Mavericks Survive, 104-102

Thanks to Jason Terry, the Dallas Mavericks Were Able to Stand Tall at the End of Regulation. (AP Photo/Mike Stone)

It shouldn't have even been this close. I bet that and much more was going through the Mavericks' collective heads as they found themselves tied 102-102 with less than 6 seconds left in regulation.

Dallas (13-5) had led by as many as 17 in the second half, but it all came crashing down as Philadelphia (5-13) used a 21-10 run (from 6:24 in the fourth) to force the Mavericks to make the game winner. Jason Terry obliged with his 6th and 7th points of the contest on a toughly contested fade-away from the base-line (about 17 feet out), leaving less than 2 seconds on the clock. For Terry, his lowest scoring game of the season, but his most important basket through these first 18 games.

"That's one of the areas that I like to get to," Terry said. "I pump faked and he didn't go for it. I went up, it was clear, and the rest was history."

While Terry hit the most important shot, it would be hard to argue that Jason Kidd wasn't the most important player on the floor against the 76ers. Kidd started off strong as he had 13 points (a season high for a quarter) and four assists in the first quarter. I counted three alley-oops thrown by Kidd on the night and his quick hands created turnovers all game long. Kidd completely destroyed the stats sheet, finishing with a season high for points with 22, along with 11 assists, six rebounds, four steals, and three blocks. He also shot 50 percent from the field and 5 of 8 from distance, easily his best game of the season.

For the 76ers this is their 7th straight loss, but yet another game they kept close until the end. Philadelphia's average margin of defeat for these games is only 5.7 points. Willie Green led the 76ers in scoring with 23 points and also chipped in 8 boards.

"We just fought all game long," Green said. "We didn't hang our heads and I think those are some positives we can build on."

Dampier Back After Absence, Has Rough Start

Erick Dampier returned to action after nine-games missed due to that mysterious illness and started, but only played 16 minutes. Damp scored three points and had a rebound, but what a complete non-factor on both sides of the ball. He was unable to control the paint or the boards during his time on the floor.

Drew Gooden played 31 minutes off the bench and recorded his 5th double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Dallas had trouble on the glass as a whole, though, as Philly out-rebounded the Mavs 60-37; the most lopsided discrepancy for Dallas this season.

Nowitzki Money Again

Dirk Nowitzki has only scored under 20 points in a game once this season. Nowitzki scored 20 by the end of the third quarter and ended the night with 28 points, six rebounds, and four assists. This was the 13th straight came Dirk scored 20+. Just another night at the office for Nowitzki, who is playing some of the best basketball of his career.

News and Notes:

• Shawn Marion hobbled to the locker room after the game, yelling an expletive (F***!) that was clearly heard over the air-waves as he vented his frustration as he continues to deal with that injured left ankle.
• JJ Barea scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. I still don't like the 3-PG attack.
• Dallas, at 13-5, is off to the second best start since 2006-2007, the year they won 67 games and were quickly (and mighty embarrassingly) ousted in the first round by the Golden State Warriors. (Good Omen, Bad Omen?)

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Tiger Woods' Story is Outrageous

A new fire hydrant is seen in the front of Tiger Woods' home in the Isleworth community in Windermere, Fla., Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Let me get this straight, Mr. Woods.

I'm supposed to believe that your wife ran out of your house at 2:30 a.m. (conveniently carrying a golf club) after hearing you wreck your Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree (surely not under the influence of alcohol or drugs) to break the back rear driver's side window out (why did the window need to be broken out? pictures here). Then, the 5'10, 100 pound, Swedish model pulled you, a 200+ pound athlete, from the drivers seat all the way out of the back window (instead of just using one of the doors)?

I really don't get it, if there is nothing to hide, why not just talk to the police and tell them the what happened? The more Woods hides-out in his home (he is also missing his own golf tournament) and tries to keep this a "private matter" the more the media is going to dig things up until the truth finally comes out. Also, does he think he will never have a press conference again? Just because you wait a few weeks doesn't mean that this story is going to die, and the press is going to grill him on the subject the next time he gets in front of a microphone - no matter when that is.

Let's not forget that this "accident" happened a mere two days after rumors that Woods' was having an affair with another woman.

The other woman has vehemently denied any such affair and claims to have never met Woods.

A. The alleged affair surfacing, and B. Woods' leave-me-alone attitude towards the media are not smart moves from one of the best golfers of all time. Unfortunately for Woods, no matter what really went down in each of these situations, his squeaky-clean public image has definitely taken a hit.

Royal Ass-Kicking, 111-95

King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers Had Trouble Missing the Basket Against the Mavericks. James scored 25 points and Cleveland shot 57.7 percent for the game. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

When Anderson Varejao scores 13 points in a single half and makes all seven of his attempts for the floor, you know your in for a long night against the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-5). The Dallas Mavericks (12-5), who came into the game the second best road team in the NBA (7-2), were dominated throughout as they allowed Cleveland to score at will from the very start. Varejeo finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds.

The Cavaliers had 10 layup or dunks in the first quarter, scoring 35 points in the period, which was a precursor for the rest of a game in which Cleveland ended with 54 points in the paint compared to Dallas' 24. Cleveland shot 68 percent for the first half and scored a season high 68 points. Dallas never led after that, only getting the deficit down to seven points once in the third quarter.

When Cleveland wasn't scoring-at-will on the inside, they were on-fire from beyond the arc. The Cavs hit 9 of 13 three-pointers for the game and Moe Williams was 7 for 7 as he led the team (along with the King) with 25 points.

Speaking of Lebron, King James had 11 points, four rebounds and eight assists in the first quarter. James finished the game with 25 points, 12 assists and only five rebounds, frankly, because Cleveland didn't miss much.

When the Cavaliers did miss, they dominated the Mavericks on the boards. Cleveland out-rebounded Dallas 39-24 for the game. In fact, Cleveland beat Dallas in every meaningful statistical category, except for free-throw percentage (wooohooo!).

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 and Jason Terry had 25, but that was about it for a Dallas team that was down for the majority of the first half and the entire second half. The Mavericks waved the white flag with 2:30 left in the 4th quarter, down by 15.

Hate him or love him, there is no doubt in my mind that a healthy Erick Dampier would have made a huge difference in the outcome of this game. While Dallas has been able to win without the big man (Dallas is 6-1 with Damp out of the line-up), its hard to argue that teams have been able to get to the paint at will against the smaller Drew Gooden.

Dallas has now lost four straight against Cleveland, their next meeting is Dec. 20 at the AAC.

The Mavericks' next game is 7:30 p.m. Monday, at home, against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mavs-Cavs Tonight

4th in the Western Conference takes on 4th in the East tonight in a battle of early season title hopefuls.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton,AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dirk Nowitzki and Lebron James go head-to-head for the 13th time Saturday night (Nov.28) so I did some research to see just how these two titans have done against one-another in their careers.

Series History Since Lebron's Rookie Season:

Dallas is 7-5 against Cleveland since Lebron's rookie season in 2003-2004. The Mavericks have outscored the Cavaliers by a slim margin, 95.3-94.4 in that time span.

Nowitzki has averaged 21.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, and four assists in the 12 games against James. James has averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in these games.

Dallas started off strong, winning seven of the first nine games between the teams. Since then, Cleveland has won the last three by an average of 18 points a game (Cleveland 96.7 - Dallas 78.7).

Nowitzki has averaged only 15.7 points in the losing streak but still averaged a double-double with 11 rebounds. James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebound, and 7.3 assists in the victories.

This Season's Stats:

The Dallas Mavericks (12-4) are top-10 in the NBA in both offense and defense this year. Dallas is 8th in points scored (103.3), 9th in points allowed (96.2), and are first in the West in point differential (and 2nd in the NBA behind Boston, 8.7), beating opponents by an average of 7.7 points per game. Dallas is also 8th in the NBA is field goal percentage allowed at 44.1 percent and 13th in offensive shooting percentage at 46.1 percent.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (11-5) are 17th in points per game (99.1), 6th in points allowed (94.6), and 10th in point differential with an average margin of victory at 3.8. The Cavaliers are just behind Dallas at field goal percentage allowed at 8th with 44.2 percentage and 8th in team field goal percentage with 47.1 percent.

Dirk Nowitzki comes into the game 6th in the NBA in scoring at 27.1 points per to go along with 8.6 rebounds and has scored over 20 points in 11 straight games.

Lebron James is the 3rd best scorer in the league with 29.4 along with 6.8 boards and 7.8 dimes per game.

Dallas is coming off a 113-92 victory Friday night against the Indiana Pacers and are still banged up with Josh Howard and Erick Dampier expected to be in street clothes. Quinton Ross is expected to play.

Cleveland also played Friday night and lost 94-87 against the Charlotte Bobcats in Shaquille Oneal's first game back since Nov. 14 at Utah. It is still uncertain whether or not the addition of Shaq is working for Cleveland as they are 6-4 with the big man in the line-up and 5-1 when he sits.

Dallas is 7-2 on the road this year while Cleveland is 5-2 at home.

This should be a great game tonight and a test for both teams to see just where they stand early-on in the regular season. Cleveland should be pissed and ready to play after losing to the 6-9 Bobcats Friday night.

Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. locally on KTXA channel 21.

Mavericks Roll, 113-92

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks Coasted Through Friday (Nov.27) Night's Game Against the Indiana Pacers. Nowitzki scored 31 points in only 30 minutes. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

The Dallas Mavericks led by as many as 22 points in the first half on their way to their 12th victory of the season. The Pacers didn't put up much of a fight as they spent the evening dribbling the ball off of their feet into the back-court, passing the ball to no one in particular out-of-bounds, and basically playing an all-around terrible game.

"We did not play tough enough. That's why we got pounded," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "You have to play with tremendous force and we did not."

The Dallas bench played a large role in a 13-0 second quarter run that basically iced the game in the first half. Kris Humphries had the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 11 rebounds, including eight points and 10 rebounds in 10 first half minutes.

Jason Terry had another big night off the bench, scoring 17 points on 50 percent shooting. Terry has scored in double figures in all but one game this season (Nov. 15 at Detroit, nine points).

Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points or more for the fifth time this season and Dallas is 4-1 in those games. Nowitzki scored 31 points, shooting 10 for 14 (71.4 percent) from the field, and 11-13 from the free throw line.

"I don't really know what happened, but our offense really seems to click, really everybody is shooting the ball," Nowitzki said.

Dallas took care of business against a bad team which is what they are supposed to do, especially on the first night of a back-to-back. No Mavericks' starter played more than 30 minutes, which is a good thing as Dallas flies to Cleveland following the game and take on the Lebrons tomorrow night.

Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov 28).

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

D-Town Beat-Down, 24-7

The Oakland Raiders Defense Was Just What the Doctor Ordered as Miles Austin and the Cowboys' Ailing Offense Finally Broke Out of It's Two-Game Slump.
(AP Photo/Erich Schlegel)

In their last two-games, the Dallas Cowboys (8-3) offense accounted for a total of 279 yards and 14 points. Thursday against the Oakland Raiders (3-8), Dallas had 324 yards and 17 points in the first half.

Miles Austin broke out of a slump of his own as he had six catches for 130 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys' explosive first half. Austin finished the game with seven catches for 145-yards and a score, his 8th of the season.

Tony Romo threw for 309 yards, the 21st 300 yard game of his career, along with two scores. Romo, many times, was able to get out of the way of would be tacklers with some nifty moves in the pocket; despite the fact that he has been banged up all week after taking a knee to his lower back last game.

Tight-end Jason Witten also came into Thursday's game nursing an injury, but persevered and had his best game of the season. Witten caught five passes for 107 yards, a 21.7 average, and was there for Romo any time he had to bail out of the pocket.

Big plays were prevalent in this one as the Cowboys totaled 10 plays of 20-yards or more, eight plays of over 25-yards and four plays of over 40-yards. The Cowboys finished with 494 total yards. This was easily Dallas' best performance offensively in the last several weeks.

One constant over the past few games has been the consistently good play of the Dallas defense. The Cowboys' defense sacked Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski three times for the game, but their relentless pressure led to many miscues by the 4th-year pro. Gradkowski ended the game going 18/35 for 200 yards and, Oakland's only score of the game, a 4-yard touchdown pass to Darius Heyward-Bey.

Felix Jones and Tashard Choice led a revitalized rushing attack with a combined 135 yards on 10 carries. Choice had a 66-yard run in the first quarter that led to a Dallas field goal, and Jones had a 46-yard touchdown run that mad.0e it 10-0 Cowboys.

"We still have a lot of work to do," said Choice, whose big run came out of the Razorback formation. "A lot of things that we've messed up on we have to get better. We have to stay focused coming into December."

The Dallas offense looked much better in this game, likely because they were playing an awful Oakland team that has only one road win in five road games this season. Now the Cowboys' have time to get healthy and re-focused (with 10 days off) as they have one of the toughest final five game stretches of any team in the league this season.

Dallas has put themselves in the driver's seat with eight wins in their first 11 games. It is feasible that if the Cowboys' win two of their final five games they will at least be assured a playoff spot. Win three or even four of the last five? Then Dallas will likely be playing at Cowboys' stadium throughout the playoffs.

"I think you put yourself in position well before December," Romo said. "You have to maintain a level of consistency, then you raise it up going into January — if you're good enough to do that."

Dallas begins the trek up the mountain Sunday (Dec. 6) at 3:15 p.m. in New York against the Giants.

News and Notes:

• Tony Romo is now 4-0 on Thanksgiving day. Romo has thrown 14 touchdowns compared to only two interceptions in these games.
• Romo is also 2nd in the NFL with 22 300-yard+ passing games since 2006. Tom Brady is number 1.
  
• Anthony Spencer had his first two sacks of the season after not recording one in his first 10 games.
• After a rocky start to the season, the Dallas defense is now first in the NFC in points allowed per game with 16.5.
  

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Quick Turnaround

Tim Thomas and the Dallas Mavericks Used a 26-0 Run En Route to 130-99 Blowout of Rockets on Second Night of Back-to-Back.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The Dallas Mavericks (11-4), likely hung over from a loss to a bad team with only six players Tuesday night, got off to a rocky start in Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets (8-7). The Rockets led 15-2 at one point in that first quarter, and 25-13 later in the quarter, before the Mavericks went on a 26-0 run from 5:03 in the first quarter to 11:29 in the second. When all was said and done, Dallas had turned a 12 points deficit into a 14-point lead at 39-25.

"Our start was horrendous," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "The rest of the game was great. Our tempo was perfect."

Dallas finished the half at 69 percent shooting, their highest for a half this season, and had 36 bench points.

Last year’s Sixth Man of the Year award winner Jason Terry and newcomer Tim Thomas led the Dallas run coming off the bench. The duo combined to score 21 points during the 26-point run, while Jason Terry finished with a game-high 27 points while shooting an incredible 10-11 from the field, including 4-4 from behind the arc. Terry also finished with 10 assists for his first double-double since March 3, 2007.

Making the most of his time on the floor, Thomas finished the game with 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting for his best performance in a Mavericks’ uniform. Both Thomas and Terry finished the first half with 17 points a piece.

"Tim played great," Carlisle said. "He brings a playoff mentality to our team, that's evident. He's worked hard to get back to this point, and we're just going to keep bringing him along."

At 10:50 in the third quarter, Jason Kidd threw a perfect alley-oop pass to a leaping Rodrigue Beaubois for his 10,335 assist of his career, passing Mark Jackson for 2^nd place on the all time list. With John Stockton more than 5,000 assists away, Kidd understands that number two on the all-time list is about as good as it’s going to get.

"Some records are meant to stay where they are," Kidd said. "I don't see anybody breaking that any time soon."

Kidd finished the game with nine points and seven assists as he played sparingly in the second-half as Dallas had a double digit lead throughout.

Carl Landry led the Rockets’ in scoring with 24 points off the bench and Trevor Ariza ended with 20. After Golden State ripped the Mavericks for 54 points in the paint the previous night, it was surprising to see Houston take so many outside shots. The Rockets missed 15 of 20 hoists from behind the arc for the game.

Dallas had their best shooting percentage in a game this season with 65.5 percent and with their highest 3-point shooting percentage for a game with 52.9 percent.

After a break for Turkey-Day, the Dallas Mavericks travel to Indiana to face the Pacers on the first night of yet another back-to-back. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov.27).

Dallas plays King James and the Lebrons in Cleveland on Saturday night.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavericks Fall to Golden State 111-103

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors Stole a Victory From Dallas at the AAC Tuesday (Nov 24) night.(AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

Dallas Loses to Warriors' Team That Uses Only Six Players

The Dallas Mavericks (10-4) can't blame their injury woes for this loss as the Golden State Warriors (5-8) suited up only eight players and used only six.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 28 points and 10 rebounds (his 7th double-double of the season) and Jason Terry dropped 21, but it wasn't enough as a porous Mavericks' defense allowed the Warriors to shoot nearly 48 percent from the floor and score 111 points.
"There were too many breakdowns, mental and physical. It was as simple as that," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said after Golden State shot 65 percent (11 for 17) in the fourth quarter.

Golden State used a 24-7 run to end the game after Dallas had pulled ahead 98-89 mid-fourth quarter. Monta Ellis led the Warriors with 37 points while dishing out eight assists, but did account for 11 of Golden State’s 21 turnovers. Ellis consistently beat the Mavericks’ perimeter defenders and was able to finish around the basket at will against their post defenders; he shot 51.7 percent for the game. Golden State had a total of 54 points in the paint compared to the Mavericks 36.

"There are bad losses and this was one of them," Nowitzki said. "We were up nine but we couldn't get anything going. We were a step slow defensively. (Ellis) got to the basket when he wanted to."

Drew Gooden had his fourth double-double in five starts since taking over for Erick Dampier. Gooden finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Jason Kidd had a double-double at the end of the third quarter (assists-rebounds) and finished with five points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists. Kidd had trouble all night defensively with Ellis and Dallas also tried sticking Rodrigue Beaubois and Jason Terry on Ellis, but nothing seemed to work.

"Monta took over the game," Warriors rookie Stephen Curry said. "He kept going to the basket and kept us in it."

The Dallas Mavericks allowed themselves to be sucked into a sloppy, undisciplined game against the Golden State Warriors, and it came back to bite them. In fairness to the Warriors, they also beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night 108-94 using only eight players.

Dallas has no time to hang their heads after this one as they travel to Houston, Wednesday, to take on the Rockets. The good news for Dallas is Shawn Marion is expected to play after missing the last three games due to a sprained ankle. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. locally on KTXA channel 21.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)