The NBA fined Jerry Stackhouse $30,000 for his comments criticizing ref Dick Bavetta following Thursday's Dal-SA game (see below for the comments on Bavetta). Robert Horry (SA) was suspended for 2 games for his altercation with Stackhouse during the game (where Horry was seen putting his mouth on Stackhouse's arm, but both players deny a bite took place) and for inappropriate contact with ref Bavetta following the incident. The foul assessed to Stackhouse for the incident (a double-foul was called) was upgraded to a flagrant foul level 1 [the 2 got locked up going for a rebound and you could see on the replay that Stack had his hand on Horry's neck to prevent the 2 from being separated]. Josh Howard decided to decline his invitation to try out for Team USA, which will compete in this summer's World Championship tournament and the 2008 Olympic games. Howard said that Team USA's schedule would conflict with his previously planned 2 summer camps (including one for underprivileged kids) and that the camps couldn't be rescheduled. An MRI revealed that Keith Van Horn has a sprained left MCL. He is expected to be out 2 weeks due to the injury. Dallas at San Antonio (March 2) Devin Harris was again out with a strained quad and the Spurs welcomed back Robert Horry after he had missed the previous 6 games. It was a defensive struggle in the 1st quarter as points were hard to come by. After Manu Ginobili scored the first bucket of the game, Dallas scored the next 8 points to go up 8-2 with 8:40 remaining. A jumper by Michael Finley pulled San Antonio within 11-14 with 3 minutes left, but Josh Howard then scored the next 6 points and Keith Van Horn hit a jumper to give Dallas a 22-11 lead with 1:20 to go. A 3-pointer by Horry was all that was scored the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 22-14 after 1. Dallas scored the first 4 points of the 2nd quarter to take their largest lead at 26-14 with 11:20 left and the Mavs turnover-fest started. Dallas committed 5 turnovers while the Spurs went on a 15-4 run to pull within 29-30 with 4 minutes remaining. Dallas did score the next 6 points, but then San Antonio scored the next 6 points. Dallas led 38-36 at the half. Dallas committed 8 turnovers in the 2nd quarter. For the half, Dallas shot 41% FG and San Antonio shot 36% FG. Dallas continued to hold a small lead in the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter. Dallas led 46-40 with 9:20 remaining and the Spurs went on a 13-3 run, capped by consecutive buckets by Nazr Mohammed, to take their first lead of the game at 53-49 with 5:30 to go - Dallas shot 1-5 FG and committed 3 turnovers during the run. The game stayed close and the teams traded leads over the last couple of minutes of the quarter. A dunk by Mohammed and 3-pointer by Bruce Bowen again gave the Spurs a 4 point lead at 66-62 with 45 seconds to go. San Antonio led 68-64 after 3. Tony Parker had 10 points and Mohammed had 8 points in the 3rd quarter. A 3-pointer by Finley gave San Antonio a 76-69 lead with 9:15 left, but Van Horn answered with a 3-pointer - Dallas' first 3 of the game after missing their first 9. Finley then hit a jumper and Tim Duncan guided a lob pass in to give San Antonio an 8 point lead. Dallas pulled within 81-86 with 3:46 to go, but Bowen hit a jumper, Duncan converted a 3-point play, and Horry got a layup to give the Spurs their largest lead at 93-81 with 1:45 remaining. Dirk Nowitzki ended the Spurs' run with a 3-pointer and then hit 2 free throws to pull Dallas within 86-93 with a minute left. Parker hit 1-2 FT and Nowitzki was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 45 seconds remaining and hit all 3 to pull Dallas within 5 points. After some Mavs pressure, the Spurs got the ball over half court and they were able to drain more seconds off the clock by passing the ball around before Dallas intentionally fouled Finley with 34 seconds left. He hit both free throws. Dallas called timeout to advance the ball, but threw the inbounds pass away and 2 more free throws by Finley (on 2-4 FT) capped the scoring. San Antonio won 98-89. Except for bits in the 1st quarter, Dallas did not look sharp and played a sloppy game. 17 turnovers and 10 assists was a strong indication of Dallas' poor play. It was actually not that great of a game by either team, but San Antonio had longer stretches of good play, especially in the 2nd half. The Spurs found their shooting touch in the 2nd half in shooting 62% FG while Dallas remained cold at 40.5% FG. The game did stay close, though, with the largest lead by both teams just 12 points. In a reverse of what is usually a strength for Dallas, the Mavs had just 4 points off of San Antonio's 9 turnovers and the Spurs had a high 18 points off of Dallas' 17 turnovers. Thanks to their good 2nd half shooting, the Spurs shot 48.6% (34-70) FG for the game including 4-12 3-pointers. Dallas never found their shooting touch and shot 40.5% (32-79) FG including 3-16 3-pointers (all makes in the 4th quarter). San Antonio shot 26-36 FT and Dallas shot 22-25 FT. Dallas did out-rebound San Antonio 33-42 including 13-8 offensive. It was an important game for both teams and neither had their best effort. San Antonio now holds a 2-1 edge in the season series with the last game of the series April 7 in San Antonio. The win was also Gregg Popovich's 500th career coaching win. Dallas' next 3 games are at home and then they will only have 3 home games the rest of the month (with 10 road games). The stars did not shine this night as both Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki struggled. Tony Parker had his game going and hurt the Mavs with his penetration. He had 23 points and 4 assists. Nazr Mohammed hurt the Mavs with his strong play in the 3rd quarter. For the game, he had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Michael Finley had 15 points including 11 in the 4th quarter and Robert Horry had 12 points and 4 rebounds to help the Spurs' bench out-score Dallas' bench 31-26. Bruce Bowen had 11 points on a perfect 3-3 FG, 1-1 3-pointers, and 4-4 FT to go with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Duncan had 15 points on 4-11 FG and 7-10 FT and 6 rebounds. Manu Ginobili struggled with just 8 points on 2-7 FG and 4-8 FT. Nick Van Exel didn't score in missing all 6 shots he attempted. Dirk Nowitzki got his offense going late in the game and scored 10 of his 23 points in the 4th quarter. He was aggressive in grabbing rebounds throughout the game and had a game high 11 boards including 3 offensive. He shot 6-15 FG, 1-5 3-pointers, and 10-10 FT. The Spurs played strong defense on him in doubling or tripling whenever he got the ball in the post and Bruce Bowen being tight on him on the outside (the brief bit of Manu Ginobili trying to guard Nowitzki while Bowen rested didn't work as Ginobili picked up 2 quick fouls (and, yes Spurs fans, they were easy fouls to call)). Nowitzki has to adjust and elevate his game no matter what the Spurs throw at him. Jason Terry had his runner going, though his outside shot was surprisingly lacking (it was just misses, not defense). He had 23 points including 1-5 3-pointers, but had just 1 assist to go with 3 turnovers. In a rarity, Adrian Griffin hurt the team in this game. He was often the open man in the Spurs defensive rotations and he didn't make them pay by shooting just 1-5 FG. He only had 2 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists in 18 minutes. Josh Howard had a nice road game (where he usually struggles) with 15 points, but was limited some by foul trouble. DeSagana Diop missed his 2 attempts and had 5 rebounds and Erick Dampier had 6 points on 3-4 FG and 8 rebounds including 5 offensive before fouling out in the final seconds of the game. Jerry Stackhouse and Keith Van Horn did not provide the punch off the bench the Mavs needed. Stackhouse had 10 points including 4-10 FG, but did have 7 rebounds. He also got in a minor scuffle with Horry late in the game as the 2 got locked up going for a rebound. Van Horn had 6 points including 2-8 FG and 2 rebounds. Marquis Daniels had 2 points and 2 rebounds in 9 minutes and Darrell Armstrong had 2 points and 2 assists in 8 minutes. [Not surprisingly with expectations of a playoff-like atmosphere (as well as being nationally televised), the refs treated it like one and it was obvious early on that not much would be called and physical play would be allowed. They may have not liked it (especially how Bowen was allowed to body up on Nowitzki), but it was up to the players to adjust. I didn't like some of the whining I saw during the game by both teams (including Popovich and the crowd), but I especially didn't like Stackhouse's comments after the game.] Quotes Gregg Popovich: "It was a good win for us. The bench really did a great job for us. Everybody off the bench was really good. We played a solid 48. We had a shaky start with some miscommunication, but we hung in and got back in the game. It was a good win." Popovich: "We got off to a shaky start. We probably played a little too fast. But I thought we came back and hung in the game." Popovich: "Our bench delivered great." Popovich on Horry: "He brings a whole different element. Everyone knows he can make 3s, but he can pass the ball and read situations. His basketball IQ helps make us a better team." Popovich on Bowen's defense on Nowitzki: "Dirk still had 23 points, but he worked hard to get them. Bruce is special in that way. He sets the tone for the team. His offense, he adds a little each year." Popovich on 500 coaching wins: "For one to get that number of wins, it only takes half a brain to know why. I've been blessed with a group of players that go out on the court and win games. It doesn't have too much to do with me, but I will keep the ball they gave me." Tim Duncan on Horry: "It is great to have him back. He is a great player and there is an intangible that he brings that you don't realize that is there until he is gone." Tony Parker: "We had a rough start to the game. In the 2nd half we started to play better. It was a big game for us and there was definitely a playoff atmosphere out there. They are a good team and it is a good win for us." Parker: "It was great to see [Horry] out there. He made some great shots tonight and got some key rebounds. He gives us a great presence when he is out there." Parker on Popovich's 500th win: "It is great for him. I'm really happy for him. He is an unbelievable coach. He is a great person and he really deserves this." Bruce Bowen: "It was a playoff atmosphere out there tonight. We were pressing some in the 1st half and didn't play that well. We had a lot of turnovers and we didn't have many assists. We picked up the intensity in the 2nd half." Bowen: "We had more people distributing the ball in the 2nd half and I was the beneficiary of some of those passes. When we do that, somebody is going to hit the wide open shot." Bowen on Nowitzki: "He's a great basketball player. He is 7-feet tall and he can shoot the ball. He can put the ball on the floor. I just try to get a hand up on him and do the best I can against him." Bowen on Nowitzki: "He's 7-feet, can shoot the 3, and can take you off the dribble. He creates a lot of difficulties on the matchups, especially when he's going up against another big. A lot of bigs aren't quick enough to stay with him. I just try to make sure I get a hand up on every shot, body him a little bit, get a little physical with him at times." Bowen on Popovich's 500th win: "It's a great honor for him. He has been great for this organization." Robert Horry: "I wasn't eager to get back because I was hurting so bad that I knew I had to get my body right. I didn't want to come back too early and digress. When I was out I wanted to try to stay as involved as I possibly could even though I wasn't playing. I'll find out where I'm at if I am sore tomorrow morning." Michael Finley: "It's always good to go against your friends, especially when you come out victorious." Avery Johnson: "Obviously it was a tale of 2 halves for us. We came in this game focused, tough minded. We only gave them 36 points in the paint, but the 2nd half was a big difference. They came out and scored on us. 60 points in the 2nd half is unacceptable. I thought we battled, I thought we fought. We didn't come here to get any morale victories. I'm very disappointed with this loss." Johnson: "I'm very disappointed with this loss. We realize who we were playing, but then again we gave them some easy baskets. We have just got to do a better job with our defense." Johnson: "We've got to bounce back tomorrow, because we face a tough team. We realize who were playing, but again we gave them some easy baskets. They shot 36 free throws. They were in the bonus pretty early. We have just got to do a better job with our defense. We'll take a look at it - we play them again in April, but until then we just have to look forward. They threw 3 guys at Dirk and we've just got to do a better job at spacing out. We got some things on film that we can now look at and get better at the next time we're here." Johnson: "I didn't think we guarded Finley or Horry well at all." Johnson: "We lost. I'm not happy with anything." Johnson on if the loss hurt Dallas' confidence: "Not at all. What are we supposed to do, cancel the season?" Dirk Nowitzki: "I thought that they shot the ball extremely well in the 2nd half. They made some great shots. They must have shot over 50% in the 2nd half. They made some really great shots. Finely was big for them off the bench. They executed great. We made a lot of little mistakes that are correctable, but we made too many mistakes in the 2nd half and that is why we lost the game." Nowitzki: "I thought they shot the ball extremely well in the 2nd half. They made some big shots and they must have shot over 50% in the 2nd half. We made a lot of mental mistakes in the 2nd half and we need to get those corrected." Nowitzki: "The Spurs are one of the best defensive teams and we know that. They are always there in your face when you take a shot. You don't get a lot of open shots. We didn't shoot the ball the way we wanted to. It is tough to win on the road when you shoot the ball the way we did. We got some good looks. There is a lot of basketball left until the end of the season." Nowitzki on Bowen: "Bruce is a good defender. He can put pressure on you knowing that he's got 2 7-footers right behind him. Every time I tried to post him up, they came with a 7-footer to help on the baseline. They did a good defensive job as a team. They have a great 5-man defense - one of the best there is. It is also tough to win when you only shoot 40% like we did tonight." Jason Terry: "Give them credit, they made a lot of jump shots tonight. Some of them were uncontested, but give them credit. It was our game to win and they took it. We are not going to hang our heads, we're going to come out with a lot of energy tomorrow." Terry: "It is 2 heavyweights every time we step on the court. Give them a lot of credit, they came out and did what they had to do." Jerry Stackhouse: "It's tough to come on the road in this environment and have to play agains the refs too. [Bleep] Dick Bavetta. I'm tired of his [bleep]. It's like the game is about him. He just needs to call the game and call the fouls. It's like he didn't because we were up and he wanted to see them come back." Stackhouse on his scuffle with Horry: "This game was about Dick Bavetta. He called a double technical foul like he's trying to sort it out. But he never saw what happened. If he'd seen what had happened, he'd know I got an offensive rebound and Horry came down and gave me a cheap shot at the other end. He was grandstanding. He wanted to dictate the game. If the game was called right, we wouldn't have been fighting from behind at the end." San Antonio Spurs 98, Dallas Mavericks 89 at San Antonio (March 2) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% San Antonio 14 22 32 30 - 98 .517 .333 .486 .722 Dallas 22 16 26 25 - 89 .460 .188 .405 .880 Halftime: Dallas 38-36 3rd Q: Dallas 68-62 Technicals: Robert Horry 1:02 4th, Jerry Stackhouse 1:02 4th Refs: Dick Bavetta, Sean Corbin, Ron Olesiak Attendance: 18,797 (sellout) San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tony Parker 39 8-14 0-0 7-8 23 0-0 4 4 3 0 0 Manu Ginobili 24 2-7 0-3 4-8 8 0-1 2 2 3 1 0 Bruce Bowen 39 3-3 1-1 4-4 11 1-8 3 0 4 1 1 Tim Duncan 38 4-11 0-0 7-10 15 1-6 2 2 3 0 2 Nazr Mohammed 30 5-9 0-0 0-0 10 3-5 1 1 3 0 1 Michael Finley 25 5-9 1-3 4-6 15 0-3 2 0 0 1 0 Robert Horry 19 5-8 2-3 0-0 12 2-4 2 0 3 1 0 Nick Van_Exel 9 0-6 0-2 0-0 0 0-0 2 0 1 1 0 Brent Barry 9 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 1-5 1 0 2 1 0 Rasho Nesterovic 8 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 1 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 34-70 4-12 26-36 98 8-33 20 9 23 6 4 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 40 7-16 1-5 8-8 23 1-2 1 3 4 0 1 Adrian Griffin 18 1-5 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 2 0 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 37 6-15 1-5 10-10 23 3-11 1 2 3 0 1 Josh Howard 33 7-13 0-1 1-2 15 0-3 0 0 5 1 0 DeSagana Diop 19 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2-5 0 1 1 0 1 Erick Dampier 28 3-4 0-0 0-1 6 5-8 1 2 6 0 2 Jerry Stackhouse 28 4-10 0-1 2-2 10 1-7 2 3 4 1 1 Keith Van_Horn 19 2-8 1-3 1-2 6 0-2 0 1 1 0 0 Marquis Daniels 9 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 1 2 1 1 0 Darrell Armstrong 8 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 0-1 2 1 0 1 0 Totals 48 32-79 3-16 22-25 89 13-42 10 17 28 4 6 Charlotte at Dallas (March 3) It was the 2nd night of a back-to-back for Dallas and the last game of a 12-day road trip for Charlotte. Dallas was again without Devin Harris. Dallas jumped out to an 8-0 lead with 10:15 remaining. Jumaine Jones connected on consecutive 3-pointers to get Charlotte on the board. Consecutive buckets by the Mavs again gave Dallas an 8 point lead at 16-8 with 6:50 left, but Jones hit another 3-pointer with 6:30 to go. The teams were building a house the rest of the quarter as it got really ugly out there and the 2 teams combined to shoot 2-24 FG and commit 7 turnovers the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 18-16 after 1. Jumaine Jones had 11 points including 3-4 3-pointers. The Bobcats only shot 5-22 FG in the quarter, but did hit 3-5 3-pointers. Keith Van Horn twisted his knee late in the 1st quarter and did not return. Raymond Felton hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring in the 2nd quarter and give Charlotte their first lead of the game, but Dallas then scored the next 5 points to go up 23-19 with 9:20 remaining - but 4 points would be the largest lead of the quarter as ugly ball continued. 6 consecutive points by Charlotte gave them a 32-30 lead with 2:50 to go. Josh Howard suffered a strained left hamstring with 3:30 left and did not return. Charlotte led 37-36 at the half. Dallas got a halftime lecture and opened the 3rd quarter strong by scoring the first 11 points of the quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Jason Terry, to go up 47-37 with 8:45 to go. A jumper by Primoz Brezec with 8:25 left gave Charlotte their first points of the 3rd quarter. Dallas led 49-41 with 7:25 left and went on a 16-4 run to go up 65-45 with 3 minutes to go. A turnaround jumper by Jerry Stackhouse gave Dallas their largest lead at 67-46 with 1:40 remaining. Dallas led 70-52 after 3. Jason Terry had 10 points on 4-4 FG in the 3rd quarter. Dallas shot 13-18 FG and Charlotte shot 5-17 FG in the 3rd quarter. Dallas led in the teens the most of the 4th quarter. 4 straight Bobcats points did pull them within 72-82 with 4 minutes to go, but Dallas scored the next 6 points to go up 88-72 with 2 minutes remaining. Dallas won 90-76. It wasn't a pretty game at all and Dallas looked like they were still thinking about the San Antonio game during the 1st half while Charlotte just looked like a poor team. Dallas did get their act together during halftime and came out with a strong 3rd quarter where they out-scored Charlotte 34-15. For the game, Dallas shot 46.2% (36-67) FG including 4-10 3-pointers and Charlotte shot 35.1% (26-74) FG including 6-16 3-pointers. Dallas shot 14-21 FT and Charlotte shot 18-27 FT. Dallas killed Charlotte on the boards in out-rebounding the Bobcats 57-37 including 16-10 offensive. Dallas was sloppy in committing 20 turnovers, but Charlotte only scored 12 points off of those turnovers while Dallas scores 15 points off of Charlotte's 13 turnovers. The win extended Dallas' home winning streak to 16 games. Dallas won despite only having 2 players in double-digits scoring. Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 9 rebounds. Jason Terry had 17 points on 7-11 FG and 3-5 3-pointers - but had no assists or rebounds. Erick Dampier had a strong outing with 9 points including 4-5 FG and 14 rebounds including 8 offensive. DeSagana Diop had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Josh Howard had 4 points on 2-8 FG and 6 rebounds in 11 minutes before his injury. Marquis Daniels filled in nicely for Howard with 8 points (only 3-10 FG, though), 4 rebounds, and 8 assists in 30 minutes. Adrian Griffin had 9 points and 8 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse had 9 points including 4-11 FG, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Keith Van Horn missed his only attempt (and that's the only stat he had) in 4 minutes before leaving with his injury. Darrell Armstrong didn't attempt a shot and had 4 rebounds and 4 turnovers in 14 minutes. Gerald Wallace was the high man for Charlotte with 14 points including 6-10 FG. He also had 8 rebounds. Jumaine Jones scored all 11 of his points in the 1st quarter. Raymond Felton had 11 points and 6 assists. No other Bobcat was in double-digits. Brevin Knight had 7 points including 2-8 FG, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Quotes Avery Johnson: "Fortunately tonight, we were able to gut out a win. We were emotionally, mentally, and physically drained, especially in the 1st half. We had a little talk with the team at halftime and they seemed to respond. I thought Marquis Daniels did a nice job for us in the 2nd half with getting some assists. I thought Erick Dampier was pretty much the key to this win tonight with his activity and his 14 rebounds. I thought Jerry Stackhouse came alive in the 2nd half. Jason Terry carried us briefly and Dirk Nowitzki was pretty much Dirk. Last night took a lot out of our team. We tried to act like it didn't but these guys really battled, concentrated, and were able to string together a pretty decent 2nd half against a well rested team." Johnson on if the slow start was expected: "I wouldn't say it was expected, but it's not acceptable. At the same time, these guys wanted to get it right. It was something we were able to fight through. We had some stretches there that were not able to score the basketball. But again, these guys are warriors. It was a total team effort." Johnson on the San Antonio game: "That game took a lot out of our team. We tried to act like it didn't, but these guys really battled, they concentrated and were able to string together a pretty good 2nd half against a well rested team." Johnson on the San Antonio loss: "We don't handle losses well around here. We're pretty angry when we lose. That's a good thing. But you can't have any hangover effects where it affects your play." Johnson on Howard: "He's day-to-day. He kind of tweaked his leg a little bit but right now, talking to the doctor and to Josh, I expect him back. Josh is a warrior. If it's something that may linger, then we'll think about sitting him out. Josh has played through a lot of stuff this year but hopefully we can have some better fortune with him in regards to finishing the season." Johnson on Van Horn: "The doctor told me that he just kind of tweaked his knee a little bit and like Josh Howard, he's pretty much day-to-day. We'll know more tomorrow." Dirk Nowitzki: "It was kind of hard to get up for this game. We came home last night, obviously, after a disappointing loss for us and this organization. We had high hopes going into that game." Nowitzki: "The 1st half, we kind of walked through it. We didn't really get anything going. So the 2nd half was big. We finally made some shots, got some stops, moved the ball, and kind of played Mavericks basketball." Nowitzki on halftime: "Avery had a really good speech and a couple of good words for us, obviously, after that little disappointing 1st half. The energy was a lot better. Defensively we got some stops and rebounded the ball pretty good. We made some open shots and moved the ball. We were playing the basketball that we have been the last month or 2." Jason Terry: "Our energy level and morale was kind of low going through that 1st half. Even the fans were kind of like - it seemed like they might have been in San Antonio with us. We were all kind of drained, but we fought through it. The sign of a good team is that bad nights turn it into a good one, and we were able to do that in the 2nd half." Terry: "At halftime, coach came in and said, 'Man, last night is over.' We really got that behind us and the 2nd half we played Mavs basketball." Terry: "Winning this game was important. We turned a bad night into a good night." Jerry Stackhouse: "A lot has happened in a day and a half, and we are still able to smile about it. I think that's the good thing about this game and this league. A lot of things happen and as long as you continue to smile and go out and do what we enjoy doing, everything's going to be all right. Sometimes you've got to blow the stack a little bit - no pun intended." Erick Dampier: "We didn't have the bench production we wanted in the 1st half. We had to get more out of our bench in the 2nd half and we just went out and executed, and we did what we needed too to get the win. Stack came in and played hard and DA [Armstrong] came in and played great for us. We just have to get that on a consistent basis from the beginning of the game." Dampier on turnovers: "We knew exactly what that team wanted to do and it was very important for us to take care of the ball, especially up and down the floor, and get easy baskets any time we could. We posted Dirk up a lot and he came up big. We just have to be ready to go right from the beginning of the game." Adrian Griffin: "Deep down inside we didn't want to give this game away even though we came out with not a lot of energy. In the 2nd half we really got it going. We're playing at home and we knew we couldn't afford a loss here." Griffin: "We were a little out of it the 1st half, but I think the 2nd half we realized that we definitely can't give this game away. It's a good win. I thought after last night it was a terrific win." Griffin on losing Howard and Van Horn: "You're talking about some key players going down, and we need everyone healthy, especially toward the end of the season. We missed Keith tonight because he stretches the defense out and is a great outside shooter that also helps free up Dirk. And Josh is just an all around great player. He's one of the main reasons why we are doing so well. Hopefully it's nothing serious for either guy." Griffin: "We got the win, it didn't matter how ugly it was. We needed to get back on track." Bernie Bickerstaff: "Their depth is really good. You put your hand in the dike and it breaks out somewhere else. But we're going home. The gas wasn't here, so I hope we have more on the game." Bickerstaff on what went wrong in the 3rd quarter: "Not making shots and turnovers early in the 3rd. We ended up with 13, I think, in total. We had shots, but we didn't have the legs to make shots. I thought we had a chance when we went in at halftime. We were up by 1 and we were shooting 31%, but in the 3rd quarter it was important that we come out and get busy. I know there were 3 or 4 possessions where we got nothing done." Bickerstaff: "I thought we had a chance when we came in at halftime and we were up 1. We shot 32%, but I thought this was a game that also defined Dallas - as much as the game last night - as a basketball team. They had all of the hype playing San Antonio and coming up they play Phoenix. I thought Avery Johnson had them ready to play." Bickerstaff: "I thought the one group we put in there fought and got us back close and we thought we would give those kids a chance to play - Baxter, Kareem, Bernard Robinson - so we just sat everyone else down. The energy flow was much better. They deserved a shot to play." Bickerstaff on the road trip: "The beginning of the 3rd, we didn't get anything done. After 6 games and 2 weeks, we didn't have the energy to get the job done." Gerald Wallace: "They were knocking down shots. It gets hard to guard those guys when they are knocking down shots. We were breaking down defensively and leaving guys wide open." Wallace on if the road trip was a factor: "Yeah, I think so, but we are still professionals. We need to keep our mental toughness and play the game all 4 quarters. I think we got confused on some matchups and they presented a hard matchup for us with guarding Dirk Nowitzki, setting a lot of screens, and we were concentrating on him and the other guys started knocking down shots. So that made it more difficult on us to try to rotate to them and worry about Dirk at the same time." Wallace: "I think we're still professionals. We need to keep our mental toughness and play the game for all 4 quarters." Brevin Knight: "Defensively we had some breakdowns which led to some of their guys getting open shots. So then some of their big players got easy shots because our big guys had to go over and help. As good as they are, once they start getting in a good rhythm, then it's hard to stop them." Knight on the 1st half: "It was a mutually ugly half. We stuck around because they weren't making shots either. Then we kept having key breakdowns in the 3rd. As good as they are, once they get a feel [for their aim] it's hard to stay with them." Dallas Mavericks 90, Charlotte Bobcats 76 at Dallas (March 3) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 18 18 34 20 - 90 .471 .400 .462 .667 Charlotte 16 21 15 24 - 76 .345 .375 .351 .667 Halftime: Charlotte 37-36 3rd Q: Dallas 70-52 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 4:31 1st, Dallas defensive 3 seconds 3:35 2nd, Charlotte defensive 3 seconds 0:43 2nd Refs: Joey Crawford, Jack Nies, Eric Lewis Attendance: 20,075 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 34 3-6 0-0 3-3 9 3-8 2 3 2 1 0 Jason Terry 34 7-11 3-5 0-0 17 0-0 0 2 4 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 38 9-17 1-1 7-8 26 0-9 3 2 4 1 0 Josh Howard 11 2-8 0-1 0-0 4 1-6 0 1 1 0 0 DeSagana Diop 23 4-9 0-0 0-2 8 2-7 0 1 1 1 3 Marquis Daniels 30 3-10 0-0 2-4 8 1-4 8 1 2 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 29 4-11 0-3 1-2 9 1-4 3 3 0 1 0 Erick Dampier 21 4-5 0-0 1-2 9 8-14 0 2 3 0 2 Darrell Armstrong 14 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-4 0 4 2 0 0 DJ Mbenga 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 1 0 1 Keith Van_Horn 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-78 4-10 14-21 90 16-57 16 20 20 4 6 Charlotte Bobcats REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Raymond Felton 37 4-10 2-4 1-2 11 1-3 6 2 4 1 0 Brevin Knight 30 2-8 0-0 3-3 7 1-4 5 3 1 2 0 Jumaine Jones 28 4-9 3-6 0-0 11 1-4 0 1 2 0 0 Gerald Wallace 26 4-6 0-0 6-10 14 1-8 0 0 3 0 2 Primoz Brezec 19 1-8 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 1 1 2 0 0 Kareem Rush 21 4-8 1-3 0-0 9 0-1 0 2 0 0 0 Bernard Robinson 20 1-4 0-0 6-8 8 0-3 3 2 3 3 0 Matt Carroll 17 1-8 0-3 0-0 2 2-3 0 0 2 0 1 Melvin Ely 16 2-4 0-0 0-2 4 2-2 1 2 2 3 1 Lonny Baxter 12 3-6 0-0 2-2 8 1-4 0 0 1 1 0 Jake Voskuhl 7 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 1 1 Alan Anderson 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 26-74 6-16 18-27 76 10-37 16 13 20 11 5 Phoenix at Dallas (March 3) Josh Howard and Devin Harris remained out with their injuries. Dallas jumped out to a 16-6 lead with 6:55 remaining thanks to shooting 8-9 FG while Phoenix shot 2-9 FG (though both makes were 3-pointers) to open the game. Phoenix did scored the next 5 points. Phoenix pulled within 18-22 with 3:45 to go and Dallas scored the next 7 points to go up 29-18 with 45 seconds left. Boris Diaw hit a jumper with a little over 3 seconds left, the Suns pressed the inbounds and Dirk Nowitzki was called for a travel, and Steve Nash was fouled with a fraction of a second left in the quarter and hit both free throws. Dallas led 31-24 after 1. Dallas shot 65% FG and Phoenix shot 47% FG in the quarter. Dallas out-scored Phoenix 22-8 in the paint. A 3-pointer and layup by Shawn Marion tied the game at 33-33 with 10:20 remaining. Dallas then scored the next 6 points to go up 39-33 with 8:10 left, but Phoenix then rattled off the next 7 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Eddie House, to take their first lead of the game at 40-39 with 6:30 to go. Adrian Griffin then hit a jumper and Leandro Barbosa nailed a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 2 point lead. Dallas then went on a 13-4 run to go up 54-47 with 2:50 left. Jerry Stackhouse hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining and Jason Terry hit a 3 with 5 seconds left to give Dallas a 62-51 lead at the half. Both teams were shooting well as Dallas shot 63% FG and Phoenix shot 51% FG in the half. Dallas' strong shooting was thanks to them continuing to take the ball inside against Phoenix's small lineup as Dallas had 42 points in the paint. The teams were unable to put together more than 2 consecutive buckets during the 3rd quarter, so neither team really had a run in the quarter. A layup by Griffin and jumper by Terry gave Dallas their largest lead at 79-66 with 6:40 to go. A bucket by Marion and layup by Diaw pulled Phoenix within 74-81 with 4:15 remaining, but Phoenix could get no closer than 6 points in the quarter. Marquis Daniels hit a long jumper with a fraction of a second left in the quarter to give Dallas an 89-81 lead after 3. A dunk by Stackhouse after a steal by Daniels gave Dallas a 91-83 lead with 9:55 remaining. Barbosa then hit a 3, Daniels got a bucket, and House nailed a long jumper (toe nail on the line) and Avery Johnson changed strategies and matched up small with the Suns. It didn't help as after a layup by Terry, Phoenix scored the next 9 points to take a 97-95 lead with 6:40 left. Daniels missed inside late in the shot clock, but got the putback and, after the teams traded misses, Nowitzki converted a 3-point play to give Dallas a 100-97 lead with 5 minutes to go. But Dallas got sloppy with 2 turnovers and missed 3 shots and it became the Steve Nash show as Nash assisted on 3 consecutive Phoenix buckets and then Nash hit a jumper to give Phoenix a 107-100 lead with 2:25 to go. Daniels got a layup, Marion missed a layup, and Terry hit 2 free throws to pull Dallas within 104-107 with 1:30 remaining. Nash drove at Nowitzki and got one of his circus shots to go with 1:15 left. Terry answered with a 3-pointer to pull Dallas within 107-109 with a minute to go. But Dallas couldn't get the defensive stop and Nash drove again and, as the defense collapsed on Nash, he fed an open Marion for the easy layup with 45 seconds left. Terry missed and Phoenix hit 4 free throws to seal the win. Phoenix won 115-107. It wasn't a pretty 4th quarter by Dallas and solid 4th by the Suns, which got them the win. I thought the Mavs hurt themselves when they went away from a "standard" lineup with a true center. Yes Phoenix did hit a couple of outside shots in a row that prompted the change, but I thought Dallas should have weathered the storm with the lineup that had been working up to that point. The Mavs had been killing Phoenix inside all game long and the smaller lineup (plus seeing Phoenix make outside shots) saw the team attempting shots more from the outside instead of attacking Phoenix's weak inside. After shooting 61% FG through 3 quarters, Dallas only shot 7-24 FG in the 4th quarter. Phoenix shot 13-23 FG in the 4th (not much higher than their 53% FG through 3 quarters) and out-scored Dallas 34-18 in the 4th. For the game, the numbers aren't too different - both teams made 45 field goals, but Phoenix made 2 more free throws and 6 more 3-pointers. Phoenix shot 54.2% (45-83) FG including 10-22 3-pointers and Dallas shot 52.3% (45-86) FG including 4-14 3-pointers. Phoenix shot 15-17 FT and Dallas shot 13-15 FT. [Phoenix needs to work on stopping the whining - it was far too excessive and often after obvious calls.] Phoenix had 38 rebounds including 8 offensive and Dallas had 37 rebounds including 10 offensive. Both teams had 12 turnovers. The loss ended Dallas' 16 game home winning streak and lengthen Phoenix win streak to 10 straight. Steve Nash was nasty as usual. He had his circus shots going and had 25 points including 9-15 FG and 4 of his 11 assists came in the 4th quarter. He did have 6 turnovers, but 4 came in the 1st quarter. Boris Diaw had 7 rebounds in the 4th quarter to get a triple-double. He had 24 points including 9-15 FG, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Shawn Marion had a double-double with 22 points including 10-17 FG and 10 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa was the sharp shooter off the bench with 20 points including 7-9 FG and 4-6 3-pointers. After a strong 1st game, Tim Thomas was fairly quiet in his 2nd game with Phoenix with 8 points including 3-9 FG and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes. Dallas lost despite a trio having 20+ points and 2 others with 14 points. Dirk Nowitzki was the high man with 25 points, but 16 of them came in the 1st half and he only shot 1-5 FG in the 4th quarter. Nowitzki also had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Marquis Daniels started for the injured Josh Howard and had 22 points on 11-16 FG. Jason Terry had 21 points and 4 assists. Unlike the San Antonio game, Adrian Griffin had his shot going and was able to make Phoenix pay when they doubled off of him. Griff had 14 points on 7-8 FG and 5 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse was throwing up bricks most of the game (including missing his first 5 shots) and only shot 4-16 FG in the game. He had 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Erick Dampier played pretty well, despite only shooting 2-7 FG. He had 7 points (hit 3-3 FT) and 11 rebounds including 7 offensive in 22 minutes. DeSagana Diop had 2 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Darrell Armstrong had 2 points, 1 rebound, and 2 steals in 11 minutes. Quotes Mike D'Antoni on the win: "It is important, but I think our psyche is in tact. It's nice to win and all that but, again, it's 1 game. They aren't going be like 'we're going to give up' and we're not going to do that either. Next week it doesn't mean anything. We're happy tonight and then we'll go on. If we meet them in the playoffs, so be it. But we played well and that's what is important." D'Antoni on the 2nd half comeback: "Boris stepped up. He had, I think 2 rebounds going into the 4th quarter and he ended up with 10. And they missed some shots in there, too. In the 1st half they were all going in and in the 2nd half they missed." Steve Nash: "Our energy was great. I think our activity was key. We just scrapped a little more and we were a little more determined." Nash on the win: "We knew we were capable. But it's always nice to do it instead of saying it; take all the doubt out of it. We were up 17 [on Dallas] going into the 4th quarter at home the first game of the year [and lost], and to hang around here in this last game and win it's nice for us." Nash on his circus shot with 1:15 left: "I got by [Nowitzki] and I decided to keep him on my hip and try to get a foul. At the last second, he kind of just backed off a little bit. I just tried to get it up on the rim." Nash: "Our energy was great in the 4th quarter. The 2nd unit ... came in and gave us a big lift. We had greater activity, primarily defensively. We made a lot of plays and played a lot stickier, scrapped a little more." Nash on the difference between this game and the first game of the season: "It was a little more than a normal game in that we had a win streak going and they had a home streak going and the fact that they've had a terrific year. It's a good win for us to beat a really good team on their home floor." Nash: "If [Stoudemire] doesn't come back, we are giving up a lot of size and I think you saw it in the 1st half today, but we also proved we can be really difficult to defend. When we really get determined, like in the 4th quarter, we can overcome a size disadvantage. It's a lot of hard work for us. We're giving up size, but we're not giving up." Shawn Marion: "In the 1st half, they were knocking down some good shots. We were missing our shots but we were right there. We focused in the 2nd half and buckled down and got some good stops when we needed to." Raja Bell on the 4th quarter: "We really picked it up defensively. We changed our scheme up on the pick-and-roll with Jason Terry and Dirk. We were able to get under Dirk a little bit and make him pass the ball and then we cleaned up our defensive glass. Beside from Leandro Barbosa and everyone else just knocking down everything they shot, I thought our defensive stepped it up a bit." Leandro Barbosa: "I feel comfortable and my teammates set up a lot of plays for me. I just want to be ready because everything happens so quickly. I'm ready. If I have to shoot, I will shoot." Boris Diaw: "Right now the best part of my game is my defense. I'm always guarding players who are bigger and stronger so I try to use my quickness." Avery Johnson: "Today was a very disappointing loss. At halftime we talked to the team about sustaining our defensive intensity and effort and we just couldn't do it. They seemed to have a little bit more juice in the tank in the 4th quarter and in the 2nd half than what we had. They had some traps and tried to get the ball out of Terry's hands and they were successful with it. I thought our guys tried, but we didn't have anything in the tank in the 2nd half." Johnson: "This was a tough game and a tough team to play against. They play like any other team in the league. We competed for the most part, but they put us in a bind. Diaw was a tough matchup for our centers." Johnson: "The trappers tried to get the ball out of Dirk's and JT's hands and they tried to live with other people scoring and we just didn't make them pay. I don't think we lost any poise. Our team doesn't get too rattled. If we lose, we lose. If we win, we win. We just didn't make them pay on the offensive end. We thought we had to try to play the best defensive that we could play, but the key to this game was the way we played offense. We just didn't have as much of it in the 2nd half as we did in the 1st half. It was a tale of 2 halves." Johnson on the 4th quarter: "We're trying to get to a point when we get to the 4th quarter we can still run our system and maintain a level of consistency. We're not doing it. It's my job to get them to do it, and we'll get there." Dirk Nowitzki: "We weren't good enough in the 4th quarter. You have to play for 48 minutes against a team like Phoenix. They made shots off of our mistakes. We turned the ball over and you can't do that." Nowitzki on going 1-5 FG in the 4th quarter: "They adjusted and double-teamed me. I've got to do a better job finding the open man. More than anything, we know now we need a little more consistency for longer stretches." Nowitzki on missing players: "We never make excuses with injures. We would love to have Josh out there. Same with Devin. [But] we should have won the game with the guys that we had." Nowitzki on this and the San Antonio games: "It's 2 disappointing loses, but we can't really hang our heads down because we were right there. We had our chances to beat both of them. We know what we need to do. We still have over 20 games left. We have to improve on both ends of the floor. We'll work harder in practice and hopefully be there in April, May, and June." Nowitzki on the losses: "What we know now is what we knew already the last couple of weeks. We need more consistency for longer stretches. Not only a quarter or a half. We need it over a good 40 minutes or even more than that if you want to be a great team or ultimately a championship team. You've got to be consistent with what you do and you've got to be persistent. And we're still not quite there yet." Jerry Stackhouse: "This was a game we thought we had, and a lot of responsibility goes on our bench and me mostly. We got out-worked by their bench. I have to point a finger squarely at myself. I haven't been playing good basketball over the last couple weeks. I got to get back to doing what makes me Jerry Stackhouse. It caught up with me and caught up with our team." Stackhouse: "Whenever you're fighting for those top spots, it's always good to be able to beat those top teams. And after the break, we haven't done that. We beat these teams before the break, [but] everybody is better in the 2nd half than they are the 1st half [of the season]." Adrian Griffin on missing Howard, Van Horn, and Harris: "That's just how the NBA works; guys get hurt and the other guys try to pull some weight and pick up that slack. We don't make excuses. Obviously, we are better when everyone is healthy. We still have to play the games. I though we fought tonight, but just came up a little short." Griffin on the injuries: "Guys get hurt and other guys have got to pull their weight and pick up the slack. We don't make excuses. Obviously we are better when everyone is healthy." Griffin on the difference in the 4th quarter: "I don't really know. We have to sit down and watch film tomorrow and figure some things out. I thought we went cold and they hit some key buckets. I thought in the 4th they got more loose balls than we did. They were a little more aggressive rebounding." Marquis Daniels on the 4th quarter: "We just had some lapses; that's all it was. That's part of the game; you just have to limit them." Daniels on the end of the home winning streak: "We can't panic. We still feel confident of where we are. All good things must come to an end. We've got to start a new [winning streak]." Daniels on the difference between Nash now and when he was with Dallas: "He's still the same player. He's still doing the same things he was doing when he was here. He's shooting a lot more there. He's still knocking down big shots and getting his players involved." Phoenix Suns 115, Dallas Mavericks 107 at Dallas (March 5) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Phoenix 24 27 30 34 - 115 .574 .455 .542 .882 Dallas 31 31 27 18 - 107 .569 .286 .523 .867 Halftime: Dallas 62-51 3rd Q: Dallas 89-81 Technicals: Mike D'Antoni 0:18 1st Refs: Mike Callahan, Mark Wunderlich, Gary Zielinski Attendance: 20,340 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Nikoloz Tskitishvili (sprained right ankle), Josh Howard (strained left hamstring) Phoenix Suns REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Steve Nash 35 9-15 2-4 5-5 25 1-3 11 6 1 0 0 Raja Bell 35 3-8 1-3 0-0 7 1-4 2 0 4 0 0 Shawn Marion 46 10-17 2-3 0-0 22 3-10 1 1 2 4 2 James Jones 10 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 0-1 0 1 1 0 0 Boris Diaw 46 9-15 0-0 6-7 24 2-10 10 0 3 0 0 Leandro Barbosa 31 7-9 4-6 2-2 20 0-2 0 2 1 1 1 Tim Thomas 23 3-9 0-3 2-3 8 1-7 1 1 1 1 1 Eddie House 13 3-6 1-2 0-0 7 0-1 2 1 2 1 0 Totals 48 45-83 10-22 15-17 115 8-38 27 12 15 7 4 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Adrian Griffin 38 7-8 0-0 0-0 14 0-5 2 1 2 0 0 Jason Terry 38 8-16 3-8 2-2 21 0-1 4 0 3 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 42 11-21 0-1 3-3 25 1-9 5 3 1 0 1 Marquis Daniels 38 11-16 0-0 0-0 22 1-2 2 4 3 2 0 DeSagana Diop 21 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-5 1 0 4 0 1 Jerry Stackhouse 29 4-16 1-5 5-7 14 0-3 3 2 0 1 0 Erick Dampier 22 2-7 0-0 3-3 7 7-11 2 1 1 0 2 Darrell Armstrong 11 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 1 2 2 0 Rawle Marshall 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 45-86 4-14 13-15 107 10-37 19 12 16 7 4 patricia