Mavs vs Heat

[MavKikiNYC]

I don't see LA repeating this year.

I know it's really early, but I don't see any killer mentality with this club. They're content to fall way behind and catch up, rather than playing a weaker oppoent tough from start to finish and winning by 20+.

[MavsFanFinley]

Could somebody give me a recap of the game?

I know, I know, but it's too hard to judge from some posts...Was Dirk and Raef ejected? I know Nelson was for kicking the ball.

Do I have it right? Was Finley the only one with a good game?

[MavKikiNYC]

Dirk ejected too.

[Epitome22]

<<
But young teams (and the Mavs are VERY young) don't understand that on a fundamental level. They SAY they understand it, but they still think they can turn it on at any time and win. >>



The Mavs aren't that young. Van Exel is 30,Newman is 38, Nash 28, Manning 35, Johnson 36,Griffin 28, Finley 29, Bradley 30, Wahad 27-28. etc.

The Mavs have a couple of young guys in Nowitzki and Zhi Zhi. A few guys right in their prime in Buckner, Eschmeyer,LaFrentz,Najera. A few guys near the end of their prime in Bradley, Finley, Griffin, Nash and Van Exel, and 3 guys in Manning, Johnson, and Newman getting ready for social security.

Mavs aren't old. But being young isn't an excuse anymore, cuz they aren't.

[Drbio]

I assume the Mavs looked bad tonight. The stinking cable here in Waco blacked out the game. I guess if one is going to get blacked out it might as well be a lopsided loss. Dirk got ejected? Wow, what did he do? I also would appreciate a short recap.

Doc

[MFFL]

But the core group of guys on the floor are very young in terms of playing winning NBA basketball. Finley and Nash have a couple of years, Van Exel has a few but that was a while ago, Dirk has one year, LaFrentz has zero years. We've got a lot of guys who have very little idea of the hardship involved in &quot;getting it up&quot; for every game. I don't mean young in age, per se, but young in experience.

[Bayliss]

Well, he had already fouled out before he got his second T... but it doesn't really matter.

(I'm just waiting for all the knee jerkers to come out of the woodwork and say how this was a terrible trade. And my only rebuttal to the knee jerk is: do you believe Howard and Hardaway would've helped? Howard would've stopped Mourning. **rolls eyes**....

[Rhylan]

<< And my only rebuttal to the knee jerk is: do you believe Howard and Hardaway would've helped? Howard would've stopped Mourning. **rolls eyes**.... >>



Someone on LMF actually cried out that Juwan not only had &quot;a post game&quot; but a &quot;defensive attitude.&quot; I concede the post-game comment, but still hate the flat shot. As for the defense, well, I bite my tongue.

[BASKETBALL 101]

RECAP




DALLAS (AP) Alonzo Mourning scored 10 of his 23 points during a decisive 24-5 run to start the third quarter, and the Miami Heat cruised to a 109-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.

Miami, which began the night first in the NBA in defense and last in offense, got 26 points from Eddie Jones and a season-high 19 points from reserve Chris Gatling to surpass 100 points for only the seventh time this season.

The Heat won for the fourth time in five games to continue their climb into the Eastern Conference playoff race after a 5-23 start.

Dallas, which had won six of seven, was paced by Michael Finley's 25 points. Dirk Nowitzki added 21.

The Mavericks started the night No. 1 in the league in scoring and last in team defense, but they shot only 40.7 percent from the field. Dallas had scored 100 or more points in nine of its previous 10 games.

Mavericks coach Don Nelson was ejected with 6:18 left and his team trailing by 23 when he was called for his second technical foul for drop-kicking the ball into the stands during a stoppage in play.

Nelson complained about the officiating throughout the game, and when Nowitzki was called for a technical after picking up his sixth foul, Nelson came onto the court, grabbed the ball from Mavericks guard Steve Nash and booted it into the crowd to earn his second technical in less than a minute.

The Heat shot 55.3 percent from the field, falling just short of their season high of 55.7 percent.

Miami turned a seven-point halftime edge into a decisive advantage behind the inside play of Mourning, who finished with 11 rebounds. The Heat moved out to a 79-53 lead in the opening 9:10 of the third quarter, and took an 84-63 lead into the final period.

Miami took a 55-48 halftime lead behind 66 percent shooting (25-for-38) and Gatling's 13 points.


BOTTOM LINE, WE LOST!!!

[Drbio]

B-Ball 101 - thanks for that!

2 notes:

1.) I am glad to see Nellie and Dirk blow up. It shows an attitude that has been sorely lacking over the last few years. Not the crybaby attitude, but the &quot;I-care-about-winning-damnit&quot; attitude. In the long run...this is good.

2.) We lost. This happens and as long as the team rebounds with a solid effort...no big deal.

BTW, whoever made those comments that Howard would have made a difference....hahaha...whatever...


Doc

[MavsFanFinley]

Text

[Drbio]

OOH...Nellie is hot in that pic. What set him off?

Doc

[MFFL]

New pic for my collection. Thanks MFF

[MavKikiNYC]

That boy looks a little paunchy in them double knits.

[MavsFanFinley]

Text

Oh, yeah, get that leg up Nelson. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Dirk and Nash's face's are comical too.

[MFFL]

Pretty good form for Nellie - LOL

[MavsFanFinley]

Text

Well Dirk had the right idea.

[BASKETBALL 101]

I had know Idea Nellie could left his leg that high!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

KinD of SEXY[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

[MavsFanFinley]

Here's another recap from the Dallas Morning News

Heat leaves Mavs ejected
03/03/2002

By JODIE VALADE / The Dallas Morning News

Only one thing causes the Mavericks to fret now that they are an unquestionable offensive powerhouse with a lineup of multiple All-Stars and glittery weapons.

Defense. An opponent's good one and their own.

That worry turned out to be a legitimate fear Saturday. An aggressive and stingy Miami Heat defense combined with the Mavericks' usual subpar defensive effort led to the Mavericks' first loss with their newcomers, 109-95, in front of a sold-out American Airlines Center.

A culmination of frustrations brought by the physical game earned the Mavericks back-to-back ejections: Dirk Nowitzki earned his first career one with 6:18 left, and coach Don Nelson was tossed right behind him after Nelson drop-kicked the ball into the stands in a display of anger.

But the defensive efforts – Miami's and Dallas' – should have been expected. The Heat has the league's best defense, holding opponents to an average of 88.2 points per game and 42.2 percent shooting.

&quot;That's been their calling card,&quot; Nelson said. &quot;They have a coach [Pat Riley] that really stresses it. They make you pay defensively.&quot;

The Mavericks, too, have developed a calling card defensively. They allow an NBA-worst 101.4 points per game. They have thrived merely on outscoring opponents.

This time, the Mavericks outdid even their usual efforts. Miami scored more than 100 points for only the seventh time this season, and it improved to 7-0 when hitting the century mark. The Heat also connected on a season-best 58 percent of its field goals.

Even with new potent scorers Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz, the Mavericks didn't have enough firepower in the third quarter, when they needed it most. The Mavericks didn't hit a field goal until 5:49 remained in the quarter. They connected only five times in that period. Miami outscored the Mavericks, 29-15, and pushed the Heat's lead to as much as 26 points.

Only Michael Finley connected with consistency, nailing 11-of-17 for a team-leading 25 points.

The remainder of the Mavericks' Big Three – Steve Nash (16 points) and Nowitzki (21 points) – and Wang Zhizhi (12 points) were the only others to muster double digits. A potential lineup of Nash, Finley, Van Exel, Nowitzki and LaFrentz averages a combined 98.6 points.

The Mavericks were limited in their use of that lineup, though. LaFrentz had his fourth foul by halftime, and the Mavericks had to resort to Wang to defend Alonzo Mourning and spread their offense.

None of it worked.

&quot;We still have to find a way to win even if we're not hitting our shots,&quot; Finley said.

The real downer is that the T-Wolves won tonight. Now, we're only a half game ahead of them.