The exam showed the Michael Finley does not have a stress fracture in his right heel. He will still miss the rest of the pre-season. There is still some question, but I expect him to be ready for the start of the season. Gary Trent suffered a 2nd degree tear of his left hamstring at the tail end of the Toronto game. It is being described as a slight tear and he will be out 2 to 4 weeks. Trent said that he expects to be out 4 to 6 weeks as he doesn't want to come back too early and re-injure it more seriously. As a result of Trent's injury, the Mavs signed Charles Shackleford to a 1 year, non-guaranteed contract on Saturday and he played in that night's game vs Charlotte. With Trent, Finley (sore heel), Steve Nash (sprained ankle), and Shawn Bradley (strained lower back) out, the Mavs' final 4 pre-season games are being played without of 4 of the 5 expected regular season starters. Toronto at Dallas Cedric Ceballos had 16 points in the 1st quarter and it was a high scoring, running (but occasionally sloppy) affair as Dallas led 32-27 after 1. The Mavs were using a trapping defense, but it wasn't working too well as a number of times Dirk Nowitzki would end up on Muggsy Bogues and Robert Pack would end up on Charles Oakley due to the switch. A lot more learning is needed by a number of players for the switching defense to be effective. Both teams shot well in the quarter and the Mavs shot a sizzling 65% FG. Dallas went up by 10 points in the 2nd quarter, but then went ice cold as Toronto went on a 17-1 run to go up by 6 points. The Raptors led 53-46 at the half. The Mavs' shooting percentage had sunk to 43% FG for the half. The Mavs continued their poor play in the 3rd quarter, but Toronto was not able to build on their lead and led 79-69 after 3. In showing that it was a pre-season game, Toronto listened to some fans' chant of "We want P, we want P" and inserted Percy Miller (aka rapper Master P) into the game in the 4th quarter despite the team only being up by about 10 points. Miller spent most of his time on the court on the weak side on offense. Neither team was able to do much through a good chunk of the 4th as both were playing poorly and the Mavs were blowing layups. Toronto decided that they wanted Miller to score with about 3 minutes left. He took it to the basket and was blocked. The next time down the court, Miller drained a 3-pointer much to the delight of his fans and gave Toronto a 91-80 lead with 2:45 left. However, the Mavs came roaring back as Toronto couldn't find the basket (specifically, Bogues). Vincer Carter was re-inserted with about a 1 minute left with Toronto up 93-89. Carter missed and Robert Pack drove in for 2. Kevin Willis missed a short baseliner and Sean Rooks snagged the rebound. Gary Trent got two inside to tie the game at 93-93 with about 28 seconds left. Bogues missed with about 6 seconds left and Gary Trent quickly brought the ball up court without calling a timeout. Trent, who had a defender in front of him, found Pack who nailed the 15-foot baseliner at the buzzer. Dallas won 95-93. I was elated and jumping up and down. Pack was jumping up and down and getting mobbed by his teammates. And then the fun ended as I saw Trent laying on the court. After a few minutes, Trent was helped up and hobbled off the court, grabbing the upper part of his left thigh. Arrgggghhh! I would have rather had the loss than this. Trent pulled his hamstring rushing down the court. The Mavs closed the game with a 15-2 run with 9 of those 15 points coming from Robert Pack. Pack finished with 19 points including 8-11 FG and Cedric Ceballos had 23 points. Vincer Carter had 19 points, Kevin Willis had 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Doug Christie had 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Aleksander Radojevic came in early in the 3rd quarer and picked up 3 fouls in less than 90 seconds. Robert Pack: "They gave us a lot of opportunities to get a couple of easy [baskets]. We were right back in the game and it worked in our favor." Except for Pack's game winner, Vince Carter had the highlights of the night (and Dirk Nowitzki had the low lights for his lack of defense). The interior pass came into Carter who was under the basket and he did a pretty pirouette for the reverse layup. Don Nelson then called timeout and chewed Dirk out not covering Carter. Later, Carter and Erick Strickland elevated together as the lob was coming in and Carter simply out-jumped Strick and slammed the ball over him. The next time down the court, Carter simply drove in and had a monster, wind-up, power slam [and then Nelson called timeout to yell at Dirk some more and then Dirk took a seat]. Dallas Mavericks 95, Toronto Raptors 93 - at Dallas (October 21) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 32 14 23 26 - 95 .447 .222 .424 .808 Toronto 27 26 23 17 - 93 .482 .250 .462 .875 Halftime: Toronto 53-46 3rd Q: Toronto 76-69 Technicals: None Refs: Jack Nies, Bill Spooner, Matt Boland Attendance: 12,449 Did not play due to injury: Shawn Bradley (lower back strain), Michael Finley (bruised right heel), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), Dee Brown (knee surgery), Antonio Davis, Tracy McGrady (dental reasons), Alvin Williams Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Cedric Ceballos 36 8-19 1-5 6-6 23 0-6 1 2 2 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 29 4-11 0-0 2-2 10 0-5 1 1 1 1 2 Gary Trent 32 5-9 0-0 3-4 13 0-5 3 4 3 0 1 Robert Pack 31 8-11 0-0 3-3 19 0-3 5 5 0 1 0 Erick Strickland 41 4-15 1-3 0-0 9 1-4 7 3 1 2 0 Sean Rooks 28 2-4 0-0 5-5 9 5-13 3 1 4 1 0 Kevin Ollie 15 1-6 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 2 0 0 0 Hubert Davis 18 2-7 0-1 1-2 5 1-1 1 2 1 2 0 Bruno Sundov 3 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 Michael Stewart 7 1-1 0-0 1-4 3 1-5 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 36-85 2-9 21-26 95 9-45 21 20 13 8 3 Toronto Raptors REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Vincer Carter 31 9-18 0-4 1-2 19 1-4 3 2 4 0 3 Charles Oakley 19 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 2 1 2 0 0 Kevin Willis 37 7-12 0-0 2-2 16 3-17 0 1 3 1 0 Muggsy Bogues 38 4-14 0-0 0-0 8 1-4 13 3 1 1 0 Doug Christie 37 8-16 0-1 2-2 18 3-9 7 5 2 4 0 Dell Curry 12 4-8 1-2 0-0 9 0-1 0 1 0 2 0 John Thomas 24 6-9 0-0 0-0 12 2-4 0 3 4 0 0 Aleksander Radojevic 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 4 0 1 Antonio Lang 16 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0-3 0 1 2 1 1 Michael Stewart 12 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 0 4 0 2 Percy Miller 10 1-4 1-1 0-0 3 1-1 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 42-91 2-8 7-8 93 12-46 25 20 27 9 7 Dallas at Charlotte The Mavs took an early 5-2 lead, but Charlotte scored the next 7 points. The game was tied at 13-13 with 5 minutes left. Charlotte went on an 8-0 run to close the quarter and led 33-26 after 1. Charlotte shot 15-17 FT and Dallas shot 6-6 FT. There were a ton of fouls being called in the game and Don Nelson did not like the disparity and picked up two technicals a minute into the 2nd quarter as Charlotte led 37-26. Dallas went on an 8-0 run to cut Charlotte's lead down to 41038 with 7 minutes left. The game remained close the rest of the half and Charlotte led 63-59. Charlotte shot 27-31 FT and Dallas shot 15-16 FT. Dallas opened the 2nd half with a trap and fast pace and tied the game at 65-65 with 10 minutes left. Charlotte responded with a trap of their own and the Mavs fell to pieces. Charlotte went on a 20-6 run to go up 98-79 after 3. The 4th quarter was mostly garbage time. The Mavs did make a run at the end to pull within 110-121 with 1:10 left, but Charlotte scored the last 5 points of the game. Charlotte won 126-110. I wasn't expecting much in the game from the Mavs due to all the injuries to key players and was impressed that they stayed in it as long as they did. The refs were whistle happy and made it a slow/long game despite the fact that both teams were using a fast pace. Bobby Phills was on fire with 31 points on 10-15 FG and 11-11 FT and David Wesley was a key player in the game with 16 points and 7 assists. Cedric Ceballos had 26 points and 9 rebounds and Erick Strickland had 20 points including 9-13 FG. Charlotte Hornets 126, Dallas Mavericks 110 - at Charlotte (October 23) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Charlotte 33 30 35 28 - 126 .573 .091 .512 .902 Dallas 26 33 20 31 - 110 .512 .000 .483 .839 Halftime: Charlotte 63-59 3rd Q: Charlotte 98-79 Technicals: Derrick Coleman 2:45 1st, Don Nelson 10:58 2nd - 2 (ejected) Refs: Joe Forte, Tom Washington, Scott Wall Attendance: 16,487 Did not play due to injury: Elden Campbell (birth of child), Ricky Davis (right knee), Tyrone Grant (broken left hand), Shawn Bradley (strained lower back), Michael Finley (bruised heel), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), Gary Trent (torn left hamstring) Charlotte Hornets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Anthony Mason 30 6-6 0-0 0-0 12 1-5 0 5 4 1 0 Bobby Phills 33 10-15 0-3 11-11 31 1-5 7 3 2 3 1 Derrick Coleman 28 3-7 0-1 4-6 10 1-6 4 1 2 1 2 Eddie Jones 31 5-13 1-3 2-2 13 3-9 5 0 1 4 1 David Wesley 24 5-10 0-0 6-6 16 0-3 7 4 5 1 0 Baron Davis 23 3-4 0-1 6-7 12 2-3 5 4 4 2 1 Todd Fuller 16 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 0-1 0 1 2 0 2 Brad Miller 17 3-6 0-0 4-5 10 2-3 0 1 1 0 1 Eddie Robinson 13 2-7 0-0 1-1 5 1-2 0 0 3 0 0 Eldridge Recasner 15 2-7 0-2 2-2 6 0-0 6 0 1 0 0 Jason Miskiri 5 1-4 0-1 1-1 3 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 Derek Hood 5 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 1 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 44-86 1-11 37-41 126 12-39 36 21 27 12 8 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Cedric Ceballos 39 10-23 0-1 6-9 26 5-9 2 1 2 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 34 2-9 0-0 2-2 6 2-5 3 2 6 0 1 Sean Rooks 32 5-8 0-0 4-6 14 1-4 3 3 3 0 1 Robert Pack 32 5-12 0-0 4-4 14 0-2 11 8 3 3 0 Erick Strickland 27 9-13 0-1 2-2 20 1-4 1 3 3 1 0 Kebu Stewart 18 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-6 1 1 5 0 0 Hubert Davis 30 4-10 0-3 0-0 8 0-3 4 1 3 1 0 Charles Shackleford 7 1-1 0-0 2-2 4 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 Kevin Ollie 14 1-2 0-0 6-6 8 1-3 2 3 1 1 0 Bruno Sundov 2 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Jason Sasser 5 4-4 0-0 0-0 8 0-1 1 1 0 0 0 Totals 48 42-87 0-5 26-31 110 11-37 28 24 30 6 2 patricia