Lock Down - Spurs 92 - Dallas 83

Antonio McDyess and the San Antonio Spurs Defense Held Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks to 35.4 percent shooting on the night. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Crater-Face Coach Popovich Leads Back-Ups to Victory Over Mavs.

The Dallas Mavericks came into their game Wednesday night (Nov. 11) against the San Antonio Spurs on an offensive tear, averaging 119 points a game over their last three games. That all came to an end as the Spurs defense (without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker) completely bent over the Dallas offense, holding the Mavs to their lowest scoring output of the season (83).

Dallas started the game going 2-18 from the field, shooting 26.9 percent for the first quarter. The second quarter wasn't much better as the Mavericks ended the half with only 38 points on 28 percent shooting. Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Mavericks, but it took him 27 shots to do so.

"I probably took a couple of shots that I shouldn't have taken," Nowitzki said. "But hey, we still had a chance."

San Antonio, on the other hand, went 9-18 from behind the arc in the first half, taking a 14-point lead into the locker-room at half-time. San Antonio newcomers Richard Jefferson and Keith Bogans combined to go 5-11 for three for the game and Jefferson led the Spurs with 29 points, a season high.

"I remember walking out in the second half and we were starting four guys that are new for this team," said Jefferson, who had his best game since being traded from Milwaukee this summer. "To have a little success, to give some new guys some extra minutes in the season, is good."

Josh Howard, who had given the Mavs a lift after returning from missing the first five games of the season, went 2-11 from the field for eight points but did contribute five rebounds. Howard played to begin the second-half for a few minutes, but then sat the rest of the game. J-Ho logged only 19 minutes on the night.

After Dallas spanked the Spurs last season for a 4-1 first round playoff win, and with San Antonio being without their two best players, it was expected the the Mavericks would come out and win this game; even on the second night of a back-to-back. But that simply wasn't the case as the Spurs simply outworked Dallas and held the more talented team (on this night) to their most pathetic offensive output of the season.

The Mavericks have a change to rebound from this game Friday, Nov.13, in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. Tip-off is at 7:00 on Fox Sports Southwest.

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

Dominant Dallas

Mavericks Control Second Half in 121-103 Victory over Rockets

The Dallas Mavericks started out this game by allowing the Houston Rockets to shoot 67 percent in the first quarter and score 37 points, their highest total allowed for a quarter all season. Even though they ended up getting some stops at the end of the first half, Dallas still allowed the most points in a half this season at 61.

"The first half, it was abysmal." Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

The Dallas Mavericks (5-2) then used an 82-47 run in the final 19:10 minutes of regulation against the Houston Rockets (4-3) to win the battle of 1st place Southwestern Division teams. After the Rockets went ahead 56-39 with 5:10 remaining in the second quarter, Dallas went on an 18-5 run to end the half and then went on to allow Houston to score merely 42 total points in the second half.

"There's no secret what's going to get us wins," said Dallas sixth man Jason Terry, who is 27 of 38 from the floor over the past three games. "When we didn't play defense, we got down by 15. We have to continue to lock in, get stops and run."

Terry had 24 points to lead Dallas in scoring on 7-8 shooting. Terry has averaged 26 points per game over his last three games after averaging only 13.5 over his first four of the season. Dirk Nowitzki was second on the team with 23 points while also contributing 6 rebounds, and four assists. Nowitzki drove to the basket all game long accounting for 10 of the Mavericks 23 free-throws while making all of them. Dallas shot 55.4 percent for the game as a team and has scored more than 120 points for the second time in a row.

After recording three double-doubles in the Mavericks’ first 32 games last season, Erick Dampier now has three is Dallas’ first seven games. Dampier was perfect from the floor (6-6) and scored 14 points to go along with 20 rebounds. Dampier also accounted for three blocks, punctuating each of them by saying “Give me that shit!”

"We didn't play the game we wanted to in the first quarter," said Dampier, who recorded the eighth 20-rebound game of his career. "But we picked it up in the second half. We've got to be a defensive-minded team, get stops and that will give us a chance to win every night."

The Dallas defense stepped up in a big way in the second half, as Houston finished the game at 42.7 percent shooting after their scorching hot start.

"We took quick shots," said Rockets’ point guard Aaron Brooks who led Houston with 22 points, 20 in the first half. "We got out of sync in our offense."

After a sluggish start, Dallas got it together and took complete control of this game with great shooting and suffocating defense. Over its last 3 games, Dallas has averaged 119 points a game. This compared to the 93.5 they averaged in their first 4 games. It is about time this offense started clicking, as they have the scorers to put up at least 100 points every night.

This was the first game of a back-to-back and Dallas will be in San Antonio to face the Spurs at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night (Nov.11).

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

Cowboys' Redemption

Cowboys' Wide-Receiver Miles Austin Celebrates After His First Catch of the Game, a 49-yard game-winning touchdown reception from Tony Romo. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Through his first three starts, Dallas wide-receiver Miles Austin had 21 receptions for 482 yards and five touchdown catches. Through nearly three and a half quarters of Sunday’s (Nov.8) game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Austin was held without a single reception.

"You knew he would probably get it at some point," said Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo of Austin. "He's a good player."

That he did as he caught a 49-yard touchdown with less than nine minutes left, leading Dallas (6-2) to a 20-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (5-3). This was Austin’s only catch for the game, but undoubtedly the most important one as the Cowboys took the lead for good at 20-13.

"I made sure I caught it first," Austin said of his only reception in the game. "A bunch of the guys were making fun of me because I took so long to see it in my hands."

Make no mistake about it; Dallas needed this victory more than any win thus far this season. After being humiliated to end the season last year by this very same team in this very same place, Dallas made amends.

"Our last loss against them really motivated us to come out and play good," Cowboys’ outside line-backer DeMarcus Ware said.

The Dallas defense was at the forefront as they held the NFL’s third best scoring offense (29 points per game) to only one touchdown and three field goals in the game. Dallas nose tackle Jay Ratliff had two sacks for the contest, his third and fourth sacks of the season. Ratliff and the Cowboys pressured Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb all game long, sacking him four times and intercepting two of his passes; his highest interception total for a game this season. McNabb was 16-30 (53 percent) for 227 yards and one touchdown pass along with two interceptions. McNabb hadn’t had an interception in his past four games and now has three for the season. Cowboys’ corner-back Mike Jenkins gained position in front of Eagles wide-receiver Jeremy Maclin in the third quarter for his third interception of the season.

"We have to eliminate mistakes," McNabb said.

The Dallas offense did just enough to win the game as it faced an aggressive Eagles defense that blitzed thoroughly throughout the game. Tony Romo was 21-34 (61.7 percent) for 307 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Romo and Roy Williams finally got on the same page as Romo targeted Williams eight times on the night with Williams catching five of those passes for 75 yards. Cowboys’ running back Marion Barber contributed 50 yards on 12 carries including 23 yards on Dallas’ final drive to seal the victory.

"We executed," Romo said. "I think the coaches put together a good plan. You just have to keep fighting and getting better."

The Dallas Cowboys proved to themselves, the rest of the league and their fans that they have the strength of character to win a game in hostile territory against a division rival. Not only that, they have put distance between themselves and the rest of the NFC East; putting themselves in the drivers seat with eight games remaining. Now it’s up to Dallas to keep their momentum going as they play their next three games over the span of 11 days.

Dallas’ next game is at 3:15 p.m. Nov. 15, in Green Bay, against the Packers.

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

Cowboys News and Notes:

• Cowboys’ safety Gerald Sensabaugh recorded his first interception of the season early in the first quarter.
• With 75 yards, Roy Williams had his second best day receiving as a Cowboy.
• Both teams combined for 19 penalties for 152 yards, in a tightly officiated game.
• Tony Romo is now 3-3 for his career against the Eagles including 2-1 in Philadelphia.
• This was the 100^th game in the series history for these two teams. Dallas leads 56-44.

House of Horrors - Cowboys - Eagles Preview

The Dallas Cowboys will try to exercise the demons of last year's season ending 44-6 beat-down in Philadelphia, 7:20 p.m. tonight (Nov.8) on NBC. (photo from stadiumsofprofootball.com)

This is the game most Cowboys' fans marked on their calender when the season schedule came out earlier in the year. Cowboys' coaches and players have also reiterated several times, from the start of training camp to numerous times this season up to this week, that this is an extremely important game mentally for this team. This game will tell us whether or not Dallas has the back-bone to tough it out for a win against a divisional rival on the road. This is no playoff game, but this is about as close as it gets during the regular season.

What's on the line:
As it turns out, not only can this be a retribution game for Dallas but with both teams at 5-2 and at the top of the division, this is a game with 1st place in the NFC East on the line. Dallas is 2-1 on the road for the season, with their only loss at Denver. Philadelphia is 3-1 at home on the year as they lost in week 3 to the New Orleans Saints. The Eagles are also 2-0 thus far this season against the NFC East with big wins over both the Giants and at the Redskins. A win can build confidence for the Cowboys, while also setting things up nicely for Dallas for the rest of the season.

History:
Along with their demoralizing loss to end last season, Dallas has not had much success on the road against the Eagles since the turn of the century. Philadelphia has dominated as the Cowboys are 2-7, dating back to the 2000-2001 season, in Philadelphia.

Much has been made of Cowboys' QB Tony Romo's struggles in Philly but the statistics tell another story. Romo is 1-1 at the Eagles and has career numbers of 41-64 (64 percent) for 507 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and two fumbles in two career games there. Now these aren't gaudy numbers by any stretch of the imagination but let's take a look at his three games at home against the Eagles: 48-95 (50.5 percent) for 668 yards, four touchdowns, six interceptions and a fumble. All-in-all Romo has played pretty mediocre on the road against the Eagles (253.2 yards per game, 1.5 TDs, 1 int and 1 fumble) and fairly poor at home (222.6 yards, 1.3 TDs, 2 ints and .3 fumbles per game). My point is that Romo hasn't played particularly well at either stadium, but his best games against the Eagles have come on the road.

The Stats:
The Dallas offense is 2nd in the NFL is yards per game at 411.1, and 6th in points scored at 28.1 thanks to their recent offensive surge. Philadelphia is 10th in the league in total defense at 296.9 yards allowed per game and 8th in points allowed with 19.

The Philadelphia offense is ranked 15th in the NFL with 344.4 yards per game, but is 3rd in the league in scoring with 29 points a game. The Dallas defense comes into the game ranked 22nd in yards allowed with 342.1, but 10th in points allowed at 19.4.

Both teams have top 10 offenses and defenses, and each team's points scored and points allowed per game are within a point of each other. This will be a close game.

Prediction:
The Dallas Cowboys need a win in this game not only to improve their record and break a tie in the NFC East but also to prove to themselves, the rest of the league and their fans that this is no longer a fragile team. I believe this will be a defensive minded game with both offenses held in check for the majority of the contest. The Eagles (like the Cowboys) have many weapons on offensive and will use them to exploit a Cowboys' defense that, this season, has not played well in close fourth quarter situations.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the Eagles will take over late and win a close one, 20-17.

Top 5 Mavs

Kidd, Terry, Howard, Marion, and Dirk Getting Much Needed Experience on the Floor Together.

If this Dallas team wants to make some noise in the playoffs this year, they are going to have to rely on their top 5 players when the game in on the line. As stated in my previous post, the Mavericks "Fave Five" (thanks to DB.com for the shout-out) were able to play a little over 5 minutes together in their first action of the season.

Here is how they fared:

1st Quarter:

Started 5:33 left: Dallas was down 17-13.

Ended 2:02 left: Dallas down 25-22.

So, all together +1. The Mavericks went 4-6 from the field. Toronto also shot well at 3-5.

2nd Quarter:

Started 2:47 left: Dallas up 47-44

Ended end of 1st half: 55-48 and had biggest lead up to that point at 9.

+4 as a group. Dallas shot 4-7. Toronto 2 of 4.

Total: +5 and 8-13 from the floor in 5:18 of action.

This group got off to a good start as they pressured the Raptors defensively which led to easy baskets and fast break points. While Dallas was active on the defensive end, it is still a work in progress as Toronto shot 55.5 percent during this period. Dallas on the other hand lit it up offensively, shooting 61.5 percent. Overall, solid start but there is much work to be done as with the many other teams in the league who are incorporating new players into their rotation.

I will continue to monitor this situation as the season goes on, as the gelling process might take some time.