On Friday the Mavs reduced their roster to 12 active players by releasing Khalid Reeves and placing Erick Strickland on IR with a strained right groin. The Mavs' contract talks with Samaki Walker are off. At last report, the two sides were $20 million apart with the Mavs offering a 4 year, $20 million contract and Walker's agent asking for a 4 year, $40 million contract. The Mavs are apparently going to allow Samaki to become a free agent this summer and see what the market value for him is going to be. Teams have until March 13 to sign first round draft picks in their 3rd year to contract extensions. BTW, speaking of contracts, since the Mavs re-signed him (even though it was a one year, minimum contract) the Mavs still do have the Larry Bird rights for Cedric Ceballos. [Which would allow the team to re-sign him, if they wish, to a contract next summer without being restricted by however much they are under the cap.] The road trip from hell continues. The 7 game road trip ties the team's longest road trip ever and is the longest by any team this season. In 87-88, the Mavs went 4-3 on the road from December 13 - 23. With one game left, the Mavs are merely 1-5 on this trip. Dallas at LA Lakers (February 17) The Mavs went to LA and had their normal crappy game against the Lakers. The sad thing was the Mavs had a very good chance to build a solid lead in the 1st quarter, but did not take advantage of it. The Lakers were playing poorly, but the Mavs couldn't hit their free throws. The Lakers led 24-20 after 1. The Mavs shot a pathetic 4-12 FT in the quarter. Then came the 2nd quarter. The Lakers found their game and the Mavs continued to struggle. The Lakers led 31-26 with 8 minutes left in the quarter and proceeded to bury the Mavs with a 21-7 run (which included 7 consecutive Dallas missed field goals at one point) to pull away 52-33 with 2:30 remaining. The Lakers led 73-53 at the half. The blowout continued in the 3rd and the Lakers led 84-63 after 3. The Lakers led 96-75 with 5 minutes to go when the Mavs made one last push for the game. Dallas pulled within 12 points after scoring 9 consecutive points. Kobe Bryant was re-inserted and the Mavs could get no closer. The Lakers won 101-88. Shawn Bradley sprained his right ankle midway through the 4th, but it wasn't serious as he was able to play in the next game. It was strange seeing Derek Harper in gold. The Mavs apparently did not listen to Don Nelson as his strategy was to foul Shaquille O'Neal when he got the ball inside. O'Neal only shot 6 free throws in the game. Quotes Del Harris: "We're glad to get the win. We did some good things for three quarters, then kind of played fat-cat ball in the last quarter. It happens sometimes with a 25 point lead, but you never like it." Shaquille O'Neal: "Nobody's an even match on me down there. I don't care who it is. One-on-one, that's my rent money down there. I can't let anybody take my rent money." Eddie Jones: "We did some good things. But we did a lot of bad things there at the end. We're a team that should have finished them off and won the game by 30." Don Nelson: ""It was a pretty disappointing first half. We just don't have enough players playing well enough. A lot of the players on the team need to upgrade their game. That's it in a nutshell." Nelson: "We knew it was going to be a hard start out here on the road with this young team. We were prepared for it. I don't want them to get down. I think they need to do some soul searching. The Lakers are good, very good. Let's just hope they don't get Rodman." Steve Nash: "We're all new to each other. We're young and we really only had two weeks of practice. Getting thrown into the fire like this, we're not really prepared for the adversity that we've faced so far. We really don't know each other in this room so we're still trying to find ourselves." Los Angeles Lakers 101, Dallas Mavericks 88 at Los Angeles (February 17) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% LA Lakers 24 29 31 17 - 101 .473 .333 .453 .731 Dallas 20 17 26 25 - 88 .458 .333 .453 .500 Halftime: LA Lakers 53-37 3rd Q: LA Lakers 84-63 Technicals: none Refs: George Toliver, Hank Armstrong, Dan Crawford Attendance: 13,492 (cap 17,505) Did not play due to injury: Robert Horry (irregular heartbeat), Sam Jacobson (sprained finger), Tyronn Lue (back spasms) Los Angeles Lakers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kobe Bryant 31 8-15 0-0 7-8 23 1-9 4 3 2 1 0 Travis Knight 20 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-5 4 1 4 1 2 Shaquille O'Neal 27 10-15 0-0 4-6 24 3-12 2 2 1 1 2 Eddie Jones 33 9-14 1-2 1-2 20 1-2 3 0 0 2 1 Derek Fisher 27 5-14 2-6 0-0 12 0-5 6 3 0 2 1 Corie Blount 20 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 4-6 0 0 3 0 0 Rick Fox 29 1-8 0-1 0-0 2 0-0 5 2 3 1 0 Derek Harper 21 3-6 1-3 2-2 9 0-2 2 2 2 3 0 Elden Campbell 17 1-6 0-0 2-4 4 2-7 0 1 2 0 0 Sean Rooks 12 0-2 0-0 3-4 3 0-0 0 2 1 0 1 Ruben Patterson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 39-86 4-12 19-26 101 11-48 27 17 18 11 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 24 2-10 0-0 3-4 7 2-4 3 1 2 0 1 Cedric Ceballos 28 5-9 0-0 1-4 11 3-8 1 0 0 1 1 A.C. Green 14 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 4 0 1 Michael Finley 28 6-13 0-0 0-0 12 0-0 2 2 1 2 0 Steve Nash 27 2-8 0-0 0-0 4 2-5 5 4 3 1 0 Shawn Bradley 15 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 1-5 2 0 1 1 5 Samaki Walker 19 4-6 0-0 1-4 9 0-3 0 2 3 0 0 Robert Pack 21 4-6 0-0 2-2 10 0-2 7 1 1 2 0 John Williams 10 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 2 0 0 Gary Trent 23 7-14 0-0 1-2 15 2-7 1 1 3 0 0 Erick Strickland 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 2 0 0 Chris Anstey 12 3-7 0-1 0-0 6 0-2 1 1 4 0 0 Hubert Davis 16 4-6 1-2 0-0 4 0-0 0 2 1 1 0 Totals 48 39-86 1-3 9-18 83 11-40 24 14 27 8 8 Dallas at Golden State (February 19) The Mavs returned to the site of their only win with hopes of dashing their 6 game losing streak. They started off well by pulling ahead 9-2 early in the quarter. But Golden State pulled even with a 9-4 run. The Mavs went ice cold and went scoreless over the last 3 minutes of the quarter. Golden State led 20-14 after 1. Dallas shot 5-20 FG in the quarter. Golden State was able to maintain and make a small increase on their lead and led 43-34 at the half. Golden State led 50-41 with 8 minutes left in the 3rd. The Mavs whittled away at Golden State's lead and the game was tied 60-60 with less than 1 minute left. Golden State led 64-62 after 3. Golden State scored the first 6 points of the 4th and led by 10 at 75-65 with 6:40 left. The Mavs scored the next 10 points as Golden State fell apart with 2 turnovers, 3 misses, and 2 missed free throws. The game was tied 75-75 with 3 minutes remaining. Dallas took the lead on a jumper by Gary Trent to put Dallas up 77-75 with 2:30 to go. The teams traded pairs of free throws. Michael Finley missed an outside jumper with 1:50 left. Chris Mills drained a 3-pointer to put Golden State up 80-79 with 1:40 remaining. Finley missed a jumper, but Jason Caffey missed inside with a minute left. Finley missed a 3-pointer, but Shawn Bradley got the rebound. The Mavs called timeout, but Finley missed a layup with 34 seconds left. Golden State ran the clock down and John Starks nailed short jumper with 11 seconds to go and Golden State up 82-79. The Mavs called timeout and advanced the ball to midcourt. Caffey intercepted the inbounds pass and took it in for the break away dunk and sealed the game. Golden State won 84-79. Quotes Chris Mills: "I hadn't shot the ball too much in the game. I felt really good before the ball even found me. I was already spotted up and I said, 'If the ball comes to me, I'm ready.' I knew John was going to find me. I enjoy taking shots like that. I have a lot of confidence that I could make those shots. I've been in those situations before." John Starks: "We call it a drag play. I come across the lane and I told [Erick Dampier] to set a pick to put pressure on Finley. I gave [Finley] a choice. He was going to take me or Chris. He decided to stop the ball. Me and Chris have played together. I know where he likes the ball." Cedric Ceballos: "I tried to get the ball to Gary. Maybe I should have thrown the ball a little harder, maybe he should have come to get it. It was a bad play on both of our parts. Jason Caffey made a great play on it, a risky play, but he made it. It takes away from being a terrible play because he made the steal." Ceballos on his poor offensive performance: "Once I started missing layups, then I knew I had problems. We had a chance. We just have to keep fighting." A.C. Green: "It's hard, because we should have won. It's been a long time since we've been in position to win a game, and to have that one handed away on a platter is very tough to accept." Shawn Bradley: "We had the run and got up by four. The momentum was going our way. The great steal at the end prevented us from getting a shot to tie. This is definitely the toughest loss of the year, it is for me. I can tell from Steve and Michael. I know the general feeling is pretty down because we played like we should have won." Golden State Warriors 84, Dallas Mavericks 79 at Golden State (February 19) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Golden State 20 23 21 20 - 84 .423 .182 .393 .632 Dallas 14 20 28 17 - 79 .333 .333 .333 .735 Halftime: Golden State 43-34 3rd Q: Golden State 64-62 Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 10:18 4th Refs: Bernie Fryer, Don Vaden, Dee Kantner Attendance: 11,432 (cap 19,200) Did not play due to injury: Adonal Foyle (sprained right ankle), Donyell Marshall (sprained left wrist) Golden State Warriors REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Caffey 24 2-7 0-0 2-4 6 1-2 0 0 2 2 0 Chris Mills 34 4-7 2-4 0-0 10 0-5 1 1 3 0 0 Erick Dampier 34 2-8 0-0 2-3 6 1-10 3 1 4 1 1 Tony Delk 23 4-14 0-1 1-1 9 0-1 1 1 4 0 0 John Starks 38 7-20 0-5 2-2 16 3-10 7 1 1 3 0 Bimbo Coles 27 3-9 0-1 2-3 8 1-1 7 2 4 1 1 Terry Cummings 24 3-8 0-0 0-2 6 1-7 3 1 3 1 0 Antwan Jamison 22 5-10 0-0 2-3 12 3-8 1 0 3 0 1 Felton Spencer 14 5-6 0-0 1-1 11 3-6 0 2 2 1 0 Totals 48 35-89 2-11 12-19 84 13-50 23 10 26 9 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK A.C. Green 20 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 0-7 1 1 0 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 13 1-5 0-1 2-2 4 0-1 1 1 0 0 1 Shawn Bradley 37 3-4 0-0 2-2 8 3-11 2 0 2 0 5 Michael Finley 40 4-19 0-2 11-16 19 3-8 4 1 1 1 1 Steve Nash 37 6-10 2-3 0-0 14 0-3 4 3 3 3 0 Chris Anstey 6 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Cedric Ceballos 15 0-7 0-0 0-2 0 0-5 0 2 2 0 1 Hubert Davis 16 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 1 0 0 0 Robert Pack 11 3-5 0-0 4-4 10 1-2 1 0 1 0 0 Gary Trent 30 7-13 0-0 4-4 18 3-9 1 2 5 0 1 Samaki Walker 15 1-5 0-0 2-4 4 1-3 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 26-78 2-6 25-34 79 11-50 15 12 17 4 9 Dallas at LA Clippers (February 20) It was a game of two teams that were playing very poorly facing each other - the unvictorious Clippers versus the one win Mavs (who had looked terrible over the last 5 games). Both teams looked at this game as a chance to end their losing streak. It was a close game in the 1st quarter with 5 ties and the Mavs with small leads. Dallas built up a 19-10 lead, but the Clipper scored the last 9 points of the quarter as Dallas went scoreless over 3 minutes and it was tied 19-19 after 1. The 2nd quarter remained close with Dallas maintaining a small lead throughout the quarter. The Mavs led 48-45 at the half. Michael Finley finally came out of his slump and had 17 solid points in the half. The Clippers pulled within 55-57 with 7 minutes left in the 3rd, but Dallas went on a 13-2 run (ignited by 2 3-pointers from Steve Nash) and the Mavs led 72-59 with 3:14 remaining. The Mavs led 78-65 after 3. The Clippers opened the 4th with an 11-2 run to pull within 76-80 with 9:12 to go. The Mavs took full advantage of the Clippers' defensive lapses in the middle to go on a 17-5 run and pull away at 97-81 with 3:15 left. The Clippers would double on the ball on the outside and the Mavs would pass to an open or semi-open player on the inside for the easy two (often Nash to Gary Trent - who had 13 points in the run). The Mavs [finally] won 105-90. Trent had 15 points in the 4th and all of Nash's points came in the 2nd half. Nelson shuffled his starting lineup by inserting Cedric Ceballos for the struggling Dirk Nowitzki. Samak Walker did not play, coach's decision. Shawn Bradley has looked good over the past several games (despite, excluding the Clipper game, most of the other Mavs looking bad). Quotes Don Nelson: "It feels like 10 pounds have been lifted from my shoulders. The longer losing streaks go, the more pressure everybody puts on themselves." Nelson: "We think that we can still be pretty darn good. We had a terrible schedule - 9 out of 11 on the road. That's hard on a young team." Nelson: "What this team needs is what Trent's bringing now. He's taking advantage of a great opportunity and is really making us play well. Nelson: "Nowitzki has been in a real struggle to make something happen, and we had to do something to change it. We basically went with veterans, because we wanted to get a win in the worst way." Nelson on not playing Samaki Walker: "It just can't be helped. I wanted to play guys that were being productive, and he's really struggled this year. It's not just statistics, it's the errors that are being made. So we wanted to limit those. We thought to give ourselves a chance to win tonight we had to limit that." Gary Trent: "I've been having some good fourth quarters lately. But the biggest thing is we finally, finally, finally got a win. I can't think of anything right now to describe it. I'm going to find a dictionary to put together some words to say how important it was to get a win." Trent: "I've got to take the ball because that's what keeps me going. I need to be active. If I'm not chasing the ball, I'm not moving around on the court and I'm stationary. And anybody who's stationary is easy to guard. So I've got to chase the ball." Trent: "I just go out and play hard and take what the defense gives me. They were zoning us and trying to half-court trap us and that left the middle open for 3-on-2 attacks. So we just executed our game plan." Cedric Ceballos: "We had a lot of movement, and that's what I live off of. The start gave us a lot of energy, and everybody kind of fed off that." Michael Finley: "I had some good looks and I didn't try to force anything. I took what the defense gave me, and I knocked down open shots when I had the opportunities." Finley: "My shot felt good. I felt comfortable. I was just feeding off my defense. I think this was long overdue for me." Finley: "It's important to finally get the monkey off our backs. As a team we've been struggling. To get a win is good to see a lot of smiles around the locker room." Darrick Martin: "We have to come out and get it in our minds that we're going to win this game. We just gotta find a way to win, it's the only thing that matters. We made a run, we got it down to four and we stopped making plays on the offensive end. We stopped making defensive stops and we didn't get rebounds. In crunch time, that's what this league is all about - making plays." Lamond Murray: "I don't like the way these guys didn't respond to the challenge. You see body language to the things that occur. These guys need to have more respect for one another. There is respect for the league, there should be that respect for one another." Dallas Mavericks 105, Los Angeles Clippers 90 at Los Angeles (February 20) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 19 29 30 27 - 105 .462 .231 .451 .692 LA Clippers 19 26 20 25 - 90 .479 .310 .452 .556 Halftime: Dallas 48-45 3rd Q: Dallas 78-65 Technicals: none Refs: Tommy Nunez, Terry Durham, Bill Kennedy Attendance: 10,946 (cap 16,021) Did not play due to injury: Sherman Douglas (strained left groin) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Cedric Ceballos 20 5-13 1-1 3-4 14 1-11 2 2 0 3 0 A.C. Green 15 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 2-5 2 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 32 4-6 0-0 0-2 8 3-6 1 0 4 1 4 Michael Finley 43 11-21 2-4 7-8 31 5-10 3 2 2 1 1 Steve Nash 35 4-9 2-6 1-1 11 1-2 6 0 2 1 0 Chris Anstey 16 1-7 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 1 2 0 0 Robert Pack 13 4-6 0-0 0-1 8 0-0 2 1 1 0 0 Gary Trent 32 10-16 0-0 7-10 27 4-16 3 3 5 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 9 0-4 0-1 0-0 0 0-3 0 1 1 0 2 Hubert Davis 16 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 46 41-91 5-13 18-26 105 17-54 19 10 20 7 7 Los Angeles Clippers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Maurice Taylor 34 5-10 0-0 1-3 11 1-4 0 2 3 0 1 Rodney Rogers 27 5-7 0-0 3-4 13 2-4 0 2 5 1 1 Michael Olowokandi 35 4-13 0-0 0-1 8 2-11 0 1 1 1 1 Lamond Murray 23 2-8 0-0 2-2 6 1-1 1 0 2 1 1 Darrick Martin 34 6-11 1-5 0-3 13 0-4 10 2 4 1 0 Eric Piatkowski 28 6-14 2-5 2-2 16 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Tyrone Nesby 24 3-9 1-2 0-1 7 1-5 1 1 3 1 1 Lorenzen Wright 17 3-6 0-0 2-2 8 0-5 1 2 4 1 1 Pooh Richardson 14 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 1-5 6 2 0 0 0 James Robinson 2 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Keith Closs 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 0 0 1 Totals 48 38-84 4-13 10-18 90 8-41 19 14 24 6 7 patricia