In one of the most bizarre injuries, Dirk Nowitzki suffered a sprained left ankle putting on his shoes Saturday morning. He had put the shoe on and was stomping his foot on the ground to make sure the shoe was all the way on prior to tying the shoe when he strained a tendon in the ankle. He missed the Washington game that night, but very surprisingly returned to play the 2 nights later (no one thought his ankle would be ready by then) against Utah. Tuesday night he sprained the same ankle again when he stepped on Juwan Howard's foot during the 2nd quarter of the Portland game. He missed the rest of the game. It is not known yet if he will play in tonight's game against Cleveland. Michael Finley bumped heads with Derek Anderson late in the Portland game and left the game to get 3 stitches above his right eye. Washington at Dallas (December 8) Dirk Nowitzki did not play in the game due to a sprained left ankle. Washington took an early 11-4 lead with 7:40 left with 9 of those points coming from 2nd chance points. Washington held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter and led 27-22 after 1. Washington had 15 2nd change points and 9 offensive rebounds in the quarter. Washington out-rebounded Dallas 16-4. Washington scored 7 consecutive points to go up 34-24 with 8:40 remaining and their lead hovered around 10 points for most of the rest of the quarter. Washington led 42-34 with 3:30 to go and went on a 13-2 run to go up 55-36 with 26 seconds left. Eduardo Najera hit a jumper with 3 seconds left and Washington led 55-38 at the half. Brendan Haywood had 11 points including 4-4 FG in the 2nd quarter. Washington shot 65% FG and Dallas shot 39% FG in the quarter. Washington took their largest lead at 63-42 with 8:30 remaining before Dallas finally decided to play. Washington led 52-67 with 3 minutes left and Dallas closed the quarter with 12-1 run behind the energy of Najera and Wang Zhizhi and capped by a 3-pointer by Michael Finley with a fraction of a second remaining. Washington led 68-64 after 3. Dallas shot 48% FG and Washington shot just 28% FG in the 3rd quarter. The game stayed close in the 4th quarter with Washington clinging to a single-digit lead. Tim Hardaway nailed a 3-pointer and Wang hit a jumper to tie the game at 82-82 with 5 minutes to go. The teams traded layups and a Michael Jordan 3-point play gave Washington an 85-82 lead with 4 minutes left. A Finley jumper pulled Dallas within 86-87 with 2 minutes left, but Richard Hamilton hit a jumper, Finley missed a 3-pointer, Jordan hit 2 free throws, and Steve Nash was called for an offensive foul with 56 seconds left and Washington lead 91-86. Washington shot 10-11 FT in the last minute of the game to hang on to the win. Washington won 102-95. The Mr. Hyde-Dr. Jeykl team returned with Dallas again falling into a large hole and fighting back to make a game of it. This time, Michael Jordan stepped up in the 4th quarter to prevent Dallas from winning this game. Jordan was terrible through 3 quarters with just 6 points on 3-15 FG (granted, those 3 made were impressive - 2 dunks and 1 tough flip-layup over Bradley - but not a single outside shot), but took the team on his shoulders by hitting tough shots (including outside) for 15 points in the 4th on 4-6 FG and 7-7 FT. Jordan also had 12 rebounds. The Mavs also hurt themselves by allowing rookie Brendan Haywood to have a dominate 1st half with 16 of his career high 19 points coming in the 1st half. He shot 8-9 FG as the Mavs had nothing inside. Richard Hamilton had a steady game with 19 points evenly spread throughout the game and 5 rebounds. Chris Whitney (11 points) and Tyronn Lue (12 points) were the other Wizards in double-digits. Washington shot 24-33 FT and Dallas shot just 8-14 FT, but the Mavs need to look at themselves for this loss, not the refs. Dallas came out flat and never led in the game. Washington out-rebounded Dallas 47-30. The only starter to show up was Michael Finley with 32 points, including 12 points (5-6 FG) in the 4th quarter, and 5 rebounds. Steve Nash managed a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, but only shot 4-12 FG, had 5 fouls, and had 4 turnovers. Juwan Howard, starting with Nowitzki out, was terrible with just 4 points including 1-6 FG, but did have 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Tim Hardaway had a nice game off the bench with 15 points and 6 assists. Eduardo Najera and Wang Zhizhi provided the spark that ignited Dallas comeback in the 2nd half. Najera had 8 points on 4-4 FG, 3 rebounds, and numerous intangibles in 17 minutes and Wang had 9 points and 4 rebounds in 13 minutes. Quotes Doug Collins: "They did a real nice job, they started running somewhat of a false trap at us at halfcourt and we got stagnant and the shot clock was working against us. I was really proud of the way our guys fought back and stepped up. We were very fortunate that Nowitzki wasn't playing tonight. Michael was terrific at the end, as always. We had some guys step up and make some big shots. We also hit our free throws." Collins on Jordan: "Michael has really struggled with that sore knee. He felt pretty good tonight. They did a nice job defensively but at the end he hit the big shots. He's hoping that soon he'll turn the corner and feeling and playing better." Collins: "Jahidi gave us good minutes again tonight. He gave us 6 rebounds and 8 points and Brendan gives us 19 points and 7. Our center position got 25 points and 13 rebounds - we'll take that all the time. Guys are starting to get more of a cohesive feeling about playing." Michael Jordan: "The guys came out and played well. You could see it in the last couple games. The guys are starting to come out and play aggressive. We lost our poise a little bit in the 3rd quarter and let them back into the game. In the 4th quarter, we just grinded it out. I was able to help out and get some scoring. We played a good game. We matched Don Nelson with his lineup changes. Doug did a good job in matching us up." Jordan: "We still have to continue to learn. We had a 17, 18, maybe a 20 point lead and they came back to tie the game up. I was able to show some leadership in the 4th quarter and we made our free throws down the stretch." Jordan: "Finley is just constantly improving. The kid works hard all summer. Every facet of his game is going to improve. He's a force for them and that's tough for us." Richard Hamilton: "Everybody came to play. When the game got tough, guys stepped up and made their free throws. That's what it is going to take for us to win basketball games." Hamilton on the final 2 minutes: "[Jordan] said, 'We're going to win this game, and whoever doesn't want to be out there can sub themselves out.' He just let guys know that this is our time to win. That's what MJ does. He's so smart. He knows how to find the open man and get rebounds." Tyronn Lue: "We out there having fun; playing loose and playing free. Everybody has been playing relaxed lately, and we've been getting some wins that way, so we want to continue to play that way." Lue on Jordan in the 4th quarter: "It's easy. It makes things easy on me. I just get Michael the ball and get out of the way and let him do his thing." Brendan Hamilton: "It was a complete effort. Everybody stayed together. Everybody came to play. When the game got tough, guys stepped up and made their free throws. That's what it's going to take to win basketball games." Don Nelson: "I was really worried in the 1st half that we weren't going to get anything done. We tried to keep our composure, but we couldn't find anybody to get the ball up and down. We looked worse than the score, I thought. We made a really nice comeback and got back in the game." Nelson: "It was a situation [close game] that we didn't want to be in where they can have Jordan as a big factor in the game. He delivered once again. We did the best we could on him. We followed our game plan, except we couldn't handle their inside people. They were too big for us or too strong." Nelson: "I thought the biggest factor in the game was Haywood. He was a really nice looking young player. We didn't seem to be able to do anything with him and they made some nice passes to him too. I think they have quite a catch in him. I really like the progress they've made and they've done a really nice job and made us pay the price. We didn't deserve to win the game. I thought that they outplayed us." Nelson on missing Nowitzki: "It is only an advantage if you win the game. They had an opportunity to play us at full strength and they took advantage of it. You have to give them credit. We laid the egg in the 1st half and got into a position where we couldn't come back." Nelson on Najera: "When he gets his opportunity to play he always does well. Unfortunately, he is the 11th or 12th on a 12 man roster and a lot of people play ahead of him. I was very proud of him. I think he helped us get back in the game and that is the second time he's played and the 2nd time he's done that." Michael Finley: "We came out a little flat tonight. They were definitely the team with a lot of energy, a lot of spunk in the 1st half. We made it hard on ourselves and coach Nelson said that if it came down to a close game at the end that's when Michael's going to try to take over. He made some big shots and that's the main reason we lost the game." Finley on the slow starts: "We're getting out of the box slow. When we start out slow like that, then we really have to try to turn it around in the 2nd half. For every 5 games [we do that], we may come back one time from a 20 point deficit. We can't make that a habit. I think everybody in the locker room knows that and we'll get it fixed." Finley on Jordan: "It's not that big of deal to me to play against him because I've been playing against him all summer. It was no hype for me. The media and the fans were more interested in him coming here than anyone else. As for as me, I was more worried about beating their team, but unfortunately we came up short." Finley on missing Nowitzki: "Well, 30 points and 10 rebounds were sitting on the bench. We have the type of team that when one guy goes down we have other guys who can step it up. Dirk is playing tremendous ball for us. He gives us an added weapon out there. Without him, we were definitely at a loss, but we had the players that could easily have won this game." Steve Nash: "We missed Dirk a lot tonight, but you can't spot teams 20 points and expect to win. We lost tonight because of lack of energy and lack of commitment defensively. We didn't play great, but we could have definitely won this game if we would have played better defensively in the 1st half." Nash: "It hurts to play without your best offensive player, but we still had a great chance to win this game. We just can't give up that many points, especially when your best offensive player is out of the lineup. We just can't afford to give teams 20 point leads in the 1st half. We just played with no energy and we played terribly defensively. What sealed our fate was the 1st half." Nash on the slow start: "It's something that we have done a few times this year, but it's not just because Jordan was here. We just have to make sure that we are focused and not come out and just assume that it's going to happen for us. We have to make it happen for ourselves. We need to look at our mental frame of mind and have a shift mentally at our approach." Nash: "Eddie brought a lot of energy and Wang really stretches the defense with his offensive skills. Eduardo is great off the bench he comes into the game and just plays hard and he really raises the energy of the whole team. He's a great defensive player for us and he rebounds and makes things happen. Wang with his offensive touch really caused them a lot of problems in the 2nd half. " Washington Wizards 102, Dallas Mavericks 95 at Dallas (December 8) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Washington 27 28 13 34 - 102 .537 .333 .521 .727 Dallas 22 16 26 31 - 95 .508 .389 .482 .571 Halftime: Washington 55-38 3rd Q: Washington 68-64 Technical fouls: Brendan Haywood 7:08 2nd, Tim Hardaway 0:19 3rd Flagrant fouls: Juwan Howard, 6:49 3rd Refs: Joey Crawford, Tom Washington, Kevin Fehr Attendance: 20,241 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Dirk Nowitzki (strained left ankle) Washington Wizards REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Jordan 35 7-21 0-1 7-9 21 2-12 4 1 3 4 0 Christian Laettner 21 2-2 0-0 2-2 6 2-6 1 2 2 0 0 Jahidi White 19 4-5 0-0 0-0 8 4-6 1 3 1 0 0 Richard Hamilton 42 6-15 1-1 6-7 19 1-5 3 2 4 1 1 Chris Whitney 21 3-5 0-1 5-6 11 1-3 4 2 1 0 0 Hubert Davis 33 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 2 2 2 1 0 Tyronn Lue 29 5-11 1-3 1-2 12 0-1 4 2 2 2 0 Popeye Jones 11 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1-6 0 1 2 0 0 Brendan Haywood 28 8-9 0-0 3-7 19 3-7 1 0 3 1 1 Courtney Alexander 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 38-73 2-6 24-33 102 14-47 20 15 20 9 2 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 24 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 0-4 1 1 4 1 0 Danny Manning 12 2-5 0-1 0-0 4 0-0 0 0 3 0 0 Juwan Howard 23 1-6 0-0 2-2 4 4-6 5 1 3 0 1 Michael Finley 45 13-22 3-4 3-3 32 2-5 3 3 3 2 0 Steve Nash 41 4-12 2-5 0-0 10 0-2 10 4 5 1 0 Johnny Newman 20 1-5 0-2 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 2 1 0 Shawn Bradley 12 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 1-2 1 0 1 1 0 Tim Hardaway 31 6-12 1-3 2-3 15 1-3 6 0 2 0 0 Wang Zhizhi 13 4-9 1-3 0-0 9 1-4 0 2 1 0 0 Evan Eschmeyer 2 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Eduardo Najera 17 4-4 0-0 0-2 8 2-3 0 0 3 2 0 Totals 48 40-83 7-18 8-14 95 11-30 26 11 28 8 1 Dallas at Utah (December 10) Despite being very doubtful for the game due to his sprained left ankle, Dirk Nowitzki did play in the Utah game and played very well. Dallas scored the first 8 points as Utah missed their first 4 shots. After the teams traded buckets, Utah scored the next 8 points to tie the game at 10-10 with 5:50 left. The game stayed very close of the rest of the quarter. The game was tied at 25-25 after 1. Dallas shot 9-16 FG and Utah shot 6-19 FG. Dallas shot 7-8 FT and Utah shot 12-13 FT. The game remained close in the 2nd quarter with 5 ties and 4 lead changes. Utah led 61-55 at the half. Utah shot 23-27 FT and Dallas shot 13-15 FT. Karl Malone had 18 points including 10-12 FT, Andei Kirilenko had 14 points, Steve Nash had 19 points, and Nowitzki had 15 points. Utah took their largest lead at 11 points at 68-57 with 8:41 left on a 3-pointer by John Stockton. Dallas answered with a 15-4 to tie the game at 72-72 with 4 minutes remaining. The game stayed close the rest of the quarter with Dallas briefly taking a 1 point lead. Utah led 81-78 after 3. Dallas opened the 4th quarter with a 9-2 run to take an 87-83 lead with 8:40 left. Dallas pushed their lead up to 8 points at 97-89 with 5 minutes left and then folded. Utah closed the game with an 18-1 run as Malone took over with 7 points and Dallas could do nothing right in missing their last 7 shots. Utah won 107-98. This time it was the Dr. Jeykl-Mr. Hyde team that appeared as Dallas had a decent lead in the 4th quarter and completely disappeared over the last almost 5 minutes of the game. The Mavs can look to a number of reasons for their non-performance at the end of the game. Key in my mind is Eduardo Najera being subbed out with 4:15 left and not returning. Najera had been providing energy and hustle and good defense on Karl Malone while he was on the court during the 4th. Malone shot 1-3 FG in the first 8 minutes of the 4th and shot 3-3 FG after Najera left. The Mavs were also content not to take the ball to the hole and not taking the smart shots. It seemed like Dallas was playing not to lose instead of playing for the win. But give Utah credit for hitting their shots and taking advantage of Dallas' collapse. Utah, who has been high with turnovers this season, had a very low 10 turnovers and Dallas had a higher than normal 14 turnovers. Utah definitely had the home court advantage by shooting 35-42 FT while Dallas shot 21-24 FT. No surprised that Malone was the high man with 30 points including 12-16 FT, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. John Stockton had a solid game with 21 points, 12 assists, and just 1 turnover. Donyell Marshall chipped in 17 points and 7 rebounds while Andrei Kirilenko provided a boast from the bench with 16 points including 9-11 FT, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 blocks. Dirk Nowitzki led the way for Dallas with 27 points and 10 rebounds - you would have never known that he was very doubtful to play in this game with his sprained left ankle. Steve Nash was also strong with 25 points and 8 assists, but also had 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. Michael Finley struggled mightly with just 6 points including 2-11 FG. Juwan Howard again started and had 12 points and 6 rebounds. As I said, Najera played well and had 12 points on 6-7 FG and did the stuff that does not show in the stats. Quotes Jerry Sloan before the comeback: "I thought our heads were hanging a little bit, but I said, 'There's still time.'" Sloan: "We had guys out there that just continued to compete. It looked like we had more confidence in each other than we've had in a long time." Sloan: "The biggest thing that has plagued us is free throw shooting and the turnovers. We were able to make our free throws coming down the stretch, and we were able to hang on to the basketball coming down the stretch." Karl Malone: "We fought through everything tonight to win this ballgame. It feels a hell of a lot better to win than to lose." Malone: "Every guy that was out on the floor had a hand in something down the stretch, and that's what we need. Not just me, not just Stock. Andrei, Donyell, Crotty - everybody out there did something positive. Scott Padgett, I think he played great. The guys that got in the ballgame contributed. That's what we need." Malone: "All the guys in this locker room believed in what we wanted to do, and guys are starting to put it together now, the whole game. We just never lost faith in what we were trying to do." John Stockton: "We're learning. We have some young guys and some very old guys and the mix takes some time to learn. We're getting a little bit better and at least it's something we can build off of." Donyell Marshall on the comeback: "We just looked at each other and Karl and Jerry both said, 'We're going to win this game,' and we went out there and we knew what we had to do. We knew we had to come through and pull this thing together." Andrei Kirilenko: "I think it's a very important game for the Jazz because Dallas [wiped] us out of the playoffs last year. I think it's a very important game because we got revenge." Don Nelson: "They were good down the stretch and we weren't." Nelson: "They made the plays down the stretch, and we didn't. We hung in there for a long period of time." Nelson: "We needed to make shots to keep that lead and you become vulnerable when you don't. I thought our defense let down a little bit. But the main thing was when we had the lead, even though they scored, we didn't." Nelson: "They made the plays down the stretch and we didn't. We got some good looks, but didn't put them down. So we gave them the opportunity to come back and they did. They were good down the stretch. We think they are a very fine team." Nelson: "Our defense let us down a little. The main thing is that when we had the lead, even though they scored, we didn't. We needed the scores to maintain that lead." Dirk Nowitzki: "We played well and we were right there. At the end of the game you always have to come up with big plays." Nowitzki: "We played well the whole game. We were right there. Karl made some big shots and Donyell made some big shots and we didn't come up with good plays. At the end of a game like this, you always have to come up with good plays." Nowitzki: "Down the stretch, they made big shots and we didn't. We had good looks but we didn't execute any more like we did for 3 quarters." Nowitzki: "You need to make your shots the full 48 minutes of a game or you're not going to win many games in this league. We just didn't make any shots the last 4 or 5 minutes of this game." Nowitzki on Najera: "He defended Karl very well. Of course you can't shut him down, he's one of the best players in the league." Steve Nash: "We just had a momentum shift at the wrong time." Nash: "Sometimes I feel like we don't get the balance of calls. We didn't make enough shots in the end, and we didn't get any calls." Nash: "It's tough that we didn't come up with a win, but we've got to get over this one, go home, get some sleep and be ready for tomorrow." Juwan Howard: "We gave it away." Eduardo Najera: "I thought we had a real great chance of beating these guys tonight. But they started making shots." Najera: "This was a very tough and physical game. We knew it would be after last year when we knocked them out. This is always a tough game with the Jazz." Najera on defending Malone: "I was just basically doing what the coaches told me to do. They wanted me to take his jump shot away, make him play as a driver." Utah Jazz 107, Dallas Mavericks 98 at Utah (December 10) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Utah 25 36 20 26 - 107 .462 .308 .436 .833 Dallas 25 30 23 20 - 98 .538 .304 .467 .875 Halftime: Utah 61-55 3rd Q: Utah 81-78 Technical fouls: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 7:43 1st, Don Nelson 5:04 1st, Karl Malone 4:44 3rd Refs: Bennett Salvatore, Leon Wood, Greg Willard Attendance: 18,097 (cap 19,911) Utah Jazz REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Karl Malone 42 9-17 0-0 12-16 30 1-12 5 1 3 0 0 Donyell Marshall 35 6-12 0-0 5-5 17 2-7 1 1 5 1 0 Jarron Collins 21 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 3-6 1 0 4 1 0 DeShawn Stevenson 20 1-6 0-1 0-0 2 1-3 0 2 0 0 0 John Stockton 33 8-15 1-3 4-4 21 1-1 12 1 3 0 0 John Crotty 31 1-5 0-3 4-4 6 0-2 6 1 2 0 1 Andrei Kirilenko 30 3-8 1-3 9-11 16 3-5 0 0 2 6 3 Scott Padgett 10 3-5 2-3 1-2 9 1-2 0 0 2 0 0 John Amaechi 5 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 2-2 0 1 0 0 1 John Starks 6 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Quincy Lewis 7 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 34-78 4-13 35-42 107 14-41 25 10 22 9 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Juwan Howard 34 3-7 0-0 6-8 12 1-6 0 0 4 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 44 10-18 3-6 4-4 27 1-10 3 4 5 0 0 Shawn Bradley 17 1-2 0-0 2-2 4 1-3 1 2 1 0 1 Michael Finley 36 2-11 0-2 2-2 6 1-4 2 1 4 0 1 Steve Nash 34 8-15 3-7 6-6 25 1-4 8 4 5 0 0 Wang Zhizhi 2 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Adrian Griffin 23 2-5 0-2 0-0 4 2-6 0 1 4 1 0 Tim Hardaway 24 2-8 1-5 1-1 6 0-0 4 0 2 0 0 Danny Manning 6 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 2 2 1 1 0 Eduardo Najera 20 6-7 0-0 0-1 12 1-3 0 0 5 1 0 Totals 48 35-75 7-23 21-24 98 8-37 20 14 33 4 3 Portland at Dallas (December 11) The game stayed real close in the 1st quarter with both teams holding small leads. Dallas led 13-10 with 6:30 left and Damon Stoudamire scored 7 points and Shawn Kemp chipped in 2 free throws and Portland led 19-13 with 4:30 remaining. Portland scored the last 5 points of the quarter to go up 30-22 after 1. Portland led 32-24 with 10:20 left and Dallas scored the next 10 points to take a 34-32 lead with 7:50 to go. Unfortunately, Dirk Nowitzki went down with a sprained left ankle during that run and did not return to the game. The game teeter-tottered over the last 7 minutes of the quarter with 7 ties and bothing teams holding 2 point leads a number of times. Dale Davis scored the last 4 points of the half and Portland led 48-46 at the half. The game still stayed close in the 3rd quarter. The game was tied at 52-52 with 9:30 to go and Dallas scored the next 7 points to go up 59-52 with 7:20 left. Dallas held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 69-66 after 3. Rick Brunson scored the first 4 points of the 4th quarter to give Portland a 70-69 lead with 11 minutes left as the close, entertaining game continued. It was raining in the AAC as Michael Finley hit a 3-pointer, Derek Anderson answered with a 3, and Tim Hardaway responded with a 3 to give Dallas an 81-78 lead with 7:50 to go. A Bonzi Wells 3-pointer cut Dallas' lead down to 87-86 with 3:45 left, but Steve Nash continued his stellar game with a layup and 2 free throws to give Dallas a 91-86 lead with 3 minutes to go. The teams traded misses, Anderson hit 1 of 2 free throws, and Hardaway got a layup with 2 minutes left. Portland missed on 2 attempts and Steve Nash drained a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 96-87 with 1:18 remaining. The 3-pointer also gave Nash a new career high with 32 points at that point. Stoudamire hit a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left and those 43 seconds would take a long time to play as Portland started intentionally fouling. Nash, very tired, hit 1-2 free throws on 3 consecutive trips to the line - he had only missed 5 free throws the entire season up to that point. Dallas led 99-94 with 29 seconds left. Anderson and Finley bumped heads and Finley left the court to get stitches. Anderson hit 1 of 2 free throws and Nash was again fouled. He hit the first one to give the Mavs 100 points and the fans Chalupas. Nash raised his arms in triumph after the make and turned and bowed to the fans. He then hit the 2nd one. Stoudamire hit a 3-pointer and Hardaway hit 2 free throws. Stoudamire missed a 3-pointer, but Rasheed Wallace was fouled on the rebound and hit 2 free throws with 6 seconds left. Nash capped his great game with 2 more free throws. Anderson hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer. Dallas won 105-103. It was a very close and exciting game throughout. There is no question who the hero of this game is. Steve Nash carried Dallas this night. Nash had a career high 39 points on 12-16 FG and 13-16 FT and 7 assists. His circus shot was clicking. His best was a baseline drive under the basket and an over-the-shoulder flip with his back to the basket that went up, kissed the glass, and went straight down through the hoop. Michael Finley had another poor game, but the Mavs kept going to him and he managed 20 points including 7-26 FG, but did snag 7 boards and dished out 4 assists. Tim Hardaway had 12 points, with 7 of them coming in the 4th quarter, including 4-12 FG and 5 assists and was on the court at the end as Don Nelson went with a small lineup. Dirk Nowitzki had 10 points in 15 minutes before leaving the game with a sprained ankle. Adrian Griffin had a nice game with 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists as well as his usual good defensive performance. For the second time this season, he left a defender sitting on his tail - this time Bonzi Wells - with an unexpected crossover dribble-drive for the easy layup. Eduardo Najera again played well and provided a nice spark off the bench - and this time Nelson kept him in the game for the end. He had 7 points and 9 rebounds. Portland had blanced scoring but this had to be a disappointing loss with Dallas playing most of the game without their best player and the 2nd best player shooting so poorly. Portland had 6 players in double-digits. Wells had 21 points and 13 rebounds. Damon Stoudamire also had a double-double with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists. Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and 7 rebounds and picked up another technical - the ref gave him a lot of leeway before finally T'ing him up. Starters Dale Davis had 12 points and 8 rebounds and Derek Anderson, who has missed a number of games this season due to injury, had 13 points including 4-12 FG and 6 rebounds. Ruben Patterson provided 16 points including 6-8 FG off the bench. Scottie Pippen did not play due to a sprained right knee. Quotes Don Nelson: "We had one horse and we rode it. Nash had a super game. It was just a struggle all game, especially when Nowitzki went down and a lot of guys stood the test and did what they could do. We had a lot of trouble scoring, but Nash seemed to find a way to get that done. Michael continued to struggle with his shot, but he played hard and did the best that he could. He was rebounding, especially down the stretch. We just used what we had going for us, which wasn't much and we hung on. We played Nash with Hardaway and he was able to play off the ball and Timmy really makes it easy for him to get open. He had one of those super games and the free throws down the end got him his career high and his chalupa and the game and a happy coach." Nelson: "We had one horse and we rode him, and we rode him and we rode him. You look at the box score and they had 6 horses and we had 1, but our horse won by a photo." Nelson on Nash: "He does what we need him to do and he just plays so hard that I am worried that he is going to get injured. I over play his minutes, which I have to do, and I am worried. He has missed games because he gets banged up. He doesn't get calls from the referees and he gets banged around and he is just one big bruise, so I do worry." Nelson on Nash: "He just plays so hard that I worried that he's going to get injured. He gets banged up and he doesn't seem to get calls from the referees, and he gets banged around and falls. He's just one big bruise right now. I really worry about him." Nelson on Najera: "He just has the energy and finds the way and is just so relentless. I went with the vets early and still do, but it's clear that we need some energy." Nelson on playing Najera in the 4th and referring to his pulling Najera in the 4th of the Utah game: "I stuck with him at the end of the game. I didn't want to screw up twice." Dirk Nowitzki: "It's hard to get healthy when you keep stepping on people's feet." Nowitzki: "Steve was unbelievable. He carried the team and hit some unbelievable shots down the stretch to win the game." Steve Nash: "It wasn't like I constantly was thinking, 'Dirk's out, I've got to score'. I just wanted to play my game and if I scored, I scored. It felt good and the ball was going in. When you're feeling it, you just try to ride it out and make the most of it for the team." Steve Nash: "I didn't make a conscious effort that Dirk's out, so now I've got to score. Things just kept falling my way." Nash: "I just felt good all night and I tried to ride it out." Nash on his missed free throws near the end of the game: "I was so tired at the end, I started to get a little shaky. But then the game slowed down a little bit." Nash: "I've always been a pass-first player. But I've been playing for Nellie for 4 years now and he's been all over me to shoot, shoot, shoot. It's given me a new dimension." Eduardo Najera: "We were really ready to play this team tonight. Part of the reason we won this game was because the fans really got into the game and throughout the whole game they were right there with us. The louder the fans get the better we play." Najera: "Tonight, Steve just made all the shots and that was the main reason we won." Najera: "I was pretty active tonight. I was trying to play good defense and rebound. We didn't have Dirk most of the game tonight, and Finley got hurt at the end. But there were a lot of guys that stepped up, and everyone knows their roles and we're playing very well together right now." Tim Hardaway: "We played well in the 2nd half and we knew what we needed to do and that was on the defensive end. We played good defense and moved the ball well on offense and got good shots on the offensive end and they went down for us in the 2nd half. We played aggressive and very hard on defense tonight." Hardaway: "We played good help-rotation defense. Everyone helped out each other and got in front of people and made them shoot some tough shots." Hardaway: "This win was real big for us. Like Danny Manning said we were happy to get that monkey off our backs because he was on our backs for 3 games and for 3 games we were right there, but we didn't execute at the end of the games, tonight we did." Maurice Cheeks: "We should have won the game, no question. They did everything we needed to do to win the game. We talked about pick-and-rolls and they came in on the last play and Steve Nash goes in with a left handed layup and nobody moves over. We talked about Najera coming in and bringing energy to the game. He came in and rebounded the ball. They won the game with Michael Finley shooting 7-26, Nowitzki playing 15 minutes, and they win the game. That is a very disappointing loss." Cheeks: "We needed to be smart down the stretch. We talked about the elbow play and they came down and ran the elbow play as slow as can be and went to the lane and got a left handed layup. We talked about guys keeping the ball live to rebound the ball and they did it every time. We had stretches late in the game that cost us the game. We have to learn how to run plays down the stretch of the game and we have not learned how to do that. You have to learn how to execute offensively and defensively when the game is on the line." Cheeks: "It seems like every time we play someone they get a career high. They could only score with Finley and Nash. They were the only scorers at the time and the other guys were keeping the ball alive and rebounding the ball." Bonzi Wells: "We need to execute better down the stretch. We've got to get better. We can't keep winning one and losing one. We can't continue this trend throughout the season or we'll be out of the playoff hunt early." Wells: "We just tried to stay aggressive. We kept going to the hole. We didn't get the calls we are used to getting, so it kind of threw us out of our rhythm a little bit. We didn't get to the free throw line like we wanted to. We need to get to the line 30 to 35 times; anything in the 20's is not acceptable for a team that is as aggressive as we are. We have to continue to be aggressive and keep pushing and getting better. I don't know how we are going to do it, but we have to keep trying." Derek Anderson: "Mental errors are killing us. We play hard like that and still lose. We can't actually blame the refs. We have mental let downs, and that's the thing. We knew Najera was going to rebound, and we couldn't box him out. You got to outwork these people, and we outworked them to a certain degree, but we've got to be mentally smart and know how hard you have to work and stay in the game. We were in the game the whole time. We just didn't finish." Anderson: "What was I on free throws? 3 for 6. That's not me. 3 assists. That's not me, either. My game is more complete than that. As soon as I get myself together, it will be a lot different. My defense was a little lax, but I could expect that after 2 weeks off, 2 light practices and me coming in and trying to come in and play 38 minutes. That's a lot of work, but I was still playing hard, and that's what we have to understand. The guys who are in there, you have to play hard." Dale Davis: "It was just a combination of a lot of stuff in that game that has been hurting us in previous games. We're pretty much just beating ourselves - it's ridiculous." Dallas Mavericks 105, Portland Trailblazers 103 at Dallas (December 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 24 23 36 - 105 .463 .316 .430 .781 Portland 30 18 18 37 - 103 .537 .357 .506 .667 Halftime: Portland 48-46 3rd Q: Dallas 69-66 Technical fouls: Dale Davis 8:35 1st, Maurice Cheeks 4:13 3rd, Rasheed Wallace 4:13 3rd, Portland defensive 3 seconds 6:23 4th Refs: Don Vaden, Tim Donaghy, Scott Wall Attendance: 17,029 (cap 19,200) Did not play due to injury: Scottie Pippen (sprained right knee) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 29 2-5 0-0 2-2 6 1-5 5 1 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 15 4-9 0-4 2-3 10 0-3 0 0 1 0 2 Shawn Bradley 11 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 1-2 0 0 1 0 0 Michael Finley 46 7-26 2-6 4-6 20 3-7 4 1 2 2 1 Steve Nash 41 12-16 2-3 13-16 39 0-3 7 3 3 1 1 Juwan Howard 20 1-7 0-0 0-0 2 5-9 0 1 3 0 0 Tim Hardaway 30 4-12 2-6 2-2 12 1-1 5 4 2 1 0 Eduardo Najera 34 3-7 0-0 1-1 7 5-9 1 0 3 2 3 Evan Eschmeyer 9 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 1-3 0 0 4 0 0 Johnny Newman 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-86 6-19 25-32 105 17-42 22 10 22 7 7 Portland Trailblazers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Rasheed Wallace 40 6-11 0-1 4-6 16 4-7 1 3 3 0 1 Bonzi Wells 42 10-18 1-4 0-0 21 0-13 3 3 3 0 2 Dale Davis 28 6-11 0-0 0-0 12 5-8 1 0 3 2 0 Derek Anderson 38 4-12 2-4 3-6 13 0-6 3 2 5 3 0 Damon Stoudamire 38 6-12 2-4 1-1 15 1-6 12 2 3 0 0 Shawn Kemp 13 1-4 0-0 2-2 4 1-4 0 2 2 0 1 Ruben Patterson 21 6-8 0-0 4-7 16 2-2 0 1 1 0 1 Steve Kerr 6 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 2 0 1 0 0 Rick Brunson 10 2-2 0-0 2-2 6 0-0 2 0 2 1 0 Zach Randolph 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 3 0 0 Chris Dudley 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 41-81 5-14 16-24 103 13-46 24 14 26 6 5 patricia