New owner Mark Cuban told the media that Don Nelson will return next season as GM (though Cuban will be involved in decisions) and Terdema Ussery will return next season as team president. Dallas at San Antonio (March 16) Dallas led 18-17 with 5 minutes left and went on a 14-3 run to go up 32-20 with 1:15 remaining. Dallas led 34-22 after 1. Michael Finley and Erick Strickland had 10 points. Dallas led 8 to 15 points through the 2nd quarter as the Spurs were not able to make a rally. Dallas led 66-48 with 10:35 to go and the Spurs scored the next 6 points to pull within 55-66 with 8 minutes left. But Dallas rattled off the next 10 points to go up 75-55 with 5:30 remaining. Dallas led 92-69 after 3. Strickland had 12 points in the quarter. Dallas opened the 4th quarter with a 9-2 run to go up 101-71 with 7:20 left. San Antonio would get no closer than the final score. Dallas won 110-88. Double wow! I was at this game and had an absolute blast (though those around me weren't having fun). The Mavs were in control of this game the whole way and the Spurs never made their expected rally. The Mavs were hitting every thing in sight (12-23 3-pointers) and the Spurs were struggling and never took advantage of their big men advantage. The Mavs won despite only shooting 16-17 FT compared to 24-34 FT for San Antonio. Erick Strickland led the way with 26 points including 5-7 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Michael Finley had 22 points and 6 rebounds and Dirk Nowitzki chipped in 19 points. Shawn Bradley had a nice in the foul limited time he was on the court (18 minutes) with 10 points on 5-7 FG and decent defense. David Robinson was the only Spurs to have a nice game and took advantage of the Mavs with 20 points including 9-12 FG. Malik Rose was the 2nd high scorer with 14 points and also had 7 rebounds. Tim Duncan had a terrible game with only 10 points including 2-7 FG. Quotes Don Nelson: "We shot the 3 very well tonight and caught them in defensive transitions. Our ball movement was quick and clean. When you move the ball like that, all you have to do then is make the shots and we did that." Dirk Nowitzki: "This is a good feeling. We played a good game from beginning to end. To take the world champions out on their home floor is a good feeling." Steve Nash: "When your making every one of your shots and they are missing most of theirs, that can get frustrating for the other team. When we saw that was happening, we did a good job of taking advantage and did enough damage early to convince Pop to pull up on the reins a little and rest his guys for whoever they play next." Nash: "Nights like tonight are not going to happen very often to them so in a sense we caught them on a good night, but in an another sense we just played well." Shawn Bradley: "I guess this is supposed to be surprising, as good as they are and us not being that good yet. It's good to come in here and get this win. We just wanted to focus on our defense and a big key was letting that drive our offense. We played with a lot of emotion and intensity, like we know we can." Gregg Popovich: "Dallas played a great game, you have to give them a lot of credit. They were active in every way, shape and form. Their aggression made a lot of things happen. We, on the other hand, were pitiful." David Robinson: "I can't understand how we could play like that. We looked like we had never practiced defense, ever. We gave up wide open 3s. This is a big step backward for us. This is the time where we need to get rolling." Robinson: "This is one of the worst games I've seen us play. We had terrible defense; we had terrible offense. There is not much good to be said about this game." Antonio Daniels: "We got embarrassed. The only good thing is that this is the NBA and we have another game around the corner." Daniels: "They did a great job penetrating, but we can't worry about them. If we are going to point any fingers, we have to point a finger at ourselves. We gave up wide open shots; we gave up penetration." Sean Elliott: "We didn't bring a lot of emotion defensively, didn't help when we needed to. We just weren't focused on defense. That's the way I saw it." Dallas Mavericks 110, San Antonio Spurs 88 at San Antonio (March 16) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 34 25 33 18 - 110 .518 .522 .519 .941 San Antonio 22 23 24 19 - 88 .448 .400 .441 .706 Halftime: Dallas 59-45 3rd Q: Dallas 92-69 San Antonio's largest lead: 5-2 10:06 1st Dallas' largest lead: 103-73 6:40 4th Technicals: Dirk Nowitzki 8:50 3rd Refs: Jim Kinsey, Scott Foster, Joe DeRosa Attendance: 23,592 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 41 9-20 2-4 2-2 22 0-6 4 1 4 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 29 8-13 3-6 0-0 19 0-2 4 2 4 1 1 Shawn Bradley 18 5-7 0-0 0-0 10 0-2 1 0 4 2 0 Steve Nash 41 3-3 2-2 2-2 10 0-0 11 1 3 1 0 Erick Strickland 30 8-14 5-7 5-5 26 0-6 1 1 3 2 0 Sean Rooks 29 3-6 0-0 7-8 13 4-11 3 0 4 2 2 Cedric Ceballos 25 4-11 0-2 0-0 8 1-1 0 4 2 1 0 Greg Buckner 21 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 2-6 2 1 5 0 0 Damon Jones 3 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Bruno Sundov 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Totals 48 41-79 12-23 16-17 110 7-34 26 11 30 9 3 San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Sean Elliott 8 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 1-4 0 1 1 0 0 Tim Duncan 21 2-7 0-0 6-6 10 2-2 2 4 4 1 1 David Robinson 26 9-12 0-0 2-4 20 0-4 2 1 0 0 1 Avery Johnson 28 0-3 0-0 6-8 6 0-2 3 3 2 0 0 Mario Elie 22 1-2 1-1 4-5 7 0-7 3 1 1 0 1 Samaki Walker 22 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0-6 3 1 3 0 1 Jerome Kersey 16 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 1 1 1 1 0 Malik Rose 27 5-13 0-1 4-9 14 3-7 1 0 1 0 1 Derrick Dial 24 2-10 1-2 0-0 5 4-6 2 3 4 0 0 Anthony Daniels 29 4-6 0-1 2-2 10 0-1 3 1 2 2 0 Jaren Jackson 17 2-6 2-4 0-0 6 2-2 0 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 30-68 4-10 24-34 88 12-41 20 17 21 4 5 Boston at Dallas (March 18) It was a close 1st quarter with neither team holding more than a 5 point lead. Dana Barros hit a jumper with less than a second left to give Boston a 25-24 lead after 1. Boston led 33-30 with 8:15 to go and went on an 11-4 run to go up 44-34 with 4:45 remaining. Greg Buckner scored the last 5 points of the half and Boston led 49-47 at the half. Michael Finley had 16 points. Boston led 54-41 with 10:15 to go and scored the next 9 points to go up 63-51 with 8 minutes left. Dallas scored the last 4 points of the quarter and Boston led 80-72 after 3. Antoine Walker had 12 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points in the 3rd quarter. Dallas pulled within 81-84 with 9:30 remaining, but Boston went on a 10-2 run to go up 94-83 with 6 minutes left. Boston led 98-87 with 3:40 remaining and Dallas scored the next 6 points to pull within 93-98 with 1:35 remaining. Antoine Walker hit 1-2 FT with a minute left and the the game seemed over with only a minute left, but Finley drained an incredible turn around 3-pointer after receiving the inbounds pass with 59 seconds to go and Boston led only 99-96. Kenny Anderson missed, but got the rebound with 40 seconds left. Paul Pierce hit a clutch jumper with 20 seconds remaining. Greg Buckner added some excitement by nailing a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left, but Pierce hit both free throws with 8 seconds to go. A free throw by Walker completed the scoring. Boston won 104-99. Well, I thought the team would have a little bit of a let down after the big San Antonio win and they did. Boston played great, but the Mavs' defense wasn't as good as it was for the previous two games. Antoine Walker and Greg Buckner defended each other and both had great offensive games, which means neither did a great job defensively. Walker had 29 points including 10-15 FG and 4-7 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Buckner had a career high 25 points including 9-12 FG and 5-6 3-pointers. Eric Williams came off the bench and helped the Celtics with 18 points in 28 minutes and Paul Pierce chipped in 15 points and had the key jumper and free throws. Michael Finley had a nice game with 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists and Dirk Nowitzki had 21 points including 7-11 FT and 11 rebounds. Besides Finley, Buckner, and Nowitzki, no other Mav was in double figures. Quotes Rick Pitino: "The major thing is that we took care [of business]. We are definitely scoreboard watching, I wouldn't lie to you. But the major thing is that we had to get this win tonight. It gets a lot tougher with each game, as the pressure mounts, but I think that's great for us." Pitino: "The play of Antoine Walker is a big factor. He's also passing the ball extremely well. The players know that if they pass him the ball, they're going to get it back. This is the best we've played all year long." Pitino on Walker: "He's such a weapon right now. He's playing like one of the premier players in the game, and we're very excited about it." Pitino: "Antoine is keeping everyone involved. They know that if they i give him the ball, and cut and move, that they'll get it back." Antoine Walker: "We're fighting for a playoff spot and guys are stepping up to another level. I'm trying to do whatever it takes. We're starting to smell the playoffs. It's out there for us. That's been our goal all along." Paul Pierce: "We are trying to make a push for the playoffs. We are playing the best basketball that we have been playing all year long, and we are just trying to keep it going." Eric Williams: "It feels good, real good. We know we still have work to do, but we feel like the team is starting to gel. We're coming together at the right time. We've just got to keep it going." Tony Battie: "We know what's at stake. Each individual on this team wants to get into the playoffs so bad, so it's a big win." Don Nelson: "It's pretty simple. We played a hot team tonight. I thought they played extremely well. It wasn't a letdown on our part." Nelson: "We had 2 hot teams playing each other, and they were better than we were. They beat a good team tonight." Nelson: "We really had two hot teams play tonight and they were better than we were tonight. We scratched and hung on and did our best, but they're playing extremely well. A game like this I can take a loss because the guys gave it all they had and gave a pretty good effort. I didn't think we were sharp as we had been." Nelson on Buckner: "I think we found quite a player. He's got a bright future." Greg Buckner: "Walker and Pierce made big plays and that's what guys who want to be superstars in this league do, make plays with the game on the line." Buckner: "They might be playing better than San Antonio and Indiana. We caught them at a hot time." Buckner: "I played horrible defense, and that's what the coaches brought me here for." Buckner: "I played horrible on D, and that's what the guys brought me in for is to play D. I had a lot of defensive breakdowns today and that really jeopardized us tonight in winning the game. I'd rather go out there and get 15 steals and no points at all, and win. Those stats I got tonight don't matter because we lost." Buckner: "I'm learning that you've got to shoot the open shots. I didn't know that at first." Erick Strickland on Buckner: "I think this is going to help his confidence a lot. I think from now on, he's going to be a little more aggressive [offensively]. Instead of not taking those shots in rhythm, I think he'll take 'em now." Strickland: "Paul hit a big shot. I was there. He made a nice crossover move, I got back and challenged the shot and he hit it. That's a great move from a good player." Dirk Nowitzki: "I've never missed 4 free throws in one game. I don't know what to say." [Dirk shot 1-2 with 2:55 left and 1-2 with 1:35 left.] Nowitzki, tired of the Pierce comparisons (Dirk was drafted #9, Pierce #10): "I don't care about Paul Pierce. He's just a player on that team; he's a great player. He made 2 good plays at the end of the game, and that's it." Boston Celtics 104, Dallas Mavericks 99 at Dallas (March 18) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Boston 25 24 31 24 - 104 .500 .471 .494 .762 Dallas 24 23 25 27 - 99 .477 .318 .437 .762 Halftime: Boston 49-47 3rd Q: Boston 80-72 Technicals: None Refs: Joe Forte, Monte McCutchen, Hank Armstrong Attendance: 17,102 (cap 18,187) Boston Celtics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antoine Walker 35 10-15 4-7 5-7 29 1-10 6 3 3 1 0 Paul Pierce 30 6-12 1-3 2-3 15 0-3 1 1 4 2 3 Vitaly Potapenko 22 3-7 0-0 3-3 9 5-5 1 2 3 1 0 Kenny Anderson 29 3-9 1-1 0-0 7 1-4 5 4 3 1 0 Calbert Cheaney 13 3-4 1-2 0-1 7 0-2 0 0 2 0 0 Adrian Griffin 23 0-5 0-0 0-0 0 2-2 1 1 0 1 0 Tony Battie 30 4-7 0-1 0-0 8 2-10 1 1 3 0 1 Dana Barros 21 5-10 1-2 0-0 11 0-3 1 1 2 0 1 Danny Fortson 9 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2-5 0 3 3 0 0 Eric Williams 28 6-10 0-1 6-7 18 1-3 1 0 3 0 1 Totals 48 40-81 8-17 16-21 104 14-47 17 17 26 6 6 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 45 12-24 2-6 2-2 28 0-6 5 4 1 2 0 Greg Buckner 32 9-12 5-6 2-2 25 1-4 2 1 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 42 7-17 0-5 7-11 21 4-11 2 2 2 1 0 Steve Nash 33 1-6 0-3 0-0 2 1-4 6 0 1 0 0 Erick Strickland 34 4-14 0-2 1-2 9 1-2 6 1 4 2 0 Cedric Ceballos 15 3-8 0-0 2-2 8 1-3 0 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 20 1-4 0-0 2-2 4 3-8 0 2 5 0 3 Robert Pack 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Sean Rooks 12 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 1 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 38-87 7-22 16-21 99 11-40 22 11 19 7 3 Dallas at Atlanta (March 19) Dallas slowly built up their lead and led 21-12 with 4:20 left. Dallas led 30-24 after 1. Michael Finley carried Dallas in the 1st quarter as he had 20 points including 7-11 FG. Dallas scored 6 straight points to go up 38-26 with 8:30 remaining. Dallas led 44-32 with 5:30 left and Atlanta whittled away at Dallas' lead cutting it down to 50-47 with 30 seconds to go. Dirk Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and Dallas led 63-47 at the half. Finley only played in the 1st 2:30 of the 2nd quarter (bizarre coaching decision). Alan Henderson had 15 points. Dallas only had 1 turnover in the half. Dallas scored 8 consecutive points to go up 61-49 with 7:30 left. Atlanta again ate away at Dallas' lead and cut it down to 72-69 with 7 seconds remaining. Greg Buckner took the quick trip up the court for the layup with 2 seconds to go. Dallas led 74-69 after 3. Dallas led 80-74 with 9:15 left and Atlanta scored the next 7 points to take a brief 81-80 lead with 7:15 remaining. Finley hit a jumper 23 seconds later to put Dallas back on top. Jim Jackson hit a jumper with 3:50 left to cut Dallas' lead down to 86-85. And then things got _really_ ugly (as if the game hadn't been ugly enough up to that point). Neither team was able to score over the next 2:30 as there was lots of sloppy play with turnovers and missed shots. Henderson missed with 30 seconds left and Dallas rebounded. Steve Nash missed a layup with 22 seconds left, but Dallas got the offensive rebound and Finley was intentionally fouled with 19 seconds left and made both free throws to put Dallas up 88-85. Jackson missed a 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds to go and Buckner was fouled. He hit 1 of 2 to give Dallas a 4 point lead. Atlanta still wasn't able to score and time finally expired. Dallas won 89-85. Gag. What an ugly game. The Mavs played decent in the 1st quarter and then just coasted the rest of the way. Fortunately, Atlanta wasn't into the game either. Atlanta did not score in the last 3:50 of the game and Dallas only had 3 points during that time span as well (all in the last 20 seconds and on free throws). Dallas won despite being out-rebounded 64-45 and Atlanta shooting 20-30 FT and Dallas 14-17 FT. Dallas did only commit 5 turnovers in the game. I'm not going to go into any player analysis as it was such an ugly game and I'd rather just put it down as a W and move on. One interesting note: I guess the shot clock keeper also want to get the game over quicker (or the person was used to doing college games) as there was a running clock throughout the game. The clock was not stopped after field goals made and then restarted after the ball was inbounds as is standard NBA operation. Quotes Don Nelson: "No, we didn't try to lose. That's just how it is sometimes. It's the NBA." Nelson: "Playing back-to-back, I had a couple of guys that just didn't have any legs. Nothing that a day off won't help." Nelson: "It's the NBA. It's back-to-back. I had a couple of guys that just didn't have any legs. Dirk's really struggled the last few games, Cedric with his broken finger struggled, it's just a bunch of things; nothing that a day off won't help." Nelson: "With a lack of an inside game, we're vulnerable on any occasion. Yet we can beat anybody when we have our outside game going and we have our fastbreak going." Michael Finley: "We had an opportunity to stomp on them early, and instead we gave them life. I think we got a little bit comfortable, because everything was coming so easy." Steve Nash: "Yeah, it was an ugly win, but that's a good sign. We've done that more this year than we did last year. We've definitely improved." Nash: "We did some things different tonight because we were playing poorly. But fortunately we won, and that's a good sign. We've done that more this year than we have last year." Erick Strickland: "I think we've got more confidence on the defensive end. And more trust. The key to defense is trust. If we continue doing that and take it over to next season, we're going to win big next year." Lenny Wilkens: "I told the team at halftime we have to come out with more energy. Right now, we're falling behind and when things go wrong, we're dropping our heads. You've got to play your way out of it. It won't happen if you feel sorry for yourself. If you're in a funk you have to play your way out." Jason Terry on Atlanta's 1st quarter performance: "No explanation, except maybe we're too laid back. We don't come into the game with the attitude that we're gonna jump on the other team, and we allow ourselves to fall behind before we start playing. We keep digging a hole for ourselves. That's gotta change. But I don't think there's anything the coaches can do about it. It's an individual thing. Each individual has to look at himself." Jim Jackson: "It's real frustrating, especially when you get good shots. If we were forcing shots, that's one thing. But to get wide open looks and miss, that's tough." Jackson: "It's tough when you get down early and fight, fight, fight and 9 times out of 10 you end up short. I think if we eliminate getting down 10 or 12 points early, either have the lead or hang around, we'd have a chance to win the game. When you put yourself in this situation, to have to fight back, a lot of times you come up short." Dikembe Mutombo [who must have watched a different game than I did]: "I think it was a great game. It was one of those games we should have won. I don't know why we let it slip away. We just have to find a way to start the game with a lot of intensity. I think we were one step behind tonight at the beginning of the 1st quarter. We let them start building their confidence and then when we tried to come back in the 2nd half, their confidence was all up." Dallas Mavericks 89, Atlanta Hawks 85 at Dallas (March 19) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 30 23 21 15 - 89 .397 .412 .400 .824 Atlanta 24 23 22 16 - 85 .364 .273 .352 .667 Halftime: Dallas 53-47 3rd Q: Dallas 74-69 Atlanta's only lead: 81-80 7:13 4th Dallas' largest lead: 63-51 6:23 3rd Technicals: Shawn Bradley 7:01 3rd Refs: Hugh Evans, Greg Willard, Sean Corbin Attendance: 10,377 (cap 20.007) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 35 11-21 3-4 6-7 31 0-7 3 0 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 38 5-16 2-7 4-4 16 1-6 1 0 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 24 2-7 0-0 0-0 4 2-7 1 0 4 2 2 Steve Nash 35 5-10 1-1 0-0 11 2-5 5 0 3 1 0 Erick Strickland 23 2-8 1-2 0-0 5 1-2 5 0 3 0 0 Sean Rooks 24 2-6 0-0 3-4 7 2-6 2 2 1 3 0 Cedric Ceballos 19 2-6 0-2 0-0 4 1-4 2 0 2 0 0 Greg Buckner 28 1-4 0-1 1-2 3 1-5 2 1 3 0 0 Hubert Davis 14 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 1-3 1 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 34-85 7-17 14-17 89 11-45 22 5 22 7 2 Atlanta Hawks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Roshown McLeod 15 0-5 0-0 2-2 2 0-1 0 2 1 0 0 Alan Henderson 35 9-16 0-0 6-7 24 5-10 0 3 2 1 0 Dikembe Mutombo 35 2-4 0-0 5-8 9 4-18 0 1 2 0 0 Jason Terry 38 3-13 1-5 0-0 7 2-5 7 1 5 1 0 Dion Glover 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Jim Jackson 43 8-21 2-4 2-3 20 3-6 3 1 3 0 0 LaPhonso Ellis 25 2-8 0-0 3-6 7 4-8 0 0 0 0 0 Bimbo Coles 30 4-12 0-2 2-2 10 1-8 3 1 2 0 0 Lorenzen Wright 13 3-5 0-0 0-2 6 3-6 0 0 2 0 0 Chris Crawford 4 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 2-2 0 2 1 0 0 Totals 48 31-88 3-11 20-30 85 24-64 13 11 18 2 0 San Antonio at Dallas (March 21) San Antonio came to Dallas a mere 5 days after Dallas' surprising blowout in San Antonio and had everyone thinking revenge was about to be had. The 1st quarter stayed close with 9 ties and 4 lead changes and the Spurs' 25-21 lead at the end of the quarter the largest lead of the quarter. The revenge factor took place in the 2nd quarter as the Spurs built their lead up to 41-32 with 6:30 left and then scored the next 8 points to go up 49-32 with 5:30 remaining. The Spurs held their largest lead at 60-38 with 30 seconds to go, but Sean Rooks converted the 3-point play and Erick Strickland intercepted the long inbounds pass and fed Michael Finley for the dunk with a seconds left. San Antonio led 60-43 at the half. David Robinson had 17 points (11 in the 2nd quarter) including 6-7 FG, Tim Duncan had 17 points including 7-9 FG and 9 rebounds, and Finley had 12 points on 6-9 FG. San Antonio shot a scorching 65.7% FG (including 12-15 in the 2nd quarter) compared to Dallas' 41.9% FG. The teams traded baskets to start the 3rd quarter and Dallas then scored the next 7 points to pull within 52-62 with 8:30 remaining. The Spurs led 67-57 with 4:45 left and Dallas went on a 6-1 mini-run to pull within 63-68 with 1:30 to go. San Antonio led 70-65 after 3. The Spurs only shot 2-12 FG and missed 4 of their 10 free throws in the quarter. Dallas scored the first 7 points of the 4th to take a 72-70 lead with 10 minutes remaining. The game stayed close with both teams answering every challenge as there were 10 ties and 8 lead changes the rest of the quarter. The Spurs led 90-88 with 3 minutes left on 2 free throws by Robinson. The Mavs ran a set play where Greg Buckner was isolated at the top of the key with Tim Duncan on him and Buckner drove passed Duncan for the layup. Shockingly, Duncan was called for an offensive foul the next time down the court [bad call]. The Mavs again isolated for Buckner and he hit the short jumper. The Spurs came back and took advantage of the Mavs' small lineup (Buckner, Finley, Erick Strickland, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki) by feeding the ball into Robinson for the dunk to tie it up at 92-92 with 2 minutes left. Buckner was called for palming and Robinson missed with 1:30 to go. The Mavs again isolated for Buckner but he missed the 17-foot jumper. Mario Elie nailed the longer jumper with a minutes remaining to put San Antonio up 94-92. But Finley drained a 3-pointer to give Dallas the lead with 41 seconds left. Elie missed a 3-pointer, Robinson missed the putback, Robinson missed the tap in, but Duncan's tip went in with only 13 seconds remaining and San Antonio led 96-95. The Mavs called timeout and took the ball in at full court [they usually do a halfcourt setup in those situations]. Buckner drove into the paint, but his jumper was blocked and Duncan, Malik Rose, and Buckner were tapping at the ball in the air. Buckner tapped the ball to the outside and Finley gathered the loose ball and fed it to Nowitzki in the corner who tossed up the 3-pointer, but he over shot it, but Strickland was there to grab the airball and throw it up and the buzzer sound as the layup was good. Dallas won 97-96. Wow!!! This game still gets me pumped. The Mavs came back from a 22 point deficit - 2nd largest comeback in team history and largest home comeback. The Mavs got back into the game by out-scoring the Spurs 22-10 in the 3rd quarter as the Spurs could not buy a basket (only 2-12 FG). And the 4th quarter was great to watch as neither team had more than a 2 point lead in the last 7 minutes - clutch shot answering clutch shot answering clutch shot. I said to my dad at one point that who ever had the ball last was going to win. I wouldn't have tried small ball against the Spurs, but it worked. In fact, David Robinson wasn't even on the court for Dallas' last play as Gregg Popovich tried to adjust to the Mavs' game by putting the smaller Malik Rose in for Robinson. And Erick Strickland and Greg Buckner were given the defensive assignment of guarding Robinson and Tim Duncan - they did get burned a lot by the two (especially Robinson who had 13 points in the 4th), but none of the other Spurs stepped up. Robinson finished with 30 points on 10-17 FG and 10-12 FT and 17 rebounds and Duncan had 26 points on 8-11 FG and 10-13 FT and 12 rebounds, but no other Spur was in double figures. The game ball, of course, goes to Strick for the game winner. He finished with 14 points. Another game ball should go to Buckner for 8 of his 12 points coming in the 4th and having to go against Duncan on both the offensive and defensive ends. And Michael Finley deserves props for his clutch 3-pointer. Finley finished with 24 points including 11-17 FG and 6 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki had poor game with 13 points including 3-10 FG but did have 7 rebounds (he didn't get an assist for his airball). You look at the team numbers and wonder how did the Mavs win, much less not get blown out. San Antonio shot 34-28 FT and Dallas shot 13-14 FT. San Antonio out-rebounded Dallas 41-31. Dallas only had 12 assists while the Spurs had 23. San Antonio shot 51.6% and Dallas shot 44.9%. But the key stat is that Dallas only committed 6 turnovers while San Antonio committed 17 turnovers that resulted in 23 Dallas points. Dallas made 7 more field goals and attempted 25 more shots than the Spurs. Quotes Don Nelson: "We have been working on that play all year long. The airball pass. There was a little luck to go with it, but the strategy worked. David slew Goliath." Nelson: "We deserve a little good luck. We have had some bad luck in some close games, the game at Indiana for example." Nelson: "It's just a tremendous comeback for us and the largest team comeback in history [at home]. There was a little luck to go with it. The strategy worked." Nelson on why he used the small lineup: "We got into foul trouble, and that proved to be their demise, really. I didn't have any choice but to go small. You wouldn't think it was going to work, but it did." Nelson: "We had to go small against their big. They were isolating us, their big against our small. We did the same thing - our small against their big. Tonight it worked thanks to a great performance by Buckner who had the job most of the time. He was being guarded by their bigger guy. Whoever that big guy was, he had that job [defensively]." Erick Strickland on his offensive rebound and layup: "No, I'm not a power forward. I was just in the right place at the right time." Strickland: "I was in the right place at the right time. I just got to the weak side and saw Dirk take the shot and I just read the rebound and just got there and put it up. I just didn't know if I had enough time to touch it back up. Fortunately I did. It'll probably be in my memory bank for a long time." Strickland: "I knew how the last play was going to develop. Michael was the key because he turned down a shot and got a guy [Nowitzki] an open look. It was long. It came right to me. I didn't know if I had enough time to touch it back up, fortunately I did. Strickland: "I saw the shot go up and I said, 'That's long'. I got into the right position and happened to be there. It came right down to me. I was just in the right spot at the right time." Strickland: "I just wanted to be there in case anything happened. I figured if there was a long rebound, I would be in position and I saw it coming. I didn't know if I had enough time to touch it back up and fortunately I did." Strickland on the comeback: "It feels good to know that the team didn't quit. Everybody hung together, and we continued to fight, and it showed a lot of character of the players on this team." Strickland: "Even though they shot over 50%, we overcame it. They out-rebounded us and we overcame it. That shows that we can fight with anybody if we put our hearts to it." Strickland: "We knew they were going to come out with a lot of fire to try to avenge what happened down there. When we got down, just getting it down under 20 at the half, we felt good about that." Strickland: "In the 3rd quarter, we felt we could make a run at it. There was no quit in this team. It felt good to go out there and close the deal. We've lost games like this. Tonight we continued to fight and that came through for us." Strickland on guarding Duncan and Robinson: "I asked for it. I wanted to cover the bigger guys. I wanted to take the challenge. That's how Nellie likes it. We like different, crazy-type matchups. It's good for us." Greg Buckner on scoring on Duncan: "That's my game, driving and going against guys, not backing down, no matter how tall they are. It's nothing new for me. I just got the opportunity tonight and took advantage of it." Michael Finley: "It basically came down to strength against strength. We went small and took advantage of the situations against their big guys. They were big and took advantage of our small guys. We were just lucky that time ran out and we didn't have to keep going back and forth." Finley on if this win was better than Thursday's win over San Antonio: "I think so. We came from nowhere." Finley: "We had confidence carrying over from the other game. I think we were a little bit overconfident. The way we played in San Antonio was a little bit misleading. We came out here and thought it would be that easy in the 1st half. It obviously wasn't. The 2nd half we put our priorities in order, started working hard and doing the little things that it took us to win the game in San Antonio. Fortunately, we got a win." Steve Nash on the crowd's reaction to the win: "I've never seen the crowd go crazy like that in my 2 years here. It's a special moment that's going to stay in our minds for a long time." Nash: "It was a lot of fun to go into their building and blow them out, and it was just absolutely a converse here. For them to come into our building and to be kicking our butt, and for us to hold tough and come back out there and show the toughness that we believe we have and get it done." Dirk Nowitzki: "I didn't know how much time was left. I was just trying to get the ball to the rim but I didn't know if it had a chance to go in. It was a bad shot and I was glad to see Erick there for the rebound." Nowitzki: "Both wins were great. To beat the world champions twice in 1 week is just unbelievable." Gregg Popovich on turnovers: "That's been our downfall quite a bit. We shot a hell of a lot of free throws [34]. We shot 51.6% from the field. We rebounded well [41-31]. You can't ask for more. But you can't give the ball away as many times as we did. That's inexcusable. And we seem to have made it a habit." Popovich: "It was a great job of coming back and we shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers again. It's been a nemesis for us all year. They got 20 points off of the turnovers. We shot a lot of free throws and shot them great. I think we shot [50%] from the field and rebounded well. You can't ask for more, but you can't give the ball away as many times as we did. That was our downfall. That's inexcusable. We seem to have created a habit." Popovich: "I thought they made a lot of tough shots 1-on-1. That's why they only had 12 assists." Avery Johnson: "This loss here is worse than the way they beat us at home. It really left a bad taste in our mouth." Mario Elie: "It's a tough one to swallow. It's a tough one to swallow. It's a tough one to swallow." Elie on Finley's 3-pointer with 41 seconds left: "I thought that was the biggest shot of the game. You have to pay attention to detail down the stretch of games. It's all mental. That's all." David Robinson on not being on the court at the end: "I went out and rotated on Finley the play before when he hit a 3-pointer. I guess [Popovich] felt like he wanted a lineup that matched up more with their size. It was unfortunate that we couldn't get the rebound [on Buckner's blocked shot]. We had a couple of guys with their hands on it." Robinson: "I was watching the shot and was glad that he missed on the 3-pointer. I thought we were going to have that [rebound] and we didn't get it. Stuff like that happens when you give them the opportunity to hang around like that." Robinson on if this loss was worse than Thursday's: "There is no question. There are some nights, like Thursday, where the other team is hitting everything. Tonight was one we gave away, and that hurts." Tim Duncan on guarding Buckner: "I just tried to stay in front of him and make him shoot the shots, and he just made some great shots." Duncan: "We just didn't make stops down the stretch. We came in here and thought we played pretty well in the 1st half." Duncan: "We just didn't make stops down the stretch. Greg Buckner, they isolated him out top against me and I couldn't get a stop. They made a couple of shots in a row to give them an opportunity to win. Defensively it comes down to that - I have to make stops." Duncan on Dallas' small ball: "That was interesting. We were running different sets trying to take advantage of our size difference. We gave ourselves a chance to win, but we didn't close it out." Duncan: "The 3rd quarter was a bit of a low and then we couldn't make the stops we needed in the 4th quarter." Dallas Mavericks 97, San Antonio Spurs 96 at Dallas (March 21) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 21 22 22 32 - 97 .486 .267 .449 .929 San Antonio 25 35 10 26 - 96 .534 .333 .516 .824 Halftime: San Antonio 60-43 3rd Q: San Antonio 70-65 San Antonio's largest lead: 60-38 0:31 2nd Dallas' largest lead: 92-90 2:16 4th Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 10:03 2nd, Dallas Illegal D 3:50 2nd, Dallas Illegal D 6:40 4th Refs: Terry Durham, Tom Washington, Michael Smith Attendance: 15,578 (cap 18,187) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 44 11-17 2-3 0-0 24 1-6 1 2 2 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 27 3-10 0-3 7-7 13 2-7 1 0 5 0 1 Shawn Bradley 21 3-7 0-0 2-2 8 3-8 0 0 2 0 1 Steve Nash 38 4-9 1-3 0-0 9 1-2 4 1 3 1 0 Erick Strickland 39 7-14 0-2 0-0 14 2-2 2 0 3 1 0 Sean Rooks 16 4-8 0-0 1-1 9 0-1 0 0 4 3 1 Cedric Ceballos 9 1-7 0-2 1-2 3 0-1 0 0 1 1 0 Hubert Davis 13 2-4 1-1 0-0 5 0-1 1 1 2 0 0 Greg Buckner 20 5-13 0-1 2-2 12 1-3 3 2 3 0 0 Totals 45 40-89 4-15 13-14 97 10-31 12 6 25 7 3 San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Tim Duncan 40 8-11 0-0 10-13 26 4-12 5 3 4 0 1 Sean Elliott 18 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 David Robinson 37 10-17 0-0 10-12 30 2-17 4 5 3 1 1 Mario Elie 39 3-9 1-2 2-2 9 0-0 4 2 2 0 0 Avery Johnson 30 3-10 0-0 2-2 8 0-4 2 2 3 2 0 Jerome Kersey 17 3-6 0-2 0-0 6 0-4 1 1 1 0 2 Samaki Walker 6 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-1 0 1 2 0 1 Jaren Jackson 16 2-3 1-2 1-1 6 0-0 2 1 2 0 0 Jalen Rose 13 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 2-3 2 0 4 0 0 Antonio Daniels 24 0-2 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 3 1 1 1 0 Totals 48 33-64 2-6 28-34 96 8-41 23 17 22 4 5 Cleveland at Dallas (March 23) The Mavs took an early 12-6 lead with 5:50 left, but Cleveland went on a 16-2 monster run to for the rest of the quarter and led 22-14 after 1. Cleveland led 37-28 with 5:45 to go and scored the next 8 points to go up 45-28 with 4 minutes remaining. The Cavs scored the last 5 points of the quarter to go up 56-33 at the half. Cleveland shot 49% FG (including 14-22 FG in the 2nd quarter) and Dallas shot 31% FG. Shawn Kemp had 13 points and Cedric Henderson had 13 points. Cleveland led 62-42 with 7:15 to go and Dallas scored the next 9 points to pull within 51-62 with 4:20 left. Cleveland led 74-63 after 3. Cleveland scored the first 6 points of the 4th to go up 80-65 with 10:45 remaining. Cleveland led 97-83 with 2:45 and the Mavs made one last push by going on a 10-2 run to pull within 99-93 with 1:20 left on a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki. The Cavs scored the next 4 points to go up 103-93 with 41 seconds left. The Mavs kept it a little interesting by Nowitzki hitting a 3-pointer 3 seconds later and Brevin Knight missing with 24 seconds left. But Nowitzki missed a 3-pointer, the Mavs rebounded, Davis missed a jumper, the Mavs rebounded, and Davis missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left. Nowitzki rebounded and was fouled. He only hit 1-2 FT and Knight was fouled. Knight hit 1-2 FT to cap the scoring. Cleveland won 104-98. Ugh. What is it with this team about getting up for the big games and not showing up for the teams they should beat. The Mavs did not deserve to win this game and I was surprised they managed to get as close as they did with how lousy they played in the 1st half. And Don Nelson was trying anything to get the Mavs going in the 2nd quarter as 10 players played in the quarter and 7 substitutions were made - even seldom used Robert Pack was inserted. But the team stayed flat and the deficit got worse. The Mavs were helped in the 3rd quarter with Shawn Kemp spending most of the quarter on the bench in foul trouble. Cleveland shot 48.8% (41-84) FG and Dallas shot 39.1% (36-92) FG. Kemp led the way for Cleveland with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Cedric Henderson was the spark off the bench with 15 points including 5-6 FG. And Brevin Knight also chipped in off the bench with 12 points including 4-11 FG, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists - Knight was a key player in the game. Cleveland's bench combined for 51 points. Michael Finley was the only Mav to truly show up and he had 29 points and 10 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki had a decent looking 17 points, but he didn't look good for good chunks of the game. Quotes Randy Wittman: "Our guys came out at the start of the game and I thought that was the difference defensively. We really came out and attacked them and made them react to us in instead of us reacting to them. They've done a nice job of that lately in the way we played." Wittman: "Our defense attacked them. We backed them up on their heels. We contested shots and didn't allow them to get the easy stuff they've been getting." Wittman: "We've had so many leads we've lost, so I'm never relaxed until the clock says zero. But we came out in the 2nd half and protected our lead. We sustained it." Wittman: "We came out in the 2nd half and protected the ball instead of just playing." Wittman: "Watching them on tape in 5 out of the 6 games they have won, we saw they were breaking to the hole. They've been breaking people down and getting layups. I thought particularly in the 1st half as we eliminated that part of the game, then we were able to get out on the break." Wittman: "Brevin Knight came out big in all aspects of the game. He penetrated. He found people." Cedric Henderson on the Mavs comeback: "They came back on San Antonio. They showed that on television 2 nights in a row. We knew what to expect." Henderson: "We held our composure. We didn't blow up. We kept playing hard." Henderson: "We kept our composure going down the stretch." Brevin Knight: "We know these guys can come back. We mentioned the San Antonio game in the locker room at halftime." Knight: "We were aware that they were down against San Antonio and made a late charge. We knew they were a dangerous team." Andre Miller: "They were missing shots. There were a lot of long rebounds, and we were able to get out and run." Miller: "We got some fast break points. The guys that came off the bench extended the lead and kept playing hard. Brevin and Cedric came off the bench and gave the team a good lift." Don Nelson: "I don't have an answer for you. We didn't come out the way we were supposed to. I suppose its human nature after an emotional win like that. It was hard to get it cranked up." Nelson: "I don't have an answer for you. I'm as surprised as the fans. I suppose it's human nature after a win like that. But that's no excuse. We stunk up the place in the 1st half." Nelson: "We just didn't come out the way we were supposed to. I suppose it's human nature after an emotional win like that. Maybe it's hard to get cranked up, same coach, different team. The 2nd half we started to turn it up. If we would have started the game the way we did in the 2nd half, we would have won the game. Unfortunately, we have to deal with reality and we stunk up the place in the 1st half." Nelson: "This loss tonight teaches us about how important energy and passion is. They were on fire and we were cold, but we would have been a lot better off if we would have played with more passion, commitment, and ability." Nelson on the Mavs' struggles during the season: "I don't think getting up is a problem. Playing well is a problem. Michael Finley went through a period when he couldn't play at all and now he's playing great. Now, Dirk Nowitzki and Cedric Ceballos can't play. How we're winning I wish I could tell you why. It's kinda strange." Michael Finley: "It's been a constant obstacle this organization has been going through for a while. We get up for the big teams and then the teams you're supposed to quote-unquote beat, letting those wins get away." Finley: "If you look around the league, it's very evident that teams take lower echelon teams lightly. But even in those situations, the better teams still find a way to win. Until we learn that - or better yet, don't put ourselves in that position - [it will be tough] to be one of those teams." Shawn Bradley: "We dug ourselves a hole. You can't expect to do that every night and come back to win." Steve Nash: "It's very disappointing. I think we have a pretty proud group. For us to come out and play like that in the 1st half was terrible. We were awful and we deserved what we got, and that was a loss. We certainly didn't deserve to win the way we played in the 1st half." Nash: "We just didn't show up at 7:30, and you can't do that every night." Sean Rooks: "Cleveland moved the ball very well. They ran their plays and executed, Brevin got to the inside and caused problems. If they weren't scoring, they were getting offensive rebounds." Rooks: "All we've got is to go out and try to claw every game. It's not like we're going to the playoffs now. Of course, if we didn't have these kinds of letdowns, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in today." Dirk Nowitzki: "Everything was pretty bad. We didn't execute very well; we only had 33 points in the 1st half. That's terrible. It was one of our worst games." Erick Strickland: "We laid a serious egg." Strickland: "We played terrible. We shot the ball atrociously. We didn't do anything until the 2nd half and by then it was too late." Strickland: "These are growing pains for us. These are things we have to learn, especially this year since we don't have a chance to get into the playoffs. We have to learn this stuff because next year, it should be intolerable." Cleveland Cavaliers 104, Dallas Mavericks 98 at Dallas (March 23) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Cleveland 22 34 18 30 - 104 .481 .600 .488 .864 Dallas 14 19 30 35 - 98 .425 .263 .391 .808 Halftime: Cleveland 56-33 3rd Q: Cleveland 74-63 Dallas' largest lead: 12-6 5:52 1st Dallas' last lead: 12-11 4:59 1st Cleveland's largest lead: 56-33 end of 2nd Technicals: Mark Bryant 10:35 3rd Refs: Bernie Fryer, Ted Bernhardt, Scott Wall Attendance: 13,043 (cap 18,187) Cleveland Cavaliers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Kemp 25 7-16 0-0 8-9 22 3-12 1 6 5 1 0 Lamond Murray 23 4-10 0-1 0-0 8 1-2 2 2 3 0 0 Mark Bryant 25 4-7 0-0 2-2 10 4-6 1 0 3 1 1 Wesley Person 17 4-8 1-2 0-0 9 0-3 0 1 3 0 0 Andre Miller 16 2-8 0-0 0-0 4 1-4 5 1 0 1 1 Brevin Knight 32 4-11 0-0 4-5 12 0-5 11 3 5 1 0 Bob Sura 31 4-6 1-1 0-0 9 0-5 5 2 3 0 0 Danny Ferry 28 4-5 1-1 0-0 9 2-7 1 1 3 0 0 Cedric Henderson 32 5-6 0-0 5-5 15 0-4 1 1 3 1 0 Andrew DeClercq 11 3-7 0-0 0-1 6 2-4 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 41-84 3-5 19-22 104 13-52 27 17 29 5 2 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 46 10-20 2-5 7-8 29 2-10 3 2 2 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 22 6-13 2-4 3-3 17 2-5 0 1 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 22 2-6 0-0 4-5 8 5-9 0 1 4 0 3 Steve Nash 42 6-13 1-4 2-2 15 2-2 6 1 2 1 0 Erick Strickland 29 6-15 0-4 0-0 12 0-7 2 2 6 3 0 Cedric Ceballos 12 1-5 0-1 0-0 2 1-1 0 0 1 0 0 Sean Rooks 14 1-7 0-0 1-2 3 3-6 1 0 2 0 0 Greg Buckner 26 2-6 0-0 0-2 4 2-4 5 3 4 0 0 Hubert Davis 13 2-5 0-1 2-2 6 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 Robert Pack 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 2 0 0 0 Damon Jones 9 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-92 5-19 21-26 98 17-44 17 14 25 4 3 patricia