-25 with 8:10 to go. A 3-pointer by Kyle Korver pulled Philadelphia within 30-36 with 7:25 left, but Dallas then went on a 10-1 run to go up 46-31 with 5 minutes remaining. Allen Iverson left the game with 5:30 left (and Dallas up by 12) with a strained right groin and did not play the rest of the half, but did return in the 3rd quarter. Dallas led in the teens the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 55-41 at the half. Dallas got control of their 1st quarter turnover problem and only had 1 turnover in the 2nd quarter. For the half, Dallas shot 50% FG and Philadelphia shot 39% FG. After Iverson got a layup to open the 3rd quarter, Dallas then went on a 14-4 run to go up 69-47 with 4:35 left. A 3-pointer by Jerry Stackhouse gave Dallas their largest lead at 76-51 with 2:50 remaining. Dallas led 79-57 after 3. Consecutive layups pulled Philadelphia within 65-81 with 8:20 to go, but Keith Van Horn answered with a 3-pointer and Dirk Nowitzki got a layup to give Dallas a 21 point lead. The teams traded 2 points and then Philly scored the next 8 points to pull within 75-88 with 4:30 left. But Nowitzki found Shawn Bradley for a layup and Nowitzki hit a jumper to put Dallas up 92-75 with 3:45 remaining and Philadelphia would get no closer then 15 points the rest of the way. Dallas won 100-83. With the win, Dallas formally clinched a playoff berth - the 5th straight year for Dallas to make the playoffs. The Mavs dominated the game in the 2nd and 3rd quarter in outscoring Philadelphia 55-38 in the 2 quarters. They did slip a little in the 4th quarter in not putting the 76ers away, and I'm sure they heard about that from the coach in practice the next day. But all in all, it was a good win against a team that needed the win for their own playoff fight (Philly is clinging to the #8 spot in the East). Dallas shot 44.6% (33-74) FG including 5-13 3-pointers. Philadelphia struggled shooting as they had 6 players shot under 50% (most were well under) including all 5 starters. As a team, they shot 37.8% (31-82) FG including 2-20 3-pointers. Dallas shot 29-36 FT and Philadelphia shot 19-23 FT. Dallas had a slight edge on the boards in out-rebounding Philadelphia 48-44 with each team having 11 offensive boards. Neither team shared the ball much as Dallas had 16 assists and Philadelphia had 18 assists. After having 6 turnovers in the 1st quarter, Dallas only had 7 turnovers in the last 3 quarters. It was a balanced attack by Dallas with a number of players giving good performances. Thanks to his free throw shooting, Dirk Nowitzki was the high man with 29 points. He tied a team record for most free throws made without a miss in hitting 14-14 FT. Nowitzki also had 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Josh Howard had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Jason Terry had 13 points including 6-8 FG, but just 1 assist in 29 minutes. Michael Finley had a quiet night with 8 points on 4-8 FG and 4 assists in 31 minutes. Keith Van Horn had another nice performance off the bench with 15 points in 20 minutes. Shawn Bradley again started and had 4 points on 2-6 FG [and his free throw woes continues as he missed his only attempt], 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Erick Dampier enjoyed his return to action with 5 points on 1-2 FG and 3-6 FT, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes. Devin Harris had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and an impressive block in 18 minutes. Jerry Stackhouse was the only Mav who really struggled with 6 points including 1-7 FG in 14 minutes. Despite only playing 2 1/2 quarters, Allen Iverson had 22 points on 9-19 FG and 4-4 FT. He also had 7 turnovers (6 in the 1st half) and just 2 assists in 30 minutes. He did not play in the 4th quarter due to his strained groin. The other 4 starters combined to shoot just 5-26 FG. Marc Jackson had 22 points off the bench and 5 rebounds. No other 76er was in double-digits. Andre Iguodala did have 10 points and 4 assists to go with his 6 points (2-5 FG). Rodney Rogers couldn't buy a bucket, including missing a couple of bunnies, with 3 points including 1-11 FG. He did have 6 rebounds including 3 offensive. Kyle Korver shot 1-5 3-pointers (no other shots attempted). Samuel Dalembert also shot 1-5 FG and was limited to 14 minutes in part due to foul trouble. Josh Davis stunk it up off the bench in shooting 3-13 FG and 0-6 3-pointers. He had 8 points and 11 rebounds including 5 offensive. Quotes Avery Johnson: "We thought our defense was really good. Obviously, they had some shots, you make some and you miss some, but I thought we were physical. I thought we made it difficult once they did beat us off the dribble clogging the lanes up a little bit. We did a pretty nice job of contesting their shots when we were near them." Johnson: "The main thing against Philly, you have to get back in transition. For them to only get 6 points in transition on us was big. We talked about coming into this game and not turning the ball over, we turned it over in the 1st quarter [6 times]. Then I think we settled down after that and took care of the ball which took a lot of pressure off of our defense. We did a lot of good things tonight." Johnson: "Our defense was really good. We were physical and did a good job clogging up the lane." Johnson on Dampier: "The main thing that I was looking at was his body and how he was running. I thought that there was no limp and there were no after effects from the injury. We'll monitor him closely and we'll see how he responds after playing in an actual game." Johnson on if he was encouraged by Dampier's performance: "Absolutely - 10 rebounds in 17 minutes. He could have had 8 points if he didn't miss his free throws. The main thing I really looked at was his body and how he was running. There was no limp and no after-effects of the injury." Johnson on clinching a playoff berth: "We're real humbled by it. We're really grateful to participate, but we know that is just not our goal. If we go into these playoffs with this team healthy, I'll be a happy man." Johnson on improvements before the playoffs: "We're looking to improve in a lot of different areas defensively. That's what it's going to take. We have about 4 to 6 areas that we chart, we're definitely not good in 2 of those areas. We're probably really good in 2, and okay in the other 2. We've got some work to do and we're going to keep watching film and keep practicing." Dirk Nowitzki: "I thought that defensively we looked pretty good. We held them to 41 points at the half. That's a good defensive effort. We kept our composure in the 2nd half and we kept taking it to them. It was an all around good effort. Nowitzki on Dampier: "We got our big boy back, and he actually looked a lot better than I thought he would after a long time gone. He was active for us, and if he can do that for us, we're a different team defensively for sure." Jerry Stackhouse: "Obviously, we have a lot of different pieces and we can throw a lot of different looks at different teams. We try to make teams adjust to us, instead of us trying to adjust to them. We want to try to do the same thing defensively against every team. But offensively, we're going to take advantage of match ups that are favorable to us. Some nights it'll change up, I think we have the flexibility to do that. We're not a team that has to play a certain style or a certain way - we're showing that." Stackhouse on a previous 4-0 road trip and the potential of this being a 4-0 road trip: "One on each coast, right? It's a heck of a good feeling to roll into places and expect to win. A lot of teams, even good teams, go into places hoping to win." Jason Terry on clinching a playoff spot: "I haven't been around a playoff team, so I'm getting to learn what it's all about. It's huge for my career. I want to get out on a pedestal and show the world what I can do." Erick Dampier: "I felt fine. I was just taking my time and working my way back into things. Going into the game I knew that I was going to play anywhere from 15 to 18 minutes. I was trying to get a feel for the game and get back into the flow of things." Dampier on clinching a playoff spot: "It's going to be a great feeling for me. Having never been there before and having never experienced it, I've just heard what other players have said. Just to be able to go into the building and feel the atmosphere and the electricity, I'm looking forward to it. We're looking to advance far into the playoffs." Jim O'Brien: "We have to start making a couple of shots. We keep an offensive chart: red is a bad look, black is a make, and green is a good look that is missed. There was a lot of green on there tonight. They are a good basketball team, but I think if we knock down the shots that we had, this would have been a much better basketball game. I think this was a very huge problem. We thought that at halftime we got some great looks. At the beginning of the 2nd half, not only did we get open jump shots, but we got point blank shots on fast breaks. We have to knock down shots. I thought we played hard defensively and challenges were good the entire night, but we have to score to come out on the positive side." O'Brien: "We need Sammy [Dalembert] on the court for us. He has been getting into foul trouble but he is our length, he is our shot blocker presence. With Chris [Webber] down right now we are not a very big basketball team. We need him on the basketball court in order to be an effective basketball team. That hurt us. They did get looks inside. That is one of the luxuries of having guys spread out on the perimeter that can all knock it down. Sometimes you dwell so much on them, that it opens things up inside." O'Brien on activating injured players: "The injury list is a little bit of a more complicated issue then just saying go down on the injured list. People do not want to be put on the injured list and who could blame them. We think that Chris [Webber] is progressing at a level that doesn't warrant being put on the injured list." O'Brien on Green's minutes: "I love Willie Green, I really do. I think that the length on defense that we are getting off the bench from Johnny [Salmons] and Aaron [McKie] is important to us. It has been my viewpoint that with Allen [Iverson] at the point, Andre [Iguodala], Kyle [Korver], Aaron, and Johnny are the group that I have chosen to go to at the wing spots. Willie played well and I have confidence in him. I like length at the 2 and the 3 spots, especially in this league, when you are playing against guys who can post you. The guy that I consider our best backup at the point guard is Johnny. He has played very well, I think that Willie, when we brought him in, in the 4th quarter, is best at the 2, that's why he was at the 2 and Johnny was at the point. Johnny does a very good job on both sides of the court coming off pick-and-roll situations." Aaron McKie: "They made shots. We didn't. Our effort was there. We were out there trying - it just didn't go our way." McKie on the playoff race: "We had an opportunity to pretty much secure our position and we didn't take advantage of that. The way I see it, it's going to come down to the last game. Every game counts." McKie on injuries: "We can't afford to lose anybody. It's going to be extremely tough. We just have to focus and figure out how we're going to do it on the floor and come up with a win." Samuel Dalembert on if the loss was due to Philly's defense or Dallas' offense: "It's both. It's not because we didn't challenge. We challenged some shots and guarding certain guys and it was a height difference. We just have to realize to keep guys in front of us. Tonight we hurt ourselves. In a lot of plays we should of gone stronger with the ball. With teams like that we couldn't afford to make mistakes." Kyle Korver: "It is disappointing and hopefully we're getting ready for the playoffs and we're playing good teams; and the teams remaining on the schedule are very tough too so we don't have an easy road for the rest of the season. We'd like to have a better showing than we do now. Dallas Mavericks 100, Philadelphia 76ers 83 at Philadelphia (April 1) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 24 31 24 21 - 100 .459 .385 .446 .806 Philadelphia 19 22 16 26 - 83 .468 .100 .378 .826 Halftime: Dallas 55-41 3rd Q: Dallas 79-57 Technicals: Philadelphia defensive 3 seconds 4:05 1st, Marc Jackson 3:26 4th Refs: Derek Richardson, Michael Smith, Steve Javie Attendance: 20,464 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Chris Webber (left shoulder sprain) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 34 4-8 0-1 3-4 11 1-9 0 2 2 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 34 7-17 1-3 14-14 29 1-7 4 2 2 2 1 Shawn Bradley 22 2-6 0-0 0-1 4 2-7 0 0 2 0 2 Michael Finley 31 4-8 0-2 0-0 8 0-2 4 0 2 0 0 Jason Terry 29 6-8 1-2 0-0 13 1-2 1 1 3 2 0 Erick Dampier 17 1-2 0-0 3-6 5 3-10 0 2 1 0 2 Devin Harris 18 2-4 0-0 1-2 5 1-5 3 2 2 2 1 Jerry Stackhouse 14 1-7 1-2 3-4 6 1-2 2 1 2 1 0 Keith Van_Horn 20 4-9 2-2 5-5 15 0-2 1 1 2 0 1 Marquis Daniels 14 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 Alan Henderson 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 1 0 0 Darrell Armstrong 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 33-74 5-13 29-36 100 11-48 16 13 21 9 7 Philadelphia 76ers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kyle Korver 25 1-5 1-5 0-0 3 0-3 3 1 0 1 0 Rodney Rogers 22 1-11 1-3 0-0 3 3-6 1 0 3 1 0 Samuel Dalembert 14 1-5 0-0 2-4 4 1-5 0 1 4 0 0 Andre Iguodala 36 2-5 0-0 2-4 6 0-10 4 0 1 2 0 Allen Iverson 30 9-19 0-2 4-4 22 1-1 2 7 5 2 0 Marc Jackson 33 7-12 0-0 8-8 22 1-5 1 2 3 0 0 Aaron McKie 17 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 1 0 2 0 1 Josh Davis 28 3-13 0-6 2-2 8 5-11 1 1 4 0 0 John Salmons 22 2-4 0-2 0-0 4 0-1 4 2 3 0 0 Willie Green 13 3-6 0-2 1-1 7 0-1 1 0 0 1 0 Totals 48 31-82 2-20 19-23 83 11-44 18 15 25 7 1 patricia