Mavs beat Wizards

[3afan]

great game at the Verizon Center ... Dirk had a great game, Gilbert Arenas is GOOD!

the arena is nice, located right in downtown within walking distance of Metro ... but that place was dead ..... lots of Mavs fans were there, was really fun - we all had or Mavs gear on & were rowdy - glad we got to walk out winners



2 newpaper views follow ......................

[3afan]

From DMN ::

Mavs down Wizards, 104-94

12:07 AM CST on Saturday, March 18, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON – Jerry Stackhouse has been gone from Washington for nearly two seasons, and he still gets greeted with lusty boos every time he shows up.

For the second season in a row, he had a salty rebuttal to the fans who feel Stackhouse left the Wizards on bad terms.

The Mavericks guard sparked a third-quarter getaway with a pair of jumpers – raising both index fingers to the crowd after the second as Washington called timeout.

What Stackhouse started, Dirk Nowitzki finished as the Mavericks dominated the Wizards, 104-94, on Friday, winning for the sixth time in the last seven games and continuing to treat road games like they're on a resort vacation.

The Wizards had won three in a row but never got closer than 10 points in the final 10:36 as the Mavericks improved to 52-14, staying a half-game ahead of San Antonio atop the Southwest.

Nowitzki had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Jason Terry blistered the Wizards from long range, and Stackhouse had 17 points and five assists off the bench, despite getting no love from the Washington fans.

It was the same way last season when he had 28 points at the Verizon Center.

"They're booing the man out there, and I'm not sure why that's going on," coach Avery Johnson said. "But he wanted to win, and I gave Stack a big hug after the game, because he tried to beat them with his scoring and his assists and his defense."

Sort of like everybody else on the Mavericks, who had 23 assists on 40 field goals, not bad for a team that ranks 29th in the league in assists. They also held the third-highest scoring team in the league to 44 second-half points, when the Mavericks opened up a two-point game.

"That was pretty much a complete game," Johnson said. "I'm really proud of the way we battled. We played a tough, hard-nosed game."

The Mavericks again were without four members of their 10-man rotation.

You get the feeling that, as a kid, Johnson was good at fixing things around the house with duct tape and chewing gum. Whether it's the wounded-warrior theory or just patching things together with whatever spare parts the coaching staff can find on the bench, the Mavericks have done a wonderful job of withstanding injuries.

"This gives our assistant coaches a chance to show what they can really do," Johnson said. "Basically we're down to about eight guys in the rotation. It's not like we have two at each position. We're just trying to make adjustments."

And it's different players from night to night. Whereas Rawle Marshall pitched in at Houston, it was Erick Dampier coming up with 10 points Friday. The fast break works Wednesday, then Marquis Daniels works the half-court game for eight assists Friday.

And, of course, there was Stackhouse, who seemed to revel in bedeviling his former team.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not really the sentimental type," Stackhouse said. "Either they must miss me or something. But it's all good. It makes me feel like I'm the guy again."

He was, briefly, in the third quarter, when the Mavericks bumped a 67-59 lead to 14 points when Stackhouse started a 6-0 run with back-to-back jumpers.

But though Stackhouse filled in for a moment, it was Nowitzki's job to be the man full time on this evening, as it always seems to be these days.

He seemed to have an effortless MVP kind of evening.

The only negative, perhaps, is that with all the injuries, Nowitzki and several other Mavericks are piling up some big minutes. Since Josh Howard went out with his hamstring problem eight games ago, Nowitzki has averaged just a shade over 40 minutes per game.

But as the Mavericks have learned, it's all about plugging holes in situations like this. If it requires putting in extra effort, so be it.

[3afan]

and from the Washington Post ::

Wizards Have No Answer for Nowitzki
MVP Hopeful Spurs Win for Dallas: Mavericks 104, Wizards 94

By Ivan Carter
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 18, 2006; Page E06

Almost every aspect of the sport has changed since James Naismith invented basketball in 1891, but you can be sure that Naismith never envisioned Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki.

A 7-foot, 245-pounder who can shoot, dribble and pass like a guard and rebound like a forward? The sport has never seen anything quite like him.

Just ask the Wizards, who were unable to handle the shaggy-haired German or his teammates last night as the Mavericks snapped Washington's three-game winning streak with a 104-94 victory in front of 18,954 at Verizon Center.

Nowitzki showed why he is a candidate for league most valuable player as he scored 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting with a game-high 13 rebounds and two assists in 43 minutes. Dallas (52-14) has the most wins in the NBA.

The Wizards (33-31) shot 44.3 percent from the field and were led by Gilbert Arenas (26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) but were outscored 29-19 in the third quarter and drew no closer than eight points in the fourth.

Dallas shot 50 percent from the field and led by 17 in the final period. The Wizards employed every manner of defense against Nowitzki and used Jared Jeffries, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels on him at various stages of the game, but nothing worked.

"Whether we had a 7-footer on him, a 6-9 guy on him or a smaller, quick guy on him, whether we switched or rotated, he hurt us," Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said. "He's a good passer and the more you pass, the easier it is to score. He was just difficult to defend tonight."

Whenever the Wizards threatened to make a game of it, Nowitzki and the Mavericks had an answer.

The Wizards trailed 96-84 with 4 minutes 3 seconds remaining when a defensive switch left the 6-4 Daniels defending Nowitzki one-on-one. Nowitzki patiently backed Daniels down with a couple of dribbles, turned and, with Daniels extending a hand in his face, calmly swished a 15-foot fadeaway that appeared to suck any remaining life out of the Wizards.

Earlier in the fourth, the Wizards sent a double team at Nowitzki, but he read the defense and fired an accurate bounce pass to a cutting Marquis Daniels, whose layup gave the Mavericks a 15-point lead.

Dallas's ball movement, shooting touch and energy on the boards, where they held a 45-35 rebounding edge, was more than the Wizards could handle.

"Unfortunately, if you have a good matchup somewhere on the floor, they get you with a wild card somewhere else, and a lot of time that wild card is Dirk," said Antonio Daniels, who finished with 17 points and six assists. "They have guys who understand their roles and play to the best of their ability."

[kaorder1999]

the mavs only play the spurs one more time this season in the regular season correct?

[KTJ]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
the mavs only play the spurs one more time this season in the regular season correct?

Yup. April 7th.

[kaorder1999]

in san antonio or in dallas?>

[KTJ]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
in san antonio or in dallas?>

San Antonio

[3afan]

BTW the food choices at the Verizon Center were pitiful compared to the AAC