Notebook: Cuban has appeal denied

[MavsFanFinley]

Notebook: Cuban has appeal denied

Dallas owner Mark Cuban was upset with a foul call on Michael Finley early in the third quarter. No surprise there. But he got to appeal his case to a high authority.

Stu Jackson, the league's vice president of basketball operations, was at American Airlines Center to give the Sixth Man Award to Antawn Jamison. Cuban stood up, pointed at Jackson and began to plead his case. Jackson kept his eyes straight ahead and didn't acknowledge Cuban.

David Moore

Najera does job in limited minutes

Forward Eduardo Najera missed his only field goal attempt and had two points, two rebounds and one assist in nine minutes. Oh, there was one other key number. The Mavericks outscored Sacramento by 14 points when Najera was on the court.

The crowd of 20,580 noticed the result. Najera was greeted with a loud ovation when he entered for his defensive work in Game 2 in Sacramento, and later by chants of "Ed-die! Ed-die!"

Chuck Carlton

Howard leads Mavs on boards

The Mavericks beat Sacramento 56-46 on the boards, as rookie Josh Howard finished with 14 rebounds in 22 minutes, tying his regular-season high. Howard had six of the Mavericks' 23 offensive rebounds.

"He was quite a factor with his athleticism," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said.

The Mavericks have 63 offensive rebounds in the series to 33 for the Kings.

Chuck Carlton

Bibby plays despite hip injury

Sacramento point guard Mike Bibby started despite a sore right hip muscle suffered in practice Friday and scored 22 points, including 15 in the first quarter.

Bibby first denied the injury's existence and offered an explanation for his difficulty getting on the team plane.

"The steps are long," he said. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

This is Bibby's first experience with a hip-flexor type injury.

"I'm not making any excuses," he said. "I am still playing. Like it says on TV, 'Win or go home.' "

Chuck Carlton

Williams knows playoff sound, fury

Little surprises Mavericks center Scott Williams after 14 NBA seasons. So when Sacramento coach Rick Adelman took exception to the defense of Eduardo Najera, the sound was familiar to Williams. He's heard it before in the playoffs and said he understands the reasoning.

"That's just Adelman trying to plant some seeds," he said. "That's the game always played in the media. You see Phil Jackson starting it up with [Houston's Jeff] Van Gundy in Los Angeles. That's all part of playoff basketball, whether it's the officials, working the league, trying to draw attention to certain situations."

Chuck Carlton

Mavs' Nash faces tough Kings defense

Steve Nash has been facing pressure, with the Kings extending their defense into the backcourt. And as the Mavericks' only true point guard, Nash averaged 42 minutes in the first two games.

"I don't think it's that big a factor," Nash said of the Kings' defensive approach. "More than anything, they're definitely double-teaming me on the pick and rolls. This time of year, I'm getting plenty of rest. I really don't think fatigue is a factor."

Chuck Carlton

Mavericks had eyes on Christie

It wasn't exactly a near miss. But the Mavericks made a mild run at acquiring Doug Christie in 2001 before he re-signed a long-term deal with the Kings.

Christie's career started out slowly, but he came of age in Toronto before he eventually landed in Sacramento.

"I had him in New York and I wanted to play him," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "But he was a turnover machine at that point. He really improved and we tried to sign him ... that's how much we respected him."

Nelson said the Mavericks got close enough in negotiations only "to probably make him some more money" from Sacramento.

Eddie Sefko

It all evens out in the end

Shawn Bradley was considering the Mavericks' poor road record this season (16-27, playoffs included) and figured there was an indication that they were due for a rough road season.

"I'd say we're bringing the law of averages back into balance," Bradley said. "Last year we were really good on the road, so ... "

Eddie Sefko

A first time for everything

When Michael Finley went to the free throw line with 8:50 to go in the first quarter in Game 3, it was his first trip there in the series. The Mavericks got up 9-0, their biggest lead to that point.

Eddie Sefko

Briefly ...

Among the sports and entertainment celebrities in the crowd: Deion Sanders, supermodel Tyra Banks and Stars forward Bill Guerin, a friend of Shawn Bradley. ... Sacramento had 11 assists to 26 turnovers, and the Mavericks scored 29 points off those turnovers. "I don't think I have ever seen my team have 11 assists and 26 turnovers," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. "It's normally the opposite." ... The 26 turnovers by Sacramento were a playoff high by a Mavericks opponent, surpassing the mark of 22. ... The Mavericks recorded a franchise playoff-high 19 steals. Four Mavericks tallied at least three, led by Josh Howard with four. ... After scoring only 19 points in the first two games, Michael Finley had 18 points in Game 3.