For the 2nd week in a row, Josh Howard was named as the Western Conference Player of the Week. Howard averaged 21.5 points and 10.8 rebounds in being named as winner of the award for the 2nd time in his career. It was the 20th time a Mav was named as Player of the Week and Howard was the 5th Mav to have won the award at least twice. Seattle at Dallas (January 2) Jerry Stackhouse remained out with a sprained ankle (may return Friday or Sunday), but Dirk Nowitzki returned after missing the last game win a sinus infection. Seattle, of course, remained without Rashard Lewis (out for a long while with a torn tendon in his right hand). Dallas led 4-5 with 10:25 remaining and the Mavs went on an 11-1 run to go up 16-5 with 6:25 to go. Seattle got into the penalty with 7 minutes left. Seattle scored the next 3 points and Dallas then scored the next 9 points to go up 25-9 with 4 minutes left. A jumper by Luke Ridnour and 2 free throws by Earl Watson with 2 seconds to go capped the quarter scoring. Dallas led 33-22 after 1. Nowitzki had 12 points. Dallas shot 9-13 FT and Seattle shot 5-7 FT. Seattle opened the 2nd quarter with a 13-2 run, including 5 points by Allen (who only had 1 point in the 1st quarter), to tie the game at 35-35 with 7:45 remaining. Josh Howard converted a 3-point play 15 seconds later to give Dallas their first field goal of the quarter, but Allen then got a layup and a 3-pointer to give Seattle their first lead at 40-38 with 6:50 to go. Another 3-pointer by a white-hot Allen gave Seattle their largest lead at 50-44 with 3:55 left. Dallas went on a 9-3 run (take a guess who had the 3) to tie the game at 53-53 with 1:10 remaining. The game was tied at 55-55 at the half. Allen had 18 points including 6-7 FG (and 4 3-pointers) in the 2nd quarter. Seattle continued to have foul problems as Dallas shot 9-11 FT and Seattle shot 1-2 FT in the 2nd quarter. For the half, both teams shot 49% FG. Needless to say, Dallas picked up their defensive focus on Allen in the 2nd half. Nowitzki hit a jumper and Allen got a layup to again tie the game at 57-57 with 10:55 left - but Allen would not score again in the quarter and only took 4 shots. Dallas scored the next 9 points to go up 66-57 with 7:40 remaining and Seattle again got in the penalty early in picking up 5 fouls in less than 2 minutes of game time. A dunk by Johan Petro pulled Seattle within 64-70 with 5:15 left, but Dallas went on an 8-2 run to go up 78-66 with 2:50 to go. Dallas drove me nuts in settling for jumpers the rest of the quarter (all misses) instead of attacking the basket (which is what you should do when your opponent is in the penalty) and Seattle scored the last 6 points of the quarter. Dallas led 78-72 after 3. Dallas out-rebounded Seattle 18-7 including 7-1 offensive in the 3rd quarter. Dallas opened the 4th quarter with a 15-3 run to go up 93-75 with 7:25 left. A bucket by Allen ended Allen's 15 minute scoring drought, but Dallas scored the next 4 points to take a 21-point lead with 5:30 remaining. Seattle would get no closer than 19 points the rest of the way and the starters started being subbed out with 4 minutes left. Dallas won 112-88. It was a tale of 2 halves. It was a tight, tight game in the 1st half, with an offensive explosion by Ray Allen in the 2nd quarter. And Dallas steadily pulled away in the 2nd half. The game was tied at 55-55 at halftime and Dallas out-scored Seattle 57-33 in the 2nd half. Seattle shot 49% FG in the 1st half and only 33% FG in the 2nd half. Dallas out-rebounded Seattle 23-17 including 7-5 offensive in the 1st half and Dallas killed them on the boards in the 2nd half in out-rebounding Seattle 35-13 including 14-3 offensive. For the game, Dallas shot 43.8% (35-80) FG including 8-23 3-pointers and Seattle shot 42.1% (32-76) FG including 8-16 3-pointers. Seattle struggled with foul trouble throughout the game and Dallas had a commanding edge at the line. Dallas shot 34-43 FT and Seattle shot 16-25 FT (including 6 attempts in the last 2 minutes of the game). Dallas out-rebounded Seattle 58-30 including 21-8 offensive. Both teams were clean with the ball with Dallas having 9 turnovers and Seattle having 8 turnovers. It was Dallas' 8th straight win vs Seattle and extended Dallas' current winning streak to 11 games. There was some mild amusement during the game in that it's not every day that you get get to see not only an airball free throw but a banked in free throw in the same game (both by Seattle players). When Dirk Nowitzki is not feeling well (injury or illness), he usually has a great game. And he had one this night. Nowitzki had a game high 31 points on 10-18 FG and 10-11 FT and 15 rebounds including 6 offensive. He had 2 assists, but lost one when he made a very pretty pass to Erick Dampier and Dampier missed the layup (but got the rebound and the putback and was fouled). Josh Howard also played well with 21 points (but missed all 5 3-pointers he attempted) and 9 rebounds. Dampier had 9 points and 9 rebounds. Jason Terry had 18 points including 4-7 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Devin Harris and Greg Buckner deserve special mention for the defensive effort on Ray Allen in the 2nd half. Harris also had an offensive spurt during the 3rd quarter where he continually attacked the basket and scored 9 of his 16 points during the quarter. Buckner's stat line did not reflect his impact in this game. Buckner had 5 points on 2-7 FG, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Devean George had 8 points on 3-9 FG and 3 rebounds. DeSagana Diop had 1 point (0-1 FG and 1-2 FT) and 6 rebounds including 5 offensive. Anthony Johnson shot 0-2 FG and 1-2 FT and didn't have another stat in 9 minutes. DJ Mbenga, Maurice Ager, and Austin Croshere all got in for a handful of garbage time minutes. Ray Allen was outstanding in the 2nd quarter. But he didn't do much besides that quarter. He had 18 points in the 2nd quarter, but just 1 point in the 1st quarter, 2 points in the 2nd quarter, and no points in the 4th quarter until the Sonics were down by 18 points. For the game Allen had 27 points including 5-8 3-pointers. Damien Wilkins was the only other starter in double-digits with 11 points including 4-12 FG. Luke Ridnour had 7 points and just 3 assists. Chris Wilcox had just 2 points on 1-8 FG and 3 rebounds in 12 minutes. Earl Watson chipped in 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists off the bench. Johan Petro had 10 points. Quotes Avery Johnson: "Tonight we got off to a really good start in the 1st quarter. We came out firing and the offense was clicking, really into them defensively. But Ray Allen, what a great shooter. He made one from Irving, Texas; [stumbled naming Dallas suburbs]; from Grand Prairie. It was a great exhibition of shooting from him in the 2nd quarter. We trapped him a little bit at the end of the 2nd quarter to try and get the ball out his hands. They ended up scoring 55 points in the 1st half. We came out with a much better effort tin the 2nd half trying to crowd him a little bit more. Again, trying to make some of their other guys score. Fortunately we did a great job on the boards tonight. Just putting together the 2nd half offensively and defensively." Johnson: "We saw as the game was going on, we were doing a good job on the boards. Dirk's been going at the offensive glass pretty well for us, so that is a good sign. I thought Buckner did a really good job for us defensively. You do not win this game without Buckner's defense. Devin started it off for us, but Greg Buckner and Devin did a terrific job on Allen. Josh Howard, he didn't shoot the ball great tonight, but it is the little things - 9 rebounds and he had a big block for us against Allen during that stretch." Johnson on if it was similar to slowing down Allen Iverson: "A little bit similar. They are both great players. Great players can definitely beat you. When those guys are making those long 3s like that over the top, I don't know how many teams in the league have defense for that. If they do, I am going to that seminar. We are just trying to play hard. Dirk came back he wasn't very strong in practice this morning, but he got some food in him and rested. We may have to rest him a little bit so he can be ready for this stretch of basketball that we are entering into." Johnson on Nowitzki: "He's a warrior. He plays injured. He doesn't play in pain, he plays injured sometimes. That ankle injury he had against Seattle, that was pretty serious. He still came back the next night and played. For him not to play against the Nuggets, he was anything short of being out of it. Dirk's a warrior. He came back tonight. He was strong. We will try to keep him strong. I would love to practice him 2 hours tomorrow or 3 hours and let him come back and get his 3 hours of shooting that night, but we are not going to do that." Dirk Nowitzki on his health: "Yesterday, I was able to sleep it off and I got some home cooking. I felt a lot better coming in today." Josh Howard on the 2nd half adjustments: "We just tried to get the ball out of Ray Allen's hands and soon as he crossed halfcourt or whenever he touch it in the backcourt. We tried to make the other players beat us and it worked in the 2nd half for us." Howard on defense in the 11 game winning streak: "It's been real important. Guys have been going out on the court and selling out on the defensive end. We're trying to get stops every time down, and then when we do make a stop convert on the offensive end of the floor." Howard on 55 rebounds: "That number surprised me when I looked at the boxscore. Guys just came out and hit the glass hard on both ends of the court and we had a big night tonight." Howard on the rebounds: "Guys just came out and hit the glass hard on both ends of the court." Howard on being named Player of the Week: "The 2nd straight week caught me off guard. I really wasn't expecting it again. I just want to continue to play good ball. My hard work is paying off. Devin Harris on the 3rd quarter: "We didn't want to settle for jumpers. We wanted to attack the rim and get some easy baskets." Harris on defending Allen in the 2nd half: "We wanted to mix it up against him. We know where he likes to shoot and we wanted to make it tougher on him." Greg Buckner on defending Allen: "You're not going to slow down a guy in this league that's the caliber of player that Ray Allen is without help from your teammates. Damp, Dirk, and all those guys allowed me to pressure up on him and protect the rim for me and it worked out well for us in the 2nd half." Buckner on the 11 game winning streak: "We're trying to get the last 4 in June. So these winning streaks are good right now, but it's not special until we win 4 games in the last series of the season. We're working towards that goal so we're not really worried about these winning streaks right now. We're just trying to get better every day in practice." Buckner: "The key to us right now is our defense. We've got a lot of guys that can score. Josh Howard right now is an All-Star caliber player. It will be a shame if he doesn't make the All-Star team." Bob Hill: "I've been trying to get the team to understand that they have to make each other accountable, but into ownership of the team and have responsibility of winning and losing. And I thought in the 1st half that was exactly what they did. I thought they went to work, they played together, they defended, and they moved the ball. We're underhanded and they didn't care; they played zone, we went right through them and I thought we played great in the 1st half. And then the 2nd half we had a time sustaining it. We got into some foul trouble and we had guys sitting over there [on the bench]. We couldn't rebound with them, especially late. I played Mo [Sene] a lot and Johan [Petro]. Nick [Collison] got into foul trouble and Danny [Fortson] had a tough time jumping with them, quite frankly. It all fell apart in the 4th quarter." Hill: "Whatever we had in the 1st half the togetherness and the toughness we didn't have that in the 2nd half. That's what I've talked to them about all year long and I lectured them pretty good before the game about it and the 1st half seemed like they bought it, like they finally understand. I thought Earl [Watson] in particular and Ray [Allen] and Damien [Wilkins] were in the same sentence and they were on a mission. They were playing together on both ends of the floor and we got some easy buckets. But in the 2nd half we could never get to that." Ray Allen: "I would like for them [his teammates] to see what Dampier is doing, to see what Diop was doing, to see what those guys were doing. But a lot of the responsibility is on those guards too because a lot of the balls were bouncing long. It's an awareness and you've got to want to get the rebound and tonight we didn't in the game out there. We can't win games if we're giving them 2nd chance opportunities." Allen: "They play together and always seem to be in the right places. The accountability is there defensively. We need to see how they do that and try to emulate it." Allen: "That 2nd quarter was the way I like to play basketball. The way I need to play basketball. The way we as a team need to play. Shoot the ball. Just score. Run up and down the floor and make plays. Predictability is out the window, and that's what we had." Earl Watson on the 9-game road losing streak: "I can't tell you the last time I lost 9 in a row in any fashion - on the road, at home, or whatever. That's not coaching. I don't care who is coaching, you shouldn't lose 9 games like that. That's about toughness and having an attitude, and tonight we didn't have that." Danny Fortson: "Every time we turned around that whistle kept blowing. It got to a point where I said, 'Hey you know what, Chris [Wilcox], we might have to let Dirk get 15 or 16 rebounds tonight.' I said, 'Stay away from him or else you're going to get in foul trouble.' It just didn't go our way. It was a bad game anyway. We all played pretty bad." Fortson on how the refs called the game: "It effected my game big time. That's what I'm here to do, throw my weight around and bang. If they start blowing that whistle real fast you can't really get into that rhythm. Not much you can do about it, it's like your hands are tied out there. It really sucks. What can you do?" Dallas Mavericks 112, Seattle Sonics 88 at Dallas (January 2) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 33 22 23 34 - 112 .474 .348 .438 .791 Seattle 22 33 17 16 - 88 .400 .500 .421 .640 Halftime: 55-55 3rd Q: Dallas 78-72 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 6:39 1st, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 6:05 1st, Josh Howard 5:02 2nd, Avery Johnson 4:09 2nd, Devean George 1:44 2nd, Johan Petro 1;44 2nd Refs: James Capers, Monty McCutchen, Tony Brown Attendance: 20,245 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Jerry Stackhouse, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, J.J. Barea Seattle - Rashard Lewis, Robert Swift, Desmon Farmer Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Devin Harris 25 4-7 0-0 8-9 16 1-2 1 2 4 2 0 Jason Terry 36 6-12 4-7 2-2 18 1-8 5 1 3 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 34 10-18 1-2 10-11 31 6-15 2 0 0 0 0 Josh Howard 38 7-18 0-5 7-8 21 3-9 2 2 1 0 1 Erick Dampier 31 2-4 0-0 5-9 9 3-9 0 0 1 0 2 Greg Buckner 24 2-7 1-4 0-0 5 1-3 3 0 5 1 0 Devean George 22 3-9 2-5 0-0 8 1-3 0 2 1 1 0 DeSagana Diop 14 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 5-6 1 0 3 1 0 Anthony Johnson 9 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 DJ Mbenga 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Maurice Ager 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Austin Croshere 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-3 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-80 8-23 34-43 112 21-58 15 9 21 5 4 Seattle Sonics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Luke Ridnour 27 3-7 1-1 0-0 7 1-1 3 0 3 1 0 Ray Allen 37 9-18 5-8 4-6 27 1-2 1 2 3 1 0 Chris Wilcox 12 1-8 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 0 0 4 0 0 Damien Wilkins 39 4-12 0-1 3-3 11 0-2 3 0 4 0 0 Danny Fortson 11 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 0-2 0 1 3 0 0 Earl Watson 35 5-12 2-6 3-4 15 0-5 6 1 1 1 0 Nick Collison 25 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 2-7 1 1 2 0 1 Mickael Gelabale 19 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 2-2 1 0 3 0 0 Johan Petro 18 4-5 0-0 2-2 10 0-4 0 1 3 0 1 Mouhamed Sene 13 0-2 0-0 2-6 2 1-2 0 0 4 1 3 Mike Wilks 3 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Andreas Glyniadakis 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-76 8-16 16-25 88 8-30 15 6 30 4 5 patricia