Lakers at Dallas (November 11) The struggling Mavs welcomed the undefeated (5-0) LA Lakers to town. Dallas was again without Josh Howard. Despite that, Dallas used a 17-0 run to take a 21-10 lead with 5:30 remaining - the Lakers missed 8 straight shots during the run. Kobe Bryant himself ended Dallas' run by scoring the next 5 points (as well as 2 more Lakers points after a Dampier putback). A layup by Bryant (as he scored 9 points in 3 1/2 minutes) pulled the Lakers within 23-26 with 2 minutes left, but Dallas then scored the next 9 points to take a 12-point lead with 25 seconds left. Pau Gasol hit 1-2 free throws and Trevor Ariza stole the ball and got a dunk near the end of the quarter. Dallas led 35-26 after 1. Jason Terry had 13 points in the quarter. Dallas continued to hold a single-digit lead during the 2nd quarter, but could not build it back into double-digits. But the Lakers also could not fully dissolve Dallas' lead as they could get no closer than 3 points. Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper near the quarter's end to give Dallas a 60-54 lead at the half. The teams practically traded points or misses over the first 10 minutes of the 3rd quarter as Dallas' lead waivered between 7 and 11 points. Dallas led 77-67 with 1:50 remaining and the Lakers ended the quarter with a 9-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Lamar Odom with 2.5 seconds left. Dallas led just 79-76 after 3. After the teams traded possessions, Dallas pushed the ball up the court and Gerald Green took the ball in strong for a high-flying slam dunk posterization over Odom (the play of the week). But instead of providing a spark for Dallas, it seemed to provide a spark for the Lakers as they scored the next 11 points to take an 87-81 lead with 8:15 to go as Dallas missed 5 straight shots. Jerry Stackhouse hit a 3-pointer, stole the ball, and drove for a layup to pull Dallas within 86-87 with 7:50 to go. Bryant the asserted himself in scoring the next 7 points (including a couple of "wow" shots). A 3-point play by Ariza gave the Lakers a 96-89 lead with 4:45 remaining and Dallas then went on an 8-2 run to pull within 97-99 with 2:50 left. It was a parade of missed opportunities as Bryant turned the ball over, Stackhouse missed, Ariza missed, Nowitzki missed, Derek Fisher missed, Ariza got a finger on Stackhouse's 3-point attempt and Dallas ended up with a shot clock violation and there was just 45 seconds to go. The Lakers ran some time off the clock and Fisher missed again, but Gasol grabbed the rebound, got the layup, and was fouled. He hit the extra free throw with 23 seconds remaining. Terry got a bucket inside with 13 seconds left to pull Dallas within 3 points and end the Mavs' 2:30 scoring drought (and 4 minutes without a field goal). But Fisher was intentionally fouled and hit both free throws. Green missed with 8 seconds remaining and 2 more free throws by Fisher capped the scoring. The Lakers won 106-99. You don't want to take solace in a loss, but it was a much better performance by Dallas - they definitely gave the effort in this game. It's just that their 4th quarter shooting woes continued, and they were facing probably the best team in the league. Dallas shot 45% FG through 3 quarters and only shot 6-20 FG in the 4th quarter, including 1-6 FG in the last 4 minutes of the game. For the game, Dallas shot 41.9% (36-86) FG including 6-22 3-pointers and the Lakers shot 44.2% (42-95) FG including 2-13 FT. The Lakers shot 20-26 FT and Dallas shot 21-28 FT. Dallas did have the rebounding edge at 54-48, and both teams had 20 offensive rebounds each. Besides shooting, turnovers really hurt the Mavs as they had 22 turnovers, which the Lakers converted into 26 points. The Lakers weren't very clean with the ball either with 15 turnovers, but Dallas only converted those into 12 points. The 1st quarter was the only quarter Dallas won in out-scoring the Lakers 35-26. The Lakers out-scored Dallas by 3 points in each the 2nd and 3rd quarter and out-scored Dallas 30-20 in the 4th quarter. No surprise that Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers. He had 27 points and 4 rebounds. The surprise was the really strong bench play they got. Trevor Ariza continued to play well and had 13 points and 6 rebounds in 29 minutes. Lamar Odom had 12 points and 5 rebounds (and also had 4 turnovers) in 30 minutes. Sasha Vujacic had 7 points and 5 rebounds in 12 minutes. For the rest of the starters, both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had a double-double. Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds including 5 offensive. Bynum had 11 points and 10 rebounds including 7 offensive. He also had 3 blocks. Derek Fisher had 6 points including a poor 1-8 FG and 0-4 3-pointers, but also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Vladimir Radmanovic didn't play well with just 4 points on 2-6 FG, 1 rebounds, and 2 assists in 16 minutes. Dallas won despite having 6 players in double-digit scoring. Erick Dampier had an excellent game with 11 points including 5-7 FG, 16 rebounds including 12 offensive (tying a team record), and 3 blocks. Jason Kidd has his 101th career triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. He also had 4 steals and 5 turnovers. Gerald Green again started and had 17 points, including two highlight dunks, and 6 rebounds, but also turned the ball over 5 times. Jason Terry was Dallas' high man with 21 points. The goat of the game was Dirk Nowitzki who only scored 2 points in the 2nd half and missed all 5 of his shots in the 4th quarter. He finished with 14 points including 5-17 FG and 8 rebounds before fouling out with 23 seconds left. He was also the victim of too many non-calls to count - I can't recall the last time there seemed to be such a bias by the refs towards an individual player (re-validating the dismal record Dallas has when Danny Crawford officiates). Also wasted in this game was the first strong performance of the season by Jerry Stackhouse. 10 of his 17 points came in the 4th quarter. DeSagana Diop had 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 20 minutes. Antoine Wright (playing with a taped up right wrist and thumb) missed 3 shots and had 4 rebounds in 12 minutes. Brandon Bass continued to struggle and missed his only shot and didn't have a rebound in 11 minutes. J.J. Barea played 4 minutes and had 1 rebound and 1 turnover for his only stats. Quotes Phil Jackson: "We shot better [the 2nd half]. They had so many plays that they feasted on our mistakes. There was a mistake we made and they took advantage of it in the 1st quarter particularly. In the 1st half they played awfully well, and we were able to sit down and play some defense in the 2nd half." Jackson on Gasol: "You know Pau's a great player, both at center and power forward, and we knew this matchup would be a good matchup for us tonight. Dirk's a great shooter and we were able to contain him at least somewhat, and Pau had a big hand in doing that." Jackson: "I went with the second unit guys a little bit earlier than normal. I let Lamar [Odom] in there, Jordan [Farmar] in there, Sasha [Vujacic] came in there early for Kobe with 3-something left in the 3rd quarter. They cut that lead to 3-points at the end of the 3rd quarter, they really finished strong. That gave us the whole difference in the game." Jackson: "I wasn't happy with our execution down the stretch. We were able to survive. With a 7-point lead they cut it down to 2. Our execution got a little bit sloppy, Kobe had to force some shots, we didn't take care of the ball the right way in some of those situations. But our defense stood pretty good." Kobe Bryant on the 4th quarter: "Nobody panicked. We just kept at it." Bryant on Ariza's block near the end: "It was a phenomenal block. He's just a tremendous athlete. Our bench was incredible. That's the kind of team we have. We pick each other up. They came in and gave us a huge boost." Trevor Ariza on the 4th quarter defense: "It was big for us because they were beating us the whole game pretty much. We made a run early in the 4th and we kind of buckled down from there." Ariza on the bench play: "That's what we do - we come in and try to change the pace of the game and play with high energy." Ariza on Dallas having more energy early on: "They did. They're at home and they were playing like a desperate team that needed a win. And they got the best of us in the 1st half." Ariza on Dallas: "They definitely gave us a great effort. They're a good team. They've just been struggling the past couple of games and we did a good job in beating them at home." Derek Fisher: "I think it's still extremely early to say where we are as a team in terms of our ability to win certain types of games. At the same time it's extremely positive any time you can go on the road [and win] in the NBA as a whole, but in particular in the Western Conference where so many teams are good on their home floor. On the quest of an 82 game season road wins are huge and it was good for us get this one tonight." Fisher on the 2nd half defense: "Yeah, we gave up 35 points in the 1st quarter, which is an abomination as far as we're concerned this year. It's just not something that we're okay with and I think we made some better adjustments - only giving up 25 points in the 2nd quarter even though they had 60 at the half was because we gave up 35 in the 1st quarter. So in the 2nd half I think we were able to adjust to all the speed and the pace with which they were running their offense and tried to take away some of the things that they were doing that were hurting us. Terry had a big [1st] half and we were able to cut into his production in the 2nd half, as well as Dirk. But they played a good game - they were hungry and intense and so we knew that defensively that was going to be the way that we got the game won." Rick Carlisle: "You've got to be able to finish games and you've got to be able to win at home. We ran great in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, they played better and we didn't get the same opportunities." Carlisle: "It's a disappointing loss, but by far the hardest game we played. Everybody did what they could do physically. But you've got to be able to finish games. You've got to be able to win at home." Carlisle on 22 turnovers: "That's probably where the game is lost. A lot of those are uncontested and those were momentum plays." Dirk Nowitzki: "Everyone was in it, it was great. If we play like that all the time, we'll have a lot more opportunities to win." Nowitzki: "I had a lot of opportunities down there at the end, but I couldn't really get a ball in the basket to help our team out. It obviously hurt, and I had some tough turnovers, but you got to give the Lakers credit." Nowitzki: "I've got to do a better job, obviously, closing in the 4th and helping my teammates win this game. If we play like [we did in this game], I think we'll put ourselves in position to win a lot of games." Jason Kidd: "Coach told us after the game that if we come with that effort every night, we will win a lot more games. That is a positive. I think we played the best team in the league tonight and took them down to the last minute. We got stops when we had to. It was on the other end that we couldn't get the ball in the basket." Kidd on Dallas' struggles: "It is early, but at the same time we need to start getting some wins under our belt. We can learn from this game and understand that we are not that far off. We just need to stay together and keep fighting." Kidd on his triple-double: "Stats are always secondary. We want to win. For me, I am just out there trying to get my teammates the ball and make them better. The triple-double doesn't mean anything, especially when you lose." Jason Terry: "We like the way we played tonight. Everybody was in it until the end. We just didn't get the victory." Los Angeles Lakers 106, Dallas Mavericks 99 at Dallas (November 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% LA Lakers 26 28 22 30 - 106 .488 .154 .442 .769 Dallas 35 25 19 20 - 99 .469 .273 .419 .750 Halftime: Dallas 60-54 3rd Q: Dallas 79-76 Technicals: LA Lakers defensive 3 seconds 7:10 1st, LA Lakers defensive 3 seconds 10:12 2nd Refs: Danny Crawford, Leroy Richardson, Courtney Kirkland Attendance: 20,391 (sellout) IL: LA Lakers - DJ Mbenga, Sun Yue Dallas - Devean George, Josh Howard Los Angeles Lakers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Vladimir Radmanovic 16 2-6 0-3 0-0 4 1-1 2 2 2 2 0 Pau Gasol 36 8-15 0-0 6-8 22 5-11 2 3 1 0 0 Andrew Bynum 30 5-12 0-0 1-2 11 7-10 3 0 3 1 3 Kobe Bryant 36 10-20 0-2 7-8 27 1-4 1 1 1 1 0 Derek Fisher 28 1-8 0-4 4-4 6 0-4 3 1 4 2 0 Lamar Odom 30 5-12 1-1 1-3 12 2-5 1 4 5 1 1 Trevor Ariza 29 6-10 0-1 1-1 13 3-6 1 2 1 3 1 Jordan Farmer 20 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-2 3 1 0 2 0 Sasha Vujacic 12 3-6 1-2 0-0 7 1-5 0 1 2 1 0 Luke Walton 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 42-95 2-13 20-26 106 20-48 16 15 19 13 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Gerald Green 25 6-15 1-4 4-4 17 2-6 0 5 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 37 5-17 0-2 4-4 14 0-8 1 4 6 0 2 Erick Dampier 27 5-7 0-0 1-2 11 12-16 2 0 4 0 3 Jason Terry 39 7-15 1-3 6-8 21 0-2 4 3 2 4 1 Jason Kidd 39 7-14 1-7 1-2 16 1-11 10 5 2 4 1 Brandon Bass 11 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 24 5-12 3-5 4-4 17 1-2 1 2 1 1 0 DeSagana Diop 20 1-2 0-0 1-4 3 2-4 1 0 1 0 2 J.J. Barea 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Antoine Wright 12 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 36-86 6-22 21-28 99 20-54 20 21 21 10 9 Dallas at Chicago (November 13) Dallas welcomed back Josh Howard after he had missed the previous 2 games. Larry Hughes also returned to action in playing in his first game of the season. Dallas opened the game really strong in jumping out to a 21-3 lead with 7:40 remaining as the Mavs scored on each of their first 10 possessions and shot 8-9 FG. A dunk by Jason Terry on a break gave Dallas their largest lead at 24-5 with 6:15 left and caused Chicago to call their second timeout of the game. The Bulls responded out of the timeout by scoring the next 13 points to pull within 18-24 with 3:30 to go as Dallas missed their next 4 shots. 4 straight points by Ben Gordon pulled the Bulls within 22-26 with 2 minutes remaining, but Dallas scored the last 6 points of the quarter, capped by a putback by DeSagana Diop at the end of the quarter. Dallas led 32-22 after 1. Howard had 11 points and Gordon had 12 points. Dallas shot 55% FG and Chicago shot 28% FG. A jumper by Howard gave Dallas a 41-29 lead with 7:40 to go, but Chicago scored the next 7 points to make it a 5-point game. Dallas led 46-38 with 3:40 left and Chicago went on an 11-2 run to take their first lead at 49-48 with 45 seconds remaining as Dallas missed 9 straight shots. Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper, but Luol Deng got a layup near the end of the quarter (and Dallas missed 3 free throws in between). Chicago led 51-50 at the half. Deng had 12 points in the 2nd quarter, including Chicago's last 10 points of the quarter. The 2nd quarter was the reverse of the 1st with Chicago shooting 55% FG and Dallas shooting 28% FG. Derrick Rose drove for 2, but Jason Kidd answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 53-53 with 11 minutes left. Chicago then went on an 11-2 run to take a 64-55 lead with 7:45 remaining. After 2 free throws by Gordon gave the Bulls a 10-point lead, Erick Dampier scored 4 points inside and Kidd hit a jumper to pull Dallas within 62-66 with 5:30 left. Chicago's lead would range between 4 and 8 points the rest of the quarter. Chicago led 78-70 after 3. Rose scored 14 points including 6-7 FG in the 3rd quarter (after he was just 1-8 FG in the 1st half). A 3-point play by Howard pulled Dallas within 79-85 with 8:30 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Hughes kicked off 11 straight Chicago points to put the Bulls up 96-79 with 6:10 to go. Dallas did then go on an 11-2 run to pull within 90-98 with 2 minutes left. But Dallas missed their last 4 shots of the game (while going 1-2 FT for the last points of the quarter as Chicago missed 2 shots and turned the ball over once). Chicago won 98-91. It was an absolutely miserable game for Dallas as they only showed up for the first 6 minutes of the game. The coach and players keep talking about defense, but it is actually offense that is killing the team. No matter how good of defense you play, you do have to put the ball in the basket yourself to win games. After starting the game shooting a white hot 8-9 FG, Dallas only shot 31% (24-78) FG the rest of the way. Chicago also struggled in shooting the ball and it was an ugly game. For the game, Chicago shot 41.2% (35-85) FG including 4-15 3-pointers and Dallas shot 36.8% (32-87) FG including 3-9 3-pointers. Chicago shot 23-30 FT and Dallas shot 25-33 FT. Dallas did have the rebounding edge at 54-46 including 16-10 offensive. But the Bulls were extremely clean with the ball and only committed 7 turnovers. Dallas had 14 turnovers. Blowing the early 19-point lead tied for the 10th largest Dallas lead blown. The Bulls got an outstanding performance from Ben Gordon as he led the way with 36 points on 12-21 FG and 9-10 FT and also had 4 assists. Luol Deng had 20 points and 9 rebounds. Rookie Derrick Rose was the only other Bull in double-digits with 16 points, 14 of which came in the 3rd quarter. Returning after missing a game, Drew Gooden had 8 points including 3-10 FG and 8 rebounds. Although he started, Joakim Noah played just 4 minutes and missed his only shot and had 2 fouls for his only stats. Off the bench, Tyrus Thomas had 8 points and 8 rebounds including 5 offensive. All 5 of Larry Hughes' points came in a short spurt early in the 4th quarter. Aaron Gray had 2 points and 4 rebounds in 9 minutes. Andres Nocioni was a non-factor with just 4 points on 0-5 FG, 0-4 3-pointers, and 4-6 FT in 29 minutes. He also had 4 rebounds. It is not surprising that Dallas lost since their 3 top scorers combined to shot just 31% FG. Josh Howard had 21 points including 7-23 FG and 11 rebounds including 5 offensive. Dirk Nowitzki had just 12 points including 5-17 FG. He did have 6 rebounds and 5 assists, though. Jason Terry had 16 points including 5-14 FG. The Mavs again wasted a strong outing by Erick Dampier. Damp had 16 points, 18 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 3 blocks. Jason Kidd had 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 turnovers. Dallas got just 16 points off of the bench (by 6 different players). DeSagana Diop had 3 points including 1-3 FG and 4 rebounds in 12 minutes. Gerald Green (back on the bench after starting 2 while Howard sat) had 2 points on 1-3 FG in 11 minutes and Antoine Wright had 2 points (hitting his only shot) and 4 fouls in 11 minutes. After a strong outing, Stackhouse had a poor one with just 4 points including 1-5 FG in 13 minutes. Brandon Bass had 4 points and no rebounds in 13 minutes. James Singleton played 2 minutes and hit 2 free throws and had 2 rebounds. Quotes Vinny Del Negro: "We did not start well. We continued battling. That's been the way the guys have started this season. We give them too many transition buckets; but the way we fought tonight, we hung tough and we kept finding ways. Ben Gordon had one of those nights that he can have. Derrick Rose in the 2nd half was strong. Tyrus Thomas had an outstanding game - his activity in keeping balls alive and playing smart. He was guarding Dirk and Josh Howard about as well as you can. Those guys are difficult covers. We did not shoot great and got out-rebounded, but found a way. At the end we got a little tentative looking at the clock instead of keep on playing. They changed up into a zone and we didn't handle it. We got stagnant. We kept battling and that's what I'm most proud of." Del Negro on being down early: "I never thought it was a body language issue. I thought there was some frustration. We missed some shots and their transition was killing us. Sometimes it takes a 20-second timeout to get their attention. We made a conscious effort to get back on defense because Jason Kidd is so good at pushing the ball and Terry is coming at you. I told the guys, 'Let's chip away at this.' We wanted to get it to a reasonable margin at the end of the 1st quarter. We had a real good 2nd quarter. It was not pretty at times, but I liked our aggressiveness. To beat Dallas is a very good win." Del Negro on Gordon: "He was hot. Sometimes Ben can give you that. He made some tough shots and he got us back in there and then our defense picked up. I think the difference in the game is we only had 6 turnovers. If you turn the ball over against Dallas, or any transition team, they make you pay for it." Del Negro on Rose: "I told him at halftime to keep pushing the ball and that his shots were there. He does not let that stuff [fouls] bother him. He just wants to keep playing and come at you. I knew he would have a better 2nd half. He has the ability to create off the dribble. Between Derrick and Ben, they played a lot of minutes, but the were productive." Derrick Rose on being down early: "It's only the 1st quarter of an NBA game, so I knew we'd come from behind somehow." Rose: "There is no such thing as a 17- or a 19-point shot. We just had to chip away at the lead, play good defense, run the floor, and get some of the shots we wanted, which we were finally able to do," Ben Gordon: "They were attacking us with transition and they put us on our heels early. We started attacking them and we started getting back on defense, and that really helped us. We are on our homecourt and we're down 24-to something, whatever it was. We heard the fans starting to boo us, and I think everybody started taking it a little personal." Rick Carlisle: "We were extremely aggressive at the start of the game, defensively. That is what put us in such a good offensive position. They came out then after a timeout and hit a couple of shots. That is when the momentum switched. They just got the better of us over that 42 minute stretch. It is very disappointing. We desperately needed a win and I was surprised at our lack of effort." Carlisle: "It's disappointing. We desperately need a win. I'm just surprised at our lack of fight. I don't know how else to put it." Carlisle: "Dampier played really big for us. When he is in there, he is a real presence for us. When we have to take him out is when we get hurt. We just need to do a lot of soul searching from here. Their quickness is also a big factor. We needed to be air tight on our coverages. We had a great start to the game and it eroded from there." Carlisle on Nowitzki: "Dirk had a lot of good looks out there. Tonight, after the first couple went in, he struggled to get anything in the basket. He had a lot of shots that he can make and most nights he will." Dirk Nowitzki on being defended by Deng: "I can't let teams get away with guarding me with such a small man. I got to make them pay. I don't think the Bulls did anything special." Jason Kidd on what happened after the strong start: "I don't know. That's a good question. One of the things we learned from the Laker game, where we came out with the same intensity, but once we started making substitutions we started thinking the game was over. We just disappeared. With a young team like that, they kept playing and they won the game." Kidd: "We don't play defense. That's been our problem. First 6 minutes we were playing defense and found ourselves up, and that was it. We have as many offensive weapons (as anyone) in the league, but we got to find some guys who want to play defense." Kidd: "For us, that's been the problem: we don't play defense. When you give up 100 points and not scoring 100, you're going to lose a lot of games. For us, that's something we have to address. In that first 6 minutes, we were playing defense and found ourselves way up then that was it." Kidd: "It seems like deja vu each time in the 3rd quarter or 4th quarter. When we can't score, we just throw our hands up." Kidd on what the team needs to do: "We need to win. But to get the win, we need to play defense. That's as simple as it gets. We have just as many offensive weapons in the league, but we got to find some guys who want to play defense." Chicago Bulls 98, Dallas Mavericks 91 at Dallas (November 13) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Chicago 22 29 27 20 - 98 .421 .333 .412 .758 Dallas 32 18 20 21 - 91 .389 .267 .368 .767 Halftime: Chicago 51-50 3rd Q: Chicago 78-70 Technicals: none Refs: Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Brian Forte Attendance: 21,751 (sellout) IL: Chicago - Kirk Hinrich, Michael Ruffin, Demetris Nichols Dallas - Devean George, Shawne Williams Chicago Bulls REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Luol Deng 36 8-19 0-0 4-5 20 1-9 2 1 3 2 0 Drew Gooden 32 3-10 0-0 2-2 8 1-8 0 0 4 1 0 Joakim Noah 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Ben Gordon 42 12-21 2-3 9-10 35 0-2 4 2 2 0 0 Derrick Rose 42 7-17 0-1 2-4 16 2-9 6 0 1 1 0 Tyrus Thomas 34 2-5 0-0 4-4 8 5-8 0 2 4 2 2 Aaron Gray 9 1-2 0-0 0-2 2 1-4 1 0 3 0 0 Larry Hughes 13 2-5 1-1 0-0 5 0-2 0 0 1 1 0 Andres Nocioni 29 0-5 0-4 4-6 4 0-4 0 1 3 0 2 Totals 48 35-85 3-9 25-33 98 10-46 13 7 23 7 4 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 39 7-23 1-3 6-7 21 5-11 0 2 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 38 5-17 0-3 2-3 12 1-6 5 2 1 0 1 Erick Dampier 30 6-11 0-0 4-6 16 7-18 1 2 5 1 3 Jason Terry 33 5-14 2-5 4-4 16 0-2 2 2 4 0 0 Jason Kidd 37 3-6 1-2 2-2 9 1-8 4 5 2 2 1 DeSagana Diop 12 1-3 0-0 1-4 3 1-4 0 0 1 0 1 Gerald Green 11 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 2 0 1 0 1 Antoine Wright 11 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 1 0 4 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 13 1-5 0-1 2-2 4 0-2 0 0 1 0 0 Brandon Bass 13 2-4 0-1 0-0 4 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 James Singleton 2 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-87 4-15 23-30 91 16-54 15 14 22 3 7 Orlando at Dallas (November 14) It was the 2nd night of a back-to-back for Dallas and the Mavs returned home still looking for their first win of the season at the AAC (0-3). The Mavs jumped out to an early 11-3 lead with 7:30 left as Orlando opened the game shooting 1-10 FG (Dallas was shooting better, but it was still ugly as they were shooting below 40% FG for most of the quarter). 8 points would be the largest lead of the quarter as Dallas could not push their lead into double-digits, but Orlando could get no closer than 4 points. Rashard Lewis had a layup just before the quarter ended. Dallas led 21-17 after 1. A 3-pointer by Mickael Pietrus tied the game 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter and an alley-oop from Anthony Johnson to rookie Courtney Lee gave the Magic their first lead of the game at 25-23 with 9:50 left. The teams traded baskets and Dallas then rattled off the next 13 points, including 7 points by Jason Terry, to give the Mavs a 38-27 lead with 6:40 remaining. Orlando went on an 8-2 mini-run to pull within 37-42 with 3:45 to go, but Dallas then scored the next 5 points and the Mavs' lead ranged between 8 and 12 points the rest of the quarter. Once again Orlando scored right as the quarter ended with Jameer Nelson being fouled on a drive and hitting both free throws. Dallas led 56-46 at the half. For the half, Dallas shot 49% FG and Orlando shot 37% FG. Dallas remained in control in the 3rd quarter and buckets by Josh Howard started an ended an 8-point Mavs burst (over just 1:30 of play) to give Dallas their largest lead at 69-54 with 7:20 left. A 3-pointer by Lewis cut Dallas' lead down to 74-65 with 4:50 reamining and Dallas' lead would hover around 10 points the rest of the quarter. Brandon Bass drove to the basket strong near the end of the quarter, but it was the wrong play to make as there wasn't enough time and it ended up being a shot clock violation instead of 2-points scored (and Orlando did not get a shot off with about 1.4 seconds left). Dallas led 80-72 after 3. And then came the dreaded 4th quarter, where Dallas has struggled all season. Terry did open the 4th quarter with a 3-pointer, but Orlando scored the next 8 points to pull within 80-83 with 9:40 remaining. But Dallas did continue to hold a small lead and a jumper by Terry gave Dallas a 90-83 lead with 7:20 left. 2 free throws by JHoward gave Dallas a 94-88 lead with 5:15 to go, but Dallas then went ice cold, including missing some bunnies. Orlando connected on 3-4 free throws and a 3-pointer by Pietrus tied the game at 94-94 with 3 minutes remaining and a jumper by Nelson 30 seconds later gave the Magic a 2-point lead. It was a comedy of errors as Dallas missed on 5 straight shots over the next minute (and had possession for 40 seconds of that minute) before Dirk Nowitzki finally hit a fade-away jumper with 1:30 to tie the game - ending a stretch of almost 5 minutes without a Dallas field goal. But Pietrus drained another 3-pointer late in the shoot clock to put Orlando back ahead. Jason Kidd was fouled driving and hit both free throws with 50 seconds left. Nelson missed a jumper and Nowitzki hit a jumper to give Dallas a 100-99 lead with 25 seconds remaining. Nelson missed again and Terry snagged the rebound near the corner, but he was heading out of bounds and tried to bounce the ball off a Magic player, but it didn't connect and it was Orlando ball out of bounds with 15 seconds left. Lewis drove and was fouled by Kidd (got him on the wrist, was Kidd's 6th foul) and Lewis hit both free throws to give Orlando a 1-point lead with 10 seconds left. Dallas called timeout and advanced the ball to halfcourt. JHoward inbounded the ball and inexplicably threw it right to Nelson for the easy intercept. Nelson was intentionally fouled and hit 1-2 FT with 7 seconds left. After another timeout, Dallas was able to get the ball inbounded this time and Terry got a good look at a jumper, but it rimmed out and that was game. Orlando won 102-100. It was a frustrating loss for the Mavs as it was a game that they should have won - most of the stats favored Dallas. It was just dumb mistakes, bad luck, and a lid on the basket in the 4th quarter that cost Dallas the win. Josh Howard's inbound turnover was the most blatant mistake, but I can't help but also think of Brandon Bass going in for a dunk at the end of the 3rd quarter when there wasn't enough time instead of pulling up for a short jumper as another costly mistake. As for bad luck, there was getting the rebound with 14 seconds left but not being able to retain possession due to Terry heading out of bounds and Terry's shot rimming out at the end. As for missed shots, that's an easy one. Dallas shot 49% FG through 3 quarters and just 6-22 FG in the 4th quarter. They also turned the ball over 6 times in the 4th. Dallas' missed shots in the 4th got ridiculous during that 5 minute stretch that included 2 missed layups as well as some high percentage shots from Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard - when Nowitzki hit a shot to end the drought, my feeling wasn't elation of Dallas tying the game but one of "FINALLY!". As for the final stats, Orlando shot just 38.8% (33-85) FG including 9-25 3-pointers and Dallas shot 43.7% (38-87) FG including 5-16 3-pointers. Orlando really won the game at the line where they shot 27-37 FT while Dallas shot 19-23 FT [I'm not complaining about the officiating: it seemed fine and balanced too me (sure, missed calls here and there, but nothing lopsided)]. Dallas out-rebounded Orlando 54-47 including 16-15 offensive. Dallas had 18 turnovers and Orlando had 13 turnovers. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak by Orlando in Dallas - their previous win came in February, 1998. Both teams had strong performances from a number of players. It was all the starters for Orlando as they got just 8 points off the bench. Rashard Lewis led the way with 23 points including 9-10 FT and 4 steals. Mickael Pietrus had some killer 3-pointers in the game. He finished with 20 points including 5-7 3-pointers (his only made field goals were 3s) and 9 rebounds. Jameer Nelson went nuts in the game and it seemed like he had a lot more than just 21 points. Dwight Howard had a fairly quiet night with just 18 points including 6-12 FT (I think he split his free throws on each trip to the line) and 13 rebounds including 8 offensive - sounds like impressive numbers, but nothing exciting for him (he had 30 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 blocks in Orlando's previous game). Hedo Turkoglu battled foul trouble and had 12 points and 5 rebounds before fouling out with 2 minutes left. Anthony Johnson only shot 1-8 FG, but had half of Orlando's assists with 6. Courtney Lee had 5 points in 10 minutes. Tony Battie had 1 point and 5 rebounds in 15 minutes and Keith Bogans missed 3 3-pointers and had 5 rebounds in 23 minutes. Dallas also had 3 players with 20+ points. Josh Howard had 25 points including 10-14 FT and 9 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and 6 rebounds. And Jason Terry had 20 points on 9-23 FG and 3 steals. Terry did not start as Rick Carlisle went with Gerald Green as the starting 2-guard - don't know if it was Carlisle wanting more punch off the bench or a taller starting 2-guard (Pietrus is 6-6). Jason Kidd had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, but fouled out of the game with 10 seconds left. He also had 6 turnovers (and a few of them were bad ones - simple throw aways). After 2 strong games, Erick Dampier had a fairly quiet night with 4 points and 9 rebounds, though he did a decent job of defending Dwight Howard [though Orlando was ignoring him on offense and his man was used to double-team]. Jerry Stackhouse and 2 points on 1-5 FG and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes. DeSagana Diop had 4 points including 1-5 FG and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes. Brandon Bass continues his slump with just 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 fouls in 13 minutes. Both teams played just 9 players. Quotes Stan Van Gundy: "We didn't do much well. What we did was hang in there and made plays at the end. To get this win says a lot about our team. I'm as proud as I've been of them all year. This was outstanding, even though if you look on paper we didn't play very well." Van Gundy: "We just hung in there and kept fighting and we made some plays at the end and it was great. It's a great win when you can shoot 38% on the road against a good team and get a win. I think it says a lot about your team." Van Gundy: "I was proud of them. If you look at it the numbers, we didn't do much, but what we did great is that we just hung in there." Van Gundy on Dampier's and Diop's defense on Howard: "I don't think any other team can run 2 guys with that size and that defensive ability at him. Most nights what he sees is people have got to load up on him with 3 or 4 guys. He doesn't get pushed around." Rashard Lewis: "Everyone stepped up offensively and a lot of guys made big defensive plays." Mickael Pietrus: "Somehow we got it done. We didn't play very well, and we have to get better. But a win is a win." Jammer Nelson on Dallas having the advantage in most of the stats: "We didn't do anything but get the win. That's all that counts." Nelson: "We didn't do nothing but win this game. It's all that matters. That game right there goes in the Ws." Nelson on Howard's inbound going right to him: "I appreciated the gift." Rick Carlisle: "You've just got to draw a line in the sand and decide to get over the hump somehow. We were just about there and it didn't happen. I thought we played well and battled and all that, but there's no moral victory after this." Carlisle: "We were just about there and it didn't happen. We were right there." Carlisle on Howard's inbound turnover near the end: "It was a turnover. I'll take the blame for it. I'll take the blame because I'm the coach and when you throw it to the other team, I'll take the blame for that." Carlisle on Dampier over the past few games: "He's been tremendous. He's been a warrior. He's been a big part of our stretches of high level play." Dirk Nowitzki: "I guess once you're in a funk, everything else seems to go against you. I think once we get a win, the bounces will go our way. Losing streaks are never fun to go through, but it's better to go through it in November than January or later." Nowitzki: "I guess once you're in a funk, just everything else seems to go against you. We have to battle ourselves to that first win. I think once we get the win, the bounces will go our way. But I think to get that first win is going to be tough." Nowitzki: "We're up one, we had the rebound, unfortunately stepped out of bounds giving them a chance. We had a tie again and just threw the ball away. So just didn't execute great down the stretch. To get out of a losing streak, you have to do everything right down the stretch." Josh Howard: "We have to stay positive and keep playing." Howard on his inbound turnover: "It was a tough play. We can correct it. We've got to turn the page and get ready. We fought hard throughout the whole game. And that's what we need to base this off of." Jason Terry: "You better get us now when we're going through what we're going through. We will get this win. And once we get it, we're going to be a heck of a team. You can see the potential is there. Just get one. Then watch out." Orlando Magic 102, Dallas Mavericks 100 at Dallas (November 14) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Orlando 17 29 26 30 - 102 .400 .360 .388 .730 Dallas 21 35 24 20 - 100 .465 .313 .437 .826 Halftime: Dallas 56-46 3rd Q: Dallas 80-72 Technicals: Erick Dampier 0:26 3rd, Rashard Lewis (Orl) 9:04 4th Refs: Jim Clark, Ed F. Rush, Tommy Nunez Jr. Attendance: 20,085 (sellout) IL: Orlando - Adonal Foyle Jeremy Richardson, Mike Wilks Dallas - Devean George, Shawne Williams Orlando Magic REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Hedo Turkoglu 28 4-10 1-2 3-4 12 1-5 1 1 6 1 1 Rashard Lewis 39 6-14 2-7 9-10 23 2-9 0 3 4 4 1 Dwight Howard 42 6-14 0-0 6-12 18 8-13 2 2 2 1 2 Mickael Pietrus 35 5-12 5-7 5-5 20 2-9 1 1 3 0 1 Jameer Nelson 30 9-18 0-3 3-4 21 0-1 2 2 4 1 0 Anthony Johnson 18 1-8 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 6 2 0 0 0 Courtney Lee 10 2-5 1-3 0-0 5 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Tony Battie 15 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 1-5 0 1 1 0 2 Keith Bogans 23 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 1-5 0 1 0 2 0 Totals 48 33-85 9-25 27-37 102 15-47 12 13 21 9 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 38 7-15 1-4 10-14 25 3-9 2 3 2 2 1 Dirk Nowitzki 35 10-18 1-1 3-3 24 3-6 1 0 5 1 0 Erick Dampier 25 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 4-9 2 3 1 0 1 Gerald Green 13 0-2 0-1 2-2 2 1-5 0 0 1 0 0 Jason Kidd 39 5-9 1-3 2-2 13 1-7 6 6 6 2 1 Jason Terry 35 9-23 2-7 0-0 20 1-4 3 2 1 3 1 Jerry Stackhouse 19 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 1-4 2 1 0 1 0 DeSagana Diop 23 1-5 0-0 2-2 4 2-8 1 0 2 2 1 Brandon Bass 13 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 0 1 4 0 0 Totals 48 38-87 5-16 19-23 100 16-54 17 18 22 11 5 patricia