Mavs at Nuggets: 62-13

[ddh33]

In one of the ugliest displays of offense I have seen in a long time, the Mavs lost on the road to the Nuggets. It was pretty clear about halfway through the second quarter that the first one to 75 points would win. That was the Nuggets final point total, and it was 4 better than Dallas could do. Yuck.

Still, the worst part of the night was seeing Josh Howard roll his ankle again early in the game. He left and never returned. Hopefully he'll be fine and there will be no hangover.

Who is going to be the first to ask if the Mavs are tanking games? There were some awfully strange lineups on the floor at different times tonight. I don't think injuries were the only reason, although it didn't help. You just can't help but wonder if the Mavs are experimenting a little bit?

I don't want it to come across as whining, but that was some more bad officiating. The only good thing you can say is that it was bad both ways, but that's no excuse. Why do the Mavs games on tv always seem like some of the worst officiated games? You would think the league would want to do their best in those games.

The Mavs didn't execute well down the stretch at all. The offense was ugly all night long, but it was especially bad in the last few minutes. I don't know what our MVP was doing throwing the ball right to Carmelo on the key possession of the game. Worse yet, the defense didn't do its job either. The team switched a lot late in the game, and they ended up with some awful mismatches trying to check Carmelo down low. Again, part of me has to wonder if the coaches were experimenting?

I liked Damp's work tonight. I thought he did a very good job on the boards, and his back-taps kept giving the Mavs opportunities that they usually squandered anyway. Still, it was a good effort from a guy who was sitting on the bench with ice on his shoulder at times.

Diop didn't get nearly as many minutes tonight, and I don't remember him doing a ton that stood out.

Like everyone else, Dirk didn't shoot well. I thought he was going to will the team to the victory early in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, there were just too many mistakes down the stretch.

I hate to pick on one guy for shooting terribly when the whole team was guilty, but good gracious, Devean George, make a shot! I think I'm just picking on him because he was the guy who was getting the most wide open shots on the team, and he wasn't doing anything with them. We've seen him hit them before, so no one should worry about one weird night. But we all understand how important it is to hit those shots.

Greg Buckner was pretty bad tonight too. Buck battled against Melo, despite a size disadvantage. I was more concerned with Buck being completely unable to dribble a basketball or make a simple pass though.

Jerry Stackhouse finally hit a shot in the fourth quarter. I think he only made two though. That didn't keep him from taking a bunch though.

Jason Terry wasn't able to hit much either. I guess it was bound to happen, but I can't begin to express how surprised I am when Terry has an off night.

Devin Harris was a bright spot. I thought he did a great job of defending Iverson, who always seemed to have a burst as soon as someone other than Harris guarded him in the second half. He was also the only efficient player on the team as far as putting the ball in the basket. I just wish he would have been a little more aggressive. I find it hard to believe that anyone could have faulted him for doing too much on a night when no one else seemed to be doing much.

So we can kiss 70 wins goodbye. Who would have thought that would have even been a conversation back in November? We can also chuckle a little bit to ourselves about another silly celebration. The Nuggets sure were excited to beat the Mavs in Denver without their second best player on a night when Dallas had virtually nothing to play for. Dallas has come a long way, folks. These Mavs are certainly the hunted.

[u2sarajevo]

It's time to get ankles healthy.

[TheBlueVan]

we're definitely NOT sprinting into the playoffs... the postseason is usually not a good time to get tuned up

[Dirkadirkastan]

Oh well. Let's win at home.

[Underdog]

FOX SPORTS: Dallas lost its chance of joining the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win 70 games. The Mavericks had to win out and can only get to 69 wins

Haha - ONLY 69 wins! We're already at a club record with 62 - nothing to worry about in the regular season other than winning 2 more to secure the #1 seed.. Moving on...

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

It's time to get ankles healthy.

Stop throwing yours up behind your head then....

...

What?

Anyways...seriously...I think this loss helps more than hurts us. We want to make sure these guys play the Dan Tonys'

Don't worry about it people.

[Dtownsfinest]

So we can kiss 70 wins goodbye. Who would have thought that would have even been a conversation back in November? We can also chuckle a little bit to ourselves about another silly celebration. The Nuggets sure were excited to beat the Mavs in Denver without their second best player on a night when Dallas had virtually nothing to play for. Dallas has come a long way, folks. These Mavs are certainly the hunted.

Can't knock Denver for getting excited. I remember the 2-80 seasons the Mavs use to have and I use to get amped about beating contenders. I still remember that Bulls win in the late 90's lol.

Denver played their game tonight. Both teams played careless tonight but at the end of the night the Nuggets had a more solid 4th quarter.

One thing that i'm not liking is how teams are all of a sudden starting to tear us a part in the paint in the 4th quarter. Its usually the Big men doing it as well. Maybe its just the Mavs just not giving a damn since they're probably going to recieve home court throughout but I sure hope that problem is fixed before post season. Especially when we face the Suns or Spurs because they can definately have their way in the paint if the Mavs don't do anything about it.

[Flacolaco]

Cute Denver fans. Very cute.

The Avs didn't make the playoffs, the Broncos are starting over...and the Nuggets and their company of THUGS is all they have.

Get excited while you can, boys.

[G-Man]

I didn't get to see the game, so double thanks to DDH for your continued excellence.

Looks like no Mav could hit a shot, but they took on a run and gun team with 2 of the NBA' top scorers and held them to 13 in the 1st and 17 in the 2nd quarters. Sounds impressive, but I guess that's hard to notice when your team is throwing up bricks. For a team that got torched the last time they played a fast break team in PHX, it sounds like they were really getting back on D, Damp included

It also sounds like Avery is way more concerned with getting practice with different lineups than winning, and at this point, really, which is more important? Dirk pays 36 minutes and Diop basically got a night off. Howard's injury will force him to rest some, and we can only hope thats all there is to that.
I did n't see it, or the post game. Can someone tell me how bad that injury looked, or what Avery said in the post game?

Thanks

[ilMavvento]

Regarding the possession that lost the game....

This is why Dirk normally gets the ball in the center of the court at the top of the key. Taking it off the wing works occasionally when Dirk is going to take the shot for sure or get to the basket and not be doubled. However this time when the extra men came to guard him he tried to force a pass all the way across the court. When he's in the middle that's a much shorter pass and he has a better view of all his options.

[twelli]

I think we had some fine ball movement earlier in the game, but missed several wide open shots that could easily have opened a double-digit lead. The more the game went on the worse the shot selection got. I have the feeling that these last games aren't worse competing at the highest level. We just need to beat the likes of Portland and Minnesota to get home court throughout the playoffs and stay/get healthy. We don't really want Dirk go strong to the basket and get hammered by Nene or Camby do we?

[Dtownsfinest]

and the Nuggets and their company of THUGS is all they have.

Thugs lol? Because they wear cornrows? Aside from problems with his wife i've never seen or heard of AI being arrested. Never has failed a drug tests or had any run ins with the law? And surely you can't be referring to Carmelo "I hit and run away from guys 5'9" Anthony?

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Anyways...seriously...I think this loss helps more than hurts us. We want to make sure these guys play the Dan Tonys'

Don't worry about it people.

Do we want smooth sailing for the Spurs as well?

[Allie]

I am worried about the Mavs, that they are way off their game. But hopefully they are just coasting a bit or experimenting.

anyway, GO MAVS!

[mkat]

this stuff kinda bothers me. shouldn't the be solidifying for the post season? i know these last few games are tough because the post season is right around the corner....but c'mon. 71 pts?

that's probably just overreaction. ^^^

i wasn't worried when we were 0-4, and i'm not *really* worried now. rest some guys so we have a healthy team in the playoffs.

[mqywaaah]

[QUOTE=mkat]this stuff kinda bothers me. shouldn't the be solidifying for the post season? i know these last few games are tough because the post season is right around the corner....but c'mon. 71 pts?

that's probably just overreaction. ^^^

i wasn't worried when we were 0-4, and i'm not *really* worried now. rest some guys so we have a healthy team in the playoffs.[/QUOTE]






Isnt that so much better? Let it all out, breathe in... Haa, hoo, haa, hoo

[pkdumas]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Anyways...seriously...I think this loss helps more than hurts us. We want to make sure these guys play the Dan Tonys'

Don't worry about it people.

Exactly, I really don't care how ugly it gets as long as we are healthy and get the top seed. Acting like we care is the last thing we need. Blasting the NBA all year and then relaxing when it just don't matter is human nature. We know how to turn it on. This is not the 01-02 Mavs. We can turn it on. We do have motivation outside of 70 wins and regular season nonsense.

[4cwebb]

Originally Posted by G-Man

Looks like no Mav could hit a shot, but they took on a run and gun team with 2 of the NBA' top scorers and held them to 13 in the 1st and 17 in the 2nd quarters. Sounds impressive, but I guess that's hard to notice when your team is throwing up bricks. For a team that got torched the last time they played a fast break team in PHX, it sounds like they were really getting back on D, Damp included

While defensive effort by the Mavs was a factor, I would say the main reason the Nuggets scored so little was that they just could not throw anything in the ocean (and for that matter, for most of the night the Mavs couldn't either). Melo started out the game 2-11 or something, missing a number of shots in close that were contested, but that he will usually make a fair number of. And, in what ended up being a preview of how badly each team would shoot, AI got a break away opportunity early in the 1st quarter and missed a completely uncontested layup. Watching this entire game, I thought the inability of either team to hit shots they normally make was much more of a factor in the final score than the defense by either team.

The JHo ankle sprain wasn't pretty, and there may have since been reports to the contrary, but my guess is that if this game could've had any effect on playoff standing, JHo probably would've tested his ankle at some point before shutting it down for the night.

[endrity]

First of all I am not very worried about the loss, I kinda gave up the dream of 70 when we lost back to backs against GS and Suns in March. However there are a couple of things that worry me. As mentioned here before we are getting killed in the paint lately. I think one of the main reasons why that happens is because we switch on pick and rolls more than any team that I see, and I have been mentioning this for a while now. Now that is alright sometimes because teams have a tendency to dump it in the post thinking that one of their guys has a size advantage, however post moves are difficult to master. Much more difficult than playing in the perimeter, so that usually ends up messing up the offensive flow of the opposition. Not tonight though! Melo is a beast operating mainly out of the post and Nene (my favourite non Mav player in the whole league, don't know how to explain it) is slightly less athletic Amare with wayyyyy better hands and finishes around the rim as well as anyone can. Well today Harris ended up on both very often and that is how they scored most of their points. It hurts even more when we saw last night how superb the Spurs were in guarding the pick and roll of the Suns. We get messed up by the slightest sign of a pick and roll from anywhere on the court. I don't know if it's lack of communication or anything, but I guarantee you that come 2nd round whether it's Yao and T-Mac or D.Williams and Okur/Boozer we will served a whole lot of pick and rolls and ofcourse the Spurs will employ some of it as well especially to free up Parker. That has to be improved.

[dude1394]

I'm quite worried about our lack of fta's the last o' say 20 games. We are getting killed in that department it seems. We've been making so many shots lately that a jumpshot has been just as good of an option as getting to the line (and not taking the pounding).

I can sort of see not going inside as much to avoid said pounding, but that stuff doesn't just turn on, it gets ingrained to take a pull-up jumper instead of getting to the rack.

Also devin's not taking his shot as much either, I really don't want him to lose that confidence he was starting to get.

As ddh pointed out Devean George shot poorly and he noticed it because Devean was open so much. That is a problem. Devean needs to be a spot-up shooter and not a guy who takes them off the dribble imo, so somethings not right there.

We just don't seem to be playing defense at a high level right now at all, chucky is correct about that and it's showing. Not necessarily in losses but in quality of play.

[endrity]

Originally Posted by dude1394

I'm quite worried about our lack of fta's the last o' say 20 games. We are getting killed in that department it seems. We've been making so many shots lately that a jumpshot has been just as good of an option as getting to the line (and not taking the pounding).

I can sort of see not going inside as much to avoid said pounding, but that stuff doesn't just turn on, it gets ingrained to take a pull-up jumper instead of getting to the rack.

Also devin's not taking his shot as much either, I really don't want him to lose that confidence he was starting to get.

As ddh pointed out Devean George shot poorly and he noticed it because Devean was open so much. That is a problem. Devean needs to be a spot-up shooter and not a guy who takes them off the dribble imo, so somethings not right there.

We just don't seem to be playing defense at a high level right now at all, chucky is correct about that and it's showing. Not necessarily in losses but in quality of play.

I agree Dude, Dirk and Terry for starters seem to have settled into taking jumpshots all the time, I hope though it has to do with just not wanting to take any pounding before the playoffs, but there were two times today when both had open lanes to the basket and still pulled up for a jumper, which both hit I think.

[Lor20]

dirk is still recovering from injuries - yesterday he finally got back to his rebounding self (the nuggets throwing bricks certainly helps to get some extra D rebounds too though...) but he still isnt driving to the basket - i think avery told the guys not to drive to much in order to not injure themselfs. and really there is nothing wrong with that. 2 more wins in 7 games that should be easy (and that is assuming the suns win all). Of course that probably means throwing dirks chances of mvp out the window if they were to finish within a game or two of the suns but at the end of the day thats not so important, and there is always the finals mvp trophy that im sure dirk would much rather get. We will prolly throw the game against the spurs too - so better not watch that one :-P - would take too much energy to win against them and i personally think facing the spurs in the playoffs would be better than the suns, so getting the spurs homecourt against the suns doesnt hurt either. plus the spurs finishing ahead of nash would give dirk more mvp votes again.
aaanyways - i say we win 4 of the last 7 and get the top seed, then go 8-0 in the first two postseason serieses.

[dude1394]

It doesn't appear that avery is telling them that at ALL. But they aren't listening to him.

You go over it 50 million times, but it's the same situations every time and we've been dealing with it all year," said Mavs coach Avery Johnson, railing about the shot selection that led to his team's 36-percent shooting. "It's kind of disappointing. ... We just don't understand momentum. As long as we have been together, it's baffling to me that we don't understand momentum - what we should be doing and what we shouldn't do. For a veteran team, it's just unbelievable. If you're not making 3's, at some point, you got to try something else. And we just weren't attacking. ...''

[kriD]

Mavs feel a chill in Denver, 75-71

01:52 AM CDT on Saturday, April 7, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

DENVER - Tiny snowflakes were dropping in Denver on Friday.

It didn't amount to much, but it was a lot compared to what was dropping inside Pepsi Center, which was basically nothing.

The Mavericks showed just how ordinary they can look when they heave up jump shot after jump shot whether they are going in or not.

They paid the price, dropping a 75-71 clank-fest to the Denver Nuggets to finish a 1-2 road trip, the first time all season they've had a sub-.500 record on a road trip two games or longer.

And their problems may be worse. Josh Howard left the game with 4:40 left in the first quarter and did not return.

"It was bad enough that I couldn't come back," Howard said. "It's the same thing as it was before, in my Achilles. It just got rolled again."

Howard is listed as questionable for tonight's home game against Portland. He has had the same ankle problem on several occasions.

The good news for him was that he didn't have to take part in a truly pitiful offensive game.

"We were bad," said Jerry Stackhouse, who was 2-for-12 but by no means alone in his futility. "I might have been the worst. We had a lot of opportunities. That team wants to play a helter-skelter style, and we sort of got baited into playing that way.

"We definitely weren't as smart as we normally are."

When they were done shooting 36.1 percent - actually a tad better than the Nuggets - the Mavericks also could put to bed any talk of a 70-win season. With 13 losses, 69 wins is the best they can do. It would still tie for the second-best record in NBA history.

They still need any combination of two wins or two Phoenix losses to clinch the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

Not that you'd think they deserve it the way they played Friday.

"We had some times when we settled for jump shots," Avery Johnson said. "And when you settle for jump shots, and they're not going in, you're going to get burned. We came down four or five times straight and shot jump shots.

"Until we learn our lesson there, we're not going to win these type of games."

And yet, they were tied at 71 with 90 seconds left after Dirk Nowitzki hit two free throws. Nowitzki had 22 points and 11 rebounds but still didn't look like himself after missing Tuesday's game in Sacramento with a stomach disorder.

Denver's Carmelo Anthony made three key plays down the stretch. He took a lob pass from Marcus Camby for a dunk with 1:11 to go and a 73-71 lead. After Stackhouse missed, Erick Dampier tipped out the rebound, but Nowitzki had the last of his six turnovers with a poor cross-court pass intended for Stackhouse.

The Mavericks forced a miss by Camby, but Nene rebounded and Anthony was fouled. His free throws with 9.2 left sealed it.

But it was the deplorable shot selection that drew Johnson's ire.

"You go over it 50 million times, but it's the same situations every time and we've been dealing with it all year," he said. "It's kind of disappointing. But maybe we just got to get burned really bad and then we'll figure it out.

"We just don't understand momentum. As long as we have been together, it's baffling to me that we don't understand momentum - what we should be doing and what we shouldn't do. For a veteran team, it's just unbelievable. If you're not making threes, at some point, you got to try something else. And we just weren't attacking. But we'll get it together."

Amazingly, the Nuggets actually were shooting just 26.8 percent at halftime, when the Mavericks had a 37-30 lead. When Denver defrosted just enough in the second half, the Mavericks couldn't respond.

They finished the season 3-1 against the Nuggets, a team they could see in the first round of the playoffs.

[kriD]

Mavs can't get past Nuggets

Josh Howard turns ankle in first quarter, doesn't return

By Art Garcia
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DENVER – Watching jumper after jumper clang off the rim Friday night in Denver didn’t sit too well with Avery Johnson.

Surprised?

“When you settle for jump shots and they’re not going in, you’re going to get burned,” he said. “We came down four or five times straight and shot jump shots. Until we learn our lesson there, we’re not going to win these type of games.”

The Mavs’ lowest-scoring performance of the season was compounded by critical errors in the last minutes, as potential first-round challenger Denver held on for a 75-71 victory at the Pepsi Center.

The Mavs (62-13) aren’t going to win 70 and didn’t move a step closer to locking down home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The magic number remains two over Phoenix going into tonight’s game with Portland at American Airlines Center.

Johnson’s team returned home after going 1-2 record on the road – the first losing trip of at least two games this season. The Mavs shot 36.1 percent and scored just 34 points in the second half.

“We weren’t very good offensively all night,” Johnson said. “At the same time, you come on the road and the Nuggets only score 75, you would sure hope that you can win that game.”

Outside of Devin Harris and Erick Dampier, the rest of the Mavs shot 21 of 73 (29 percent) from the floor. Dirk Nowitzki returned from his one-game bout with food poisoning and scored 22, but was just 9 of 23. None of his teammates scored more than 13.

Why the offensive ineptitude?

“I don’t know. It’s hard to say,” Johnson said. “You go over it 50 million times, but it’s the same situations every time and we’ve been dealing with it all year. It’s kind of disappointing, but maybe we’ve just got to get burned really bad and then we’ll figure it out.”

The Nuggets (39-36) took a 73-71 lead into the final minute after an alley-oop dunk by Carmelo Anthony, who scored a game-high 23. Allen Iverson added 22. The seventh-seeded Nuggets won despite shooting just 35.5 percent from the floor

Two sequences after Anthony’s slam sealed the Mavs’ fate. Nowitzki had a turnover off a bad pass with 33.9 seconds left, and Nene rebounded a Marcus Camby miss with the Nuggets up two with 12.9 remaining. The Mavs were forced to foul Anthony, and his two free throws were the final margin.

“Guys weren’t making their normal shots,” Harris said. “We had wide-open looks. That happens. Obviously, you’re not going to shoot a high percentage every game. We were right there at the end. We just made key mistakes.”

The loss was compounded by Josh Howard spraining his left ankle. He left the game in the first quarter and is questionable for tonight.

[kriD]

Coaching legend in Mavs' thoughts

Johnson, Willis praise Eddie Robinson for impact on and off field

12:46 AM CDT on Saturday, April 7, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

DENVER – Avery Johnson was touched by the passing this week of legendary Grambling State football coach Eddie Robinson.

Johnson went to school at Southern University, which is in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, as is Grambling. He remembers seeing Robinson at football games and eventually got to know him.

The biggest things Johnson saw in Robinson? Discipline and loyalty.

"He wanted to develop the whole man," Johnson said. "He wanted to get a football player that can play football at Grambling, but also a man that can graduate and go on and be productive in society. I think that was awesome.

"He graduated 80 percent and you look at it now, what is it? Forty? Fifty? That's dedication.

"He was Grambling for 50 years and [with] one woman for 50 years; that's pretty impressive."

Kevin Willis said he watched a lot of Robinson's career and said there's not a better example of a credit to not only coaches everywhere, but all African-Americans.

"What he stood for, and how he helped so many young black men redirect their lives and give them a chance in life to be successful, was tremendous," Willis said. "Anytime you have a coach like that who sends 200 guys to the NFL and 80 percent of those guys graduated college, that's huge.

"He was a father figure to a lot of them. Thousands of guys that have come out of that program and didn't go to the professional ranks, they had a direction and a reason to want to be successful from his mentorship."

Johnson, by the way, gave the assembled media members before Friday's game a little current events lesson when he opened up the session by asking what the biggest non-NBA story in sports is this week.

One person mentioned the Masters. Another said Billy Gillispie's jilting of the Aggies. One even trotted out Liverpool beating Arsenal in English soccer. Go figure.

Johnson had to set the record straight.

"You don't realize how big some guys are in sports until they pass away," he said. "He was just an awesome man, awesome individual. And for me to be in the SWAC for two or three years ... I knew a lot of guys who played football and basketball. And the guys I knew who played football for him just loved him. And he was a drill sergeant."

Just like Johnson.

Another vote for Nowitzki: Denver coach George Karl, like most others, has been very impressed with the Mavericks' regular season and Dirk Nowitzki's evolution into a legitimate MVP candidate.

But he added a caveat.

"I joke all the time that the regular season is like spring training," he said. "They're a great team. Their power to me is they're the most versatile, they have the most depth and I think they have the most personalities that can beat you.

'They can beat you many, many different ways with many, many different faces. And that's a compliment to Avery and his staff because he's not afraid to make changes. If one thing isn't working, he'll go to something else."

And as for Nowitzki's MVP talk?

"I'd probably agree with that one right now," Karl said. "I believe that should be given to the team with the best record, and it looks like they will [get it]. I don't know how many they're going to win, but they're going to put a record up there that's probably in the top five or top seven of all time."

Briefly: Willis will be in uniform for the first time tonight against Portland. He said he expects to get a brief run or two at some point during the game. ... The Mavs weren't expecting to get to Dallas until about 3:30 a.m. today, what with the time change and the late start Friday night in Denver. "We'll get to the arena as late as possible and have a brief walk-through," Johnson said.

[kriD]

Mavericks Playbook

Avery not counting on edge

By ART GARCIA
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DENVER -- Dominating a possible playoff opponent doesn't mean much once the real season rolls around.

The Mavericks had beaten potential first-round opponent Denver three times by an average of 13 points going into Friday night's game at the Pepsi Center.

"It's regular-season success," coach Avery Johnson said. "When the playoffs come, it's 0-0. It really doesn't matter. You've got to prove it in the playoffs. The Nuggets are a dangerous team. I don't think anybody in their right mind would be looking forward to playing against them."

No coach looks forward to facing Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson, let alone both on the same team. Denver went into the game seventh in the Western Conference.

Should the Mavs hold on to the top spot, they would face the No. 8 seed in the opening round. Johnson is not counting on a mental edge no matter who the Mavs face.

"There's no edge if you don't make it work," he said. "If you had success against a team in the regular season, and that carries over into the playoffs, and you can see where a team is just not mentally there, and they don't think they can win, maybe so. But I don't think so. I think the teams are too good, especially out West."

After hosting Portland tonight at American Airlines Center, the finishing home stretch features three teams the Mavs could face in the playoffs: Clippers (Monday), Jazz (Friday) and Spurs (April 15).

If the Mavs did face those three in the postseason, it would likely be in that order.

Another MVP supporter

Count Nuggets coach George Karl among those calling Dirk Nowitzki the MVP favorite.

"I would probably agree with that one right now," Karl said. "I believe that should be given to the team with the best record, and it looks like they're going to have the best record."

Karl has been impressed by the Mavs' run since an 0-4 start.

"They're definitely in a great rhythm," he said before the game. "I don't know how many they're going to win. I know they're probably thinking they're going to try to win 70, but they're going to put a record up there that's going to be in the top five, top seven, top 10 maybe [of all time]."

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls hold the record with 72 wins. They won 69 the next season, as did the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Howard turns ankle

Josh Howard, above, left the game at the 4:40 mark of the first quarter after spraining his right ankle. Avery Johnson has stressed the importance of getting healthy before the postseason.

"I'm always monitoring," he said. "You're always concerned about how your team is going into the playoffs. If you guys pull out any my quotes from last year, it's pretty much going to be the same thing.

"I'm always concerned about our mental and physical approach going into the playoffs. I just want us to be healthy in both areas. Some of it, obviously, you can't control. You can control the mental."

Briefly

Recently signed backup center Kevin Willis was inactive against Denver. He could see his first action tonight against Portland. Once the 44-year-old center does hit the floor, he'll be the second-oldest player in NBA history.

After a five-day break and a case of food poisoning, Dirk Nowitzki came out firing. He got up 10 shots in the first quarter, making four for eight points. He didn't play Tuesday at Sacramento.

The Mavs are promoting Organ Donor Awareness Month for tonight's Portland game at American Airlines Center. GOOD (Global Organization for Organ Donation) and Southwest Transplant Alliance are also part of the effort.

SPOTLIGHT | Eddie Robinson's impact

Avery Johnson opened his pregame media session by turning the tables. He asked those assembled what the biggest non-NBA story of the last couple of days was.

After going around the room with answers as diverse as Billy Gillespie leaving Texas A&M for Kentucky to the Masters to Liverpool beating Arsenal (someone really had that one), Johnson paused and asked: "What about Eddie Robinson?"

"With a guy like that you never really know what he meant to sports until they pass away," Johnson said. "That was a big. That's kind of been on me for a while now."

Johnson played basketball at Southern, a fellow SWAC member school with Grambling. Johnson admired Robinson deeply and had the privilege of knowing the legendary coach.

"Like he said, he was Grambling for 50 years and with one woman for 50 years," AJ said. "That's pretty impressive."

Robinson sent hundreds to the NFL. He helped thousands become productive members of society.

"He was somewhat of a father figure to a lot of them, and for him to take on that responsibility and to coach them and to raise those young kids was just tremendous," Kevin Willis said. "That says a lot about him as a man, his character, his purpose in life."

[MavinVA]

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

Thugs lol? Because they wear cornrows? Aside from problems with his wife i've never seen or heard of AI being arrested. Never has failed a drug tests or had any run ins with the law? And surely you can't be referring to Carmelo "I hit and run away from guys 5'9" Anthony?

No AI never gets in trouble:

He was in the midst of leading the school's basketball team to a state title the next year when he went to a Hampton bowling alley with friends on Valentine's Day 1993. A brawl broke out between Iverson's friends, all of whom were African-American, and several white teenagers.

Iverson claims that the brawl was triggered by racial slurs, and although the level of his involvement remains unclear -- he has maintained his innocence -- Iverson was alleged to have hit a woman in the head with a chair.

At 17, Iverson was convicted on a felony charge of "maiming-by-mob" and drew a 15-year prison sentence, with 10 years suspended.

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by MavinVA

No AI never gets in trouble:

He was in the midst of leading the school's basketball team to a state title the next year when he went to a Hampton bowling alley with friends on Valentine's Day 1993. A brawl broke out between Iverson's friends, all of whom were African-American, and several white teenagers.

Iverson claims that the brawl was triggered by racial slurs, and although the level of his involvement remains unclear -- he has maintained his innocence -- Iverson was alleged to have hit a woman in the head with a chair.

At 17, Iverson was convicted on a felony charge of "maiming-by-mob" and drew a 15-year prison sentence, with 10 years suspended.

It should probably be noted that he was pardoned by the Govenor and that an appeals court eventually overturned the conviction.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

It should probably be noted that he was pardoned by the Govenor and that an appeals court eventually overturned the conviction.

...because not doing so would be racist.

[rabbitproof]

I didn't get to see the game ( ) and while it was an atypical Denver type of game, it's disturbing to see Dallas fall to the styles and likes of Phoenix, GSW and now Denver lately.

We can see how teams, who have the flexibility, will want to play us, right?

[Mavs Rule]

Dirk looked strong after a decent offensive first quarter, but the defense is where he shined ever so briefly. He blocked Melo on the helpside after George gambled for a steal. He also took a rare charge on the baseline. I was thinking, "man, did he recover fast from his food poisoning or what!" I guess he couldn't maintain that energy for long.

Devean George was so disappointing, not being able to hit one of many wide open shots. Buck couldn't dribble to save his life. If he can't dribble, and he can't hit an open shot, and he make defensive mistakes often, what good is he? Both he and George have a knack of only hitting shots in games where everyone else is hitting, never when we really need a basket from one of them.

Devin Harris continues to impress. I feel that he and Josh are going to be two of the major cogs in this playoff push. Their momentum going in has them peaking at the right time.

Damp is money. His hand-eye is so much better now that he and Popeye have been drilling on it. He is tipping the ball out when out of rebound range, playing very smart. He will be there when we need him in the playoffs. I think he will make his mark in many people's minds this post-season.

[StackAttack]

Damp's a beast.

Devean George's inability to hit anything that's not a three (and tonight he couldn't even hit that) has bothered me all season.

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

...because not doing so would be racist.

You may be able to make that case with regards to the Govenor's pardon but I doubt it played into the appeals court's decision to overturn the conviction.

[Mavs Rule]

Nevermind.