As expected, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash were named as All-Star reserves. The reserves were voted on by the Western Conference coaches. The All-Star game take place Sunday in Philadelphia. Congrats to Dirk and Steve! Last Tuesday, Dallas activated Michael Finley and placed Charlie Bell on IR with a sprained right ankle. Finley had missed 11 games due to a strained left hamstring and had not played since January 5. Eduardo Najera missed the Houston and Lakers game due to a sore left knee. He may play in tonight's game vs Indiana. Donnell Harvey suffered a sprained right ankle in Monday's practice and will go on IR when Greg Buckner is ready to return. Dallas finished with a record of 12-4 for January. It is the most wins Dallas has ever had in a month. LA Clippers at Dallas (January 29) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with 8 ties and neither team holding more than a 4 point lead. The game was tied 22-22 after 1. Neither team was shooting well as the Clippers shot 8-20 FG and Dallas shot 10-24 FG. Corey Maggette had 10 points. Dallas opened the 2nd quarter with a 10-2 run to go up 32-24 with 9:40 left. Dallas held a single-digit lead the rest of the quarter. Quentin Richardson tipped in a missed shot with 2 seconds left and Dallas led 52-49 at the half. The game stayed close in the 3rd quarter with Dallas' largest lead just 6 points, the Clippers' largest lead just 2 points, and there were 10 ties. The Clippers scored the last 4 points of the quarter to take an 82-81 lead after 3. Jeff McInnis had 11 points and Steve Nash had 13 points in the quarter. Juwan Howard scored the first 4 points of the 4th quarter, but the Clippers scored the next 7 points to take an 89-85 lead with 10:10 to go. A 3-pointer by McInnis gave the Clippers a 104-95 lead with 5:25 left, but Dirk Nowitzki scored the next 5 points to pull Dallas within 100-104 with 4 minutes remaining. But that was all she wrote for Dallas as the Mavs missed their next (and last) 6 shots and the Clippers scored 13 straight points to make the final margin more lopsided than the game as a whole was. The Clippers won 117-100. Well, the Clippers did to Dallas what Dallas did to the Clippers 3 nights before. Dallas shot well and took advantage of the Clippers' cold shooting in the 4th quarter on Saturday. This night, the Clippers shot well and took advantage of Dallas' cold shooting in the 4th quarter. Dallas shot a mere 8-24 FG while the Clippers shot 13-23 FG in the 4th. Neither team held more than a 9 point lead until the last 2 minutes of the game. Jeff McInnis was the star for the Clippers as 24 of his 31 points came in the 2nd half. He also had 8 assists. Elton Brand, fresh off an All-Star snub (he should have been selected in stead of Chris Webber, who had missed too many games) was solid with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. Corey Maggette, who went scoreless 3 nights ago, had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Quentin Richardson continued his strong shooting with 17 points including 7-11 FG. Darius Miles had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Fresh off news of making the All-Star team, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash each had 22 points. That was 10 points below what Nowitzki had averaged in the previous 7 games and he only had 5 rebounds where he had been averaging 8.9 boards in the past 7 games. Nash only had 5 assists and also had 5 turnovers. Michael Finley had 14 points in 29 minutes - only 1 minute in the 4th at Don Nelson's decision [bad move] - in his first game since January 5. Juwan Howard had 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Tim Hardaway was the 5th Mavs in double-digits with 13 points on a poor 5-14 FG, but also had 7 assists. Quotes Alvin Gentry: "This is a great win. By their record, they're the best team in the NBA. It was good win for us considering the game from last night in Memphis - a game we thought we could win and didn't play very well in the 4th quarter of that game. To come in here and play this team, they are the hottest team in the NBA. They have been playing well at home. I just think we're growing as a team. We're getting better and I am proud of the way the guys played. After playing these guys as few days ago and give up 133 points, to come back and win by 17 and hold them to 33 points less than we did, it's a great win for our guys. The biggest thing about the win is that I think it shows everyone that we are headed in the right direction and our young guys are getting better." Gentry: "I thought we did a good job defensively. The toughest thing to do is defend Tim Hardaway and Steve Nash. I voted for Steve Nash for the All-Star team. He is the heart and soul of this team. I thought we guarded Nowitzki as well as you can guard him. The shots he made - the Lakers can't defend him, the Spurs can't defend him, no one else can defend him - the shots he made. You just have to do the best job you can on him. We came up with a way to get some baskets and it was a heck of a win for us." Gentry on McInnis: "He played well, what can you say? He made all the big shots for us." Elton Brand: "It was a big, big win for us, especially after losing in overtime to Memphis on a back-to-back night. We really came out and played well. It's a great victory for us because Dallas is a great team." Brand on the 4th quarter: "Jeff McInnis really got hot, and they were doubling down and I was able to find him and get him the ball. Corey Maggette found him and got him the ball. We tried to stop their transition because that is how they really hurt us about 5 days prior." Jeff McInnis: "I had a tough assignment with Steve Nash. He was just named an All-Star and he deserves it. It was a great match-up. I was just trying to concentrate on my defense. I just wanted to come out and play good basketball. I made some shots early and kind of got into the flow early. Elton started carrying us and they weren't really guarding me at the 3-point line; it's something I've been working on all season long and tonight it started paying off for us." McInnis on keeping the game close: "That was real important. They are a team that shoots so good, that if they hit 2 or 3 shots, you are down 15 then you are down 25 like we saw in the last game. We were tied at the end of the 3rd [Saturday], next thing we know we're down 17. They shoot the ball so good, you have to honor everything they do." McInnis: "We came out with an attitude that we're going to beat them. I can see the confidence in the guys right now." Don Nelson: "Well, it's been quite a roll. We've fought off games like this many times in this last stretch. But we couldn't fend this off tonight. I thought we were out-played. They deserved to win tonight. I thought they played better than we did tonight. I don't think we played terrible, I just think they played really good. They're athletic and young and when they have a good shooting night they can be tough on anybody. I'm not overly disappointed. I thought we gave a good effort and did the best we could given the circumstances within the game, but that led to a loss. That happens, but we'll go on." Nelson: "We've fought off games like this many times in this last stretch, but we couldn't fend this off tonight." Nelson on Brand: "He was an outstanding player tonight. We had a hard time with him all game. But certainty, down the stretch when we need to get some stops he basically took over. That forced us into our zone, but our zone wasn't successful tonight. I give them credit for making some adjustments and certainly they made some shots." Nelson on Finley's return: "I thought Michael was fine. For a first game, he did the best that he could. We saw some flashes there that will get better and better. I didn't want to overplay him. I think I played him a little more than I thought I would. I thought he was fine. We'll make some adjustments as we go." Nelson on not playing Finley in the 4th: "You can say we should've given Mike a try. I wouldn't argue." Dirk Nowitzki: "There's no question, they played well against us. They came after us. They were aggressive and made a lot of big plays, especially on the offensive end. They were on fire." Nowitzki: "It wasn't the best game we played, but we're not going to undefeated the rest of the year. We just have to move on." Steve Nash: "It's tough to beat a team twice in a row. They came after us and caused us some problems." Tim Hardaway: "In the 2nd half they just came out and played better. They rebounded the ball well and played good defense." Hardaway: "They didn't feel our presence out there on defense. We didn't make it hard for them like we did at their place the other night in LA. We let them do anything they wanted and they started making shots. They also played good defense. Darius Miles came into the game and really made things happen for them. We knew it was going to be a hard game and they played well tonight." Hardaway on Finley's return: "It felt good out there. It's not an adjustment and he fit right in. You have to watch his minutes so he doesn't fatigue or for his hamstring to act up again. It was good to limit his minutes a little bit and watch him until he gets stronger." Adrian Griffin: "The Clippers really came here ready to play tonight. They played with the attitude that they were not going to be denied. They played great on the defensive end and came into the game with great intensity and we didn't match their intensity." Griffin: "They made key plays down the stretch and we didn't. That's what it comes down to, especially in the 4th quarter - who makes the most plays. They're a young group and very exciting to watch. They play very well together. Elton Brand is a force in the low post." Los Angeles Clippers 117, Dallas Mavericks 100 at Dallas (January 29) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% LA Clippers 22 27 33 35 - 117 .516 .556 .524 .840 Dallas 22 30 29 19 - 100 .466 .412 .456 .846 Halftime: Dallas 52-49 3rd Q: LA Clippers 82-81 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 4:44 1st, Don Nelson 0:30 1st Refs: Joe Forte, Scott Foster, Mike Smith Attendance: 19,948 (sellout) Los Angeles Clippers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Elton Brand 38 7-14 0-0 9-11 23 6-10 6 3 2 2 3 Corey Maggette 39 5-10 1-2 4-4 15 1-11 2 1 1 0 1 Michael Olowokandi 29 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 0-4 0 5 3 0 1 Jeff McInnis 43 12-21 5-6 2-2 31 0-3 8 2 4 2 0 Eric Piatkowski 17 2-5 2-5 2-2 8 0-3 2 0 1 0 0 Darius Miles 30 6-10 1-1 2-4 15 3-8 5 3 3 1 2 Quentin Richardson 31 6-10 1-4 2-2 15 1-4 2 2 0 1 1 Sean Rooks 8 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 2 0 1 0 0 Earl Boykins 5 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 1 0 2 1 0 Totals 48 43-82 10-18 21-25 117 11-45 28 17 17 7 8 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Juwan Howard 36 7-13 0-0 0-0 14 2-9 0 0 3 0 3 Adrian Griffin 35 3-8 0-1 1-2 7 2-10 2 0 0 2 1 Dirk Nowitzki 39 9-15 0-0 4-4 22 2-5 3 4 5 0 1 Steve Nash 34 8-19 1-2 5-5 22 0-0 5 5 3 1 0 Michael Finley 29 6-11 2-3 0-0 14 2-4 1 1 2 1 0 Tim Hardaway 27 5-14 3-8 0-0 13 0-1 7 1 0 2 0 Eduardo Najera 24 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2-6 0 0 2 1 0 Wang Zhizhi 11 2-7 1-3 1-2 6 0-1 0 0 4 0 0 Shawn Bradley 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 41-90 7-17 11-13 100 11-39 18 11 19 7 5 Houston at Dallas (January 31) Dallas scored 7 straight points to take a 13-8 lead with 6:15 left. A 3-pointer by Tim Hardaway gave Dallas a 25-17 lead after 1. Both teams were shooting poorly with Dallas just 11-27 FG and Houston 7-18 FG. The poor shooting continued in the 2nd quarter. Dallas used a 16-3 run to take a 42-25 lead with 3:15 remaining. Houston scored the last 4 points of the quarter and Dallas led 46-33 at the half. Dallas only shot 9-23 FG, but Houston shot a miserable 4-17 FG (but did shot 7-8 FT). Dallas led 57-40 with 8:40 to go and Houston went on a 21-5 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Steve Francis with a minutes left, to tie the game at 63-63 after 3. Houston picked up their shooting some and used an advantage from the free throw line to tie the game. Houston shot 8-13 FT in the 3rd quarter while Dallas did not attempt a free throw. Francis had 13 points in the quarter. The game stayed close in the 4th quarter as there were 5 ties and 4 lead changes. Houston led 73-69 with 8:35 remaining and Dallas went on a 16-6 run, including 8 points from Steve Nash, to go up 85-79 with 3:35 to go. Francis hit 3 of 4 free throws to pull Houston within 82-85 with 2:55 left, but Nash hit 2 jumpers to give Dallas a 7 point lead. Francis hit 1 of 2 free throws and Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper and Nash hit 2 free throws to give Dallas a 93-83 lead with 36 seconds remaining. Moochie Norris hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer and Dallas won 95-91. Dallas built a large lead, but was not able to hang on to it due to a serious cold spell (3-17 FG during Houston's run to tie the game after 3), but was able to hang on for the win. Dallas won in spite of the large discrepancy from the free throw line: Houston shot 21-32 FT and Dallas shot 7-15 FT (including 4-6 FT off intentional fouls in the last 40 seconds of the game). Two key stats: Dallas only turned over the ball over just 6 times (Houston had 13 turnovers off of which Dallas scored 17 points) and Dallas had 20 offensive rebounds. Those numbers resulted in Dallas attempting 18 more shots (granted the free throws would take away some of Houston's attempts). In the battle of the Steves, our Steve Nash came through big time with 15 of his 33 points coming in the 4th quarter. Nash shot 13-19 FG and had 8 assists and only 1 turnover. Steve Francis also played well with 30 points on 9-19 FG and 10-16 FT, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, but also had 6 turnovers. Juwan Howard had a nice double-double with 14 points and a career high 16 rebounds including 9 offensive. Dirk Nowitzki struggled and had just 13 points including 6-20 FG, but did have 10 rebounds. Michael Finley is still looking for his complete game to return after the long layoff and had just 11 points and 5 rebounds in 32 minutes. Shawn Bradley started and was decent with 6 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks before fouling out in 30 minutes. Besides Francis, Kelvin Cato had a very nice game for Houston with 18 points including 7-9 FG and 15 rebounds. Rookie Eddie Griffin also had a double-double with 10 points (including a terrible 4-15 FG and 1-8 3-pointers) and 12 rebounds and also had 7 blocks. Kenny Thomas had 12 points and 7 rebounds and Cuttino Mobley had 15 points before fouling out. Houston only got 6 points from the bench - and that from 2 3-pointers by Moochie Norris in the last 9 seconds of the game. Quotes Don Nelson: "What a basketball game. It was entertaining, not from where I sat, but it sure was a good game. They are a fun team to watch but not a fun team to play against. They just give us fits with their small players and the skills they have. We were very fortunate to win this game. Steve Nash came through and had a super ball game. Dirk wasn't shooting very well and we had a lot of guys that have played better. I thought Bradley played well. I appreciate that he was able to play 30 minutes. I know he was tired and I thought he was very effective. I thought we needed it. Mike continues to get stronger and get more comfortable. It's like starting over again. For every adjustment, there is a counter adjustment. I am very happy we got the win." Nelson: "I just matched up. We were going man-to-man. It was pretty effective. We played a bigger line up. Because we were in a zone, we rebounded better but we just weren't consistent enough. We put a new zone in and we won 3. They are smart and figured out where the holes were. They just tore us up in man-to-man. We did some things that worked very well and some things we struggled with." Nelson: "I thought [Nash] and Francis were brother-in-laws in there for a while. It looks like they both said, 'Hey, let's go out and get 30 apiece.'" Nelson: "I think Bradley is getting healthier. It seems like his heart is in the right area now and he wants to help this team. We are going to need him. He is playing better in practice which seemed to be a factor, so maybe it's time the coach started to use him. Even though I was mad at him, I have no problems playing him. All he has to do is play well like he did tonight and I won't be mad any more." Dirk Nowitzki: "It wasn't pretty out there tonight. We had them in the 1st half and we should have been up by way more than just 13. In the 3rd quarter we let them hang around and they started making shots and everything went their way and we almost lost the game. That shouldn't happen and we should have taken care of them earlier instead of letting teams hang around and that's always dangerous, but we were lucky to win the game." Nowitzki on Nash: "Steve was phenomenal tonight. When they were up a couple of points in the 4th quarter he took over and made a lot of big shots. On defense our zone at the end was working for us. They were missing shots and we got the rebounds when we needed them." Steve Nash: "We were up and down out there in the 3rd, so in the 4th quarter there was an opportunity for us to redeem our performance. We got lucky that we were just tough enough defensively and made enough shots to give ourselves the game in the last couple of minutes." Nash on his 4th quarter: "We were struggling a little bit and we weren't making a lot of shots. I really felt good and really had to ride my touch tonight. I felt like I was going to make shots so I just wanted to get a lot of shots up and it paid off." Nash: "Defense is so important for our team. We're always going to score and give ourselves a chance offensively, but we have to stop people and we did just enough of that tonight to win." Shawn Bradley: "It was fun being out there. It was good to feel the rhythm that I know I can have to help the team." Bradley: "If there's not ups and downs, you don't grow. Nellie has been a major supporter of mine since he brought me here, and I appreciate him for that." Rudy Tomjanovich: "Tonight it was another one of those games for us. We were very competitive and I think we could play with anyone in the league. They played hard and did a good job defensively on a tough team to guard, but [Dallas] made some plays down the stretch and we had just a little bit of a lull where I think we made a couple of wrong decisions and it just sort of broke. It is amazing how we keep hanging in there and hanging in there, but we have to find a way to get to the next level." Tomjanovich on playing against the zone: "I thought we did pretty good, we came back. If we kept doing the same things, I think we misread a couple of situations there but I thought we came back on them." Steve Francis: "That 1st half, we couldn't knock down any shots; that kind of hurt us. It was definitely a physical game out there and we weren't able to knock down some of the shots we normally make and that hurt us early in the game." Francis on the 3rd quarter: "I knew we were due. I knew we couldn't keep missing shots the whole game like we did in the 1st half. Their defense wasn't that good. They were doing a great job double teaming. They were doing a great job of trapping when they played their zone. We did a good job of holding Nowitzki and Finley, but Nash definitely hit some big shots." Francis on Dallas' 1-3-1 zone used in the 4th: "They definitely neutralized us big time with that zone." Francis on a turnover prior to Dallas' 4th quarter run: "I turned the ball over that one time and they took off from there. Sometimes things like that happen, but you can't [let] that happen late in the game against a good team like Dallas." Francis on he and Nash: "We're both very competitive and we both know what each other can do. We both knew that when we both get it going and are trying to carry our team, that we've got to match each other because we're both tough to stop in those situations." Francis: "Steve was great, he was just tough to stop. He really got hot there in the 2nd half and kept his team in it." Cuttino Mobley: "We need to neutralize Nash. I think he averages 30 on us. I think we need to help our point as a team because they dribble it so much because Nash is the kind of point guard that can dribble, dribble, dribble, and they let him keep it and see if he can make a play. They have so many good shooters that it is hard to recover, so we need to help better as a team against them. They made a good move by starting Shawn Bradley to neutralize our guards and go into that zone." Eddie Griffin: "The crowd got behind them, and they took all that momentum on their side. You feel like you're up against a wall, and they go down and score in rhythm." Dallas Mavericks 95, Houston Rockets 91 at Dallas (January 31) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 25 21 17 32 - 95 .473 .286 .432 .467 Houston 17 16 30 28 - 91 .481 .261 .416 .656 Halftime: Dallas 46-33 3rd Q: 63-63 Technicals: Steve Francis 6:54 1st Refs: Dick Bavetta, Don Vaden, George Toliver Attendance: 19,939 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Eduardo Najera (sore left knee) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Juwan Howard 40 7-15 0-0 0-0 14 9-16 1 1 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 44 6-20 0-6 1-2 13 4-10 2 1 1 1 1 Shawn Bradley 30 3-6 0-0 0-2 6 4-10 0 1 6 2 3 Michael Finley 32 5-12 1-4 0-2 11 1-5 0 1 1 0 0 Steve Nash 36 13-19 2-4 5-7 33 0-2 8 1 3 1 0 Tim Hardaway 18 3-9 2-4 1-2 9 0-0 2 0 0 1 0 Adrian Griffin 25 3-7 1-2 0-0 7 2-5 1 1 3 2 0 Wang Zhizhi 12 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Danny Manning 3 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 1 Totals 48 41-95 6-21 7-15 95 20-49 14 6 21 8 5 Houston Rockets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Eddie Griffin 42 4-15 1-8 1-1 10 2-12 0 0 1 0 7 Kenny Thomas 47 3-7 0-0 6-10 12 4-7 3 2 2 1 0 Kelvin Cato 30 7-9 0-0 4-5 18 3-15 0 0 2 0 0 Steve Francis 40 9-19 2-6 10-16 30 1-6 7 6 5 2 1 Cuttino Mobley 45 7-19 1-6 0-0 15 0-4 3 1 6 0 0 Kevin Willis 8 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1-4 0 0 0 0 1 Moochie Norris 21 2-5 2-3 0-0 6 0-0 4 3 2 0 0 Terence Morris 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2-2 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-77 6-23 21-32 91 13-50 18 13 18 3 9 LA Lakers at Dallas (February 3) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with Dallas mostly holding a small single-digit lead. The Lakers scored the last 4 points of the quarter to tie the game at 30-30 after 1. Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant had 10 points each. That was the end of the pretty basketball as both teams went cold for the rest of the game. Despite (or because of) the poor shooting, the game stayed close in the 2nd quarter with neither team holding more than a 4 point lead until the end of the quarter. Rick Fox hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to give the Lakers a 57-52 lead at the half. The Lakers shot 9-19 FG in the 2nd quarter while Dallas shot 8-24 FG including 0-8 3-pointers. The shooting actually got worse in the 3rd quarter. The Lakers took their first double-digit lead at 64-54 with 7 minutes remaining. Dallas cut that lead down to 2 points, but the Lakers built it back up to 76-65 with 1:20 left. 4 Shawn Bradley free throws surrounded a Tim Hardaway 3-pointer (his only points of the game) and the Lakers led 76-72 after 3. The Lakers shot 8-25 FG in the 3rd quarter while Dallas shot just 6-20 FG. Juwan Howard made a layup and Wang Zhizhi hit 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 76-76 with 9:45 to go. But the Lakers scored the next 6 points to go up 82-76 with 6:55 remaining as Dallas missed 5 shots. Dallas continued to shot themselves in the foot (the only thing they could hit) as they missed 4 of 6 free throws over the next 1 1/2 minutes. A free throw by Nowitzki pulled Dallas within 81-84 with 5:12 left, but Bryant hit a layup and Derek Fisher nailed a 3-pointer as Dallas continued to shot bricks and the Lakers led 89-81 with 2:40 to go. The Lakers could not pull away, but Dallas could not pull even as the Lakers' lead fluctuated between 6, 7, and 8 points. A 3-pointer by Wang cut the Lakers' lead down to 99-94, but there were only 10 seconds left. 2 free throws by Fisher capped the scoring. The Lakers won 101-94. Well, that was an ugly game. Neither team shot well and Dallas couldn't hit an outside shot if their life (or the game) depended on it. And instead of telling his team to take the ball inside since their outside shots weren't falling, Don Nelson [boneheadedly] encouraged his team to keep shooting as the shots would have to start falling eventually (they didn't). Dallas shot 52.4% FG in the 1st quarter and just 32.8% FG in the last 3 quarters and the Lakers shot 46.4% FG in the 1st quarter and 36.9% FG in the last 3 quarters. For the game, Dallas shot a season low 37.6% FG and the Lakers were only slightly better at 39.8% FG. The difference was that the Lakers got 17 offensive rebounds while Dallas just had 9 offensive rebounds. As usual, the Lakers were led by Shaquille O'Neal's 31 points on 12-20 FG and 7-9 FT (no hack-a-Shaq in this game) and 13 rebounds. He and Mitch Richmond (9 points on 4-8 FG) were the only Lakers to shoot 50% or better. Kobe Bryant had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Derek Fisher was the only other Laker in double-digits with 19 points. Robert Horry had 6 points including 1-7 FG, but also had 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Only Juwan Howard and Wang Zhizhi shot 50% or better for Dallas. Howard had 19 points including 9-14 FG and 8 rebounds and Wang had 12 points including 4-8 FG. Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points but shot 6-17 FG, 0-5 3-pointers, and 7-10 FT. He did have 15 rebounds and 3 steals. Steve Nash had 20 points but shot 5-16 FG, 1-6 3-pointers, and 9-10 FT and had 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Michael Finley is still looking for his All-Star game to return as he had just 11 points including 5-14 FG in 38 minutes. He did have 8 rebounds. No other Mav was worth mentioning (in fact, some of those mentioned already weren't worth mentioning). Basically a poor outing against a team that is still a level above the Mavs - even if it just might be mentally and not talent-wise. Quotes Phil Jackson: "You probably saw them in a zone most of the time tonight and I think it worked against them more than it did against us - we can play at that level. It made the game take on a different characteristic." Jackson: "I was disappointed in the end of the 3rd quarter, we had an 11 point lead with a couple of minutes left in the quarter, the bottom fell out. It was a comedy of errors. Missed rebounds, the ball going out of bounds, the ball on the line - it was clearly our ball but the referee didn't see it that way and they got the ball back and got 2 points and ultimately it turned this game into a 4th quarter stand." Shaquille O'Neal: "It was a good game; a hard fought game. They're a pretty good team, so I have to be on my toes all the time. This is the type of team that if you make mistakes, they will slip away from you. My team was very focused today. We played well and did what we are supposed to do." O'Neal: "With that team over there you have to be on your P's and Q's, because they're a good team and they fight all the way up to the end. But if they do win a game or 2, it's not because they beat us, it's because we as the Lakers made too many mistakes." O'Neal: "We are a team of reaction. We just take it one game at a time and just do what we are supposed to do. Of course, every team wants to be our rival. Every team plays well for us. It's all about us; if we don't do what we are supposed to do then we'll lose the game." O'Neal: "It's all about us. If we don't do what we're supposed to do, then we'll lose the game. Nobody can really beat us. We know when it's time to step up. A lot of teams are playing their best ball right now, and we're not playing our best ball." Kobe Bryant: "We improved on this road trip. We improved our rhythm and our offense in what we are trying to do. We also improved defensively. We feel good. We just came out here on the road and did what we wanted to do." Bryant: "We were able to space the floor and move the ball. We were settling in. We knew what we had to do against them. We just needed to settle in and adjust to the tempo of the game." Bryant: "To get to the point where they are actually contenders, they have to understand the focus you have to have. We had that. We were solid. We didn't budge." Don Nelson: "We just didn't make any shots, not even our free throws. When we really needed them we missed 3 in a row. But I liked the game up until the end when it looked like we weren't going to make a shot. But I'm not going back to the drawing board. I liked our game plan. Maybe we're not just ready for primetime yet. Maybe we're not ready to beat the Lakers. I think that time will come. I hope it will come this year. I don't know why we didn't make shots. But the incredible part is that we stayed in the game. Our best outside shooter today was Juan Howard and he isn't our best outside shooter on the team. He was the only guy making shots. There were different times in the game where if we had not gone 4 or 5 minutes without making a shot we would have won the game. I think we will beat them in the future. I'm not sure if we are ready to beat them in a series, but we will beat them and I would draw the same gameplan up." Nelson: "It was a tough game and this is the first game of a string of upcoming tough games on the road. But now that this game is over it doesn't matter. It's a loss and that's the bottom line. Up until this point we have really had a great first half season." Nelson: "Coach couldn't draw it up any better to get our kinds of shots. We just couldn't make it." Nelson: "We held them to 39% shooting. I don't we've ever done that since I have been coaching. That's probably the reason we stayed in the game since we didn't make shots the whole game. I think we shot 37%. We had our shots to win the game but we didn't make them." Nelson on Finley: "He's been out a while. He missed over 10 games in the span of about 25 days. That's almost a month. It just takes a while to get back in the flow. I'm not worried about that. Michael wasn't tired today he was just like all the other players." Nelson on Finley: "He just hasn't been sharp in a game yet, but it'll come. It takes a while for most people to get into the rhythm and the flow, but that'll happen." Michael Finley: "Overall it wasn't a pretty game. They didn't shoot the ball particularly well and we definitely didn't. With all of that said we still were in position to win the ballgame down the stretch. We just continued to be unable to knock down shots." Finley: "I've still got a little way to go, but it only can come with time, with practice and getting in games. Hopefully, it can come back to the point where it was before I got hurt." Dirk Nowitzki: "We had an off night. We were shooting fine in the 1st half, but nobody was really feeling it in the 2nd half. Besides Juwan, everyone shot below 50% and it's tough to win when we shoot like that because we're an outside shooting team. Shots wouldn't go down for us, but the good thing was we were still right there even though we weren't shooting the ball well. With 4 minutes to go we were still right there, but if you want to beat the Lakers you have to come up with big plays down the stretch and we didn't." Nowitzki: "We just couldn't make shots. Nothing would fall. There will always be nights when it doesn't go in, [but] it's tough when it happens to the whole team." Nowitzki: "The Lakers are still the best team in the league. It's going to be tough to beat that team in a 7 game series. I don't think any team is capable of doing that this year." Nowitzki: "We belong with the best in the West. We've showed that already this year. We just can't beat the Lakers. That's all it is." Juwan Howard: "We are improving night in and night out, but the last couple times we have played them tough, but lost it down the stretch. You can't walk out of here with your head down. This game is something we can build off of, but we know if we want to win a championship or advance to the finals we have to go through the Lakers first. We play them 2 more times so it's not over yet." Howard: "When guys aren't making shots there are other things that we can do, a lot of little things like rebounding and playing good defense. It's tough when our big 3 aren't making shots from the outside because we are a perimeter team." Tim Hardaway on Dallas' problems with the Lakers: "It's a mental thing. Instead of going out and playing every shot like we do against every other team, we're scared to fail." Los Angeles Lakers 101, Dallas Mavericks 94 at Dallas (February 3) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% LA Lakers 30 27 19 25 - 101 .431 .286 .398 .808 Dallas 30 22 20 22 - 94 .491 .143 .376 .788 Halftime: LA Lakers 57-52 3rd Q: LA Lakers 76-72 Technicals: None Refs: Greg Willard, Derrick Stafford, Monty McCutchen Attendance: 20,179 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Donnell Harvey (sprained right ankle), Eduardo Najera (sore left knee) Los Angeles Lakers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Rick Fox 29 2-6 1-2 2-3 7 1-5 7 0 2 0 0 Samaki Walker 17 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 3-8 0 0 2 0 0 Shaquille O'Neal 39 12-20 0-0 7-9 31 5-13 3 2 3 0 1 Kobe Bryant 40 11-25 0-2 2-2 24 2-10 6 2 5 2 1 Lindsey Hunter 13 1-8 1-2 0-0 3 1-1 0 0 3 1 0 Derek Fisher 30 5-12 3-9 6-6 19 0-3 1 2 4 1 0 Robert Horry 34 1-7 0-2 4-4 6 3-11 8 2 3 0 0 Devean George 20 0-4 0-2 0-2 0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 Mark Madsen 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Mitch Richmond 13 4-8 1-2 0-0 9 1-4 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 37-93 6-21 21-26 101 17-57 25 9 24 4 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 24 2-8 0-3 0-0 4 1-4 2 1 3 0 0 Juwan Howard 40 9-14 0-0 1-2 19 2-8 4 0 5 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 42 6-17 0-5 7-10 19 2-15 1 1 3 3 1 Michael Finley 38 5-14 0-4 1-2 11 3-8 2 0 2 0 2 Steve Nash 38 5-16 1-6 9-10 20 1-6 6 2 3 0 0 Danny Manning 3 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Tim Hardaway 17 1-7 1-5 0-0 3 0-2 4 0 2 0 0 Johnny Newman 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Shawn Bradley 9 0-1 0-0 4-4 4 0-2 1 1 4 0 1 Wang Zhizhi 24 4-8 2-5 2-3 12 0-3 1 1 1 0 1 Totals 48 32-85 4-28 26-33 94 9-48 21 6 24 3 5 patricia