For the first time this season, the Mavs had 3 consecutive days off (and gave me a chance to finally catch up on the game reports - I went to the Spurs game last weekend and hiking the next day). Including Thursday's game vs the Clippers, the Mavs had played more games through April 1 than any other teams (33 games - a couple of teams reached 33 on Saturday). Since the start of the season the Mavs have only had consecutive days off once (Feb 28 and Mar 1). They will get another two day break on Thursday and Friday. The Mavs made a roster move on March 29 by signing 2nd round draft pick Bruno Sundov to a 2 year, $603,750 contract (that is league minimum for two years for a rookie). He was immediately placed on IR with tendinitis in his wrist and Robert Pack was activated. Pack, who has a slightly torn right hamstring, will still not play for about 2 more weeks - with Cedric Ceballos and Ansu Sesay on IR, the Mavs had to activate him to make room for Sundov on IR as teams can only carry 3 players on IR (unless they get special permission from the league to carry 4). Sundov is a string bean at 7-3 and 220 and is a project. He likely will not be activated this season as the Mavs put him through a weight and conditioning program. He had been playing for a prep school in Massachusetts, whose season ended about a month ago. Supposedly he has a nice shooting touch and, of course, he's 7-3 and you can't teach height. He's only 19 and currently the 2nd youngest player in the league behind Al Harrington and is the first Mav born in the 80s (2/10/80). Gary Trent had been playing with the nasty stomach flu that has been going around and finally missed a game due to the illness when he did not travel with the team to San Antonio on March 27. It was the only game he missed and seems to be well now. However, John Williams has caught the flu and didn't play in the Seattle and Minnesota games due to the flu [though who knows if he would have actually played in the Seattle game if he was healthy]. The Mavs' injuries are not limited to the players. Mavs Man, the team's mascot, tore his ACL when he landed wrong after completing a trampoline slam dunk at the start of the 4th quarter of the Denver game. He was at the next home game and made his way around on crutches - no more dunks this season for Mavs Man. Congratulations to the Wheelchair Mavericks for their tripeat in the national tournament. They defeated the Arkansas Rollin Razorbacks 78-60 in the finals. They are also the defending world champions. LA Lakers at Dallas (March 22) The Mavs actually started the game strong against the Lakers and led 10-2 3 minutes into the game as Dallas hit their first 5 shots. Dallas was able to maintain a 5 to 10 point lead the rest of the quarter and led 25-17 after 1. A.C. Green had a monster quarter with 11 points and 8 rebounds. The Lakers knocked the Mavs' lead down to 2 at 31-29 with 8 minutes left and tied the game at 33-33, but could not take the lead. Dallas led 47-44 at the half. Dallas led 53-48 with 9 minutes remaining and the Lakers scored the next 6 points to go up 54-53 with 7:45 left. Travis Knight was the key for the Lakers as he scored 10 of the Lakers' first 12 points of the 3rd. The teams traded small leads and the Lakers led 64-63 with 3:35 to go. The Lakers scored the last 4 points of the quarter to take a 73-66 lead after 3. Kobe Bryant had 11 points and Hubert Davis had 10 points in the quarter. The Lakers built up a 10 point lead at 77-67 a minute into the 4th, but were not able to pull away. The Lakers led 90-80 with 2 minutes left. Gary Trent hit a jumper and Shaquille O'Neal hit 1-4 FT to give the Lakers a 91-82 lead with 1:36 to go. Trent hit a jumper, Chris Anstey hit 2 free throws, and Trent got a layup to cut the Laker's lead down to 3 at 91-88 with 43 seconds left. The Mavs started intentionally fouling the Lakers to stop the clock and the Lakers helped out by missing free throws. Rick Fox hit 1-2 free throws and Anstey missed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. Bryant hit 2 free throws and Michael Finley hit a layup. The Lakers led 94-90 with 28 seconds left. Derek Fisher missed 2 free throws (he had been shooting 84% FT for the season) and Trent got the rebound. Finley missed a 3-pointer, but Steve Nash got the rebound under the basket, but blew the layup. Glen Rice hit both free throws and a 3-pointer by Erick Strickland with 4.3 seconds left capped the scoring. (Bryant's dunk attempt at the buzzer bounced hard off the back of the rim.) The Lakers won 96-93. The Lakers missed 6 free throws in the 4th quarter. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Don Nelson decided to pull his "foul Rodman" stunt that he tried last year. The Lakers inbounded the ball to Rice and Finley bear hugged Rodman away from the ball. Rodman was talking the whole way to the line and before he shot the free throw - he clearly wasn't happy. He hit the first one and blew a kiss at Nelson. Then things got really strange. The ref called a T on Rodman for taunting. Rodman couldn't believe it (there were reports that he claimed he was blowing a kiss at a woman a few rows behind the bench or at the Sprite sign). While Rodman was arguing with the ref and pointing at Nelson, Nelson winked at Rodman. Rodman made the technical foul gesture toward Nelson saying that Nelson should also get a T, but of course the ref didn't see the wink. It was quite entertaining. (Rodman missed the 2nd free throw and wasn't fouled again.) Steve Nash continued to struggle and avoid shooting. He was on a break in the 4th with two Lakers catching up to him and no one in front, but he pulled the ball out for a set play instead of shooting the shot. He only attempted 4 shots. Quotes Kurt Rambis: "Dennis brings up our level of intensity. He's just an awesome player on the inside. He opens up the floor for the rest of the team. He's a very intelligent player. This was a long, hard trip for us. "We had to make a lot of adjustments and I feel very fortunate we were 3-3." Rambis: "[Rodman] helps bring intensity to the defense and everyone knows what he can do rebounding. He's a very smart basketball player. He sees a lot on the floor. He talks and I listen." Rambis: "Our team did a good job. They played good defense and got the job done when they had to." Rambis: "I'm continually trying to encourage Travis to be aggressive in his play, to look for his shot, to look for his opportunities to score, to post up, to do all these things. I think a lot of times he's hesitant and defers to the other players to do things, but I want him moving, I want him cutting, I want him picking, I want him posting, I want him doing all that stuff." Shaquille O'Neal: ""It's good to have [Rodman] back. His job is to rebound and that's what he did tonight." O'Neal: "This was our fourth game in five nights and we're tired." O'Neal: "We were tired tonight, and it showed. But we pulled out a win, and that's all that matters." O'Neal on feeling that he was fouled a lot more than was called: "Somebody's going to get their nose broken some day. I promise you before I get hurt, somebody else is going to get broke up. Rewrite that, what I'm saying, before I get hurt, somebody is going to get broke up. If David Stern doesn't want to do anything about it, well hey if that's how they want to play, I'll play like that." Don Nelson: "We tried to make Shaq earn his points and the free throw line and he did a good jobs [going 7-12]. We were close to pulling off the upset." Nelson: "It was a pretty good ballgame, a winnable ballgame. We played them pretty well. I'm real happy with the way we played. It was not quite good enough but we played pretty well. We are a pretty good defensive team right now, so no complaints about the game. They're a very good team." Nelson on Travis Knight in the 3rd: "We got strung out a little bit on him because we were double teaming the ball in the backcourt, and on two occasions we got open. He had a big quarter, and that's a guy that you think you can contain. If we concentrate on him, we can contain him. But we played well in that quarter and he hurt us." Chris Anstey on his missed 3-pointer at the end of the game: "As I was shooting it, I saw Hubert open out of the corner of my eye and I second-guessed myself. And that was the worst thing I could have done. I needed to be more decisive - shoot or pass." Steve Nash on his missed layup after grabbing Finley's miss: "I rushed it. The ball got caught in the heel of my hand, but I don't want to make excuses. I choked." Nash: "There's no moral victories when you're 9-18. It's a game we should have won, could have won, but I'm tired of saying that over and over. Hopefully, this team will continue to grow, and next year, we won't lose these games." Nash: "I don't think we played well in the 2nd half. It wasn't really a moral victory. We played hard and hopefully this team will continue to grow. Maybe next year we will win these kind of games." Shawn Bradley on Nelson not playing him on O'Neal: "It's the coach's game plan. I don't know what to say other than that. Shaq's a lot stronger than me." Los Angeles Lakers 96, Dallas Mavericks 93 at Dallas (March 22) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% LA Lakers 17 27 29 23 - 96 .530 .200 .487 .690 Dallas 25 22 19 27 - 93 .486 .167 .440 .773 Halftime: Dallas 47-44 3rd Q: LA Lakers 73-66 Dallas' largest lead: 27-17 11:10 2nd Dallas' last lead: 61-60 4:51 3rd LA Lakers' largest lead: 85-73 5:09 4th Technicals: LA Illegal D 5:28 3rd, Dennis Rodman 1:52 3rd Refs: Ken Mauer, Leon Wood, George Toliver Attendance: 18,121 (sellout) Los Angles Lakers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Travis Knight 14 6-8 0-0 0-0 12 0-4 0 1 3 1 1 Glen Rice 39 6-14 1-4 4-4 17 0-3 3 2 3 1 0 Shaquille O'Neal 33 9-15 0-0 7-12 25 4-9 3 2 2 0 1 Kobe Bryant 37 8-17 0-0 5-5 21 0-2 2 1 0 2 1 Derek Harper 22 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-0 3 1 1 0 0 Derek Fisher 27 3-9 0-1 2-4 8 1-5 4 1 2 1 0 Rick Fox 22 3-6 1-3 1-2 8 0-0 4 2 3 0 0 Dennis Rodman 32 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 1-17 1 2 3 0 1 Sean Rooks 14 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 2-2 0 1 2 1 0 Totals 48 37-76 2-10 20-29 96 8-42 20 13 19 6 4 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 42 11-24 0-2 1-2 23 0-4 5 1 4 1 0 A.C. Green 25 4-11 0-1 5-6 13 3-10 0 1 0 0 0 John Williams 15 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 1 0 4 1 0 Hubert Davis 40 7-15 1-4 1-1 16 0-1 1 3 1 0 0 Steve Nash 42 1-4 0-1 1-1 3 3-4 8 4 3 2 1 Chris Anstey 10 1-2 0-1 2-2 4 0-4 1 0 4 1 0 Shawn Bradley 19 3-5 0-0 2-2 8 1-5 0 1 4 0 1 Erick Strickland 14 5-10 1-3 1-1 12 0-4 1 1 2 3 0 Gary Trent 29 4-11 0-0 3-6 11 1-6 3 1 3 0 0 Samaki Walker 4 1-2 0-0 1-1 3 1-2 0 1 3 0 1 Totals 48 37-84 2-12 17-22 93 10-43 20 13 28 8 3 Houston at Dallas (March 24) Houston led most of the 1st quarter by a handful of points. Houston led 14-12 with 5 minutes left and closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 23-14 lead after 1. Houston maintained a 6 to 14 point lead throughout the 2nd quarter as neither team was able to put together much of a rally. Houston led 37-23 with 4 minutes left. Dallas scored the next 8 points. Houston led 39-31 at the half. Hakeem Olajuwon had 14 points on 7-11 FG in the half. Houston led 49-42 with 7 minutes left and scored the next 6 points, but then Dallas scored the next 4 points. The Rockets responded by scoring the next 6 points and led 61-46 with 2 minutes to go. Houston led 64-51 after 3. Houston seemed to lead comfortably by 11 to 16 points early in the 4th and led 73-57 with 8 minutes left. Dallas started to whittle into Houston's lead by scoring the next 5 points. Houston's lead was down to 9 at 80-71 with 5 minutes remaining. Hubert Davis hit a 3-pointer and Gary Trent connected on a layup to cut Houston's lead down to 4 at 80-76 with 3:30 left. But Trent could not complete the 3-point play as he missed a free throw and Houston scored the next 6 points. Houston won 88-78. Unfortunately the game itself was not the talk of the town afterwards. Some attendees at the game (I won't call them fans) decided it would be fun to boo Steve Nash every time he touched the ball in the 2nd half. Nash had a horrendous 1st half where he shot 0-8 FG and I will admit that I was glad to see him sit and that he wasn't starting the 2nd half. But to boo him when he enter with 4:30 left in the 3rd? And to boo him every time he touched the ball? Pathetic. How does that help him regain his confidence? It was just a bad game. And he definitely wasn't the only Mav out there who wasn't hitting. My theory was that it wasn't the true Mavs fans, just the casual attendees that came more because the Rockets were in town than to see the Mavs - but to root for the Mavs as they were the home town (I don't think it was the Rockets fans that were booing, though one person said that his brother, a Rockets fan, started booing Nash for fun and others joined in (and the brother felt bad about it later)). There were no boos (okay, maybe some small scattering as one reporter reported hearing some, but I didn't hear any) at the next game vs Denver. Nor in the sparsely attended Seattle or Clippers games. Nash finally hit a shot (a 3-pointer) with 6 minutes left in the 4th - but he only attempted 2 shots in the 2nd half. Quotes Rudy Tomjanovich: "We got a win on the road. We've been doing well at home. Now we're .500 [on the road] and we got to build on that." Tomjanovich: "We had situations were we exploded and got open to the basket and [Bradley] was just always there. Finally late in the game we managed to get a couple buckets on him." Tomjanovich: "It's a game that you're always concerned about. Those guys play hard as they showed tonight. They're always in the game with their shooters." Tomjanovich on Cuttino Mobley: "He's a tough kid and a very skilled player, a gamer. He's also doing a very good job for us on the defensive end." Charles Barkley: "I just care about wins and losses. I don't care about anything that happens in between. It doesn't have to be pretty. Every game's not gonna be pretty." Barkley: "We knew Dallas would make a run. The thing I like about this game is that we won. It doesn't have to be pretty." Barkley: "[Cuttino Mobley] still drives me nuts, but he's still doing a great job. I'm proud of him. He and Michael [Dickerson] both are learning on the job. They have a great job. All I ask them is to do their best." Both Mobley and Dickerson are rookie starters. Barkley on Nash being booed: "I'm very disappointed in the Dallas fans. What did he do? He's going to be here a long time. He's a big part of their franchise. He's a good kid. Why don't they send him down to Houston? We'll take him." Scottie Pippen: "Mobley is doing a good job defensively. Offensively we've given him a lot of freedom. He has a lot of confidence." Don Nelson: "The amazing thing was that as poorly as we played, we still got within 4 with 3 or 4 minutes to go. How that ever happened I have no idea." Nelson: "It was a nightmare game for us offensively. It's amazing we got within 4 points considering they shot 50% and we shot 35%. Shawn kept us in the game." Nelson on Nash being booed: "He has probably never been booed in his career, but sometimes you've got to hit bottom before you can turn things around. We know he's a much better player than he's playing. He's got to toughen up, that's all. He's got to prove to people he's a player." Steve Nash on being booed: "The fans pay their money to come see us play, and they have every right to cheer us or boo us. I still feel confident. I still feel I'm going to become a really good player. One day, good things are going to happen for me and this team. I've always been kind of a fan favorite, not a goat, so it's a new challenge for me. The fans can continue to voice their displeasure, but I can't apologize, because I'm working my butt off. I'm trying my hardest." Nash: "The fans pay money to come watch us play, and they have every right to cheer us, to boo us, or to have any reaction that they please. I didn't play well, I didn't shoot the ball well and they weren't happy about it, and they showed their displeasure and that's fine. I've never seen anything quite like that, but it's just the nature of the business. Saturday night I had a big game and the crowd cheered, and now I had a poor game and the crowd voiced their displeasure, and they have every right to do that." Nash: "But at the end of the day and the end of your life, if you have the opportunity to take the easy street, or take the tough path and actually learn and grow and face a little adversity, I think you'll learn a lot more and you'll become a stronger person." Michael Finley on Nash being booed: "For that to happen at home is the last thing we need. They treated Steve like a road player. When they single out a guy and the whole team is struggling, it's not a very good feeling." Finley: "I didn't appreciate that at all. True fans of any sport, you don't boo the home team. When things are going downhill like they were - for not only Steve, but for the team - that's the time when fans should be behind a team or an individual and cheer for them more. But to hear them boo our own player, I was very disappointed. Hopefully that was just a spur of ignorance on the side of the fans who were booing." Houston Rockets 88, Dallas Mavericks 78 at Dallas (March 24) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Houston 23 16 25 24 - 88 .574 .091 .500 .833 Dallas 14 17 20 27 - 78 .365 .308 .356 .667 Halftime: Houston 39-31 3rd Q: Houston 64-51 Dallas never led Houston's largest lead: 73-56 8:18 4th Technicals: Othella Harrington 2:12 3rd, Shawn Bradley 2:12 3rd Refs: Dick Bavetta, Mark Wunderlich, Bill Kennedy Attendance: 15,111 (cap 18,042) Houston Rockets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Charles Barkley 34 6-18 0-3 4-6 16 2-12 5 1 1 1 1 Scottie Pippen 40 4-8 1-2 2-2 11 0-7 5 5 3 1 1 Hakeem Olajuwon 36 10-16 0-0 4-4 24 0-7 1 1 4 4 0 Michael Dickerson 33 4-9 0-1 0-0 8 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Cuttino Mobley 36 7-11 0-4 2-2 16 2-5 2 2 2 0 2 Bryce Drew 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 0 1 0 0 Othella Harrington 26 1-2 0-0 3-4 5 0-7 0 4 1 0 1 Sam Mack 10 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 1 0 0 0 0 Brent Price 20 3-6 0-1 0-0 6 0-1 1 0 1 1 0 Totals 48 36-72 1-11 15-18 88 4-43 15 13 15 7 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 43 6-20 0-2 4-4 16 4-9 8 2 3 2 1 A.C. Green 19 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 2-6 0 0 2 1 0 John Williams 11 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2-3 1 0 1 1 0 Hubert Davis 40 7-17 2-4 2-2 18 0-1 0 3 0 1 0 Steve Nash 29 1-10 1-4 0-0 3 1-1 5 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 36 8-14 0-0 4-7 20 7-13 0 3 4 2 8 Dirk Nowitzki 5 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 Erick Strickland 24 3-10 1-2 2-4 9 0-2 1 0 2 1 0 Gary Trent 33 5-14 0-0 0-1 10 2-8 1 0 2 1 0 Totals 48 31-87 4-13 12-18 78 18-43 16 10 18 9 9 Denver at Dallas (March 26) Ah, just what the Mavs needed - Denver, who hasn't won a road game this season. Dallas opened the game quickly and led 20-11 6 minutes into the game as the team shot 8-11 FG. Dallas then went cold and shot 2-11 FG the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 26-19 with 1 minute left and Denver scored the last 4 points of the quarter. Dallas led 26-23 after 1. Shawn Bradley had a solid quarter with 10 points and 4 rebounds. The Mavs opened the 2nd with an 11-2 run to go up 32-25 with 8:23 left. Dallas led 39-31 with 7 minutes left and pushed their lead to 15 at 49-34 with 4 minutes to go. Leading 51-36 with 3 minutes left, the Mavs couldn't do things the easy way and allowed Denver to score the last 9 points of the quarter as the Mavs missed 5 consecutive shots. Dallas led 51-45 at the half. Dallas led 57-51 with 8 minutes left and rattled off 3 consecutive 3-pointers (one by Steve Nash and two by Hubert Davis) to push their lead back into the teens at 66-51 with 6 minutes left. Dallas led 77-58 after 3. Michael Finley had 10 points in the 3rd as Dallas out-scored Denver 26-13 in the quarter. The Mavs finally decided to do things the easy way and didn't let Denver back into the game. Denver could get no closer than 14 points in the 4th. Dallas won 98-79. Dallas led the entire game. Dallas shot 51.3% (40-78) FG and Denver shot 38% (30-79) FG. Dallas out-scored Denver 54-38 in the paint. Michael Finley had 27 points. Dallas started the 3rd quarter with Shawn Bradley and John Williams on the floor and it obviously affected Denver. Antonio McDyess had 13 points in the 1st half and only 3 points in the 2nd. Quotes Don Nelson: "We needed that win. Our defense was real good." Nelson: "Strick has played pretty darn well ever since he's gotten an opportunity, and that's what you want your bench players to do." Nelson: "I like the game a lot. We'll take it and enjoy it. The energy was good; the rotations were good." Steve Nash on the booing in the last game: "So much has been made out of it that I didn't even care anymore. I decided to just play and not worry about it, to put it behind me." Michael Finley on the booing: "I left that in the locker room after the last game. Those weren't true Mavericks fans, so it didn't even faze me." Michael Finley: "That was important, to come out in the 2nd half and not give them life. We wanted to keep them down and snuff them out." Finley: "It definitely benefits if you shoot better than 50%. Tonight we made the shots we've been missing. It was good to see that. My whole thing was to get to the basket and make the easy points and just try to get the guys involved. That seemed to open things up for us and we made the most of it." Erick Strickland on his improved play: "It's just getting an opportunity. I'm getting some open looks and making the best of them. We all moved the ball really well tonight and created a lot of shots for each other." Strickland: "This reminded me a lot of how I was my rookie year. I feel strong again, healthy again, explosive again." Strickland: "I feel good about myself; I'm healthy, and I was just placed with an opportunity, and I'm just thankful to God that I had it. I'm trying to make the best of it." Strickland on the team shooting 51% FG: "We looked at ourselves and said we're a better shooting team than we've been showing." Mike D'Antonio: "Emotionally, we're at zero. It's such a down demeanor, such an aura of losing right now. They make shots, we don't make shots, then, just like [Thursday] night, our shoulders start to sag." D'Antonio: "Defense has always been our weak spot. That's still there, and now we can't make shots. We've never stopped anybody." John Lucas: "We've got to regroup and start pulling together. We've got to restore some confidence, and our trust level has got to go up." Danny Fortson: "We just didn't play hard for whatever reason. We didn't put out the effort." Nick Van Exel: "We feel we've gotten the toughest part of our schedule out of the way. The first couple of months is crucial, we've only played 3 or 4 teams under the .500 mark. It's been tough, it's been one of the hardest schedules since I've been in the league." Dallas Mavericks 98, Denver Nuggets 79 at Dallas (March 26) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 26 25 26 21 - 98 .530 .417 .513 1.000 Denver 23 22 13 21 - 79 .431 .143 .380 .708 Halftime: Dallas 51-45 3rd Q: Dallas 77-58 Denver never led Technicals: Shawn Bradley 2:20 3rd Refs: Derrick Stafford, Joe DeRosa, Dee Kantner Attendance: 13,096 (cap 18,042) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 40 12-22 0-3 3-3 27 0-5 3 0 1 0 0 A.C. Green 11 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 0 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 25 4-8 0-0 2-2 10 2-8 3 2 2 0 4 Hubert Davis 38 5-9 2-4 0-0 12 0-4 1 3 4 2 0 Steve Nash 35 2-7 2-3 0-0 6 0-1 3 2 1 1 0 Chris Anstey 5 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 1 0 1 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 16 3-4 1-1 1-1 8 0-2 0 2 3 1 0 Erick Strickland 26 6-9 0-1 5-5 17 0-1 4 0 0 3 0 Gary Trent 22 5-11 0-0 2-2 12 1-5 0 0 1 2 1 Samaki Walker 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 3 0 0 John Williams 17 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-5 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 40-78 5-12 13-13 98 5-34 15 12 20 9 5 Denver Nuggets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antonio McDyess 39 6-15 0-0 4-5 16 3-14 1 4 2 1 1 Johnny Taylor 24 4-8 1-4 0-0 9 1-5 2 0 2 2 1 Danny Fortson 27 5-11 0-0 1-2 11 7-11 1 2 5 0 0 Chauncey Billups 38 6-15 1-6 0-0 13 0-0 3 0 1 2 0 Nick Van_Exel 36 2-11 0-3 0-2 4 0-1 9 2 1 0 0 Cory Alexander 8 1-1 0-0 2-2 4 1-3 0 4 2 0 0 Keon Clark 13 1-5 0-0 1-2 3 1-2 0 1 0 0 0 Bryant Stith 28 1-4 0-1 3-3 5 0-1 2 2 2 0 0 Eric Williams 27 4-9 0-0 6-8 14 3-7 1 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 30-79 2-14 17-24 79 16-44 19 16 17 5 2 Dallas at San Antonio (March 27) Gary Trent was not with the team for this game due to the stomach flu. The 1st quarter started close with neither team able to build more than a 4 point lead. San Antonio briefly held a 7 point lead with 3 minutes left, but could not hold it or build on it. Tim Duncan scored the last 4 points of the quarter to give the Spurs a 25-19 lead after 1. Duncan had 10 points in the quarter. San Antonio led 35-29 with 7:12 left and Dallas went on a 7-2 run to cut the Spurs' lead down to 1 at 37-36 with 4:35 left. San Antonio led 44-41 at the half. San Antonio led by 2 early in the 3rd quarter and scored the next 5 points to lead 52-45 with 9:43 left. But Dallas went on a 6-1 run to put the Spurs' lead back at 2 at 53-51 with 7:30. San Antonio led 61-57 with 3:12 and it became the Tim Duncan show as the Mavs could do nothing to stop him. Duncan scored 6 of San Antonio's last 8 points in the quarter to give San Antonio a 69-59 lead after 3. San Antonio continued to build on their lead to open the 4th as the Mavs fell apart. San Antonio led 83-70 with 5:13 left and Dallas would get no closer as the Spurs pushed their lead into the 20s. San Antonio won 99-77. How quickly a game can turn. The Mavs were hanging in there all the way through the 3rd. Then they fell apart at the end of the 3rd quarter and the Spurs, led by Duncan, just barreled over the Mavs the rest of the way. Duncan had 21 points including 9-11 FG and 15 rebounds. San Antonio shot 50% (40-80) FG and Dallas shot 39.5% (32-81) FG. As expected, the Spurs out-scored Dallas 54-34 in the paint. Quotes Gregg Popovich: "Tim competed well tonight at both ends of the floor. He was real physical and played demonstratively." Popovich: "Tonight was different from last night in that we only had 6 turnovers. We were awful from the free throw line, but that didn't affect us. The turnovers were the difference." David Robinson: "After [the loss to Toronto], we were a little disappointed. Getting the win tonight was good. We really used our depth." Robinson: "The last week and a half, our bench has been huge. They really change the momentum for us. Tonight, they came in and pushed our lead even farther. Jaren, Will, Steve and Antonio are doing great. Our bench is our strength right now." Antonio Daniels: "It's easy for me to show confidence in myself because my teammates have confidence in me. I just want to provide a spark whether that's providing energy, offense, defense or just pushing the ball. I want to get the Alamodome going crazy. I like to get people excited." Don Nelson: "We played pretty well for one half, then their dominance took over. We got away from our game plan a little and they opened us up pretty good. Their strength, power and size caught up with us." Nelson: "We figured if anybody was going to be able to sneak up on this team it would be us, but somebody [Toronto] beat us to it. They were mad as hornets tonight." Shawn Bradley: "I could tell they were tired. They had played one more game than we had. But when they saw they had a chance to win this game in the 2nd half I think their adrenaline kicked in and took over. We need to learn to do that." Bradley: "I think we're growing, I really do. The main thing we're missing right now is learning to put teams away when we're beating them by 10, like they did to us." Samaki Walker: ""They didn't look like they played 3 games back-to-back. Their fatigue didn't show. They responded well in the 4th. Instead of being happy with a 10 point lead, they wanted 20." Michael Finley: "Same old story, different place." San Antonio Spurs 99, Dallas Mavericks 77 at San Antonio (March 27) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 25 19 25 30 - 99 .514 .400 .500 .577 Dallas 19 22 18 18 - 77 .408 .300 .395 .714 Halftime: San Antonio 44-41 3rd Q: San Antonio 69-59 Dallas' only lead: 2-0 11:45 1st San Antonio's largest lead: 99-75 0:15 4th Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 6:41 2nd, Dallas Illegal D 7:38 3rd Refs: Mike Mathis, Sean Corbin, Rashaan Michel Attendance: 25,921 (cap 34,215) Did not play due to injury: Gary Trent (stomach virus) San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Sean Elliott 27 5-11 0-1 1-2 11 2-4 3 0 0 0 0 Tim Duncan 40 9-11 0-0 3-7 21 1-15 2 1 3 0 2 David Robinson 25 4-8 0-0 3-5 11 0-3 1 1 2 0 2 Mario Elie 29 6-11 2-3 0-1 14 1-1 1 1 4 1 0 Avery Johnson 24 3-7 0-0 1-2 7 1-3 8 1 1 0 0 Jaren Jackson 21 1-8 0-3 0-0 2 1-3 0 0 2 1 1 Will Perdue 23 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 2-11 2 1 2 2 0 Antonio Daniels 24 4-8 0-0 3-4 11 1-2 4 0 0 1 0 Steve Kerr 18 4-8 2-3 2-3 12 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Malik Rose 8 0-2 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 Andrew Gaze 1 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 40-80 4-10 15-26 99 9-42 23 6 15 6 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 37 8-19 0-0 1-1 17 1-4 3 0 1 0 1 A.C. Green 16 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 1 0 0 1 0 Shawn Bradley 32 7-15 0-0 1-3 15 4-12 1 1 2 2 3 Hubert Davis 36 5-12 1-4 0-0 11 0-1 0 2 1 0 0 Steve Nash 35 1-4 1-2 0-0 3 0-4 5 1 5 1 0 Chris Anstey 14 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 1-2 1 1 2 1 0 Erick Strickland 25 4-10 1-3 2-2 11 0-4 1 2 1 0 0 John Williams 14 0-2 0-0 2-2 2 3-4 2 0 2 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 13 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 0-1 2 2 0 0 1 Samaki Walker 18 6-9 0-0 4-6 16 1-6 0 1 6 0 0 Totals 48 32-81 3-10 10-14 77 11-40 16 10 20 5 6 Seattle at Dallas (March 29) Seattle opened the game with a 15-4 run over the first 5:20. Dallas finally joined the game and scored the next 8 points. Seattle led 26-20 after 1. Seattle pulled ahead by 10 early in the 2nd, but Dallas responded by scoring 6 consecutive points and Seattle led 32-28 with 8:20 to go. Seattle led 38-34 with 5:12 left and went on a 12-3 run to go up 50-37 with a minute remaining. Dallas scored the last 5 points of the quarter and Seattle led 50-42 at the half. The players were bricking it from the line in the 2nd quarter - Seattle shot 4-10 FT and Dallas donut at 0-4. Gary Trent had 16 points in the half. Seattle led 58-49 with 7 minutes to go and went on a 10-2 run to go up 68-51 with 4 minutes left. Seattle led 77-57 after 3. Dallas pulled within 14 at 74-88 with 7 minutes remaining and Paul Westphal re-inserted 4 of his starters. They rattled off the next 7 points to put Seattle ahead 95-74 with 4:20 left and Westphal had 5 subs waiting for the next dead ball. The Mavs scored the next 5 points and the starters left and Dallas scored 4 more points to pull within 12 at 83-95 with 3 minutes left. Dallas cut Seattle's lead down to 9 points at 100-91 with 43 seconds left. The reserves for Seattle hit 7-8 free throws down the stretch and the Mavs ran out of time. Seattle won 109-101. Seattle led the entire game. Dallas had 0 assists in their 15 point 3rd quarter. The sight of the night occurred with Olden Polynice at the line. He hit nothing but the bottom of the net. Of course the ball didn't go through the rim on the air ball free throw. He shot 3-10 FT that night. Quotes Paul Westphal: "We knew we had to come out with energy, and I thought all the starters did, especially Billy Owens. It got us out to a nice start." Detlef Schrempf: "Our goal was to not have a slow start. We've been saying that. We're not the type of team that can just turn it on." Schrempf: "Our goal is to be aggressive and set the tone early. We have been saying that, but that's what we need to do every game." Schrempf: "I had some post ups for the first time in a long time. My jump shot was falling, and in the second half we ran some pick-and-rolls, they switched and I had a smaller man on me. When we do that we're a pretty good team." Olden Polynice: "We have to come out energized for our team to get going. We've got to be very energetic and very vocal and play with a lot of emotion. I thought we did a good job of that tonight." Polynice: "I thought we played the game as well as we should have; we shot the ball well and played good defense." Don Neslon: "This was not a good effort by our team. I'm a little surprised by it. I really thought we'd be ready to play tonight; this was what I considered a winnable game for us." Nelson: "They approached it as a much needed win for them. The bottom line is we just had a hard time controlling Payton. He played a terrific game, and we didn't." Nelson: "The offense isn't running as smooth as it has. I can't give you all the answers, but we couldn't run plays out there in the 3rd period." Erick Strickland: "I think they took us out of our rhythm. Everybody's shots were there all night; they just didn't fall." Strickland: "They jumped out on us quick. Then we were fighting an uphill battle the whole night." Strickland: "We aren't shooting the ball well right now. We had great looks and the ball was going in and out. They shot the heck out of the ball and that's the difference right there." Samaki Walker: "We've got to come out with more energy. Normally in the game we'll have some spurts, and tonight I didn't see that. They had control from the beginning to the end." Gary Trent: "We broke down like a 1940 car. We just got punished out there. We just weren't there at all." Seattle Sonics 109, Dallas Mavericks 101 at Dallas (March 29) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Seattle 26 24 27 32 - 109 .567 .350 .513 .625 Dallas 20 22 15 44 - 101 .458 .300 .424 .708 Halftime: Seattle 50-42 3rd Q: Seattle 77-57 Dallas never led Seattle's largest lead: 81-60 10:38 4th Technicals: Jelani McCoy 9:00 2nd, Chris Anstey 1:51 4th Refs: Bernie Fryer, Don Vaden, Derek Richardson Attendance: 13,311 (cap 18,042) Did not play due to injury: John Williams (flu) Seattle Sonics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Detlef Schrempf 32 7-10 2-2 4-4 20 3-9 2 2 5 1 0 Billy Owens 29 7-10 0-0 1-1 15 1-4 2 0 1 0 0 Olden Polynice 28 3-8 0-0 3-10 9 5-12 1 2 2 0 3 Gary Payton 36 9-17 1-6 1-2 20 2-4 7 1 1 0 1 Hersey Hawkins 31 1-4 0-1 2-2 4 0-4 1 0 1 3 1 Jelani McCoy 12 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 1-4 1 1 4 0 0 Vladimir Stepania 23 4-8 0-0 0-0 8 2-8 1 2 4 1 1 John Crotty 17 2-6 1-3 6-6 11 0-0 5 1 0 0 0 Dale Ellis 23 4-11 2-7 0-0 10 0-1 1 0 1 0 0 Drew Barry 3 1-1 1-1 1-3 4 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Rashard Lewis 3 0-0 0-0 2-4 2 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 Aaron Williams 3 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 2-2 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 41-80 7-20 20-32 109 16-48 22 11 21 5 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 39 5-14 0-1 3-3 13 1-5 2 1 2 0 0 A.C. Green 11 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 3-4 1 0 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 24 4-13 0-0 4-5 12 3-4 1 1 1 0 2 Steve Nash 22 2-7 1-6 0-0 5 0-0 4 1 6 1 0 Erick Strickland 38 7-17 3-7 0-0 17 0-3 7 2 5 4 0 Gary Trent 29 9-13 0-0 2-3 20 4-9 1 1 3 0 0 Hubert Davis 24 4-8 2-3 0-1 10 0-2 2 0 2 0 0 Samaki Walker 27 4-9 0-0 2-5 10 5-13 0 2 1 1 3 Dirk Nowitzki 17 3-7 0-3 5-5 11 3-4 3 0 2 0 0 Chris Anstey 9 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 1-1 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 39-92 6-20 17-24 101 20-45 21 11 25 6 5 Dallas at Minnesota (March 30) It was a close 1st quarter with 10 ties and 3 lead changes. Dallas led 24-22 after 1 on a tip-in by Shawn Bradley at the buzzer. Minnesota opened the 2nd quarter by scoring the first 10 points to go up 32-24 with 8:30 left. Dallas finally scored 4 minutes into the quarter. Minnesota led 42-36 with 3 minutes left and scored the next 8 points. Erick Strickland missed a long jumper (and Bradley got the put back) and Tom Hammonds ran into him after the ball was released. Strickland was on the floor in pain and Don Nelson went nuts. Nelson was ejected from the game by the refs and Strickland left the game and did not return with back spasms. Minnesota led 52-38 at the half. Minnesota out-scored Dallas 30-14 in the quarter as they shot 14-20 FG and Dallas shot only 3-16 FG in the quarter. Dallas pulled within 12 at 60-48 with 8:50 left, but could get no closer and the rout was on. Minnesota led 78-56 after 3. Terrell Brandon had 16 points on 7-7 FG in the 3rd. The Mavs couldn't even get Minnesota's lead into the teens and Minnesota won going away 98-78. Yuck. Quotes Flip Saunders: "We got into a flow, found a comfort level, and started making some shots." Saunders: "We played with really good intensity and concentration. Our main guys had good games, and the other guys came in and played well." Kevin Garnett on Finley only scoring 6 points while Garnett was guarding him: "I'm probably one of the most defensive-minded people on this team. I always ask them to give me a challenge of guarding the other team's best player. Flip, Kevin [McHale], the coaches and my teammates have the confidence in me to go out and do the job. It's extra duty, but somebody's got to do it." Terrell Brandon: "I took what presented itself. Coach was disappointed that I only took 8 shots in the last game. He wanted me to shoot more. But I love to pass. We have so many good guys, so it's easy for me to pass to them. Tonight, I just started getting good looks." Brandon: "Dean Garrett energized us by hitting his jump shots and playing well on the defensive end. We got big minutes from everyone on the bench." Dean Garrett: "At shoot around, the big guys worked on their shot in the post. When I get in the motion, I shoot well. When I don't get in the motion, I can be really bad." Tom Hammonds: "We came out soft in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter we picked it up, and that snowballed. We jumped on them in the 3rd and that was the game." Donnie Nelson: "Our younger guys will play more often. We're a stage now that we need to see what we have with those guys. We're not writing off the season. But it's a trend that will continue." Nelson on the non-call on Strickland and Don Nelson's ejection: "I don't think any one of [refs] saw it. I don't think they don't make a call like that on purpose. I know that the official that was right next to the call was looking into the paint. Probably what happened was none of them saw the call. [Don Nelson] was standing up and protecting his player." Nelson: "I'm disappointed in our defense. We were just poor. We let them get to the middle too much, and we gave up too many offensive rebounds. They came out with more fire and passion than we did tonight." Gary Trent: "We had no effort. No continuity." Michael Finley: "Maybe we thought we were better than we were, and now it's coming back to haunt us." Finley: "I just see a team out there struggling, struggling to survive. I don't think the 8th seed in the West will be a .500 team, but if we continue at this pace, we'll be out of it soon." Steve Nash: "I don't have an explanation. We've hit the wall, so to speak." Erick Strickland: "I think [Tom Hammonds] tried to avoid me, but ended up hitting me in the lower part of my body, and he also took my legs. That's what scared me more than anything, because they kind of hyperextended when he hit me." Strickland: "It doesn't seem like we're clicking. Instead of bearing down [when Dallas falls behind], we say, 'Here we go again.'" Shawn Bradley: "The key for us tonight, to have a chance to win the game, was to match their intensity. We didn't do that, bottom line." Minnesota Timberwolves 98, Dallas Mavericks 78 at Dallas (March 30) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Minnesota 22 30 26 20 - 98 .532 .400 .524 .667 Dallas 24 14 18 22 - 78 .475 .125 .435 .607 Halftime: Minnesota 52-38 3rd Q: Minnesota 78-56 Dallas' largest lead: 13-10 6:39 1st Dallas' last lead: 24-22 end of 1st Minnesota's largest lead: 88-60 7:52 4th Lead changes: 5 Technicals: Don Nelson 0:04 2nd - 2, ejected Refs: Ed F. Rush, Tommy Nunez, Jim Kinsey Attendance: 15,609 (cap 19,006) Did not play due to injury: James Robinson (lower back spasms), Joe Smith (separated left ribs), John Williams (stomach flu) Minnesota Timberwolves REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kevin Garnett 31 11-12 0-0 0-0 22 3-9 8 3 4 1 0 Sam Mitchell 27 5-12 0-0 1-2 11 0-8 3 1 3 3 1 Bill Curley 12 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 4 0 0 Dennis Scott 29 0-4 0-2 4-4 4 1-3 5 1 1 0 0 Terrell Brandon 31 10-16 2-2 0-0 22 1-3 6 0 1 0 0 Dean Garrett 29 6-8 0-0 0-0 12 2-7 0 0 1 1 0 Andrae Patterson 14 2-5 0-0 1-2 5 4-7 2 2 4 0 1 Bobby Jackson 22 2-11 0-1 0-0 4 0-1 5 1 4 0 0 Reggie Jordan 19 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 1-3 5 1 1 1 0 Tom Hammonds 26 7-11 0-0 1-2 15 1-2 0 3 6 1 1 Totals 48 44-84 2-5 8-12 98 14-45 34 12 29 7 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 43 5-15 0-1 0-0 10 1-3 5 6 3 0 0 Gary Trent 31 5-12 0-0 6-13 16 2-11 1 1 0 0 1 Chris Anstey 24 6-7 0-0 0-0 12 1-1 0 1 2 1 2 Hubert Davis 44 2-9 0-1 2-2 6 0-2 4 1 1 0 0 Steve Nash 31 1-3 1-3 0-0 3 0-4 10 2 5 0 0 Shawn Bradley 27 5-8 0-0 3-4 13 3-6 0 2 3 0 2 Samaki Walker 17 3-5 0-0 3-5 9 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 Erick Strickland 8 1-4 0-2 1-2 3 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 A.C. Green 5 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 10 1-3 0-1 2-2 4 1-1 0 1 1 1 0 Totals 48 30-69 1-8 17-28 78 9-31 20 15 16 2 6 LA Clippers at Dallas (April 1) The game was tied 6-6 3 minutes into the game and Dallas scored the next 10 points to go up 16-6 with 6:40 left. Dallas was able to maintain an 8 to 12 point lead the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 28-18 after 1. The Mavs out-rebounded the Clippers 18-6 in the first quarter. Gary Trent had 11 points and 6 rebounds in the quarter. Dallas still led by 10 at 30-20 with 10:30 left and the Clippers then scored the next 11 points to take a 31-30 lead with 6:40 left as the Mavs missed 6 shots and committed 4 turnovers. The teams traded leads over the next 3 minutes. The Clippers built a small lead at 45-39 with 1:40 left on a Lamond Murray 3-pointer, but Hubert Davis answered with a 3-pointer. The Clippers led 46-44 at the half. The Clippers shot 4-7 3-pointer in the 2nd quarter and out-scored the Mavs 28-16 in the quarter. The game was tied 48-48 a minute and a half into the 3rd quarter and Dallas scored the next 7 points to take a 55-48 lead with 9:15 left. With Dallas up 57-50 with 8 minutes to go, the Clippers answered by scoring the next 6 points over the next 1 1/2 minutes. The game remained close with neither team able to build much of a lead. Dallas scored the last 4 points of the quarter to take a 75-70 lead after 3. Dallas shot 14-17 FG in the 3rd. The Clippers pulled within 1 at 77-78 with 8 minutes remaining and the teams traded 3-pointers. Dallas led 81-80 with 7:20 left and scored the next 8 points, with 6 of those coming from Michael Finley, to go up 89-80 with 2:15 left as the Clippers went scoreless over 5 minutes. The Clippers scored the next 4 points to pull within 5 points with 75 seconds left, but Finley hit 2 free throws with 53 seconds left and Shawn Bradley tipped-in a Finley miss with 18 seconds left to give Dallas a win as the Clippers missed the two shots they attempted in the last minute of the game. Dallas won 93-84. Well, the talk that Nelson was going to start playing the youngsters more did not hold true for this game. Trent played 37 minutes, Green 34 minutes, Bradley 41 minutes, Finley 43 minutes, and Nash 37 minutes. Off the bench, Davis played 23 minutes, Anstey 8 minutes, Strickland 7 minutes, and Walker 10 minutes. Nowitzki did not play. The starters did perform. Finley finally did what everyone had been looking for - he stepped up his game and took over in the 4th. He had 22 points and 5 rebounds. Trent was his almost usual (he has had some poor games this season) strong self with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Bradley had 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. And Nash finally had a strong game with 12 points on 5-6 FG, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. The Mavs shot better than 50% for the 3rd time this season - and the team has not lost when shooting 50%. Dallas shot 50,7% (37-73) FG and the Clippers shot 39.5% FG (34-86) FG. Quotes Don Nelson: "It was a hard fought game for us, and we had to do whatever we could do to win this one tonight. If I had to play 5 guys 48 minutes each, whatever it took to win this game, I thought it was important that we do that, and we did that." Nelson: "This was a game that we thought we should win and get this monkey off our backs. We just approached it as we have to figure out a way to do that, and we did." Nelson: "The bench didn't get that much of an opportunity tonight, but there will be other games." Steve Nash: "This is a team we should beat. With all our lackluster performances, we needed to come out with energy. A loss would have been a nightmare." Nash: "It would have been a nightmare [losing the the Clippers], it really would. I hate to say it, but there's been a lot of times this season that I thought things couldn't get any worse - and they have. But that would have been way down there." Nash: "There was a lot of pressure on us. Against the Lakers, no one expects us to win. If we lose to the Clippers, everyone jumps on our back." Gary Trent: "I don't care who we were playing, we needed a win bad. Tonight, our defense helped each other. We covered each other's back." Trent: "We just needed to get a win, period, whether it's the Timberwolves, Clippers, or Blazers." Trent: "Coach said to make at least 7 passes before we even took a shot. We had a lot of movement early and got into the flow of the game." Trent: "I just tried to play within the flow of the offense. We had a balanced attack, and the biggest thing is we helped each other a whole lot on defense." Trent [amazingly still talking about the long shot playoffs]: "Every game is a must-win if we want to get that eighth spot. We just needed to win. The last few weeks I have been working on backing people into the post and not trying to score but rather to draw the double team." Michael Finley: "Well, I just get touches, coach calls my numbers and I just have to make the most of those situations. Shots were going down." Finley: "It's easy for us to get in and have intensity going up against a team like the Lakers. But when you're going up against a team like the Clippers, who have been struggling, mentally you have to be focused. And I think for the most part we were like that tonight." Chris Ford: "We made a comeback and then we couldn't do anything. Other than that, we didn't execute our offense down the stretch." Troy Hudson: "We didn't do a good job of executing and winning the game. They played some good defense, we got some great shots. We just didn't get them to fall. They came out and played very aggressive." Dallas Mavericks 93, Los Angeles Clippers 84 at Dallas (April 1) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 28 16 31 18 - 93 .500 .571 .507 .833 LA Clippers 18 28 24 14 - 84 .385 .429 .395 .700 Halftime: LA Clippers 46-44 3rd Q: Dallas 75-70 LA Clippers' largest lead: 45-39 1:31 2nd Dallas' largest lead: 28-16 0:29 1st Lead changes: 12 Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 6:41 3rd Refs: Terry Durham, David Jones, Scott Wall Attendance: 13,336 (cap 18,042) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Gary Trent 37 9-15 0-0 5-6 23 6-11 6 3 0 0 0 A.C. Green 34 6-11 0-0 1-2 13 1-2 2 0 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 41 6-12 0-0 4-4 16 2-13 1 0 3 1 5 Michael Finley 43 9-19 0-1 4-4 22 1-5 1 3 2 0 1 Steve Nash 37 5-6 2-3 0-0 12 2-7 9 3 3 3 0 Hubert Davis 23 2-4 2-3 0-0 6 0-3 1 1 0 0 0 Chris Anstey 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 1 2 2 1 Erick Strickland 7 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 2 1 0 0 Samaki Walker 10 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 0-3 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 37-73 4-7 15-18 93 12-44 21 15 15 6 7 Los Angeles Clippers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Maurice Taylor 32 3-10 0-1 1-3 7 2-2 3 1 3 0 0 Rodney Rogers 39 6-17 0-2 0-0 12 5-9 3 0 5 2 1 Michael Olowokandi 25 5-11 0-0 0-0 10 6-8 1 2 1 0 1 Tyrone Nesby 17 3-5 1-2 1-1 8 0-1 0 1 2 1 1 Darrick Martin 10 0-1 0-1 2-2 2 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 Eric Piatkowski 27 5-12 3-5 0-0 13 2-2 2 0 1 0 0 Troy Hudson 38 4-10 3-5 0-0 11 1-1 7 1 1 0 0 Lamond Murray 29 6-16 2-5 3-4 17 0-4 1 3 2 2 0 Lorenzen Wright 23 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 4-9 0 2 4 0 1 Totals 48 34-86 9-21 7-10 84 20-36 17 12 21 5 4 patricia