Jamal Mashburn may return to action Tuesday night vs the Clippers.


Vancouver Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks  (December 7)

After the national anthem, there was about a 5 minute delay and we were
left wondering why they weren't starting the introductions.  The puzzle
was solved when we were asked to rise for the Canadian nation anthem.  The
Mavs had forgot about having to play the Canadian anthem and apparently
had to hunt down the "O, Canada" tape.
 
It appeared that it was going to be the Bryant Reeves show as Reeves
scored Vancouver's first 8 points on 2 field goals and 4 free throws.  It
turned out that was all Reeves would produce in the game as he missed his
final 13 field goal attempts.  Samaki Walker again started and was very
productive.  He scored Dallas' first 6 points.  Vancouver built up a 7
point lead at 21-14.  The Mavs then went on a 17-6 run to close the
quarter which was concluded by a layup by Derek Harper at the buzzer.
Dallas led 31-27 after 1.  Dallas out-shot Vancouver by about 15
percentage points, but Vancouver made 7-9 free throws.

The game stayed close during the 2nd quarter with neither team able to
build much of a lead.  Vancouver led 49-48 with 2 minutes left.  Dallas
scored the last 6 points of the half including a sweet 3-pointer by Jim
Jackson at the buzzer to take a 54-49 led at the half.

A jumper by Jackson which was initiated by a block by Walker gave Dallas 
a 67-56 lead midway through the 3rd.  Two consecutive 3-pointers by 
Harper gave Dallas a 78-63 lead late in the 3rd.  Vancouver scored the 
last 3 points of the quarter.  Dallas led 78-66 after 3.

Dallas scored the first 4 points of the 4th including an alley-oop from
Kidd to Gatling to take a 82-66 lead with just under 11 minutes left.
Vancouver responded with a 10-2 run concluded by a 3-pointer from Chris
Robinson.  Dallas led 86-80 with 6:45 left.  Dallas came back with a
3-pointer from Harper, a hook shot from George McCloud, and another
3-pointer from Harper to take a 94-80 lead with 3:45 left.  Dallas won
96-85.

The Mavs are 4-0 when the team shoots better than 50% FG.  The Mavs shot
51.9% (40-77) FG while Vancouver only shot 37.8% (31-82) FG.  Dallas
out-rebounded Vancouver 54-34, but Vancouver held a slight edge on the
offensive boards at 13-12 (if you miss more shots, there will be more
offensive boards).  The Mavs' bench again produced by outscoring
Vancouver's bench 48-26.  The bench's main production came from Derek
Harper with 20 points on 8-11 FG and 4-5 3-pointers, Chris Gatling with 15
points and 7 rebounds, and Oliver Miller with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Samaki Walker had a very nice first quarter and finished with 11 points, 7
rebounds, and 3 blocks in 23 minutes.  Walker is very active on the floor
and isn't afraid to take the ball to the hole.  If he keeps getting 20+
minutes, I predict he'll be on the All-Rookie first team.


Quotes
Jim Cleamons: "The second half, we were spotty, to say the least.  But 
the outcome was a W, so I have mixed emotions."

Cleamons: "We had 20 turnovers that led to 22 points for them, that 
bothers me.  At the same time, we played well in spots, but we need to put 
those spots closer together.  So I've got mixed emotions about this one."

Cleamons: "Harper gave us a good bump in making those threes in timely
situations."

Cleamons: "We are trying to find the right pieces at the right time and
Samaki is giving us a lift.  I'm not trying to rely on just one or two 
players to win games for us, they are learning they that can step up at 
appropriate times for us."

George McCloud: "The insertions of Samaki [as a starter] adds an element
to this team.  He gives us a presence at power forward, someone we can go
to.  That's something that was missing early in the season.  Loren is more
of a jump-shooter, a slashing big guy.  Samaki is more of a power
forward."

Samaki Walker: "We've had a lot of intense practices.  We've got veterans
out there who are showing me what to do.  [My play] is not something
that's spontaneous.  It's taken hard work."

Derek Harper: "I feel good about where we are right now.  It means nothing
if we rest on it.  We cannot afford to become complacent."

Harper: "I know my role on this team, and it's not to score 20 points 
every night.  We're getting different guys hitting the big shots, and 
tonight it was my turn."

Harper: "My role isn't to get 20 points every night.  It just worked out 
that way.  We have a lot of people who can score on any given night."

Harper: "Winning gives you confidence as a team.  We need confidence as a
basketball team.  You can blow [winning games vs Vancouver and
Philadelphia] off as not meaning anything, but I think the fact we found a 
way to win means something for us."

Jim Jackson: "You can say what you want, but beating a team near the 
bottom is a lot better than losing to them.  For us, we'll take every win.
Ugly or not, it's a W."

Brian Winters: "We made a run to come back in the fourth, but it wasn't 
quite enough and our shot selection wasn't the greatest at that point." 

Bryant Reeves: "This was a bad night for me all around.  It's something 
I'm going to have to forget about and keep going."

Van-Dal boxscore