Dallas at Miami (November 23) Whether it was the day of rest Dirk Nowitzki took or his girlfriend visiting, Nowitzki came to play and seemed to be almost over the sinus cold that had been bothering him the past few games. Dallas scored 7 straight points to take a 14-7 lead with 7:51 to go. Miami then went on a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Eddie Jones, to go up briefly at 17-16 with 5:27 left. A jumper by Michael Finley and a 3-pointer by Nowitzki gave Dallas a 21-17 lead with 4:21 remaining. Miami scored the next 8 points to go up 25-21 with 2:50 left. Miami led 29-23 after 1. Nowitzki had 12 points including 4-5 FG. Miami led 39-33 with 7:08 to go and Dallas scored the next 10 points to take a 43-39 lead with 4 minutes remaining. Dallas held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter. Sam Mack hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left and Dallas led 54-50 at the half. Nowitzki had 19 points and Steve Nash had 12 points. Miami pulled within 55-58 on a 3-pointer by Jones, but Dallas answered with an 8-2 mini-run to go up 66-57 with 5 minutes left. Dallas led 78-67 after 3. Dallas shot just 37.5% (9-24) FG in the quarter, but Miami shot worse at 23.8% (5-21) FG. A Juwan Howard dunk and Nowitzki layup gave Dallas their largest lead at 82-67 with 11:22 to go. Dallas wasn't able to push their lead any larger, but Miami was unable to make it a close game. Miami scored 6 straight points to pull within 90-99 with 3 minutes left, but Finley tipped in a shot on the Mavs' next possession. Jones hit 2 free throws to again make it a 9 point game with 1:19 remaining, but Finley drained a 3-pointer to put the nail in the coffin. Dallas won 104-94. Dallas played well and Miami was unable to disrupt Dallas' offense. Miami also hurt themselves by missing 11 free throws. Dirk Nowitzki had a strong outing with 33 points on 11-17 FG and 10-10 FT and 11 rebounds. Steve Nash also played well with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. Michael Finley had 15 points and 5 rebounds (and no assists) and Juwan Howard, in his new 6th man role, had 13 points on 3-10 FG and 7-9 FT and 7 rebounds. No other Mav was in double-digits. Miami welcomed back Alonzo Mourning, who had missed the past few games due to a virus and concerns about his kidney. Mourning looked very tired (at one point I was wondering if he was going to make it up the court without collapsing), but did have 12 points including 5-6 FG and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Eddie Jones led the way for Miami with 22 points including 4-5 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. Rod Strickland was the 3rd player in double-digits with 14 points and 5 assists. Anthony Carter had 12 assists, but only 2 points on 1-4 FG. Quotes Don Nelson: "I don't know what else to say other than we played better and I was happy to come away with the win. It wasn't an easy victory for us. It was very difficult. We have a lot of guys with bruises on them in there." Nelson: "That's our game. We run the ball and make shots. We knew Zo's condition was not that great. We were going to run the ball, push it more and make him run. It paid off." Nelson on Nowitzki: "He has been really ill and hasn't had very much energy. I think this is the most energy he has had in a while. But he really fell off there in the 4th quarter and I was very concerned about him." Dirk Nowitzki: "I was feeling better again. I had a couple of good looks in the beginning where I was making them and my confidence got up." Steve Nash: "I think we played with more energy and passion. All the character terms and cliches were in effect. We went on a run but I think it was just a matter of us getting focused and being more determined." Nash on Mourning: "It's a tough situation for Alonzo. He is trying to get his conditioning back. It's going to take him some time. He has got to worry about his health before he worries about anything else. People shouldn't really expect that much from him until he really is comfortable with his health and fully fit." Pat Riley: "We just had too many breakdowns in the 2nd half. I thought the 3rd quarter we did not come with the kind of intensity and energy and effort that I think we needed." Riley: "Until we play one of those monster games to get over the hump, it's not going to happen. I don't think we played hard enough. I want to stop this somewhere." Riley: "We did not play hard enough in the effort areas, and that is what it's going to take." Riley: "They won't lose faith in themselves if they want to become great. I have been in this league for 35 years and there were 10 to 15 times where I was down and out, no chance of making the playoffs or getting to the Finals, and something would happen. These guys cannot be thinking they just want to relieve the pain of losing 7 in a row. They need to be thinking they have the chance of doing something great. I don't care what is happening today. I care about 5 months from now." Riley on Mourning: "It seems like he has a 5 minute tank, then he needs his rest." Alonzo Mourning: "I'm fine. I felt fine. I wish I could have contributed more to help us win." Mourning: "It comes down to giving the extra effort. We know we have enough talent on this team to win games. We get to the point where, hey, it's another loss. We've got to develop a frame of mind that you are not going to suffer a whole season. There's a lot of things we're just not doing out there." Eddie Jones: "It is more than just attitude. You have to believe that you are doing everything correctly. We have to believe in what we are doing." Dallas Mavericks 104, Miami Heat 94 at Miami (November 23) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 23 31 24 26 - 104 .492 .400 .475 .846 Miami 29 21 17 27 - 94 .429 .533 .449 .593 Halftime: Dallas 54-50 3rd Q: Dallas 78-67 Technicals: Miami defensive 3 seconds 7:46 3rd, Chris Gatling 2:19 4th, Michael Finley 2:19 4th Refs: Greg Willard, Monty McCutchen, Scott Wall Attendance: 15,486 (cap 16,500) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Greg Buckner 15 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 1 2 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 44 11-17 1-3 10-10 33 2-11 2 1 5 0 1 Shawn Bradley 13 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 0-3 0 0 4 1 1 Michael Finley 40 7-17 1-3 0-0 15 2-5 0 3 3 1 0 Steve Nash 39 8-16 3-5 3-3 22 2-6 9 3 3 0 0 Tim Hardaway 17 2-7 1-4 0-0 5 0-2 1 1 0 0 0 Adrian Griffin 25 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 2-5 3 1 2 2 0 Juwan Howard 35 3-10 0-0 7-9 13 2-7 3 0 3 0 1 Evan Eschmeyer 4 0-0 0-0 2-4 2 1-2 0 0 1 0 0 Donnell Harvey 8 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 38-80 6-15 22-26 104 12-44 19 12 24 5 4 Miami Heat REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK LaPhonso Ellis 33 3-5 1-1 0-0 7 4-6 2 1 2 0 1 Sam Mack 25 3-12 2-8 1-2 9 1-2 0 1 4 0 1 Vladimir Stepania 14 3-6 0-0 0-2 6 1-5 0 2 3 1 1 Anthony Carter 28 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 12 3 2 1 0 Eddie Jones 41 5-13 4-5 8-8 22 1-5 4 1 1 2 0 Alonzo Mourning 21 5-6 0-0 2-3 12 0-5 0 1 1 0 1 Rod Strickland 24 5-11 0-0 4-7 14 0-2 5 0 2 1 0 Chris Gatling 22 4-10 0-0 0-1 8 3-7 1 1 2 0 1 Sean Marks 14 3-4 0-0 1-4 7 1-1 1 0 3 0 0 Eddie House 18 3-7 1-1 0-0 7 0-2 0 2 3 1 0 Totals 48 35-78 8-15 16-27 94 12-37 25 12 23 6 5 Phoenix at Dallas (November 24) The 4th game in 5 days found the Mavs back in Dallas to face Phoenix. The Mavs held on to a single-digit lead for most of the 1st quarter. The game was tied at 15-15 with 5 minutes remaining and Dallas went on a 12-2 run to go up 27-17 with 2:25 left on a 3-pointer by Michael Finley. Dallas led 31-22 after 1. Stephon Marbury hit 2 3-pointers and Dan Majerle hit a 3-pointer and, just like that, it was a tie ball game at 31-31 with 10 minutes to go. Dirk Nowitzki broke the tie with a 3-pointer on the next play and Dallas slowly built their lead back up to 10 points at 49-39 with 2:26 left. Dallas led 56-44 at the half. Dallas held a double-digit lead for most of the 3rd quarter, but Rodney Rogers scored 4 straight points to pull Phoenix within 63-72 with 3:08 remaining. Dallas led 81-73 after 3. Dallas' lead hovered around 10 points for the 1st half of the 4th quarter. A 3-pointer by Finley gave Dallas a 97-83 lead with 6:10 to go. Phoenix cut Dallas' lead down to 94-104 with 2:11 remaining, but could get no closer. I groaned when Phoenix started intentionally fouling with 93 seconds left and down by 12. Dallas made 11-12 free throws to close the game. Dallas won 119-104. Dallas seems to have fully recovered from their 3 game losing streak as they have now won 3 in a row and looked very good in this game. The Mavs out-rebounded Phoenix 43-38. Phoenix could do nothing with Dirk Nowitzki besides foul him. Nowitzki had 32 points on 8-20 FG and 14-17 FT (and none were in the foul-fest last 93 seconds) and 9 rebounds. Steve Nash again played well with 29 points (2nd highest points in career), 9 assists, and 3 steals. Michael Finley chipped in 20 points including 2-2 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Juwan Howard had a double-double in his 6th man role with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Shawn Bradley had 12 points including 3-4 FG in just 13 minutes. Stephon Marbury had 31 points and 6 assists for Phoenix and Rodney Rogers had 21 points and 5 rebounds. Shawn Marion had 19 points and 9 rebounds and Anfernee Hardaway had 18 points including 5-16 FG and 6 rebounds. Those 4 scored all but 15 of Phoenix's points. Quotes Don Nelson: "It was a playoff shootout. All the offensive players had a chance to show what they can do." Nelson: "I have a better rotation with Juwan coming off the bench. I am not going to do that the whole season, but I like it a lot when I can match Shawn Bradley up with an opposing center and not have some sort of mismatch at the beginning of the game. I am going to continue to do that. I think that makes our team flow better." Nelson on Nash: "He is quite a player. The only downside to him has been his body. It gets injured when he has to play a lot of minutes. But he was having one of those kind of nights where he didn't deserve to come out of the game, so I left him in there." Dirk Nowitzki: "We got back to playing a lot harder on defense, pushing the ball, and sharing the ball on offense and that's when we play our best basketball. When we get everyone involved, we're a tough team to beat." Nowitzki: "We were playing terrible during the losing streak, no energy on defense, too much one-on-one stuff on offense. Now, we are getting back to playing defense, and we are sharing the ball on offense. That's when we are at our best." Nowitzki: "I missed a lot of shots out there tonight, but luckily I was able to find a way to get fouled, get to the line and make some free throws. I missed a lot of open looks, but we won the game and that's the major thing." Nowitzki: "It's hard to fully recover [from a cold] when you have back-to-back games all the time. We're probably taking the day off tomorrow and not practicing. Hopefully, I'll feel 100% on Tuesday." Nowitzki on Bradley: "Shawn has contributed offensively for the last couple of games. He's been big for us at both ends of the court. He's always there on the defensive end for us. It's a big plus when he scores more, too." Steve Nash: "Our confidence is back. But we're also aware of the fact that we've got to keep playing defense, rebounding and sharing the ball." Scott Skiles: "They pretty much did what they wanted to do to us. We tried to make some adjustments with the way we were guarding things. No matter what they did, they just kept scoring. They really hurt us on the glass, and that's not a great rebounding team. And they hurt us with the 3." Skiles: "They hurt us on the glass and that's not a great rebounding team. I don't want to take anything away from them. Right now they're a better team than we are." Shawn Marion: "Nash was knocking down everything. We were contesting his shots, getting a hand in his face, and he was still hitting. They had it going tonight." Stephon Marbury: "I don't think they are a better team than we are, but tonight they were just better than us." Dallas Mavericks 119, Phoenix Suns 104 at Dallas (November 24) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 31 25 25 38 - 119 .456 .571 .476 .868 Phoenix 22 22 29 31 - 104 .493 .364 .476 .786 Halftime: Dallas 56-44 3rd Q: Dallas 81-73 Technicals: Phoenix defensive 3 seconds 8:17 2nd, Assistant Jim Boylan 7:52 3rd, Coach Scott Skiles 6:09 3rd, Danny Manning 5:52 3rd Refs: Jack Nies, Ron Olesiak, Jason Phillips Attendance: 19,869 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Greg Buckner 19 2-2 0-0 1-2 5 1-3 0 0 2 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 41 8-20 2-4 14-17 32 1-9 1 0 1 2 2 Shawn Bradley 13 3-4 0-0 6-7 12 3-3 0 0 0 0 2 Michael Finley 48 7-18 2-2 4-4 20 1-7 2 3 2 1 1 Steve Nash 43 10-17 3-6 6-6 29 0-0 9 4 4 3 0 Juwan Howard 32 5-13 0-0 0-0 10 5-13 1 2 4 0 1 Adrian Griffin 31 2-5 1-2 2-2 7 3-5 2 1 4 0 0 Tim Hardaway 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Danny Manning 6 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 1-3 0 0 3 0 0 Donnell Harvey 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 39-82 8-14 33-38 119 15-43 16 10 21 6 6 Phoenix Suns REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tom Gugliotta 32 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 2-7 0 1 4 1 0 Shawn Marion 42 8-15 1-2 2-2 19 3-9 1 2 5 2 3 Jake Voskuhl 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 0 1 2 0 0 Anfernee Hardaway 43 5-16 0-1 8-9 18 2-6 1 3 4 1 3 Stephon Marbury 44 13-26 2-4 3-6 31 1-3 6 3 4 0 0 Rodney Rogers 33 7-13 0-2 7-9 21 1-5 1 0 5 0 0 Tony Delk 9 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 2 0 1 0 0 Dan Majerle 7 1-1 1-1 2-2 5 0-0 1 0 0 1 1 Bo Outlaw 23 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-4 1 1 4 0 0 Totals 48 39-82 4-11 22-28 104 11-38 13 12 29 5 7 patricia