Devin Harris tweaked his hamstring during Sunday's scrimmage. The Mavs plan to keep him out 7 to 10 days to give his left hamstring a chance to heal and make sure it doesn't become a more serious injury. The Mavs held their annual Blue-White scrimmage on Sunday. The Blue team consisted of Devin Harris, Josh Howard (14 points, 6-8 FG), DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager (13 points, 4-11 FG), Austin Croshere, Darius Washington (11 points, 4-5 FG), Ndudi Ebi, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu and was coached by Joe Prunty and assisted by Popeye Jones and Greg Dreiling. The White team consisted of Dirk Nowitzki (10 points, 5 rebounds), Erick Dampier, Devean George, Anthony Johnson, Greg Buckner, DJ Mbenga (12 points, 6-9 FG), Jose Berea (3 points), and Pat Carroll and was coached by Sam Vincent and assisted by Bernard Griffith and Brad Davis. Jason Terry (aches and pains) and Jerry Stackhouse (resting knees) did not play. Blue team defeated the White team 61-57. Buckner did not have his thumb wrapped like it was on Friday. (Since I've got a real (okay, preseason) game to write about below and I didn't take notes while watching the scrimmage (and I don't remember much standing out), I'm not including further comments from the scrimmage. Okay, one thing: Ager had the goof of the night when he forgot to block out the free throw shooter and George got the slam putback of his free throw miss (and Ager got a lecture from the coach.) Preseason game: Dallas vs New Orleans at Oklahoma City (October 10) The Mavs left Dirk Nowitzki, Jerry Stackhouse, and Jason Terry at home for them to rest minor aches and to simply rest. Add to Devin Harris missing the game due to his strained left hamstring and it was definitely a preseason game. For the Hornets, Peja Stojakovic, Marc Jackson, and Marcus Vinicus did not play. Tyson Chandler showed he was in regular season form and picked up 3 fouls in the first 4 minutes of the game (including the first on the first possession). Erick Dampier had a nice fake pass near the free throw line and then had an impressive drive in for the power slam. Dallas held a small lead most of the quarter, but a 3-pointer by Jannero Pargo with a handful of seconds left in the quarter gave the Hornets their only lead of the quarter and a 25-23 lead after 1. Devean George and Pops Mensah-Bonsu had nice blocks in the 2nd quarter. Anthony Johnson and Erick Dampier had a pretty play with a screen and drive that resulted in a bucket. The game stayed close in the 2nd quarter as 4 points was the largest lead. Dallas led 43-42 at the half. Chandler returned to the court and collected his 4th foul less than a minute into the 3rd quarter (though he managed not to get called for another foul in the game). The Hornets went on a 12-0 run, including 8 points by the still impressive Chris Paul, to go up 61-54 with 4:30 left. A 3-pointer by J.J. Barea ended Dallas' 2:45 drought. Maurice Ager took off on a fast break and had a smart stutter step to catch the one man back off and get the easy layup. Barea drove to the basket and then made the no-look over the head pass to DJ Mbenga, who got the dunk. The game was tied 66-66 after 3. Most of the names that were available stayed on the bench for most of the 4th quarter and it wasn't a pretty quarter, even though the game remained close. Mbenga surprised most by hitting a 17-footer early in the quarter (he's not known for his outside shot). Dallas led 81-80 with 2:15 remaining, but the Mavs would not score again. Brandon Bass hit a jumper with 2 minutes to go and Cedric Simmons got a bucket with a minute left. Bass had an impressive block on a layup attempt by Ager. The refs showed the preseason isn't just for the teams. After a Hornets miss with about 5 seconds left, Avery Johnson was calling for a timeout as Barea brought the ball up and the refs ignored Johnson - the new rule this season is that the coach can call timeout whenever his team has the ball (it used to be that a player on the court had to call the timeout). So instead of a set play with a couple of ticks on the clock, Barea's forced 3-pointer from halfcourt was no good and that was game. The Hornets won 84-81. The shooting wasn't great, but it wasn't a terrible (aka tortuous) preseason game. The largest lead by either team was just 7 points. But it was obviously a preseason game with the lineups both teams had on the court at the end of the game. Both teams shot just 41% FG, but the turnovers weren't the usual preseason high as Dallas had 17 turnovers and the Hornets had 14 turnovers. As it's preseason, just some scatter shooting on players' performances. First the big men: Erick Dampier got the start and looked really good early in the game. He had a game high 11 rebounds. Maybe the new ball is good for something as I haven't seen him fumble away the ball in the 3 times I've seen him thus far (which had been a common complaint about his butterfingers). DeSagana Diop was non-existent in the few minutes he played - not sure if it was a design to just play him 8 minutes or an indication of his invisibility when he was out there. DJ Mbenga came on strong in the 4th quarter with some really nice plays. I'll repeat what I said from the first team scrimmage - his game looks like it has matured as he's making better decision and I haven't seen any of the sloppy turnovers that he would sometime make. Pops Mensah-Bonsu showed some sparks, but I'd say he'll spend most (if not all) of the season in the NBDL (he does have a guaranteed contract). Austin Croshere showed some of his outside shot. Josh Howard looks so smooth, but I was surprised when I looked at the box and saw he shot so poorly - just 5-14 FG. Devean George did some nice things, including get a 2nd shot attempt on pure effort. Maurice Ager looked like a pure shooting guard - never looking to pass. It was a rookie performance as he did some nice things and some poor things. One of the poor things was late in the game when he had the ball on a 3-on-1 break and he kept the ball instead of passing to one of the others (and Darius Washington was in perfect position to receive a pass for an easy layup) (Ager was fouled on the play, but only hit 1-2 FT; but the smart basketball play would have been to make the pass). Greg Buckner played 20 minutes, but I can't recall anything that stood out - an usual Buck performance, just playing his role. Anthony Johnson and J.J. Barea split point guard duties and it seemed like Barea was getting a good look in this game. And he did look good in showing the passing, decision making, and leadership traits that he had in college. I've liked him since I first saw him in the Global Games (but he's still very short for the NBA). Washington played 9 minutes in the 4th quarter. Pat Carroll and Ndudi Ebi did not play, coach's decision (don't be surprised if one or both gets heavy minutes in tonight's game). Quotes Byron Scott: "I really liked the first unit. I liked the way they played on both ends of the court." Chris Paul: "I know in the preseason Coach is not going to play us that much. At the same time, we're trying to get ready for the regular season and we have to take advantage of the minutes that we're out there." Paul: "Me and David West, we could probably do what we do with blindfolds. We just always know where each other's going to be." David West: "I'm going to be a threat. I'm going to shoot the basketball until somebody shuts the water off. That's the way I'm going to approach it." Avery Johnson: "Typical first preseason game. Lots of turnovers, lots of miscues, but the guys were physical tonight." Johnson on Dampier: "Damp has been a monster in camp. It's just one of those things where I had to start him." Josh Howard on Dampier: "He wants his (starting) spot back. As far as people doubting him, I think he's trying to prove them wrong. You can tell he's worked hard over the summer." Erick Dampier: "We just wanted to get out there and see where we're at." Dampier: "I'm just trying to go out there and do whatever I can to help us win. Whenever I get the opportunity, just try to score and hit the glass hard." Preseason New Orleans Hornets 84, Dallas Mavericks 81 at Oklahoma City (October 10) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% New Orleans 25 17 24 18 - 84 .426 .200 .411 .852 Dallas 23 20 23 15 - 81 .475 .133 .408 .708 Halftime: Dallas 43-42 3rd Q: 66-66 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 2:48 1st, New Orleans defensive 3 seconds 10:22 3rd, Tyson Chandler (hanging on rim) 0:42 3rd Refs: Monty McCutchen, Phil Robinson, Zach Zarba Attendance: 13,647 (cap: 19,675) Did not play due to injury: Peja Stojakovic (NO, left quad strain), Marc Jackson (NO, strained left hamstring), Marcus Vinicus (NO, strained right hamstring), Devin Harris (Dal, strained left hamstring), Jerry Stackhouse (Dal, rest), Jason Terry (Dal, rest), Dirk Nowitzki (Dal, rest) New Orleans Hornets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Desmond Mason 21 2-7 0-0 3-3 7 0-1 1 1 1 0 0 David West 24 7-10 0-0 3-3 17 0-3 1 2 3 2 0 Tyson Chandler 22 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 2-6 1 1 4 1 2 Chris Paul 21 2-6 0-0 6-6 10 0-4 6 3 4 1 0 Rasual Butler 20 2-6 0-1 1-1 5 0-1 0 1 2 1 1 Hilton Armstrong 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 1 1 0 Jannero Pargo 22 4-10 1-2 0-0 9 0-3 2 2 2 2 0 Bobby Jackson 20 2-7 0-1 3-4 7 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 Linton Johnson 27 3-7 0-1 6-6 12 0-7 0 0 2 0 1 Brandon Bass 24 4-6 0-0 0-1 8 1-8 0 1 3 0 2 Cedric Simmons 19 2-8 0-0 0-1 4 2-5 0 0 2 0 2 Scooter McFadgon 7 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 0 1 0 0 Luis Flores 6 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 3 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 30-73 1-5 23-27 84 6-41 14 14 27 9 8 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 22 5-14 1-2 5-8 16 1-3 0 0 2 0 0 Austin Croshere 25 2-5 0-1 2-2 6 0-4 2 0 4 0 0 Erick Dampier 21 2-3 0-0 2-3 6 4-11 1 1 2 0 0 Anthony Johnson 22 1-5 0-0 2-2 4 1-4 5 2 3 0 0 Greg Buckner 20 4-8 0-2 2-2 10 0-2 1 2 4 1 0 Devean George 26 4-9 0-2 0-0 8 1-5 1 3 2 0 2 DeSagana Diop 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 1 2 0 1 Maurice Ager 26 4-13 1-5 2-5 11 1-4 1 2 4 1 0 DJ Mbenga 19 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 1-5 0 1 2 2 1 Pops Mensah-Bonsu 18 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-4 1 1 2 0 1 Darius Washington 9 2-5 0-1 0-0 4 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 J.J. Barea 24 3-6 0-2 2-2 8 0-4 7 3 0 0 0 Totals 48 31-76 2-15 17-24 81 11-48 19 17 29 4 5 patricia