Mavs vs. Nuggets Gameday Thread

[Fah Q]

Give me Nash for MVP so far. The telling stat is their record. I guess I must have not given Nash credit for what the Mavs have done considering that I actually thought we would be OK if we traded him but now I've noticed how much he actually means to this team.


BTW - Dirk is my favorite player so you can't say that I'm biased.

[LRB]

Great game tonight. Glad to see us break out of our shooting slump a little, although Dirk look like Sh!t the 1st half.

I was confused because for a while I was wondering if I was at Saturday Night At the Apollo because of a couple of less than knowledgeable fans with some "colorful" Comments.


They had a Dirk, Steve, and Fin racke up on the jumbo tron. The comments, "Well Finley better win it because he's the only black man in the race."

Comments on Marcus Camby "How the hell did Camby go from starting for the Knicks to coming off the bench for the Nuggets" Please note that Camby did start the game.

Sweets about lost it when she found out Eddie was starting. Thought we were going to have to call the paramedics for a moment. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Walker may be in the lead for MVP so far , But sweets should be the favorite for MVF (Most Valuable Fan). She keep alive her streak of the Mavs winning every game that she has attened.

Now if we can just learn to play a little better on the road.

[Max Power]

Nuggets can't keep up with Mavericks
By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News
November 22, 2003

DALLAS - For a change, the Denver Nuggets got their running game going on the road. But it's hard to outrun the Dallas Mavericks.

The Nuggets played one of their better road games of the season Saturday night at the American Airlines Center. However, the Mavericks came back from a six-point halftime deficit to win 115-101.

Yes, the Nuggets had won two road games earlier this season, but they were at lowly Cleveland and Chicago. Those also were the only road games in which the Nuggets scored more than 85 points, getting 105 at Chicago and 95 at Cleveland.

Entering Saturday's game, the Nuggets were averaging just 82.5 points on the road compared to 99.8 at home. But while the Nuggets (7-6) got their fast break going Saturday, so did the Mavericks (9-4), especially in the second half.

The Mavericks outscored the Nuggets 61-41 after trailing 60-54 at halftime. A key moment was a 9-2 spurt at the start of the fourth period that extended an 86-80 lead to 95-82.

"Four our fourth game in five nights, we competed hard,’’ said Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik. "We feel good about ourselves. We feel what we didn’t do we can correct."

There were plenty of problems for the Nuggets in the second half. Dallas reserve forward Antawn Jamison had 20 of his game-best 26 points, forward Dirk Nowitzki had 16 of his 19 points and forward Antonie Walker had 14 of his 25.

Nowitzki had an uncharacteristic three points in the first half while shooting 0-for-6. But the Nuggets couldn't stop him nor much of anyone after intermission.

Carrying the Mavericks in the third period was Walker, who had 11 points. Dallas took control of the game in the period, outscoring the Nuggets 32-20.

"He had the whole package going," Dallas coach Don Nelson said of Walker, who also had 14 rebounds and six assists.

The Mavericks never trailed in the fourth. They led by as many as 15 points.

Point guard Andre Miller led the Nuggets with 22 points, but had just four in the second half. Guard Jon Barry added 20 points and forward Carmelo Anthony and guard Voshon Lenard each had 16.

"We competed really well," Anthony said. "Overall, we did a pretty good job."

Forward Ryan Bowen went to the locker room after the third period with a right shin contusion, and did not return. However, the injury was not said to be serious.

In the first half, the Nuggets initially had problems in the halfcourt game against the Mavericks' zone. But they then had success when they were able to get out on the break.

Early on, it looked as if the Mavericks might blow out the Nuggets. They moved out to several nine-point leads, the latest in the period's final minute. Denver Guard Earl Boykins was able to cut the first-period deficit to 32-25 on a jumper just before the buzzer.

The key in the first period was Mavericks point guard Steve Nash, who scored 14 of his 18 points. Nash was 4-of-4 from three-point range.

In the second period, though, Nash only got two points. That's when his counterpart, Miller, took over, scoring 11 points.
With Miller and Barry, who had nine points in the period, playing well, the Nuggets mounted a strong comeback. They outscored the Mavericks 35-22 in the period to take their 60-54 lead into the locker room at halftime.

However, Miller was held scoreless in the third period as the Nuggets again took over the game. Walker was the difference in the period.

Walker's short jumper gave the Mavericks lead for good at 79-77 with 1 minute, 56 seconds left in the period. And Walker followed with a three-pointer to put the Mavericks up 82-77 with 1:43 and get the crowd really into the game.

For the fourth game in a row, the Nuggets were without power forward Nene, who has a groin strain. Bzdelik said he is hopeful that Nene will practice Monday and play Tuesday at the Pepsi Center against Phoenix.

[Max Power]

Nuggets' fast start not enough
Miller, Barry combine for 42
By Marc J. Spears
Denver Post Sports Writer
AP / Tony Gutierrez

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony gets by the Dallas defense during the first quarter Saturday.

DALLAS - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban walked onto the floor at sold-out American Airlines Center at the end of halftime fearful of these new Nuggets. And after Denver fell 115-101 in a swift back-and-forth game Saturday night, Cuban walked off with respect for his foes and a postseason prediction.

"The Nuggets have one of the most exciting teams in the league," Cuban said. "The way they run. ... Guys on (our) bench were talking about how the Nuggets ran. We thought we ran.

"The Nuggets ran more than us. These guys are playing hard. I wouldn't be shocked if these guys make the playoffs."

Through the latter part of the third quarter, Denver challenged and often held the lead against one of the NBA's elite teams in arguably the toughest road venue while playing its fourth game in five nights. But Denver (7-6) allowed a season high in points and lost for the 13th straight time in Dallas.

The Nuggets definitely would have cherished a win against Dallas (9-4), which improved to 7-0 at home. But through this loss, Denver may have gained more confidence about how good it can be. The Nuggets also have secured wins at home over perennial powers Sacramento and reigning NBA champion San Antonio.

"We've had a lot of games the last few nights," Nuggets guard Voshon Lenard said. "I'm proud. We've been playing hard. (This game) shows our character.

"We're starting to come together."

The Mavericks entered the game averaging 98.6 points per game. Denver averaged 91.2 and had scored 94 or more points in four of the previous five games. In essence, this was the making of a sneaker scorcher.

The Mavericks jumped to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter after an Antoine Walker lay-in. But Denver showed grit by finishing the first with an 18-16 run to trim their deficit to 32-25.

The Nuggets opened the second quarter with a 19-11 run to take a 44-43 lead on a reverse layup by Andre Miller. A Miller layup at the halftime buzzer gave Denver a 60-54 advantage and left the Mavericks and their fans stunned.

"I was very displeased with the first half," Dallas coach Don Nelson said.

Denver shot 46 percent by intermission and had a combined 45 points by Miller, rookie forward Carmelo Anthony and Jon Barry.

Denver came out strong in the beginning of the third quarter, too, as two Francisco Elson free throws pushed its lead to 64-58 at the 9:22 mark. Dallas, however, responded with a 21-13 run to take the lead 79-77 following a Walker jump shot with 1:56 left in the third. The Mavericks finished the third with an 86-80 lead and cruised the rest of the way by pushing their lead to as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter.

In the second half, the Nuggets shot just 31.1 percent and received cold 6-of-29 shooting from Anthony, Miller and Lenard. As for the Mavericks, they shot 53.7 percent in the second half and received double-digit scoring from Walker (14), reserve Antawn Jamison (20) and Dirk Nowitzki (16).

"We got a little sideways offensively and defensively in certain periods of the second half," Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "I told our team that you can't beat one of the league's elite teams unless you're rock solid throughout the course of 48 minutes."

While the Nuggets couldn't compete with the Mavericks for 48 minutes, how they challenged this NBA power for much of the game has them as optimistic about their future as Cuban.

"We can get the eighth spot," said Anthony, referring to the final spot available for the playoffs in the Western Conference. "I swear we can. From what I'm seeing, we can get that."

[sike]

a nice game...good to see the Mavericks overcome a poor first half by Dirk....last year the Mavs would have had to scratch and claw just to stay even.....but this new mavericks team can have one of its stars not produce points and still beat a decent team!