Houston at Dallas (February 11) Houston came to town and the Mavs continued their good play against good teams. Dirk Nowitzki started strong despite going against his idol Scottie Pippen and had 6 of the Mavs' first 8 points as Dallas opened an 8-2 lead. It started raining in Reunion as Houston drained 3 consecutive 3-pointers to take an 11-8 lead. The game stayed close the rest of the quarter with Houston still hitting from the outside and the Mavs playing well. Dallas led 29-28 after 1. Houston shot 6-7 3-pointers in the quarter. Nowitzki had 8 points and Michael Dickerson had 13 points including 3 3-pointers. The Mavs' good game came to an end to start the 2nd quarter as the Mavs went ice cold shooting 0-9 field goals to open the quarter and Houston took a 37-29 lead with 8:30 left. The Mavs slowly whittled away Houston's lead and Houston led 49-48 with 2:30 remaining. Cuttino Mobley drained a running half court 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Houston a 58-54 halftime lead. Robert Pack was the man for Dallas as he had 17 points in the half. Houston led 63-60 with 9:15 left in the 3rd when the Mavs again went cold with 4 straight misses and a turnover to allow Houston to score 8 consecutive points. Houston returned the favor with 3 misses, 2 missed free throws, and a turnover. Houston led 71-65 with 5 minutes left. The game remained close for the rest of the quarter with Houston maintaining about a 4 point lead. Houston led 79-75 after 3. Two Hubert Davis' free throws pulled Dallas to within one point at 80-81 with 9:40 left. After a Pack jumper, Houston went on a 10-2 run to go up 97-86 with 2 minutes left as the Mavs went 1-8 FG (including 3 misses on one possession) and committed 4 turnovers. The Mavs were unable to get closer than 8 points in the last 2 minutes. The game was capped by a half court from the hip hook shot by Pippen that hit nothing but the bottom of the net at the buzzer. Houston won 105-93. The Mavs shot a lousy 39.8% FG while Houston lit it up for 50.7% FG - with a lot of those coming from the outside. The Mavs' game plan involved letting Houston take the outside shots and since they were making them (10-17 3-pointers), the Mavs lost. Dirk Nowitzki started strong, but disappeared after the first quarter. Steve Nash and Michael Finley are still struggling. Robert Pack was the man in this game. He finished with 31 points and Houston's guards could not handle him. For Houston, the big 3 weren't that big in this game. Michael Dickerson led the way with 21 points including 4-5 3-pointers. He took everything the Mavs gave him. Charles Barkley had a solid game with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Scottie Pippen had 16 points and 9 rebounds and Hakeem Olajuwon's presence was hardly felt as he had only 8 points and 6 rebounds. Rudy Tomjanovich: "I'm really happy with our team's defense. Here is a tremendously explosive running team in Dallas, and we held them to 6 points on the fast break. That helps you win on the road." Don Nelson: "Youth is the reason. We don't execute the way the veteran teams do down the stretch." Nelson: "We have some players that aren't playing very well. We've got to get their rhythm back and get them playing the way they're capable of playing." Nelson: "[Nash is] my starting guard. I'm not going to change that. But Pack was sensational tonight. He's playing the way he's capable of playing. He's just going to be a great backup." Robert Pack: "I definitely wanted to force the action a little bit. I felt like I could get to the paint and make things happen, and fortunately the shots were going down for me." Steve Nash: "This is brutal, unbelievable. I'm beleaguered, bewildered. I've never been in a slump like this. I'm just going to have to stay positive. It's going to make me a better player and a better person when I get through this, because it's hard to sleep at night, and it's frustrating all day long." Houston Rockets 105, Dallas Mavericks 95 at Dallas (February 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Houston 28 30 21 26 - 105 .482 .588 .507 .618 Dallas 29 25 21 20 - 95 .405 .333 .398 .867 Halftime: Houston 58-54 3rd Q: Houston 79-75 Dallas' largest lead: 8-2 10:28 1st Dallas' last lead: 82-81 9:40 4th Houston's largest lead: 71-60 7:21 3rd Lead changes: 13 Technicals: Don Nelson 1:51 3rd, Dallas Illegal D 2:44 4th Refs: Bernie Fryer, Derrick Stafford, Derek Richardson Attendance: 18,121 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Matt Maloney (separated right shoulder) Houston Rockets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Charles Barkley 34 4-9 0-0 8-10 16 6-15 6 4 0 0 0 Scoti Pippen 42 6-16 3-5 1-4 16 1-9 2 1 2 2 2 Hakeem Olajuwon 32 3-8 0-0 2-4 8 0-6 1 2 4 0 3 Michael Dickerson 41 8-13 4-5 1-3 21 1-3 2 2 3 2 0 Brent Price 15 3-4 2-3 0-0 8 1-1 2 0 4 0 0 Othella Harrington 18 6-7 0-0 1-2 13 2-2 0 0 3 0 0 Bryce Drew 17 2-3 0-1 1-1 5 0-0 0 4 4 1 1 Stanley Roberts 11 3-5 0-0 4-6 10 2-3 0 1 1 0 1 Cuttino Mobley 24 2-8 1-3 3-4 8 0-1 0 1 2 0 1 Matt Bullard 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-73 10-17 21-34 105 13-42 13 16 23 5 8 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 24 3-9 1-1 1-1 8 1-5 0 3 0 0 2 A.C. Green 17 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 3-6 0 0 1 0 0 Shawn Bradley 29 4-4 0-0 2-2 10 1-8 1 0 2 2 3 Michael Finley 39 4-14 0-4 7-8 15 2-4 4 1 3 2 0 Steve Nash 11 1-6 0-1 0-0 2 1-1 1 0 0 1 0 Robert Pack 37 11-20 0-0 9-11 31 0-0 3 4 5 2 0 Samaki Walker 19 2-8 0-0 2-2 6 2-5 0 0 2 0 0 Hubert Davis 14 1-3 1-1 2-2 5 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 Chris Anstey 3 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Cedric Ceballos 24 3-7 1-2 3-4 10 1-2 0 1 3 0 0 Gary Trent 4 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 John Williams 19 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 3-7 1 1 3 2 0 Totals 48 33-83 3-9 26-30 95 14-41 10 12 21 9 5 Dallas at Denver (February 12) The Mavs continue to show that they get up for the big teams and just go through the motions for the lower tier teams. And this time it cost them. It was an ugly, ugly game. The first quarter started with neither team being able to score much. Denver led 7-6 after 3 1/2 minutes of play. A 3-pointer by Steve Nash gave Dallas an 11-10 lead half way through the quarter and the game stayed close the rest of the way. It was tied 22-22 after 1. Antonio McDyess had 12 points and Michael Finley had 8 points. Then came the 2nd quarter. The Mavs stayed on the outside where they weren't hitting much and Denver went inside and scored a bunch. Denver led 28-26 and went on a 23 to 8 run capped by a 3-pointer by Nick Van Exel to give Denver a 51-34 point lead with 2:35 left. Finley hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left, but Bryant Stith answered with a 3 pointer with less than a second remaining. Denver led 55-40 at the half. The Mavs missed 13 shots in the 2nd quarter. Denver out-scored Dallas 22-2 in the paint in the first half. Denver continued their run in the 3rd quarter and built up a 65-44 lead with 8:34 left and led comfortably most of the rest of the quarter. But the Mavs came back at the end of the quarter with Erick Strickland, Hubert Davis, and Shawn Bradley leading the way and they scored the last 9 points of the quarter. Denver led 76-66 after 3. Denver built up their lead again and led 94-78 with 5:03 remaining. The Mavs responded with a strong rally as Denver went ice cold missing their next 6 shots. 2 layups by Finley and a 3-pointer by Davis pulled Dallas to within 85-94 with 2 minutes left. Cedric Ceballos hit his first free throw with 1 minute remaining, but missed the second. He got the rebound, but missed the layup. Bradley made a layup with 40 seconds left and Denver led 94-88. Van Exel made 1 of 2 free throws with 30 seconds left. Nash missed a 3-pointer, but A.C. Green got the rebound and Nash hit the 3 on his second attempt with 19 seconds left. The Mavs immediately fouled Chauncey Billups and he made both free throws with 16.6 seconds left. Strickland drained the quick 3-pointer and Billups was again fouled. He made both free throws and Denver led 99-94 with 10 seconds left. Nash missed a layup and Raef LaFrentz concluded the scoring by hit 1 of 2 free throws. Denver won 100-94. Michael Finley finally came out of his slump, but no one else had a really good game. Finley had 28 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Erick Strickland was key to the Mavs rally with his energy and he had 11 points and 6 rebounds in the 2nd half. Steve Nash is still struggling and Cedric Ceballos had a poor game. Shawn Bradley, as I expected, helped with the rally with his intimidating height and I was wondering why Nelson didn't play him in the first half - young teams usually have problems with him. Samaki Walker has yet to look good in a game. If he gets the ball in the post, he's not going to pass it out and other teams now know that and send a double team at him. All of Dirk Nowitzki's 8 points came in the 1st quarter. For Denver, Nick Van Exel came out of his shooting slump and had 27 points including 4-7 FG and 6 assists. Raef LaFrentz looked good (despite his 4-12 FG) and hit a couple of shots over Bradley. He had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Antonio McDyess also had a solid game with 23 points including 9-13 FG. Quotes Mike D'Antonio: "No one said this was going to be easy. It was a good win for us. We had to have it. Our guys responded well. It's nice to get a win. At least I can get one night's sleep." Nick Van Exel: "I got some good looks and just knocked them down. This was a must-win. We've got some pretty good teams coming up. I can't deny being a streaky shooter but hopefully all of the work I did this summer will help me." Antonio McDyess: "It was pretty fun until the fourth quarter. It got kind of tense and it almost slipped away from us. The guys did a good job and battled tonight. I don't know what our attitude would have been like if we lost." Don Nelson: "Our game plan before the game was not very good and we had to make a change. It almost worked. Strickland was a well needed piece to our game. He got rebounds and gave us some energy." Nelson: "I'm real proud of the way the team fired back. We almost got back into the thing. But it's too bad we had to do that." Michael Finley: "We just didn't come out with the intensity we needed to. If we would have played the way we had our first 4 games, we would have won this game easily. Hopefully we'll leave this attitude in Denver and when we get on the plane maybe we will get something positive out of it." Finley: "I don't know if we took them lightly or what, but if it happens again, I'll be upset. Steve Nash: "This is not what I had in mind to start the road trip. We have to put it behind us and go, but I'm getting tired of saying that." Denver Nuggets 100, Dallas Mavericks 94 at Denver (February 12) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Denver 22 33 21 24 - 100 .481 .250 .410 .811 Dallas 22 18 26 28 - 94 .478 .222 .404 .667 Halftime: Denver 55-40 3rd Q: Denver 76-66 Dallas' largest and last lead: 24-22 11:37 2nd Denver's largest lead: 65-44 8:34 3rd Lead changes: 10 Technicals: None Refs: Kevin Fehr, Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa Attendance: 10,012 (17,171) Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antonio McDyess 40 9-13 0-0 5-7 23 0-5 1 3 6 2 4 Bryant Stith 22 3-6 1-2 2-2 9 2-5 0 0 1 1 0 Raef LaFrentz 38 4-12 0-2 10-12 18 3-12 0 0 3 0 3 Nick Van_Exel 38 10-18 4-7 3-4 27 0-5 6 3 2 3 0 Chauncey Billups 32 2-11 1-8 6-8 11 2-3 5 4 4 0 0 Eric Williams 20 1-5 0-0 2-2 4 0-3 2 1 2 1 0 Danny Fortson 8 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 3-4 0 0 2 1 0 Cory Alexander 35 2-9 0-5 2-2 6 1-10 5 4 4 1 0 Keon Clark 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 32-78 6-24 30-37 100 12-49 19 16 26 9 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK A.C. Green 16 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 3-8 2 0 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 19 4-8 0-1 0-0 8 1-5 0 2 1 1 1 Chris Anstey 15 1-6 0-0 2-2 4 1-3 0 0 3 0 0 Steve Nash 33 4-16 2-9 0-0 10 2-2 9 4 2 1 0 Michael Finley 41 13-24 1-3 1-4 28 1-5 6 3 4 3 0 Gary Trent 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 0 2 1 0 Samaki Walker 6 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-4 0 0 2 0 0 Cedric Ceballos 25 3-9 0-4 2-3 8 2-6 1 1 1 1 0 Robert Pack 17 2-4 0-0 2-2 6 0-1 1 3 2 0 0 John Williams 7 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 1-1 1 0 0 0 1 Hubert Davis 21 2-8 1-5 0-0 5 0-0 2 0 0 1 0 Shawn Bradley 16 2-5 0-0 2-2 6 3-5 1 1 5 1 2 Erick Strickland 17 4-10 2-5 1-1 11 1-6 1 2 2 1 0 Totals 48 38-94 6-27 12-18 94 16-49 24 16 27 11 4 patricia