The Mavs signed Shawn Respert to a 10-day contract on March 27.  Respert
is in his 3rd season and had been released by Toronto on March 20.  He has
performed nicely in the past two games (he seemed to be trying to hard in
his first game) and played a key role in the Vancouver game.  Respert is a
6-2 guard who is known for his shooting touch.  He was the 1995 Sporting
News College Player of the Year, but hasn't shown much in the NBA.

Don Nelson has again changed his bench.  Assistant coach Bob Salmi has
been reassigned to the scouting department.  If Salmi, who has moved his
family to New Jersey, does not find a coaching job next season, the Mavs
have invited him to be an east coast scout.  Nelson also said that his
bench next season will consist of Donnie Nelson, Scott Roth, and Charlie
Parker.

Chris Anstey left the Houston game during the 3rd quarter with a sprained
left middle finger.  X-rays were negative.  He has not played since the
injury and did not travel with the team for the road trip.

Eric Riley did not play in the Houston game due to the stomach flu and
Shawn Bradley did not play in the Vancouver game due to the stomach flu. 


Games:
Houston came to town on March 21 and I knew it was going to be a long 
night when I saw #35 (Bubba Wells) was starting and Eric Riley was not 
available (we needed all the big men we had going against Houston's big 3 
of Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Willis, and Charles Barkley).  The Mavs' early 
7-2 lead quickly evaporated as Houston got hot from the outside and went 
on a 25-9 run to go up 27-16 late in the 1st quarter.  The Mavs strategy 
seemed to be to double down on the big players and, thus, leave the 
outside shooters open.  That strategy literally bombed as Houston hit 7 
3-pointers in the first 14 minutes and led 35-18 in the 2nd quarter.  The 
Rockets led 57-54 at the half and built up a 20 point lead at 70-50 in 
the 3rd quarter.  They again had a 20 point lead at 92-72 with 7:24 left 
in the 4th before the Mavs decided to make things a little interesting.  
Dallas went on a 14-2 run to pull within 94-86 with 3:13 left.  Houston 
scored the next 5 points and the Mavs were never able to get closer than 
8 the rest of the way.  Houston won 103-95.  Olajuwon had 20 points 
including 9-13 FG and 13 rebounds, Matt Maloney had 19 points (14 in the 
1st quarter) including 5-8 3-pointers, Barkley had 23 points including 
9-12 FG and 13 rebounds, and Clyde Drexler, in his last appearance at 
Reunion as a player, had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Michael 
Finley had 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists and Shawn Bradley had 23 
points including 11-16 FG and 9 rebounds.  Only 1 other Mav (Martin 
Muursepp with 11) was in double digits scoring.

Excuse me while I repeat myself.  The Mavs played like crap in the first
3 quarters of the Minnesota game March 23, but Minnesota never really 
took full advantage of the Mavs' poor play and only had a 71-61 lead after
3.  The Mavs came out on fire in the 4th quarter and Minnesota looked like
Dallas did in the first 3 quarters as Dallas went on a 20-2 run to open 
the quarter and take a 81-73 lead midway through the 4th.  Hubert Davis 
scored 10 points during that run.  Minnesota pulled within 1 at 84-85 with
a minute left, but Michael Finley swished a 30-foot 3-pointer with 3
seconds left on the shot clock and 48 seconds left in the game to give
Dallas a more comfortable lead.  Unfortunately Eric Riley committed a 
stupid foul on Sam Mitchell and he converted a 3-point play with 34 seconds
left.  On the Mavs possession, the ref called a double foul which meant 
Mavs ball out of bounds with less than 24 seconds left and no shot clock.  
The ref crazily called a jumpball a few seconds later, but Riley snagged 
the ball and was immediately fouled.  Riley, a good free throw shooter, 
hit both free throws with 17 seconds left for his only points of the game.
Anthony Peeler missed on a 3-point attempt and Finley hit 1-2 FT with 
seconds left to cap the scoring.  Dallas won 91-87.  Minnesota lacked the 
scoring punch they needed from their big two: Kevin Garnett had 15 points 
(7 of which came in the 4th quarter) and Stephon Marbury only had 4 
points on 2-12 FG - he even missed a dunk.  Despite Finley playing 47
minutes Don Nelson did do his best to help the Mavs out in the lottery by
subbing Riley in for Shawn Bradley, who had been playing well, with 5 1/2
minutes left and he did not return.  Finley led the way with 27 points, 7 
rebounds, and 7 assists, Bradley had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Davis 
had 16 points and 6 rebounds.  Mitchell had 19 points and 10 rebounds and 
Peeler had 23 points (0 in the 4th), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 steals.

Denver sure is a sorry team (and this coming from a Mavs fan).  The Mavs
played in Denver March 25 to an empty arena - not many wanted to see these
two teams play each other.  The Mavs did not play very well, but it didn't
matter much as Denver's offense was stagnant.  The Mavs had a 10+ point
lead most of the game, but was never able to make it a blowout.  Denver
pulled within 58-47 with 9:20 left in the game, but the Mavs pushed their
lead to double digits.  Denver again pulled within 8 with less than a
minute left, but Dallas hit their free throws in the end and won 105-94.
Shawn Bradley left the game early in the 3rd quarter with a bruised hip
and did not return.  Michael Finley only played 6 minutes in the 3rd
quarter and did not play in the 4th.  Finley had 22 points in 27 minutes,
Martin Muursepp had 16 points and 3 steals, and Erick Strickland had 12 
points and 5 rebounds.  Danny Fortson had 18 points and 5 rebounds,
LaPhonso Ellis had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Johnny 
Newman had 20 points.

Utah came to town March 27 and the Mavs played like they normally do
against Utah for the first 3 quarters.  The Mavs' early lead of 6-0
quickly evaporated as Utah went on a 22-2 run to go up 22-8.  Utah held a
10+ lead for the next 2 quarters and led 77-56 after 3.  The Mavs decided
to make a game of it and went on a 12-0 run to open the 4th to pull within
77-68 with 8 minutes left.  Utah led 80-73 with 6minutes left when the 
refs took over the game.  Infamous ref Steve Javie hit Don Nelson with
two technicals for complaining about a non-call with 5:50 left.  Karl
Malone got his technical for complaining 4:30 left.  Utah led 90-78 with 4
minutes left.  The Mavs then went on a 8-2 run with all 8 points coming
from Hubert Davis including 2 3-pointers.  Utah led 92-86 with 1:20 left.
The refs completely missed a 10-second half court violation by Utah.
Malone hit 2 free throws and Michael Finley nailed a 3-pointer with a
minute left as Utah led 94-89.  And the refs hit Donnie Nelson with a
technical as he was hopping made about a non-charge call.  Any chance of
the Mavs coming back in the game were lost when Finley was fouled on a
3-point attempt and uncharacteristically missed all 3 free throws (he's a
78% free throw shooter).  Utah won 80-73.  Six of the nine technicals 
called in the game came in the last 6 minutes of the game.  As the Mavs' 
radio announcer said when the refs missed the 10 second violation, "this 
officiating crew has been absolutely pathetic."  What could have been a 
truly exciting finish was spoiled by the poor officiating [not saying 
the Mavs would have won].  Karl Malone had 33 points on 10-15 FG and 
13-16 FT and 6 turnovers and Jeff Hornacek had 18 points including 7-10 
FG, 8 assists, and 3 steals.  Michael Finley had 24 points on 7-21 FG 
and 8-12 FT, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists and Hubert Davis had 24 points.

Maybe the LA smog got to the Mavs on March 29 when Dallas faced the
Clippers as the team never really showed up.  It was the poorest game the
team had played in a long time.  Although the Clippers were never able to
make it a blowout, Dallas never really threatened.  The Clippers led
53-42 at the half and 78-65 after 3.  The Mavs pulled within 9 in the 4th
before the Clippers went on a 16-6 run to go up 94-75 with 4:20 left.  The
Clippers won 108-86.  Shawn Bradley threw up during halftime and did not 
play in the 2nd half due to the stomach flu.  Lamond Murray had 27 points
including 11-18 FG and 3-4 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals, Isaac 
Austin had 14 points on 7-11 FG, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, and James 
Robinson had 24 points and 8 rebounds.  Michael Finley had 24 points 
including 10-16 FG, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists and Hubert Davis was the 
only other Mav in double digits with 14 points.

Dallas was in Vancouver March 31 and the played very well the first 3
quarters despite having only A.C. Green, Eric Riley, and Martin Muursepp
as their big men.  The Mavs led 58-45 at halftime and 84-71 after 3, but
were never able to really pull away.  In the 4th, Nelson had a lineup of
Muursepp, Bubba Wells, Erick Strickland, Shawn Respert, and Hubert Davis.
That was when Vancouver made their rally.  Vancouver scored 11 consecutive
points to pull within 85-88 with 6:45 left.  And it was a tight game the
rest of the way, with Dallas maintaining a small lead.  A 3-pointer by
Blue Edwards with 1:40 left pulled Vancouver to within 96-97.   Respert
hit a jumper with 27 seconds left and Bryant Reeves answered with a hook
shot with 21 seconds left.  Respert was immediately fouled and hit 1 of 2
free throws to give Dallas a 100-98 lead.  Shareef Abdur-Rahim tried to
drive baseline, but Strickland stripped him of the ball and Michael Finley 
was fouled.  Finley hit both free throws with 14 seconds left.  BReeves
got an easy layup and was stupidly fouled by Respert with 7 seconds left.
He hit the free throw and Respert was fouled on the inbounds.  He hit both
free throws.  The Mavs knocked the ball out of Bobby Hurley's hands as he
attempted a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.  Dallas won 104-101.  Green had
22 points and 7 rebounds, Finley had 22 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals, 
and Respert had 14 points including 5-6 FG.  Abdur-Rahim had 23 points and
5 rebounds and Tony Massenburg had 16 points including 7-10 FG and 7 
rebounds.

The Mavs went 8-8 in March.


patricia