Game 4 Sacramento at Dallas (May 11) Dallas shot out to an early 12-1 lead with 8:45 left behind Raef LaFrentz's 10 points, including 2 3-pointers. Dallas led 23-15 with 4 minutes remaining and Sacramento came storming back by scoring the next 10 points - 6 from Chris Webber and 4 from Mike Bibby - to take their first lead at 25-23 with a minute to go. Dallas scored the last 4 points of the quarter and led 27-25 after 1. Webber had 15 points including 7-9 FG. Dallas scored 12 straight points to take a 42-30 lead with 7:10 left. Sacramento answered with an 11-2 run to pull within 41-44 with 4:30 remaining. Dallas was able to hang on to a single digit lead and led 54-51 at the half. The officiating was very lopsided in the 2nd quarter (and for the half, for that matter, as Dallas didn't attempt a single free throw in the 1st quarter while Sacramento shot 2-3 FT) as Sacramento shot a very high 14-18 FT and Dallas shot 6-7 FT [Dallas had 17 _games_ this season where they did not attempt 18 free throws]. Michael Finley had 11 points in the half. Dallas led 67-62 with 8:30 remaining and went on a 12-3 run to go up 79-65 with 5:20 left. Webber picked up his 4th foul with 7:15 and sat for the rest of the quarter and Vlade Divac picked up his 4th foul with 5:20 left and sat for the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 87-77 with 1:30 to go and Sacramento scored the next 5 points. Greg Buckner hit a jumper near the end of the quarter and Dallas led 89-82 after 3. It was a free throw intensive quarter as Dallas shot 13-13 FT (3 were off of technicals) and Sacramento shot 10-13 FT. Dirk Nowitzki had 15 points in the quarter. Dallas opened the 4th quarter with a 6-1 mini-run to re-take a double-digit lead at 95-83 with 10:20 remaining. Sacramento came roaring back with a 17-2 run to take the lead at 100-97 with 5 minutes to go as Dallas shot just 1-6 FG and turned the ball over 5 times during that run. Webber collected his 6th foul with 4:45 left. Sacramento led 105-101 with 3:45 left and Dallas scored the next 4 points to tie the game with 2 minutes remaining. Hedo Turkoglu got a putback with 1:35 left, but Finley answered with a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 108-107 led with 1:15 to go. Finley stole the ball and Nowitzki was fouled. He hit 1 of 2 free throws with 40 seconds left. Bibby drove baseline for the quick layup to tie the game with 30 seconds left. Dallas ran the clock down and Finley missed a tough fade-away baseliner with 8 seconds left. Bibby missed a shot with .4 seconds left and Dallas' inbound-lob pass to the basket was unsuccessful and we had overtime at 109-109. Bobby Jackson went nuts in the 4th and had 15 points. Both teams struggled offensively in the overtime. The teams traded misses and Bibby hit a jumper 45 seconds into the OT. Nowitzki was fouled shooting and Divac collected his 6th foul. Nowitzki hit both free throws to tie the game with 4 minutes left. Doug Christie missed and Finley hit a quick jumper. Scot Pollard was fouled inside and hit both free throws to tie the game at 113-113 with 3:12 to go. Neither team would score over the next 3 minutes - clank after clank after clank - 11 straight missed shots. Finley missed a fade away jumper with 34 seconds. Sacramento set up their play and ran a pick-and-roll and Bibby drove for the layup with 12 seconds left. Nowitzki drove with time winding down and missed the layup. Time expired in the scramble for the rebound (Finley got up a shot after the buzzer - it missed anyways). Sacramento won 115-113 in overtime. Sacramento has a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. They only need 1 more win to take the series. I have to say that this was the most down I've been after a Mavs loss in a long time. Dallas faces near impossible odds of staying alive - losing 2 home games will do that to you. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit has only happened 6 times in NBA history. For Dallas to delay their summer, they have to have a strong performance tonight in Sacramento. It is possible, but they will need a better and more consistent team effort and individual play than the Mavs have been showing in this series. Plus, Sacramento has been playing really well. Again, it was the guards that killed Dallas. Bobby Jackson had 9 points in the 3rd quarter and 15 in the 4th quarter and Mike Bibby direct Sacramento's comeback and had the regulation tying basket and game winner in overtime. And it was an ugly overtime, by both teams. Both Dallas and opponent playoff record lows for points in OT were set with Dallas scoring just 4 points and Sacramento scoring 6 points. Sacramento shot 2-12 FG and Dallas shot 1-6 FG in the overtime. For the game, Dallas shot 43% FG and Sacramento shot 47.6% FG. Both teams had legitimate complaints about the officiating (Jim Clark had a poor outing). With the pace these teams like to play (and thug ball was not going on), 46 combined free throws attempted is far too many. But this game came down to Dallas not being able to hold on to a 4th quarter lead and Sacramento's players stepping up when Chris Webber fouled out. Sacramento was also playing without Peja Stojakovic due to a sprained right ankle. He is listed as questionable for tonight's game and highly unlike to play. Despite only playing 34 minutes, Webber was the high man for the Kings with 30 points including 12-15 FG and 10 rebounds. Bibby had 24 points and 6 rebounds and Jackson, who started in Stojakovic's place, finished with 26 points and 5 assists. The unsung hero for this game is Doug Christie. Christie was playing on a gimpy ankle and also fell hard during the game (seemed to hurt his back), but continued to play and play he did - for 51 minutes. He only had 12 points including 3-10 FG and 5 rebounds, but did have 6 steals and his being out there seemed to inspire his teammates. Vlade Divac was not effective in this game and only had 8 points including 1-5 FG and 14 rebounds before fouling out in 34 minutes. Hedo Turkoglu was quiet (I'd thought he'd have a better performance with Stojakovic out) with just 4 points including 2-8 FG and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes. Scot Pollard continued to hurt Dallas in his limited minutes. He had 9 points and 8 rebounds including 5 offensive in 17 minutes. Gerald Wallace and Lawrence Funderburke didn't do much in their handful of minutes. Overcoming a very poor start where he missed his first 7 shots, Dirk Nowitzki had a nice (but not great) outing with 31 points on 9-28 FG and 12-14 FT, 12 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 7 assists in 48 minutes. Michael Finley also played well with 28 points including 4-9 3-pointers and 5 rebounds in 52 minutes. Raef LaFrentz started strong and then disappeared with 10 of his 12 points coming in the first 4 minutes of the game. He also had 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in 44 minutes. Steve Nash put up points, but his 9 turnovers and being unable to contain Bibby or Jackson hurt the team. Nash had 24 points including 7-11 FG, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Nick Van Exel continued to be the invisible man, despite starting this game. Van Exel had just 4 points on 2-10 FG, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in 37 minutes and was also ineffective defensively. Greg Buckner had 6 points in 15 minutes and Adrian Griffin had 4 points in 12 minutes. Eduardo Najera got picked on by the refs in that 3 of his 4 fouls came in a 12 second span. He only played for 5 minutes and had 2 points and just 1 rebound. Shawn Bradley and Wang Zhizhi did not do much in their handful of minutes. Quotes [Sorry, no transcribed quotes from the press conferences - I want to get this out today.] Rick Adelman: "It was a heck of a game. I give our guys tremendous credit. They came out at us strong. They seemed to keep coming at us, and we just kept playing. Chris was terrific in the 1st half, and Bobby and Mike were unbelievable in the 2nd half. But everybody contributed to this win." Adelman on Dallas' 3rd quarter run: "There was a lot of concern. The problem that I had when I called that quick timeout at the beginning of the 3rd quarter - I was hoping to get our composure. These types of games - they are very emotional and you have to play through that no matter how hard it is. I was really upset on Doug because he might have gotten hurt. I'm not sure how you can let that one go, but after that you just have to keep playing. I think it teaches our team a lesson - if you keep on persevering and keep playing and give yourself a chance to win. That's all we talked about today - put pressure on them and give yourself a chance to win the game." Adelman: "Van Exel and Nash are a real problem. With Hedo, I have more flexibility. When they take one of the little guys out, now I can bring Hedo in and I can match up with Finley when he goes to the 2-guard spot. Bobby's been through it a lot more and I was comfortable with him. I had a feeling that was going to happen with their backs against the wall." Adelman on Webber fouling out: "I was concerned because we were losing Chris - he had played so well. But this team is so resilient. They really believe they can win. They believe they can win no matter what happens. That is why I took Vlade out because I wanted him on the bench in case Chris fouled out. I think all of our guys believed they could win and we just have to have guys step up. Mike and Bobby did that; they were huge. This team really believes they can win. They believe in each other and trust each other. That is why we've been so successful." Adelman: "All of our guys understood they had to do more without Peja. It's like Dallas without Nash or Nowitzki." Adelman on Jackson: "Bobby's one of those guys that you've got to let him go. If he's on the court for long minutes, something is going to happen. It could be bad, but a lot of the time it's going to be good." Chris Webber on what he told the team when he fouled out: "I put my trust in them to take us home. It was a total team effort." Webber on what he said when he huddled his teammates together after fouling out: "I said, 'I believe in y'all. I'm going to the sideline and cheer. Y'all take it home.'" Webber: "Doug Christie and I were talking about that as soon as we hit the locker room. I told Doug that a year ago we would have lost that game by 1 point." Webber on Bibby: "Mike's only problem is that he was so good he got drafted by a bad team. With this team, we are so good that a lot of guys get overlooked because of everyone else's talent." Webber on Jackson: "I've got all the faith in the world in him. I hope that people do start talking about him more, but if they don't, that's okay." Mike Bibby on the game winning shot: "I knew if we ran a pick-and-roll, they would switch, so I tried to go away from the screen. If I didn't shoot, I was going to pass. Somebody would have a open shot, but nobody came at me." Bibby on players stepping up with the injuries and fouls: "Everybody did. Bobby came in and played a good game for us. He hit good shots for us. The whole team stepped up." Vlade Divac on Bibby: "I think he's so excited to be part of a playoff team, it's driving him." Bobby Jackson: "You're going to make shots and miss shots, but you've just got to continue to shoot when you have shots and just continue to play hard. My shot started to fall. I was feeling good and my teammates were getting me the ball. That's what it's all about. They recognized that I was hot and they kept getting me the ball." Jackson, who found out 5 minutes before the game that he was starting: "I'm always ready to go. When I come into the game, I try to make things happen. My approach is the same whether I'm starting or sitting on the bench. I try to do the good things that will help make this team win." Jackson: "My shots were falling, I was feeling good and my teammates helped get me the ball. That's what this team is about - they recognized that I was hot and they kept getting me the ball." Jackson on Dallas' early lead: "That's the game. We knew they were going to make a run, and we knew that we were going to make a run. We weren't playing well in some situations and we were playing well in others. We just have to deal with it and come out and be aggressive and keep attacking the basket." Jackson on defending Nash: "Make him make plays and try to dictate whatever we're doing. That's the biggest thing, really, just contain him and make him make plays." Jackson: "I expect them to be mad. We came in and stole 2 games." Jackson: "It's going to be tough (Monday); I'm not gonna lie. But we're on a high right now. We feel like we can't be stopped." Don Nelson: "Well, my worst fear came true. When you lose that first game at home, the concern is that if you drop the next one you really get yourself between a rock and a hard place. That is really where we are at the moment. We are in big trouble. They played a really good game. I thought our game was really good and we played at a high level. They were still able to beat us in a tight ball game. There is not a whole lot more I could ask for, except make a few more shots." Nelson: "Overall, I thought we played at a high level, but at the same time, I continue to marvel at their team, the way they play together, move the ball and make the passes. We will try to mold ourselves after them." Nelson: "We knew they had a rebounding advantage on us and we thought we could still win with that. I thought that was a factor tonight. I thought they were more poised under pressure than we were, but I think they have more experience than us there." Nelson: "We're close, but they are more poised under pressure than we are." Nelson: "They are disciplined when they have to be and free and easy when they want to be. The pace of the game favored them. Even leading in the 1st half, we couldn't get them off the free throw line. When they are shooting free throws like that, we aren't able to run." Nelson: "I thought we got a better game out of Dirk, although he didn't shoot the ball all that well. He still missed some passing opportunities. I thought he was more aware and feeling better about his game. I thought he played well and played both ends of the floor. We basically got good production out of everybody and they beat us." Nelson: "I think that says something about how good they are. People continue to forget that they are the #1 seed in the playoffs and we are the #4 seed in the West and they are very, very good. They are well coached, disciplined when they want to be, free and easy when they can be, and they are just a terrific basketball team. I think you see how deep they are when they have injuries. Bobby Jackson was a guy that we couldn't stop, we couldn't handle tonight. Not that other players couldn't play well, they did. I thought Bobby Jackson was a guy in the 2nd half that beat us. We just couldn't stop him." Dirk Nowitzki: "This game could have gone either way. We're still confident that we can go there and win a game." Nowitzki: "We were in good position to win all night long. We pretty much got what we wanted, we got both of their big guys to foul out, but we couldn't capitalize. It's a tough loss and I still can't believe that we loss the game." Nowitzki: "All we can do right now is take one game at a time and try to bring it back to Dallas and see what happens from there." Nowitzki: "Our backs are against the wall now. We've got to win 3 in a row now. I guess you have to take it one after the other and go there and try to win Game 5 and at least bring it back to Dallas." Nowitzki on his game: "I tried to force it a little bit. The 2nd half, I just tried to stay aggressive and take it to the rim a little more. It just wasn't a great night." Nowitzki on his last shot attempt: "I was right there at the rim and unfortunately it didn't go in. I think we didn't lose the game there. We had enough chances to win the ballgame before, not just in overtime. We couldn't rebound the ball defensively and they had way too many offensive rebounds. On the offensive end nothing seemed to go in and they were more luckier than we were at the end." Nowitzki on Sacramento's pick-and-roll: "We tried to switch on them the whole night. Bibby has been pretty much on fire the whole series. Jackson wasn't shooting the ball well in the 1st half and all of a sudden he explodes in the 2nd half. But that just shows you how good of a team they are." Steve Nash: "They played better than us during the key times of the game and that's what enabled them to come back from 10 down and to be a bucket better than us in overtime." Nash: "They came in here and played well. These 2 games we could have easily won and they took charge and won when it counted. You have to just praise their effort." Nash: "We just have to let this one go and regain our composure. When we're backed into a corner is when we are the most resilient. On Monday you will see a resilient club, especially on the road where they will have a chance to close it out." Nash on his turnovers: "It was careless plays. A bunch were ones we normally complete and it was going through guys' hands. It really cost us today." Nick Van Exel on the guard situation: "Probably coming into the series, I would think we would have had the advantage. I would say Nash and Bibby are playing about equal, but Bobby Jackson, that guy, he kicked my butt." Raef LaFrentz on Dallas not keeping their early lead: "With out a doubt. When you get a lead like that you really want to make a second surge and try to push the lead even more. We were never able to do that. We were able to get a couple double digit leads, but credit them, they made big plays and kept plugging away." LaFrentz: "This was a game we needed. 2-2 in the series sounds a lot better than 1-3, but by no means are we done yet. We're disappointed dropping 2 games at home, but there is more basketball to be played." LaFrentz on Nowitzki's last shot: "I was trying to come in behind it and crash the boards for the tip attempt. It hung up on the rim long enough and I came down. As soon as I saw it kick up off the rim, I thought it was going to be soft enough to go in the hole. It just rolled off the side." Game 4 Sacramento Kings 115, Dallas Mavericks 113 OT at Dallas (May 11) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Sacramento 25 26 31 27 6 - 115 .522 .267 .476 .775 Dallas 27 27 35 20 4 - 113 .443 .391 .430 .923 Halftime: Dallas 54-51 3rd Q: Dallas 89-82 Technicals: Doug Christie 7:10 2nd, Don Nelson 0:00 2nd, Rick Adelman 11:32 3rd, Vlade Divac 8:55 3rd, Chris Webber 7:38 3rd Refs: Bernie Fryer, Greg Willard, Jim Clark Attendance: 20,274 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Predrag Stojakovic (sprained right ankle) Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Chris Webber 34 12-15 0-0 6-9 30 3-10 2 2 6 0 1 Doug Christie 51 3-10 0-4 6-7 12 1-5 4 3 3 6 1 Vlade Divac 34 1-5 0-0 6-8 8 1-14 3 3 6 2 2 Mike Bibby 44 9-20 2-7 4-4 24 1-6 4 2 0 1 0 Bobby Jackson 45 10-20 2-2 4-6 26 3-4 5 4 1 1 1 Hidayet Turkoglu 34 2-8 0-2 0-0 4 1-7 1 3 5 1 1 Scot Pollard 17 3-5 0-0 3-4 9 5-8 0 0 1 0 0 Gerald Wallace 4 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Lawrence Funderburke 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 53 40-84 4-15 31-40 115 15-54 19 19 24 11 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 52 10-24 4-9 4-4 28 1-5 1 1 4 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 48 9-28 1-5 12-14 31 5-12 7 4 4 2 0 Raef LaFrentz 44 5-11 2-4 0-0 12 0-7 0 1 5 0 4 Steve Nash 43 7-11 2-2 8-8 24 2-6 6 9 0 1 0 Nick Van_Exel 37 2-10 0-3 0-0 4 4-5 6 1 3 2 0 Greg Buckner 15 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 1-2 1 0 2 2 0 Eduardo Najera 5 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 4 0 0 Adrian Griffin 12 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-1 1 0 1 1 0 Shawn Bradley 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 0 3 0 0 Wang Zhizhi 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 53 40-93 9-23 24-26 113 14-42 22 16 26 9 4 patricia Go Mavs!