Game 6: Dallas at Phoenix (June 3) Do-or-die game 6 for Phoenix was here with no lineup changes. A layup by DeSagana Diop opened the scoring, but Dallas would then missed their next 8 shots and Phoenix jumped out to an 8-3 lead with 7:45 left. Jason Terry picked up his 2nd foul a mere 2 minutes into the game and he sat the rest of the quarter. Phoenix led 12-7 with 5:50 to go and Dallas' shooting struggles continued as the Mavs shot just 1-6 FG as the Suns went on a 14-3 run to take a 26-10 lead with 1:10 remaining. Devin Harris had picked up his 2nd foul with 4:40 left and sat and the Mavs played Marquis Daniels at point the rest of the quarter. Phoenix led 29-14 after 1. Boris Diaw had 10 points in the quarter. Phoenix shot 11-18 FG while Dallas shot just 6-21 FG (including 0-6 3-pointers) and 14 points was the fewest points Dallas had scored in the playoffs this season. The Suns even out-rebounded Dallas 16-8 and the Mavs didn't have a single offensive rebound despite their many misses. A bucket by Diaw opened the 2nd quarter, but Dallas then went on an 8-2 run to pull within 22-33 with 9:35 to go. But Terry had picked up his 3rd foul a mere 75 seconds into the quarter and he sat the rest of the half - Terry only played 3 minutes and did not score in the 1st half. Phoenix led 38-26 with 7:05 remaining and a 3-point play by Diaw and 3-pointer by Shawn Marion gave the Suns their largest lead at 44-26 with 6:15 left. Harris had picked up his 3rd foul with 6:30 to go and he sat the rest of the quarter. Phoenix joined Dallas with foul trouble as Leandro Barbosa picked up his 3rd foul with 7:15 left, Tim Thomas picked up his 3rd foul with 5:55 left, and Raja Bell picked up his 3rd foul with 4:55 left. Phoenix led 49-33 with 2:55 to go and Dirk Nowitzki converted a 3-point play, Diaw picked up his 3rd foul with 2 minutes left and Josh Howard hit 1-2 FT, and Howard got a bucket to pull Dallas within 39-49 with 1:05 remaining. A layup by Steve Nash with 5 seconds left capped the quarter scoring. Phoenix led 51-39 at the half. Diaw had 20 points in the half. Phoenix shot 53% FG and Dallas shot 38% FG (including 0-10 3-pointers) in the half. Dallas came out with a new lineup to open the 2nd half as Adrian Griffin started in place of Harris. Diaw picked up his 4th foul a mere 2 minutes into the 3rd quarter. Phoenix led 55-45 with 8:50 to go and Leandro Barbosa hit a 3-pointer, Diop picked up his 4th foul but Thomas missed 2 free throws, and a finger roll by Barbosa on the break gave Phoenix a 60-45 lead with 6:35 remaining. Nowitzki then drove for a bucket and was fouled - Barbosa's 4th foul - and he hit the extra. Thomas got a bucket, by Terry nailed a 3-pointer (Dallas' first of the game). James Jones got a dunk, but Nowitzki hit a jumper and then Nowitzki drove for 2 and was fouled - Thomas' 4th foul - and he hit the extra to pull Dallas within 56-64 with 4 minutes to go. The teams traded jumpers on their next possessions and then each missed 3 shots and there was a minute and a half left in the quarter. 2 jumpers by Nowitzki capped the quarter scoring (with Bell collecting his 4th foul in between the 2 shots). Phoenix led 66-62 after 3. Nowitzki had 12 points in the 3rd quarter. Dallas out-scored Phoenix 23-15 in the 3rd quarter as the game slowed down with Dallas' playing a halfcourt game, Dallas getting back on defense to slow Phoenix down, and the fouls called. Dallas scored the first 6 points of the 4th quarter to take their first lead since the first basket of the game at 68-66 with 9:45 remaining - it also completed a 23-6 Dallas run from 6 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Diop picked up his 5th foul with 9:30 left and he did not play the rest of the game as Dallas' lineup of Jerry Stackhouse, Griffin, Nowitzki, Howard, and Terry was playing well. A dunk by Diaw tied the game at 72-72 with 8:10 to go. Dallas then scored the next 6 points to go up 78-72 with 6:10 remaining (and Thomas picked up his 5th foul with 6:35 left, but stayed in the game). I wasn't surprised when Nash cut Dallas' lead in half with a 3-pointer on Phoenix's next possession. Stackhouse hit a jumper, Thomas hit a jumper, and Stackhouse nailed a 3-pointer to give Dallas an 83-77 lead with 5 minutes to go. The teams traded a pair of misses and Howard stole backcourt pass and was fouled (Barbosa's 5th) and Howard hit the 2 free throws to give Dallas an 8 point lead with 3:45 remaining. The teams traded jumpers and Nash lost the ball near the baseline as Griffin tipped it away and Nowitzki was fouled and hit 2 free throws to give Dallas an 89-79 lead with 2:45 left. Nash drove for the quick 2. Howard was called for traveling, but Nash fell driving and Nowitzki picked up the loose ball with 2:15 remaining. Terry was fouled driving and hit 1-2 FT and Nash got another quick layup. But Howard buried the 3 (and the Suns) to give Dallas a 93-83 lead with 1:30 to go. Barbosa got a quick layup and the Suns started intentionally fouling, but the Mavs weren't going to fall apart and hit 9-10 FT the rest of the way. Bell hit 2 3-pointers in the last 30 seconds and the game ended with a dunk by Griffin at the final buzzer. Dallas won 102-93. Dallas takes the series 4-2 and advances to the NBA Finals!!!!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was with this win. When Josh hit that 3, I could no longer sit and was on my feet for the next 30 minutes and bouncing around. WE'RE GOING TO THE NBA FINALS!!!!!! I know the Mavs were the favorite going into this series, but each win is such a high and each loss is such a low - it really is a rollercoaster. As a long time Mavs fan, my all-time best Mavs memory was with a few minutes left in game 6 vs Denver in 1988 (I was there) with the realization that we were going to the Western Conference Finals (and then the next few hours of celebrating with the rest of the fans in the arena, walking to the car, and even driving home on Central). [2nd on my list was Michael Finley's great feed to Calvin Booth and then Utah missing 2 good looks to give Dallas the upset series win in their first playoff series after a decade of disaster.] I now have a new favorite, starting with Josh's 3 and going on for the next 7 hours (I went and met the plane). I still have a stupid grin on my face 14 hours later (and 5 1/2 hours fitful sleep as the adrenalin remained high). MY DALLAS MAVERICKS ARE GOING TO THE NBA FINALS!!!! This there is such a large break before the FINALS start (Thursday in Dallas at 8 pm - you can't offer me enough money to entice me to give up those tickets), I'm going to take the rest of the day and probably tomorrow and enjoy the win, before settling back and saying the focus is still on the ultimate prize. But, WE'RE GOING TO THE FINALS!!! As for the game, it wasn't pretty at all and really a tale of 2 halves. The Mavs looked terrible in the 1st quarter and Phoenix took advantage and built an 18-point lead. Dallas found their shot in the 2nd half and also played some defense in getting some stops (and the Suns simply missed some shots late in the game). Phoenix out-scored Dallas 51-39 in the 1st half and Dallas out-scored Phoenix 63-42 in the 2nd half including 40-27 in the 4th quarter [Dallas out-scored Phoenix 57-33 from 6:35 left in the 3rd quarter (where Phoenix led by 15 points) to the end of the game]. Dallas shot 38% FG in the 1st half and 58% FG in the 2nd half (and their 3 made 3-pointers came in the 2nd half). Phoenix shot 53% FG in the 1st half and 47% FG in the 2nd half. Phoenix out-rebounded Dallas 24-17 in the 1st half and in 2nd half Dallas out-rebounded Phoenix 24-15. For the final numbers, Dallas shot 47.4% (37-78) FG including 3-20 3-pointers and Phoenix shot 50% (36-72) FG including 6-17 3-pointers. Dallas shot 25-31 FT (including 9-10 FT on intentional fouls) and Phoenix shot 15-20 FT. Dallas out-rebounded Phoenix 39-36 including 10-5 offensive (5 offensive boards was 1 off the Mavs opponent record). Phoenix had 18 assists and Dallas had just 10 assists. Dallas scored 50 points in the paint and Phoenix scored 36 points in the paint. Dallas had 14 turnovers and Phoenix had 18 turnovers. Coming back from 18 down tied the 2nd largest comeback in Mavs playoff history and was the 5th time this season Dallas came back from 18+ points down in a game. A big diss to the refs for being a factor in this game - the many players in foul trouble _was_ a story in the game when you would have rathered all the key stories be purely on plays. Dallas did benefit in the long run with many key Suns players in deep foul trouble in the 2nd half, but the Suns also benefited with both of Dallas' point guards sitting most of the 1st half due to foul trouble. The 5-man lineup of Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry, and Adrian Griffin picked the team up in the 2nd half and carried them to the win - all 5 played key roles (although most would like to forget their 1st half performances). All 17 of Terry's points came in the 2nd half (not surprising since he played just 3 minutes in the 1st half due to foul trouble). Not only did Howard score and rebound, he had the defensive assignment on Steve Nash at times in the 2nd half and helped slow Nash down. Howard's 24-0 streak this season when he scores 20+ points remains intact. Howard had 20 points, 15 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 steals (though he did have 4 turnovers). Nowitzki overcame his sluggish 1st half where he shot 2-9 FG and had 8 points and had 16 points in the 2nd half including 6-11 FG (including making 5 straight shots in the 3rd quarter) - his 12 points in the last 6:15 of the 3rd quarter got Dallas back in the game after being down 15 points. Nowitzki finished with a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds and also had 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. 13 of Stackhouse's 19 points came in the 4th quarter (including 8-8 FT on intentional fouls). The team did not reveal it until after the game, but Nowitzki was recovering from food poisoning, which was the reason he did not practice the day before (not getting a day of rest as the team originally stated). And Griffin was making Griff plays. Playing defense, knocking balls away, keeping the ball alive for Dallas, and occasionally hitting shots. He had 6 points on 3-4 FG and 5 rebounds in 36 minutes. With his 1st half foul trouble and Griffin's play in the 2nd half, Devin Harris played just 12 minutes. Harris had 8 points on 4-5 FG. DeSagana Diop's playing time suffered due to fouls (and then the above 5 players clicking in the 4th quarter) and he had 4 points on 2-2 FG, 4 rebounds, and 5 fouls in 21 minutes. With the 1st half point guard foul trouble, Marquis Daniels played significant minutes at point guard and had 4 points in 12 minutes. Keith Van Horn barely played in seeing just 3 1/2 minutes of court time and he missed his only attempt and had 1 rebound. Darrell Armstrong and Erick Dampier did not play, coach's decision. Boris Diaw was the game's high man with 30 points on 11-16 FG and 8-10 FT. He also had 11 rebounds, but turned the ball over 6 times in his 40 minutes. 9 of Steve Nash's 19 points came in the 4th quarter. Nash also had 6 rebounds and 9 assists. Shawn Marion had a double-double, but the Suns needed more offense from him. Marion had 13 points (only 10 attempts) and 11 rebounds in 46 minutes. Tim Thomas didn't have his shot going and struggled with foul trouble. Thomas had 8 points on 4-11 FG, 0-3 3-pointers, and 0-2 FT and 4 rebounds before fouling out with 2 minutes left in the game. Raja Bell, still playing on a sore calf, missed all 4 of his shots before hitting 2 3-pointers in the last 30 seconds of the game. He had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals and also had foul trouble with 5 fouls in 35 minutes. Leandro Barbosa was the main bench player with 14 points, but also had foul trouble. He had 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 27 minutes before fouling out on an intentional foul with 45 seconds left. James Jones had 3 points on 1-4 FG and 1-2 FT, 2 turnovers, and 1 block for his only stats in 19 minutes. It was a tight 7-man rotation for Phoenix as Eddie House did not play in this game. As for the series, hats off to a gutsy performance by the Phoenix Suns where they played with a very short rotation of 7 or 8 players and forced teams to adjust to them. I did feel that the Mavs were the better team throughout, but the Mavs never could get a handle on the Suns and were constantly adjusting and Dallas never had a dominating game on the Suns (a half or quarter a couple of times, but never a game). Phoenix did make life a little more difficult on themselves by not grabbing many offensive rebounds (just 51 in the 6 game series, tying the 4th lowest in league playoff history) and just 26 steals (2nd lowest in league 6-game history). Dallas had their own near NBA record with just 91 assists (tying 2nd lowest in 6-games), but that wasn't unusual as they've had very low assists numbers all season long. Phoenix went all series with a very short rotation as 6 players averaged more than 30 minutes and another player averaged 19 minutes and an 8th averaged 11 minutes. 3 other players played a grand total of 10 minutes (all in the game 4 blowout). Boris Diaw average 24.2 points and 8.5 rebounds against Dallas. Steve Nash averaged 20.7 points and 10.2 assists. Shawn Marion averaged 16.8 points and 13.2 rebounds. Tim Thomas averaged 15 points including 15-29 3-pointers and Leandro Barbosa averaged 13.3 points. Raja Bell showed great heart in wanting to play despite a serious injury that playing on risked a more serious injury. In the series Dirk Nowitzki was a stud (even more so if you remove his 1 bad game of the 6). Dirk averaged 28 points including 8-16 3-pointers and 13.2 rebounds against Phoenix. Josh Howard averaged 19.3 points and 8.3 rebounds. Jason Terry averaged 16 points, but shot just 41.6% FG and 5-20 3-pointers (shot 41% 3-pointers in the regular season). Jerry Stackhouse averaged 13.2 points and Devin Harris averaged 11 points. Quotes Avery Johnson: "Tonight this was a really special win. But first, I want to just thank the Suns. They are a first class organization. I thought they had an incredible year. Nash is just such a special player; I had to change my pick-and-roll coverage almost ever other time down the court. And they've had a wonderful run, especially without Stoudemire. But again, man, this was a special night for us. We were so bad in the 1st half and so good in the 2nd half. You're talking about the tale of 2 halves. And the way we turned it on and from that middle of the 3rd on in to the 4th was incredible. Really got to take your hats off to Jason Terry. What an incredible comeback. What an incredible example of perseverance. Went to him in the 2nd half. He had 3 fouls in 3 minutes, basically, in the 1st half. And Dirk came back, wasn't feeling too particularly good. Couldn't practice yesterday. And, you know, these guys are just - I can keep going on and on down the line. It's just been an incredible run. So, we're excited to be in the Finals, obviously. But nobody's ripping their shirts off or going too crazy. But they should celebrate. But we know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us because we came into this season with the idea of winning the championship." Johnson on starting Griffin in the 2nd half: "Well he just gave us that size. And you know Adrian started for us quite a bit this year. We kind of felt if we were fortunate enough to get by the 1st round, we knew we'd have to start Devin against the Spurs. And Devin just got on such a big roll coming into this series, I thought that maybe we'll start him against Phoenix. But he hadn't played particularly well this series. He had an okay 1st half, but we needed to get some size out there. And we thought it would give Nash an opportunity to play more defense on Terry or if he tried to guard Griffin, we would go big. But this game turned around because we decided to take the ball to the basket. We were settling for too many jumpshots. Believe it or not, we think we're more of an inside-out team, whether it's posting up or penetration. We're not a jumpshooting team any more. So, glad we took the ball to the basket. Just really excited. Excited for Mark Cuban, who's definitely our #1 fan and loyal faithful supporter." Johnson on the 3rd quarter comeback with defense: "We did it what? Defensively? We're not a defensive team. Defensively, wow, that's pretty new. [sarcasm] I think it was great the way we turned up our defense. We got some steals in there. We created some turnovers. And guys were just active. And again, we're a team that normally doesn't have a really good 3rd quarter. But we were fortunate to have a good 3rd quarter - not so much offensively, but defensively. And except for them getting some baskets at the end of the game when the game was over, I'm probably as proud of our 2nd half defense as I've been all year, especially under the circumstances." Johnson on if the transition from being a run-and-gun team is complete: "I think over all it is. Again, we took over a team - Coach Nelson laid a really good foundation here for years - but we took over a team that had lost in the 1st round, that we lost in the 2nd round last year. And we added the right pieces. We added Jason Terry and Erick Dampier and Stackhouse and Devin Harris last year, which was critical, and some of those guys had never been to the playoffs. Then we add DeSagana Diop and Adrian Griffin, who if we didn't have those 2 guys, you probably wouldn't be talking to me, you'd be talking to another coach. So I think those 6 players and the development of Marquis Daniels and Josh Howard, who is playing on an All-Star level right now, to go along with Dirk, has really been nice for us. And we added Van Horn last year, who we think still has another level to go to. So, I like the way we pieced together this team and it was definitely with the intention of trying to be flexible enough to play fast, slow. We feel that we have different styles, that we can play against teams with different styles." Johnson on the foul trouble and depth helping: "Yeah, you know, our depth has been key this year because, like I said - I've sound like a worn out record - but we were injured quite a bit this year. Only Dirk and Damp and Jason Terry a little bit were our staples. Everybody else was in and out of the rotation the whole year. And to still win 60 games with DeSagana Diop, who had never played in the league in 4 years, and Griff, and it was incredible. It shows the resilience of our team. We talked about it at halftime. I put 4 3s on the board. And they were wondering what that was. But I told them that was the guys, Tim Thomas and Diaw, all of those guys had 3 fouls. They thought I was going to say some rocket science stuff." Johnson on the next series: "Well, again, we're playing against a team that's a really hot basketball team right now. A team whom we've only played them 2 times this year. And obviously Coach Riley's done an incredible job. He's a Hall of Fame coach and played in the league, so he's seen it both ways. And, you know, Shaq and Wade, they're great. And their supporting cast, I think, with Posey and Gary Payton and Jason Williams and all those guys, I think those guys have really been the key to their season. So, we respect our opponents. You know, when coming into this season, nobody had Miami and Dallas coming in to the Finals - if you did, you won a lot of money. But, everybody had 2 other teams. And we just felt we had a chance and we weren't getting the respect. But I think people respect a little bit more what we're doing now. But, again, we signed up to win the championship. We're delighted to be there, but, again, we're not satisfied." Dirk Nowitzki on resiliency: "Yeah, I thought we battle back great always. It's about sticking together when you're down and when you're up. I think we went through tough times all season long. We had some ups, we had some downs. The important thing is you have to stick together as a team. They'll be some mistakes out there, but you have to believe in each other. You have to believe in the coach and the system. And I think ultimately, that's what we did. I think most importantly today was we made that push right before the half, we cut it down to 12 or 10. And I think that's something that's doable against Phoenix, especially with their style of basketball. You know, all it takes is a couple of minutes to cut that down. I thought defensively we were awesome in the 2nd half. We were rotating for each other, we were helping each other, we were contesting shots, we were rebounding well. And, I mean, that's the kind of defense we play under Avery and it won us the game the 2nd half." Nowitzki on 8 years with Dallas: "It's kind of hard. So much stuff is going through your mind. But obviously I'm proud of what we've accomplished so far. Obviously now you're in the Finals, you want to get the ring and you want to fight for it. But obviously we're proud of the organization. I've had a great 8 years so far and I think we worked and worked continuously with Mark [Cuban] and all the players have gone in and out, but we stuck with it and kept fighting. And this is what we've worked for a long time. You know, I've been in the Western Conference before a couple of years ago and it's obviously a little sad if you play all the way to June and then get knocked out. So I'm just so happy to go to the Finals." Nowitzki on seeing Dallas turn around: "Yeah, I mean, when we first got here, it was rough. I mean, we were in that old arena, in Reunion Arena, and, I mean, it stunk. It was bad. So I think we fought through a lot of stuff. But it was great, obviously, with Steve coming in and Mike, Fin, were there and we kind of built that triangle for a while, which was great. They're obviously great friends and it hurt losing them and I wish, obviously, both would still be here to enjoy this moment with me, but, you know, we made different decisions as an organization and we moved on. And obviously I'm still proud of what they do for their teams. But, it's been fun the whole ride so far, these 8 years. And, you know, when I first got to Dallas, like I said, nobody really knew us and you could go out any where and nobody was paying any attention to the Mavericks, really. And then Mark took over and we got better and better and we got to be a playoff team. It's been a fun ride. So hopefully we can take it to the next level and bring this franchise a ring." Nowitzki on the 2nd half and Terry: "Yeah, I thought Jason struggled this whole series. You know, he always, every single game so far, he got early fouls, 1 or 2 or 3 quick fouls. He never really got to find his rhythm early. And we all know as shooters and players and play-makers, you want to be able to find your rhythm early in the game. And so I think that was a little disappointing for him that he always had to sit down early and kind of watch. And then it's kind of tough to come back in the 2nd half. But he stuck with it. I thought this whole series, he kept battling back in the 2nd halves. You know, I couldn't really get anything going early. In the 2nd half, I just thought I had to drive a little bit. I got 2 and-1s, that's obviously, you know, always helps open the basket up a little bit for the jumpshot. Man, a great team effort, I mean really defensively and offensively we swung the ball. We had, how many, 4 guys in double-figures and everybody was playing well." Nowitzki on Miami: "Well, obviously, we watched them, watched them a lot. And, you know, Shaq and obviously Dwyane are playing at their level, obviously great. But I think their role players are playing phenomenal. You know, the Walkers are making shots, the Paytons, Jason Williams, all those guys, Posey, coming in playing great defense for them, and Haslem, and making shots when they're open and really executing their offense. So we're going to have our hands full, but we're going to enjoy this one tonight. Tomorrow have a little day off. And get focused on Monday on what's ahead. But obviously it's going to be a heck of a Finals series. Obviously, it's great we have homecourt. We worked hard for it all season long. And we'll be ready on Thursday night." Josh Howard: "I'm just proud of us sticking together, especially with what happened last year against this team. We just stayed focused throughout the season and letting everybody know that we were connected at the hip by concrete. This is a close-knit family. That's what we are. I think everybody reached down deep inside and we knew we had to give it all if we wanted to make it to the next level. Adrian Griffin came in and made some huge steals, big rebounds, and made some baskets for us. Like I've been saying all year that when guys get their opportunity, they've come through for us. Now we have to step up and try to win at the next level against Miami." Howard: "Like we've been saying all year, we've got a great supporting cast. Any guy, any night can come out and give us a chance." Howard: "We're fearless, never going to back down no matter what the score is." Howard on the comeback: "Guys just keep fighting, keep coming back. We want to keep the focus. We know we're going to play a great Miami team. We just have to be ready for them." Howard on what Johnson said at halftime: "Coach said a lot of things, but the biggest thing he said was that we could still win." Howard on defending Nash: "Nash is a great, great player, who is at his best in certain time frames. The big thing was just to make him work at both ends of the floor." Jason Terry: "I prayed at halftime for God to help me persevere and get through the game. I knew I had to keep my head up and stay aggressive. My teammates did a great job of holding it down until I got back out there. When I got out there, I just wanted to leave it all out there on the floor. At that point there was nothing to lose. If worst came to worst, we lose the game and go home to play. So we just wanted to play extremely hard. Defensively, we just wanted to turn it up a notch. I thought we were able to do that. At halftime the worst was behind us. We did a great job of getting back into it. We just came out in the 2nd half and let it all hang out. Our fans in Dallas, they know what we're doing, and they are the greatest. We're at the finals, let them start." Jerry Stackhouse on resilience: "Well, I think we definitely showed that we've been a team that fought through adversity all year. I missed the first 20-some games of the year and then we had other guys that were injured throughout the year and we were still able to just hold everything together. And I think that built a lot of character for our team throughout the year. And I think that just climaxed in this moment in this game. You know, we were down. We knew they were going to come with a burst early in the game. And we felt that if we could withstand that burst and still be around in the 2nd half, find a way to get a few stops, we could find a way to get this game." Stackhouse on the Finals: "I mean, it's just unbelievable. It's an unbelievable feeling that to be able to, the hard work throughout the years. I mean, this is my 11th year. And just having been on teams that have not been so good. Teams that had a chance and just couldn't get over the hump. And to finally be able to get over the hump, to get to the Western Conference Finals, I wouldn't change it for the world. I think my course and how it's happen for me has been the perfect route. So now the only thing left for us is to try to get 4 more. I mean, this wasn't our goal. I mean, obviously this feels good. this is a huge stepping stone to our final goal, but when we started in training camp, our goal was to win the Championship. So that requires us getting 4 more wins. We know we got a tough task ahead of us. You know, we got a team that's got a lot of momentum, that's got 2 great players and a real nice supporting cast. But we feel that we're going to go in and it's going to be a battle and may the best team win." Stackhouse on depth and foul trouble: "Yeah, I mean, this is an important game for us and I think everybody contributed. We had guys like Marquis Daniels, who really hadn't played much at all this series. But he's been a guy that's been live on the bench, has been encouraging everybody. I mean, that's a strength of this team. Everybody knows that when the playoffs comes, the rotation shortens a little bit. But, you know, Avery makes a point to make sure that everybody stays ready. The 8th through the 12th to 13th guys, he's working those guys out. He's working them out and making sure that they're ready. Obviously Damp hasn't been big in this series because of the style of play, but, you know, he should be well rested and going to get a lot of this up coming series." Stackhouse on the 2nd half: "I just think that defensively we were able to mix it up on them a little bit. I think they got off to a good start, they got off to a hot start. They had guys making shots and, all of them. And Diaw was unbelievable earlier, we were able to get him under control a little bit. But it was our defense. Once we were able to get some stops and push the ball back to the other end, you know, Dirk got going and JT [Terry] got a few baskets and I was able to get going in the 4th quarter. So it was an all-around team effort. Josh made some big shots for us. And Griff, you know, he may not ever be a guy that's going to have big numbers in a game, he does so much dirty work, so much little things that makes us win games." Marquis Daniels: "The foul trouble was unfortunate for us, but there was an opportunity for other guys to step up. With our depth, that kind of played into our favor." Darrell Armstrong on Howard: "When you've got a taller guy who can move his feet and make you stay outside and make you arch your shot, it makes it a lot tougher for you. He was huge for us." Mike D'Antoni: "You know, first give Dallas credit, they're a great team. They did what they're supposed to do to win and they showed a lot of guts coming back from 18 down. Give them all the credit in the world. But our guys fought as hard as they could. They jut ran out of steam. 3rd quarter, we got bogged down, couldn't score and that's more or less the game. But, you know, we're not going to dwell on what was or what if's or all that stuff. We'll come back tomorrow and have some team meetings and Monday we'll get to work and try to bring us a championship. We're getting closer. You know, we played until June 3rd this year. Last year was June 1st, so we're inching closer." D'Antoni on end of 1st half. "Yeah. Yeah. You know, we had the 18, we just couldn't hold it. And, you know, it's a mark of them too. It's not always, I can't explain it that, you know, we just didn't play well, whatever. They played really well. And we couldn't hold it. We didn't make some big shots there in the 3rd quarter. A little tentative. LB [Barbosa] got into foul trouble and it kind of screwed us up a little bit. But, you know, again, give them the credit and we just fell a little short and we got to do something about that next year." D'Antoni on Nash being tired and getting help for him: "The thing is, it's a little bit more complicated than that. And you know, we'll address that in the off season. But, when someone like Amare coming back, that takes a lot of the pressure off. You know, and now you don't have to do something every time to create something, and that's one thing. The nother thing, Leandro keeps developing and Boris keeps developing. So, we'll be fine. And, yeah, we'd like to take some minutes off, but you know what? I mean, Steve's 7-13, he's 19 [points] and 9 [assists]. Sheesh, I'd like to find somebody that can play better than him tired. You can't find it, you know. So, yeah, he was a little winded at the end, but I think that's kind of normal. I don't think that's something that we - you know I'd love to cut his minutes down, we want to keep him for another 6 years. For that reason, you're right." D'Antoni on foul trouble: "Yeah, that's probably in the 3rd quarter where we did get in foul trouble, we had to take some guys out. We turned the ball over. We just were out of sync. Again, contribute a lot of that to them and how hard they were playing. They were closing out extremely well. And we just didn't solve the problem. But, you know, [pause] Raja, probably the most courageous guy that I've ever seen. And he was playing with half a leg and just didn't have the pop that maybe would have helped, maybe not. And you know, these are good guys. And I'm not going to say that's the reason that we did get beat, but we would have played better if he was feeling better. So just a lot of little factors. It just didn't work out." D'Antoni on if the margin of error was small: "Yeah, it was. And that's why somebody - you know, first of all getting Tim Thomas was a stroke of luck and him being available. And when Kurt went down, he really saved the season at that point, because without him we couldn't have done all of this. And, so that filled in nicely. We got lucky with that. And then these other guys just kept being resilient in the sense of they just didn't hang their heads. And, you know, we went through a lot of stuff. We went through a lot of injuries. And the margin of error wasn't great. I tried to play my cards real tight. I wasn't going to give in to fatigue. And maybe in the end, you know, we probably got tired. But, I just didn't feel like it was prudent to not play the guys I knew that could win us a championship and spread it out a little bit. And I just didn't think we had enough at this level to do that. And, it was, you know, just trying to mix and match. And that's where these guy's hearts come in. And Boris tonight, you know Boris Diaw had 30 and 11. I mean, here's a guy that, you're talking about most improved, I would imagine in that category. And, you know, just guys like him and Leandro just stepping up and their character. You know, the character issue is the thing that is going to get us over the top. That's where we're going to be a winner next year and that's why we're going to win a championship pretty soon, because we got some guys with hearts as big as Phoenix." D'Antoni on Phoenix's character: "Yeah, and you know, you should have been in the dressing room right now. It's probably the moments that - as, ah, [pause] Okay. We're done. Thank you. [quick exit before he gets emotional]" Steve Nash on the loss and Nowitzki: "Well, it's a tough loss for sure. I mean, you know, you can taste it when you get close like this. So, you know, you spend a lot of time convincing yourself that you're destined to to it. And when you don't, it's difficult. However, we got beat by a good team, a very good team. And for me personally, to see Dirk be able to play for the Championship, it's exciting. I mean, it hurts a lot that I won't be able to do it, but you know I really, really admire what he's been able to do, really proud of his accomplishments and what he's meant to that team. And he deserves it and I'll be rooting for him." Nash on fatigue: "Well, I think it would be ignorant to say it wasn't a factor at all. I mean, we were winning in every game of the series, I believe, at halftime. So you know, to lose in the 2nd half, I don't know if you can pin it all on fatigue, but I think it would also be ignorant not to say it played a part. And, you know, we had a short bench throughout most of the year, we had a lot of injuries and we definitely had a short bench in the playoffs. And we're undersized, so we have to play a little bit hard and do more running and more things to try to negate our size [dis]advantage." Nash on being up 18: "Well I think it's also, the 2nd quarter is not a good time to get an 18 point lead, you know. Dallas had a 20-something point lead in the 2nd quarter against San Antonio in game 7 and it went to overtime. So, it's not, an 18 point lead is not all it's cracked up to be in a pressure game, in the 1st half especially. Especially in the NBA, you know, everything seems to even out. And we'd done a great job defensively early on. They'd also missed some opportunities. I think when we got a little more tired and we got all these fouls stacked up against us, we couldn't play quite the same, with the same activity. And, you know, they started to get it going. And I think more than anything, our fatigue also hurts our offense. I think we scored 30-something points in the 2nd half, maybe into the 40s because of a late little run. But, you know, it's tough for us at both ends of the floor a little bit. And that definitely was a factor, I think." Shawn Marion: "I think we laid it on the line and we just ran out of juice at the end. It hurts. But at the end of the day, we have to hold our heads up high. We accomplished things that everybody said we couldn't. I wish we could have gone to the next one, but sometimes you have to come to the end. The run we went on was amazing. And, it's hurting so bad right now that I have no words for it, but I have to lift my head up to these players on this team this. They went out there and gave it their all, all the efforts, the injuries, the stories of people coming in here. They went the extra mile." Marion: "The way the flow of the game was going, we weren't getting looks at the basket and it happens sometimes like that. I think we just ran out of gas. I felt it. I wish we could have pushed it and made another run there are the end, but there just wasn't juice." Marion on being eliminated: "It's hitting me hard. I'm trying to hold it in right now. I'm hurting inside right now. It was a hell of a year. It was great playing with these guys. [Deep sigh.] To see us go out here and do what we did was amazing. I got no words for it now. I wish it wasn't over." Raja Bell: "They get a taste of the finals and we didn't necessarily play like that. We weren't necessarily running, but they did a good job of running us off shots. I'm not going to say that we lost that. They won that game. They came out and did what they needed to do to win it. It's pretty disappointing. What can you do? So, you go out and you give it your best and it's not good enough. You have to accept that fact that it's not good enough." Bell: "Right now, everybody's kind of hurt a little bit. We had a great opportunity. Everybody says we're going to be better next year well be better, but I think the stars were kind of lined up for us and we didn't take advantage of them when they were. I haven't been able to reflect on the season as a whole." Bell: "Never once did I think about one of these elimination games being the game. It just always felt like a team that was going to get it done. We were on our way to doing it tonight until a better team stepped up and knocked us out." Bell on Dallas late in the 3rd and early in the 4th: "They were scrambling, they were playing defense. It was like there were 7 guys on the court." Game 6: Dallas Mavericks 102, Phoenix Suns 93 at Phoenix (June 3) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 14 25 23 40 - 102 .586 .150 .474 .806 Phoenix 29 22 15 27 - 93 .545 .353 .500 .750 Halftime: Phoenix 51-39 3rd Q: Phoenix 66-62 Technicals: Raja Bell 10:17 1st Refs: Dick Bavetta, Bob Delaney, Bernie Fryer Attendance: 18,422 (sellout) IL: DJ Mbenga (Dal, suspended), Amare Stoudemire (Pho) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jason Terry 26 6-13 1-5 4-6 17 1-3 3 1 4 0 0 Devin Harris 12 4-5 0-0 0-0 8 0-0 0 1 3 0 0 Josh Howard 46 7-16 1-4 5-6 20 5-15 1 4 3 3 0 Dirk Nowitzki 44 8-20 0-5 8-9 24 1-10 3 2 2 3 3 DeSagana Diop 21 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 2-4 0 0 5 0 1 Jerry Stackhouse 40 6-13 1-5 6-6 19 0-1 2 2 3 3 0 Adrian Griffin 36 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 1-5 1 2 2 1 0 Marquis Daniels 12 1-4 0-0 2-4 4 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Keith Van_Horn 4 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-78 3-20 25-31 102 10-39 10 14 22 11 4 Phoenix Suns REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Steve Nash 42 7-13 1-2 4-4 19 0-6 9 3 2 1 0 Raja Bell 35 2-6 2-6 0-0 6 0-2 2 1 5 2 0 Shawn Marion 46 5-10 1-2 2-2 13 1-11 0 1 3 1 0 Tim Thomas 30 4-11 0-3 0-2 8 2-4 2 2 6 0 0 Boris Diaw 40 11-16 0-0 8-10 30 2-11 2 6 5 1 1 Leandro Barbosa 27 6-12 2-4 0-0 14 0-2 3 1 6 0 0 James Jones 19 1-4 0-0 1-2 3 0-0 0 2 0 0 1 Totals 48 36-72 6-17 15-20 93 5-36 18 18 27 5 2 patricia Go Mavs!