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Nowitzki Help Mavs Past Jazz


Top Left: Kirilenko drawing contact inside on Devin Harris Top Right: Howard grabbing one of his seven boards
Bottom Left: Giricek getting the tough layup Bottom Right:Daniels didn‘t shoot well from the field tonight
Mavericks Box | Jazz Box
SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 2 (Ticker) - Nowitzki had a huge night with an outburst of 45 points, 12 rebounds and three steals as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 117-102 in the Jazz home opener. "Dirk will give us 25 to 30 points every night," Dallas' Jason Terry said. "Getting 45 was just a great effort and it was hard for Utah to contain the team when he was hot from the field." As Nowitzki goes, so go the Mavericks, who are now 2-0 on the season with Nowitzki dominating in both games. Nowitzki has been trying to drive more instead of settling for jump shots, a strategy that is getting him to the free throw line more often. "I've been being more aggressive..." Nowitzki said who ended up shooting a perfect 17-17 from the free throw line. "I have to find a way to be effective when my jumper's not going."
Jason Terry scored a season-high 20 points and added six assists, and Howard added 18 points. Marquis Daniels contributed 12 points for the Mavericks. Andrei Kirilenko’s 26 points paced the Jazz, who didn‘t have a lot of contribution out of their starters. Rookie Deron Williams and Jarron Collins added 14 points apiece off the bench. The Mavericks started the game off fast, forcing a lot of steals and even playing crack down defense to force 24 shot clock violations which you don’t see out of them very much.
In the 4th quarter, Dirk was able to get the team out early. "I thought we were the dominant team, but we couldn't pull away from them for a long time," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "Finally we started making some shots and our defense held true." The Jazz had 19 turnovers, negating their 42-for-102 field goal shooting. "They just wore us out with their fast break," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. The Mavs shot just 2-16 from downtown, but they shot 33-34 from the line which made up for the 3-pointers missed.
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Duncan, Spurs Sprint Past Cavaliers


Top Left: Tim Duncan was unstoppable against the Cavaliers Top Right: Ginobili knocking down his only three pointer of the night
Bottom Left: Lebron was held to 9-21 shooting Bottom Right:Larry Hughes was held scoreless the entire game
Cavaliers Box | Spurs Box
SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 4 (Ticker) - Tim Duncan looked like he was practicing throughout the game with no one stopping him. Duncan dominated with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks as the San Antonio Spurs raced to a convincing 110-78 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost their 15th straight visit to the Alamo City. Led by Parker, the defending champion Spurs established a tempo that simply could not be matched by the Cavaliers, who trailed by as many as 38 points as they were run out of the SBC Center. "We played with a lot of energy tonight," Duncan said. "It went my way tonight and hopefully that will continue. We're starting the year right by playing good defense and rebounding well."
Cavaliers fowards Drew Gooden and Donyell Marshall could not keep Duncan in check, who repeatedly got to the basket for easy dunks and hook shots. The finals MVP made 18-of-25 shots and also had 5 assists. "Defensively we have to come over and block some of those shots or at least make him alter his shot. That's something we can work on, but during a game you can't really focus on it too much or you'll get frustrated and it will start to affect you offensively,” Cavaliers superstar Lebron James said. "Tony Parker set the tone for us tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's been aggressive on both ends of the court. He's feeling confident in his play. He's really been a good leader. He's been calling a lot of plays and deciding what sets to be in. Tony played a smart game." Parker ended up finishing with 14 points and 10 assists.
"I was successful tonight penetrating to the basket," Parker said. "I tried to make stuff happen out there. It depends on what they give you a lot of times. In the second half, we penetrated and took advantage of what they gave us." James scored 20 points and Damon Jones added 20 off the bench for the Cavaliers, who shot 42 percent (32-of-76).
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Rockets Stung the Hornets


Top Left: JR Smith had a big night for the Hornets Top Right: Rookie Chris Paul protecting the ball
Bottom Left: McGrady overmatched JR Smith’s performance Bottom Right:Alston had another great game on offense
Hornets Box | Rockets Box
HOUSTON, Nov. 5 (Ticker) - Credit for the Houston Rockets' 2nd victory goes to none other than superstar Tracy McGrady. McGrady scored 12 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and Rafer Alston had 21 points and six assists to lead the Rockets to an 110-102 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in the Toyota Center. New Orleans were leading 64-58 at halftime, before Alston steadied the Rockets in the 3rd quarter. "They were doubling Yao and Tracy (McGrady) and we were struggling to shoot well,” coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Alston stepped up and made some big shots in the 3rd, then Tmac did what he do best which was score in the final quarter.” His teammates weren’t impressed with Alston’s three 3-pointers in the 3rd quarter that helped the Rockets regain the lead.
"We knew he had the confidence to make big buckets for the team," McGrady said. "A lot of guys just coming into the league shy away from those kind of shots when their team is down. But he didn't and he was knocking them down." It was no big deal to Alston either. "We have to be confident we're going to make those shots," he said. McGrady had his second straight big night, shooting 14-20 from the field, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range to finish with 36 points and 8 rebounds. He shot 10-of-17 against the Kings in the season opener. Coach Byron Scott was unhappy with the 3rd quarter performance by his team. "I was pretty visibly upset after the 3rd quarter," Scott said. "I just didn't think we played hard in the 3rd and I let them know it.
"You saw the results. We probably played our best half in the first half. That's the way we have to play. We're undermanned and if you come out with 70 percent effort, you won't get much done." The Hornets fell behind by 13 after the 3rd quarter and got no closer than 5 points in the final quarter. JR Smith tried to match McGrady’s performance by finishing with 35 points on 14-22 shooting, but stayed in foul trouble throughout the game.
Last edited by
-BHZMAFIA- on Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.