It turns out the Cedric Ceballos was right after all and both his wrists had fractures (initial diagnosis was that his right wrist was fractured and his left wrist was sprained). He underwent surgery last Monday on both wrists to have screws inserted to help repair fractures in the wrists. He will miss the rest of the season. It was a bizarre night last night as the Dallas-Phoenix game was delayed for 70 minutes while the maintenance crew tried to clean off an unknown slippery substance off the Reunion Arena court. The game finally started at 8:50 (after two 20 minute delays where the players went back to the locker room - and mucho thanks to whoever finally put the Seattle-Minnesota game on the jumbo tron during the delays). The game finally started at 8:50. Due to the floor condition, Don Nelson gave his players the option of not playing - and Robert Pack, who has been injured for significant parts of the past 4 seasons, took him up on the offer and did not play. I saw a couple of slippages in the 1st quarter on Phoenix's end of the court. The Mavs are offering two free tickets to the Phoenix game on April 20 (while available) for a ticket stub from this game [whether you did not use the ticket, left early, or stayed for the whole game]. The tickets can be redeemed by bringing your ticket stub from the game to the Reunion Arena boxoffice before March 31 and while tickets last. LA Clippers at Dallas (March 2) Dallas pulled ahead 12-4 early and actually built up a 20 point lead at 36-16 with 2 minutes left in the quarter. Dallas led 30-24 after 1. The Mavs were taking the ball inside and that resulted in the Mavs shooting 9-11 FT while the Clippers only shot 1-1 FT. As usual Dallas couldn't do it the easy way. The Clippers opened the 2nd quarter with a 12-1 to pull within 3 at 36-39 with 6:30 left. Dallas led 53-48 at the half. Dallas only shot 5-17 FG in the quarter. Dallas opened the 3rd by scoring the first 7 points to go up 60-48 with 9:45 remaining. The Mavs led 82-69 after 3. A.C. Green had 10 points and 8 rebounds in the quarter. Dallas built up a 17 point lead early in the 4th and led by double digits most of the rest of the way (the Clippers pulled within 9 with 50 seconds left). Dallas won 112-99. The Mavs shot 50% FG (50.6% - 40-79) for the first time this season. Shawn Bradley had a great game with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 blocks. For some reason, the Clippers kept taking the ball at Bradley and he just kept blocking them. Quotes Don Nelson: "Shawn Bradley played terrific, and for the first time this season we had all five starters in double figures, so I'm very pleased. Nelson: "Tonight, we give the game ball to A.C. Green. What a tremendous game he played. The 3rd quarter was a big quarter for us and he was really the main factor." Shawn Bradley: "I was just having fun blocking the shots. They kept coming at me and I kept blocking them." Michael Finley: "You don't want to be their first win, and you don't want to be part of history, so to speak. You just want to go out and destroy them." Finley: "We struggled early [in the season] to find our identity. Now we're establishing our roles and beating the teams that we should beat." Hubert Davis: "It felt good out there. I think everyone had really good looks, because everyone was unselfish. It's not a coincidence that everyone shoots well when they pass the ball." Chris Ford: "[Bradley] just stood there with that hand up and we continued to challenge him - for what reason, I don't know. I think it has been well documented that he can stand up there and just put his hands over his head and you can do all kinds of moves, but that hand is still going to be there when you go to release the ball." Dallas Mavericks 112, Los Angeles Clippers 99 at Dallas (March 2) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 38 15 29 30 - 112 .524 .438 .506 .781 LA Clippers 24 24 21 30 - 99 .432 .385 .425 .909 Halftime: Dallas 53-48 3rd Q: Dallas 82-69 LA Clippers never led Dallas' largest lead: 36-16 2:08 1st Technicals: none Refs: Jack Nies, George Toliver, Phil Robinson Attendance: 13,492 (cap 18,042) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 45 5-14 1-3 9-11 20 1-5 9 0 2 1 0 A.C. Green 27 8-10 0-0 3-6 19 7-12 1 2 2 0 1 Shawn Bradley 28 4-6 0-0 2-2 10 1-7 1 0 4 1 9 Steve Nash 30 6-10 4-6 0-0 16 2-3 4 3 1 0 0 Hubert Davis 38 6-14 2-6 4-4 18 1-6 3 0 1 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 5 2-3 0-1 2-2 6 0-2 1 0 3 0 0 Robert Pack 31 2-9 0-0 3-3 7 0-2 5 2 3 2 0 Gary Trent 29 7-12 0-0 2-4 16 2-4 2 0 3 1 1 Samaki Walker 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 40-79 7-16 25-32 112 14-42 26 7 21 5 11 Los Angeles Clippers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Lamond Murray 15 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-2 0 1 2 0 0 Maurice Taylor 39 5-17 0-1 8-9 18 9-14 4 3 3 0 0 Lorenzen Wright 21 2-7 0-0 0-0 4 4-7 2 2 3 0 1 Sherman Douglas 30 3-8 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 5 0 0 0 0 Eric Piatkowski 14 2-2 0-0 1-1 5 0-3 0 0 2 0 0 Rodney Rogers 32 6-14 1-3 0-0 13 2-7 3 0 3 3 1 Tyrone Nesby 33 4-8 1-3 4-4 13 1-4 1 1 3 1 1 James Robinson 19 4-8 2-2 2-2 12 0-0 3 2 3 0 0 Brian Skinner 5 2-3 0-0 1-1 5 2-2 0 0 1 0 0 Darrick Martin 22 5-8 0-1 4-5 14 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 Charles Smith 10 2-8 1-3 0-0 5 0-2 0 1 1 1 0 Totals 48 37-87 5-13 20-22 99 18-43 19 13 23 5 3 San Antonio at Dallas (March 4) It was a close 1st quarter with 3 ties and 8 lead changes. The game was tied at 14-14 with 4:15 left. San Antonio closed the quarter with a 13-2 run to go up 27-16 after 1. The Mavs missed 4 shots and committed 3 turnovers during the Spurs' run. Tim Duncan had 12 points in the quarter. San Antonio led 33-22 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter. Dallas went on an 11-2 run to pull within 2 at 33-35 with 5 minutes left. The game remained close the rest of the half. San Antonio led 45-39 at the half. Gary Trent had 10 points in the 2nd quarter. The Spurs opened the 3rd by scoring the first 6 points. San Antonio led 55-47 with 5:30 to go and then scored the next 7 points to take a 15 points lead with 4:15 left. San Antonio led 72-57 after 3. The Mavs weren't able to make it a game in the 4th as the Spurs maintained a double-digit lead the entire quarter - and even had 21 point leads twice. San Antonio won 95-79. The Spurs out-scored Dallas 42-20 in the paint. The twin towers did their job. Tim Duncan had 26 points and 12 rebounds and David Robinson had 20 points including 7-8 FG and 8 rebounds. Quotes Gregg Popovich: "[Duncan and Robinson] are starting to look like they looked together last year after the first quarter of the season. It is something we need because the offense is based around them. They did an excellent job, not just offensively but defensively." Popovich: "Dallas is a dangerous team because they can get on a roll with the transition game that they play, and I thought we picked up really well throughout the game." Popovich: "Offensively in the second half we executed really well and got a lot of good shots. We played with a lot of emotion and with some good offensive execution." Tim Duncan: "We've been struggling early, so we need to string a few wins together to get our confidence going." David Robinson: "Tim and I were able to do some of the things we did last year. We were able to get the ball inside and take advantage of our size. We're only at .500, so we have a long way to go. We need to get our consistency back and build our confidence." Steve Kerr: "Jaren played really well. He was struggling early in the season and now he's really starting to shoot the ball." Don Nelson: "They made us look bad tonight. They dominated us inside. It looks like they have things rolling. Whatever we did, they countered." Nelson: "They are playing at their capabilities and we caught them at the wrong time." Nelson: "We had to shoot the ball well and we didn't. As a result, they dominated up. They dictated the tempo. We played hard. We just didn't do enough good things to stay in the game." Robert Pack: "Tonight, it was tough for us to handle their inside game. They played very well tonight and it was tough. We tried our best and it just didn't work out." Michael Finley: "We didn't come out with the intensity that we needed to in order to beat this team. So to measure ourselves after losing to this team would be unfair." Robert Pack: "We weren't able to get over that hump. We played them well in the 2nd quarter and kept it close, but in the 3rd quarter it got away from us." Pack: "They were making it tough for us to score on the inside. That is there game." San Antonio Spurs 95, Dallas Mavericks 79 at Dallas (March 4) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 27 18 27 23 - 95 .542 .267 .486 .826 Dallas 16 23 18 22 - 79 .462 .182 .421 .765 Halftime: San Antonio 45-39 3rd Q: San Antonio 72-57 Dallas' largest and last lead: 14-12 4:36 1st San Antonio's largest lead: 92-71 3:14 4th Lead changes: 8 Technicals: none Refs: Hugh Evans, Luis Grillo, Tony Brothers Attendance: 14,719 (cap 18,042) Did not play due to injury: Mario Elie (left hamstring injury) San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Sean Elliott 21 3-7 0-1 0-0 6 1-5 0 1 2 0 0 Tim Duncan 38 9-16 0-1 8-10 26 2-12 1 1 2 0 1 David Robinson 32 7-8 0-0 6-7 20 3-8 1 3 3 2 1 Avery Johnson 33 2-5 0-1 0-0 4 0-4 10 2 2 1 1 Jaren Jackson 27 5-10 2-5 4-4 16 1-2 1 0 1 3 0 Steve Kerr 22 2-7 2-4 0-0 6 0-0 0 1 0 2 0 Will Perdue 22 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 1-4 0 3 3 0 0 Jerome Kersey 22 2-8 0-1 0-0 4 1-1 0 1 3 2 0 Anthony Daniels 15 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 3 1 1 0 0 Malik Rose 5 2-4 0-0 1-2 5 2-5 0 1 0 0 0 Andrew Gaze 3 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 36-74 4-15 19-23 95 11-43 16 15 18 10 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 40 4-11 0-3 3-4 11 1-3 6 4 0 0 0 A.C. Green 17 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 1-5 0 0 2 1 1 Shawn Bradley 15 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 0 0 4 0 0 Steve Nash 23 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-3 1 2 1 0 0 Hubert Davis 25 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0-2 1 0 2 1 0 Gary Trent 28 7-14 0-1 0-0 14 4-5 0 1 1 0 1 John Williams 13 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2-4 0 0 1 0 1 Robert Pack 24 4-9 0-0 1-2 9 0-1 5 6 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 26 4-11 1-3 2-3 11 1-6 1 3 4 1 2 Samaki Walker 20 3-4 0-0 4-4 10 1-1 0 1 2 1 0 Erick Strickland 5 1-4 1-2 0-0 3 1-2 0 0 0 1 0 Chris Anstey 4 1-1 0-0 3-4 5 1-2 1 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 32-76 2-11 13-17 79 12-36 15 18 22 6 5 Dallas at Utah (March 5) It was a close 1st quarter. Utah held a small 6 point lead with 7:32 left, but Dallas scored the next 5 points. Utah led 18-15 with 3:15 to go and closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to go up 27-17 after 1. Dallas pulled within 7 twice in the 2nd quarter, but the Jazz wouldn't let them get closer. Utah led 54-42 at the half. It was a free throw shooting contest. Utah shot 15-19 and Dallas shot 13-16 FT in the 2nd quarter. Michael Finley had 19 points and Karl Malone had 13 points in the half. Utah maintained a double-digit lead through out the 3rd quarter and led 84-66 after 3. Utah seemed comfortably ahead in the 4th. They led 94-76 with 5 minutes remaining. The Mavs press with Chris Anstey bothering the Utah guards seemed to bother Utah and Dallas started to rally back. Dallas went on an 11-0 run to pull within 7 points at 87-94 with 3 minutes left as Utah committed 3 turnovers. Utah scored the next 4 points. Finley hit a 3-pointer, but Dallas could get no closer. Utah won 106-95. Quotes Phil Johnson on Jerry Sloan, who was not at the game due to recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery: "I imagine he's a lot better now than when we were losing that lead. I imagine he probably threw the TV against the wall." Greg Ostertag: "It was a much closer game than last week but it shouldn't have been. We got lackadaisical there and the end with about 6 minutes to go and they put on a little run that never should have really happened." Jeff Hornacek: "We kind of slacked off in the 4th quarter and allowed them to get back in the game. They were running that crazy trap against us, and we may have been too tentative at times. But once we got through it, we had success." John Stockton: "We played well enough to win. It was a strange game, so we just tried to hang in there and run some semblance of an offense." Don Nelson: "We zone-trapped them a lot during the game and it was successful some of the time. We stayed with it and got back in the game. Finley did a great job and I thought Bradley was good again." Michael Finley: "We wanted to get them out of their comfort zone [in the 4th], and for the most part we did. We didn't let them run the things they usually do, but Stockton and Malone hooked up at the end. We let the game get away from us in the 3rd quarter." Shawn Bradley: "I don't know if you just keeping hustling and trying to work [Utah will] let you back in the game. But they'll also come back and finish it off." Utah Jazz 106, Dallas Mavericks 95 at Utah (March 5) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Utah 27 27 30 22 - 106 .525 .375 .507 .786 Dallas 17 25 24 29 - 95 .418 .267 .390 .730 Halftime: Utah 54-42 3rd Q: Utah 84-66 Dallas' largest lead: 4-2 10:06 1st Dallas' last lead: 13-12 6:19 1st Lead changes: 3 Utah's largest lead: 84-63 1:37 3rd Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 11:49 2nd, Dallas Illegal D 11:45 2nd, Shawn Bradley 10:35 2nd, Utah Illegal D 6:59 2nd, Dallas Illegal D 2:56 2nd, Greg Ostertag 0:14 2nd, Utah Illegal D 9:35 3rd, Utah Illegal D 2:02 3rd Refs: Eddie F. Rush, Bill Spooner, Violet Palmer Attendance: 19,539 (cap 19,911) Utah Jazz REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Bryon Russell 45 5-11 0-3 3-4 13 1-6 4 4 2 1 0 Karl Malone 40 12-20 0-0 6-9 30 2-9 5 2 4 3 0 Greg Ostertag 28 1-2 0-0 5-6 7 0-8 1 0 5 0 1 Jeff Hornacek 31 7-12 2-4 2-2 18 0-1 8 2 3 1 1 John Stockton 31 2-4 0-0 6-6 10 0-4 8 4 1 0 3 Howard Eisley 17 2-5 1-1 6-8 11 0-0 3 0 1 1 0 Shandon Anderson 11 2-5 0-0 1-3 5 0-0 1 0 1 1 1 Thurl Bailey 22 1-5 0-0 4-4 6 3-6 2 3 4 0 1 Adam Keefe 14 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 0-1 0 1 2 0 0 Todd Fuller 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-69 3-8 33-42 106 6-36 32 16 23 7 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Gary Trent 33 2-9 0-0 3-6 7 2-8 5 1 4 0 1 A.C. Green 27 2-7 0-0 0-0 4 2-6 1 0 0 1 0 Shawn Bradley 34 3-6 0-1 4-6 10 2-5 1 3 5 0 2 Michael Finley 37 11-19 2-4 5-6 29 3-8 3 2 2 3 0 Steve Nash 16 1-6 0-1 0-0 2 0-2 0 2 1 0 0 Robert Pack 18 1-7 0-1 5-6 7 0-1 4 2 4 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 24 4-9 0-2 2-3 10 3-4 1 1 4 2 0 Samaki Walker 19 3-5 0-0 2-4 8 4-6 0 2 6 0 1 Erick Strickland 9 2-6 1-4 2-2 7 0-4 1 0 0 1 0 Hubert Davis 16 3-7 1-2 2-2 9 0-1 2 1 2 1 0 Chris Anstey 7 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0-1 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 32-82 4-15 27-37 95 16-46 18 15 31 8 4 Dallas at Sacramento (March 7) It was an ugly 1st quarter as neither team was playing well and both had trouble shooting. The game was tied 12-12 with 4:30 left. Dallas closed the quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 19-14 lead after 1. Dallas shot 8-33 FG and Sacramento shot 7-22 FG. The Mavs led 23-16 1 minute into the 2nd quarter. Sacramento went on a 12-2 run to go up 28-25 with 7 minutes to go. It remained close the rest of the quarter. Sacramento led 46-41 at the half. It was also close in the 3rd quarter with the Kings never able to build more than a 7 point lead, until Jason Williams hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the quarter. Sacramento led 72-64 after 3. The Kings led by 10 points a minute into the 4th, but Dallas scored the next 5 points. Sacramento led 87-81 with 3:32 left. Dallas pulled within 3 after a Michael Finley free throw and an A.C. Green jumper with 2 minutes left. But Sacramento answered by scoring the next 5 points on 3 free throws and a Corliss Williamson jumper. The Kings led 92-84 with a minute left. Finley hit a jumper with 50 seconds remaining. Tariq Abdul-Wahad committed a turnover, but stole the ball back and was fouled. He hit 1-2 FT with 30 seconds left. Hubert Davis drained a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to pulled the Mavs within 4, but Dallas could not score again. Sacramento won 94-89. Michael Finley fouled out at the end of the game. It was only the second time he has fouled out of a game - the first occurred during his rookie season. Quotes Rick Adelman: "It was an important win for us, especially after the win in Phoenix last night. So it was good to come back here and back it up with one tonight." Adelman: ""It just seemed like one of those games where it's like pulling teeth. You keep trying to open it up. But you can't seem to close it." Chris Webber: "We thought the first game was a fluke and we wanted to make sure we won this and every time we play them. You aren't going to beat them pretty because they execute and they'll stay in most of the way against you." Don Nelson: "I thought we competed really hard and stayed right in it. It would have been a long shot, but I think we were close enough to really have a chance, and I thought it was a good game." Nelson on the team's shooting problems: "It's never been there. I've learned to live with it now. I don't know if it's just us, or the league." Hubert Davis: "I think it's safe to say that we're struggling because it's a difficult season. Not only do we have a lot of games, but I think that fans don't understand the value of a practice. We just don't have an opportunity to do that. You've got to rest or you're going to die during the game. Look around the league. Everybody's shooting percentages have gone down due to the lack of practices." Gary Trent: "I shot terrible and I'm usually in the paint. There's nothing you can do about it. Some nights it's going to fall and some nights it ain't." Trent: "They get a lot of notoriety with their fancy passing and all, but it's the wins that count. They are a .500 team right now; I wish we were." Sacramento Kings 94, Dallas Mavericks 89 at Sacramento (March 7) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Sacramento 14 32 26 22 - 94 .557 .222 .481 .483 Dallas 19 22 23 25 - 89 .400 .273 .385 .667 Halftime: Sacramento 46-41 3rd Q: Sacramento 72-64 Dallas' largest lead: 23-16 10:41 2nd Dallas' last lead: 35-34 3:40 2nd Sacramento's largest lead: 75-65 11:02 4th Lead changes: 9 Technicals: Rick Adelman 4:34 1st, Vlade Divac 5:48 4th, Shawn Bradley 5:48 4th, Dallas Illegal D 1:43 4th Refs: Ronnie Nunn, Greg Willard, Bill Kennedy Attendance: 14,715 (cap 17,317) Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Chris Webber 41 8-13 0-0 2-8 18 4-13 7 2 4 1 4 Corliss Williamson 31 7-12 0-0 1-4 15 2-5 2 3 2 0 1 Vlade Divac 35 5-8 0-0 2-2 12 1-8 1 4 3 1 2 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 20 3-9 0-0 3-6 9 3-5 0 3 3 2 1 Jason Williams 32 5-11 2-6 1-1 13 0-3 5 1 3 1 0 Jon Barry 16 1-6 0-5 2-2 4 1-4 2 0 0 0 0 Lawrence Funderburke 19 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 2-5 1 0 0 0 1 Michael Hawkins 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Vernon Maxwell 29 4-8 2-4 1-4 11 0-1 4 0 4 2 0 Predrag Stojakovic 16 3-8 0-3 2-2 8 1-2 1 0 2 0 1 Totals 48 38-79 4-18 14-29 94 14-46 23 13 21 7 10 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK A.C. Green 31 6-16 0-1 0-1 12 6-11 1 1 3 1 0 Gary Trent 45 8-19 0-1 2-2 18 7-14 3 1 1 2 0 Shawn Bradley 21 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 5-7 0 1 5 0 4 Michael Finley 43 7-19 1-4 3-6 18 0-8 6 5 6 1 0 Steve Nash 25 2-9 1-3 3-3 8 1-2 7 2 2 1 0 Hubert Davis 26 8-11 1-1 0-0 17 0-1 0 2 1 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 12 0-3 0-1 2-2 2 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Robert Pack 8 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Samaki Walker 20 3-8 0-0 2-4 8 1-3 0 1 3 0 0 John Williams 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 0 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 37-96 3-11 12-18 89 21-50 17 14 25 5 4 Phoenix at Dallas (March 9) After the game finally started, the players were a little hesitant at the start of the game, but soon got over their concern about the floor. It was a game of rallies. Phoenix opened the game by scoring the first 6 points of the game, but Dallas finally decided to join the game and went on an 8-1 run. Dallas led 8-7 with 9 minutes left. Phoenix led 14-13 with 6:20 to go when Dallas scored the next 10 points to go up 23-14 with 3 minutes left. Dallas led 27-20 after 1. Dallas scored the first 6 points of the 2nd quarter to build a 13 point lead at 33-20 with 10:30 remaining. Phoenix answered with a huge 17-2 run as they shot 7-8 FG and Dallas only shot 1-7 FG during the run. Phoenix led 37-35 half way through the quarter. The game remained close the rest of the quarter. Phoenix led 51-47 at the half. Phoenix led 55-50 2 minutes into the 3rd when Dallas went on an 8-1 run to go up 58-56 with 7 minutes left. Dallas led 63-60 on a 3-pointer by Hubert Davis, but Phoenix scored the next 12 points to go up 72-63 with 2:30 to go as Dallas missed 4 consecutive shots. It was then Dallas' turn to rally as they closed the quarter by scoring the final 6 points of the quarter. Phoenix led 72-69 after 3. Phoenix led 80-77 with 8 minutes remaining and built up their lead to 8 points as the Mavs attempted a couple of stupid shots (a quick 3 attempt by Steve Nash and an outside jumper miss by Gary Trent). The Mavs pulled within 5 on a Nash 3-pointer at 84-89 with 4:45 left, but Clifford Robinson answered with a 3-pointer and Phoenix went on a 12-1 run to go up 101-85 with 1:30 left. Phoenix won 103-91. Clifford Robinson had 11 points in the 4th. Phoenix shot 4-5 3-pointers in the 4th. Dallas shot a pathetic 3-9 FT in the 4th. Quotes Ref Bennett Salvatore on the delay: "There was some type of film on the floor that simply made the floor slippery. We just didn't want to start the game until we were as sure as possible that the floor was safe. When we felt that the floor was safe enough, that's when we decided to go." Mavs president Terdema Ussery: "Obviously, we apologize to all our fans. We don't know quite what happened or why, but whatever happened, we take full responsibility for. And we want to make sure it never happens again." Ussery: ""There was a film on the floor and it wasn't condensation. I walked on the floor and almost fell down. Part of the problem is that the players were stepping in the compound and tracking it around. This is a strange one. We don't know what happened. Believe me, we are looking into it." Danny Ainge: "It looked like we were playing in our socks at first, but once the guys got [the floor] out of their head, they went ahead and played and didn't think about it much. Cliff was just huge. He does so many things for us." Ainge: "Just when they would start to make a run, Cliff or George or Jason would hit a 3-point shot and that kept us in the lead. Don Nelson: "We weren't as sharp as I'd hoped. I think somehow both teams looked reluctant to really give it 100% because of the floor. By the time the 2nd half rolled around and we figured the floor was okay and no one was going to get seriously hurt, the game picked up a little bit and we had a normal game. But I didn't feel in the 1st half it was a normal NBA game." Nelson: "They were hitting 3-point shots better than we were hitting free throws. They really had it going." Nelson: "They had us inside-outside and took our double teams away, so they really had it going tonight against us. I think it made us look worse than we actually were." Michael Finely: "The floor is no excuse. [The early Dallas lead] was the worst thing that happened to us, because we got it playing terrible and lackadaisical. If I'd have known we'd play like that, I wish all the fans would have gone home. They could have been asleep and well rested instead of watching the way we played." Robert Pack on choosing not to play: "My luck hasn't been that good, so I don't need to be messing around on something I'm not sure about." Pack: "I know the way I play - fast, quick cuts, and I couldn't get any traction. I just didn't feel comfortable playing. I cut quick, and I was sliding out there. I didn't feel comfortable playing. I feel I made the right decision." Phoenix Suns 103, Dallas Mavericks 91 at Dallas (March 9) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Phoenix 20 31 21 31 - 103 .452 .692 .488 .769 Dallas 27 20 22 22 - 91 .540 .267 .487 .524 Halftime: Phoenix 51-47 3rd Q: Phoenix 72-69 Technicals: Phoenix Illegal D 2:11 3rd Dallas' largest lead: 33-20 10:26 2nd Dallas' last lead: 63-62 5:12 3rd Phoenix's largest lead: 101-85 1:28 4th Lead changes: 10 Refs: Bennett Salvatore, Sean Corbin, Tim Donaghy Attendance: 12,714 (cap 18,042) Did not play due to injury: Rex Chapman (bruised right calf) Phoenix Suns REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tom Gugliotta 35 5-15 0-0 2-3 12 2-7 4 1 3 1 0 George McCloud 35 7-11 3-5 0-0 17 0-2 4 1 3 0 0 Luc Longley 25 7-9 0-0 2-2 16 1-4 2 1 2 0 1 Jason Kidd 39 6-15 1-1 0-0 13 0-7 5 0 2 0 0 Clifford Robinson 43 6-14 4-6 2-4 18 0-6 4 2 2 0 1 Tobey Bailey 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Gerald Brown 9 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 0 0 0 Pat Garrity 5 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 Danny Manning 29 7-12 0-0 0-0 14 6-8 2 1 1 0 0 Chris Morris 15 2-2 1-1 4-4 9 4-5 3 1 4 2 1 Totals 48 42-86 9-13 10-13 103 13-40 26 10 19 3 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK A.C. Green 31 3-6 0-0 1-2 7 2-3 0 0 1 1 0 Gary Trent 33 5-14 0-0 3-5 13 2-5 3 0 4 1 0 Shawn Bradley 31 4-6 0-0 4-4 12 3-14 2 2 4 0 3 Michael Finley 44 10-17 1-4 1-4 22 0-4 12 5 4 1 0 Steve Nash 39 6-15 2-8 1-3 15 1-4 6 2 2 0 0 Chris Anstey 5 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 2-3 1 0 1 0 0 Hubert Davis 24 1-4 1-2 0-0 3 0-1 1 1 0 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 10 2-4 0-1 0-0 4 2-2 0 0 1 0 0 Samaki Walker 23 7-9 0-0 1-3 15 0-3 1 1 1 0 1 Totals 48 38-78 4-15 11-21 91 12-39 26 12 18 5 4 patricia