Mavs 06-07, Live 05: 67-15: Nowitzki fuels G1 Win

[jonthefon]

Nup, Shannon, it's my encoder I think. Screws up everything time, unless I have background music from another application. I think.

[jonthefon]

------DALLAS RESTRICT GOLDEN STATE FOR EASY VICTORY------

(fourth-quarter)

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Golden State employed a double-team strategy on Dirk Nowitzki that's worked for them before.

Unfortunately, it didn't this time, and a poor 35% shooting didn't help either.

Nowitzki shrugged off the double-teams the Warriors threw at him by simply speeding up his decision-making and shot processes. And with Dallas having recently acquire a more pure shooter in Ben Gordon, he had support too.

The Mavs played suffocating D on the fast-break oriented Warriors, including just 11 points in the first quarter. before rushing home in the fourth thanks to Dirk, who got going again the fourth to push the lead beyond reach.

Nowitzki ended up with 31 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists in yet another superb performance and the other Mavs chipped in solidly. Jason Richardson top-scored for Golden Sate with 23.



Golden State boxscore
Dallas boxscore

Deng comes up with an amazing dunk with four defenders around him
Jackson throws an over-the-shoulder no-look alley-oop pass to Richardson

[jonthefon]

------DALLAS PUSH PAST NETS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN------

(fourth-quarter sim)

The Dallas Mavericks continue to beat opponents by using big quarter runs.

Dallas had solid contributions from all their starting five and useful sixth-man points by Luol Deng as they continued to run on flames in a 117-101 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Although the Nets' Big Three all had contributed, especially Richard Jefferson who had 30 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, they failed to get support from anywhere else as Dallas powered to a comfortable lead in the third.

Ben Gordon, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard continue to mould as a dangerous combination, Devin Harris continues to develop as a solid floor general NBA-wise, and DeSagana Diop showed some strength and a few post moves as the Mavs continue to develop.



Nets boxscore
Dallas boxscore

Harris leaps over Jason Kidd to slam home the missed shot


BIG SIGNING: DALLAS ADDS DANIEL GIBSON FROM FREE AGENTS TO HELP POINT GUARD POSITION

The Dallas Mavericks continue to improve, and they weren't hampered when they picked up promising rookie point guard, Daniel Gibson from free agents today.

Gibson, who had been waived after a string of poor performances, was happy to have another chance, and will be Devin Harris's back-up, strengthening the position after Jason Terry was traded earlier in the season.





Well, another game update. I'd welcome suggestions on making my team-whether I should push for a player, or trade a player to get a good draft pick, or whatever.

[Lamrock]

A great dynasty that is going under the radar. Keep this up! This is great!

At this rate, you will finish with a record of 68-14. Don't blow it in the firsy round like the real Mavs!

[3PK]

A great dynasty that is going under the radar. Keep this up! This is great!

At this rate, you will finish with a record of 68-14. Don't blow it in the firsy round like the real Mavs!

I agree keep it up jonefon this is awesome good win against the Warriors, the mighty mavs are rolling also nice pick up in Adam Gibson A.K.A Boobie, keep up the great work

[jonthefon]

------DALLAS BOUNCE SACRAMENTO COMFORTABLY

(full-sim; Arco Arena stuffed)

The Dallas Mavericks continued their hot streak with a 115-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Showing no signs of rustiness after a five-day break, the Mavs moved away in the second half led by Josh Howard who had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Ben Gordon with 22 points including 9 of 10 free throws. Solid efforts by the other starters and Luol Deng with 14 points off the bench showed the ability that Dallas is producing currently.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Kings with 25 points while ROn Artest was solid again with 26 points and 10 rebounds. However, Kevin Martin was rather disappointing with 5-of-15 shooting.

Kings boxscore
Dallas boxscore

------NOWITZKI EXPLODES, DALLAS OVERWHELM TORONTO IN SECOND HALF TO COMPLETE BIG COMEBACK-------

The Dallas Mavericks were in trouble.

TJ Ford was speeding past anybody the Mavs put on him, Chris Bosh was beastin' and Morris Peterson was shooting red-hot. And to top it off, TJ Ford had just connected on a three-pointer off a Josh Howard foul to put Toronto up by 20, and the first half hadn't even finished yet.

But somehow, the Mavs fought back in the second half and a spate of open threes led them to victory over the young but upstart Raptors side.

After opening the game with three consecutive treys and continuing on to extend the consecutive shots made to six, the Mavs were pushed back as Morris Peterson hit a series of jumpers with all sorts of players marking him, and TJ Ford started to drain shots as well. At the other end, shots started to brick off the rim, and the margin was seven at the first quarter in favour of Toronto.

It got worse for Dallas in the second as TJ Ford continued to sidestep markers and score at will. Bosh had a series of powerful dunks as the lead ballooned out to 21, despite the Dallas starters trying to keep things in control.

It was Dirk Nowitzki who suddenly punctured out the Raptors front tyre, as he started making his shots-the little fifteen-foot jumpers he'd been making all season. Although Andrea Bargnani, a fellow seven-footer played solid defence and came up with 7 blocks in the process whenever Dirk wasn't careful enough, the Mavs followed with him and pushed fiercely in the third quarter, using a series of outlet passes leading to mismatches and easy baskets. However, Ford and Peterson kept making baskets to prevent an overwhelming comeback, and the lead was six at the final change.

But there was no stopping Dallas. A couple of quick baskets knocked the lead to two, a few more possessions were traded and Ben Gordon drilled the tying jumper with still five minutes left. Dallas picked up their second wind, and suddenly started to rain threes. DeSagana Diop had a career-high eight assists as he showed his strength at the low post before the kick-out, and even managed to lob up a couple of threes in a hilarious Manute Bol impression.
"Yeah, it was fun stuff at the end, we had nothing to lose and a couple of them dropped." Diop laughed afterwards.
Although Toronto tried for the comeback, Ford wasn't able to find the range he had earlier, and missed four threes in a row as Dallas ran out winners.

Dirk Nowitzki was brilliant yet again as he made jumpers from all over the court for 48, despite a reasonable defensive effort by Bargnani. Diop had 10 points, 6 boards, 8 assists and 8 blocks in a nice statsheet-stuffing performance, and the rest of the Mavs lineup was solid, although Luol Deng was the only bench player to score any points.

Ford led the way for the Raptors with an explosive 40, but couldn't get it done late in the game, while Bosh had 20 points and 13 rebounds. Peterson ended up with 21 as he was shut down for most of the second half.

"If we could play like we did in the second half today, we should be able to beat the bigger teams like Phoenix and San Antonio." Avery Johnson said.



Toronto boxscore
Dallas boxscore

Chris Bosh dunks it hard over Dirk Nowitzki
Brilliant end-to-end fastbreak results in alley-oop to Ben Gordon

[xingzup]

^ Brilliant game against Toronto. I try to keep Diop active too.

[3PK]

Two more brilliant matches, great dynasty indeed, awesome pics, great game by Dirk against the raps and easy win vs Sacramento keep up the solid work your going great hope you threaten the Championship

[jonthefon]

------GORDON COMES UP CLUTCH IN WIN OVER PISTONS------

(fourth-quarter sim)

Dirk Nowitzki had just fouled out, the Detroit Pistons had turned a deficit into a five-point lead, and the Mavericks looked like they were going to be consigned to their first loss in six games.

Enter Ben Gordon.

The young guard stood up late after struggling for most of the game, connecting on a series of neat moves near the basket and a couple of rim-rattling dunks, and topping it off with a three with 30 seconds left to seal the deal.
"I got hot at the right moments, and the ball started dropping in the right way." Gordon said in the press conference.

Dallas had seemingly hit Detroit with a knockout blow to end the third quarter, but the Pistons came back early thanks to good shooting by Billups and Rip Hamilton, and some amazing hustling blocks by Rasheed Wallace. Nowitzki fouled out with six minutes to play after tapping Chris Webber's arm as he went up for a jump-shot, and the rest of the Mavs were left with a job to do.

No problem for Gordon. He gunned the lead back with a couple of big dunks climbing over the defence and then tied it up with two free throws. A fadeaway jumper over Hamilton gave Dallas the lead again, and then he made a twisting move over Webber to give them a nice cushion after Devin Harris had played perfect D on Billups, forcing him to shoot from a tough position. He finished things off with a three to give the Mavs the win.

Gordon ended up with 27 points, while Nowitzki had 18 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Billups led Detroit with 21 points, and were supported by Webber and Wallace who had 17 apiece while Tayshaun Prince and Hamilton both had poor shooting nights.

Dallas take on the Nets in New Jersey on Christmas Eve.



Dallas boxscore
Detroit boxscore

Deng scores off a sweet move
Ben Gordon with a big reverse on Billups
Gordon's clutch bucket

[3PK]

Dammit, Pistons lost, Great work by Gordon to come on for the fouled out nowitzki and tear a hole in the Pistons interior and exterior, awesome work by the Mavs too, keep up the great work and good luck against the Nets on New Years Eve

[3PK]

Dammit, Pistons lost, Great work by Gordon to come on for the fouled out nowitzki and tear a hole in the Pistons interior and exterior, awesome work by the Mavs too, keep up the great work and good luck against the Nets on Christman Eve

[jonthefon]

------DALLAS DESTROYED BY NETS------

(fourth-quarter sim)

The Dallas Mavericks picked up an early Christmas present, courtesy of the New Jersey Nets. Only it wasn't a good one.

The Nets dished out a thrashing to the Mavs, 113-87, their worst of the season and made all they had achieved earlier in the season look rather tame.

New Jersey won each quarter including an overwhelming third where they restricted the Mavs to just 14 points in a demoralizing loss.
"We were totally outplayed, overwhelmed, whatever. That's going to shoot us backwards." Avery Johnson said afterwards in a very short media conference.

A lot of the Mavs' struggles came from a combined 14-of-43 from Devin Harris, Ben Gordon and Josh Howard as they shot a woeful 37% from the field. Dallas' bench was ineffective and although Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, but it was nowhere near enough.

Richard Jefferson stood up for the Nets with a big game with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists while Nenad Krstic also came up strong with 18 points. Vince Carter and Jason Kidd had lazy nights.

"We need to forget this game; keep moving on. We've got a battle against the Clippers on December the 27th. The guys should sit down and enjoy Christmas for now." Johnson said.





Nets boxscore
Dallas boxscore

[jonthefon]

DALLAS EXPLODE PAST CLIPPERS

Avery Johnson set his players down and gave them a spray. Or something.

Whatever he did, it worked.

After watching a ten-point halftime lead melt away against fellow high riders the Los Angeles Clippers, a furious assault at the start of the fourth sparked by Luol Deng gave the Dallas Mavericks a 98-91 win to solidify their standing as the best team in the league...possibly.
"We're not looking forward yet. We've still got two months to go even to the All-Star break." Dirk Nowitzki said.

But it looks like Dallas has found missing pieces in its championship puzzle-two players with noticeable athleticism.

After the Clippers shot well early on the back of Corey Maggette, Dallas fought back with Nowitzki driving in hard and drawing a series of fouls on Elton Brand. With their superstar off, the Clippers lagged out a bit as Dirk settled back into his shooting rhythm without having Brand hanging all over him. Although Tim Thomas straggled with him almost as much, Nowitzki started making fadeaway jumpers with much more ease in a 28-15 second-quarter.

After the break, the Mavs let their lad slip away almost carelessly. They stopped boxing out and going after loose balls, and shot selection faltered. Led by an unlikely player in Chris Kaman, the Clippers orchestrated a big comeback on the back of several offensive rebounds and some explosive finishing by Maggette at the rim. Brand made some ridiculous blocks including an amazing block on Devin Harris on a reverse-dunk attempt. The lead reversed over to six in favour of Los Angeles.

But then, Johnson gave his team "the business", and sparked by Luol Deng who made a series of powerful dunks early on, they ran away with the contest.

Nowitzki played another superb game with 41 points and Deng, Howard and Gordon also chipping in with 14, 14 and 13 points respectively. Maggette had 27 points to lead the Clippers while Mobley scored 21.



Clippers boxscore
Dallas boxscore

Dirk with a classy post move
Dallas run the floor

[jonthefon]

DALLAS TOO GOOD FOR HOUSTON

Before the game, Jeff Van Gundy told reporters that a big showdown with interstate rivals the Dallas Mavericks could help ignite their flagging season.

Unfortunately, his players didn't hear the order.

The Mavs jumped all over the Houston Rockets in a deadly 34-12 first quarter and by the time the Rockets had found their feet, it was all over.

Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki were the instigators of the run with Howard drilling two open threes and making two And-1 plays to blow the game open. Nowitzki found it reasonably easy to shoot over both Juwon Howard and Chuck Hayes, and scored at will, which wasn't great for a Houston team relying on grinding defence and low-scoring wins. Ineffectiveness on the offensive end also hurt the Rockets with only Yao Ming providing any threat at all with some offensive rebounds via his height, as Devin Harris deliberately gave Rafer Alston good looks at the basket from the three line, and Alston responding by clanging ball after ball off the rim. Harris's confidence in Alston's misdirection resulted in him being able to help double-team Tracy McGrady, curbing what should have been a dominant night against the undersized Gordon. Gordon ended the quarter with a big fadeaway three over McGrady.

Houston recovered a little in the second as Howard and Yao started pulling down a few more offensive boards and McGrady started making a few jumpshots despite the double-team being thrown at him. However, hopes of a comeback were effectively snuffed out in the third as Dallas extended the margin to 28, and the final quarter was nothing but rubbish minutes for Dallas reserves.

"It was pretty disappointing. We would've liked to play well today, show we could still stick it with the top teams in the league, but we didn't come ready." Tracy McGrady said post-match.
"We did pretty well today, but the defensive rebounding was ordinary-they got too many second chances." Avery Johnson said.

Dirk Nowitzki continued his run at a NBA scoring champion crown with 32 points on 62.5% shooting and Josh Howard scored 28 points to complement him. Ben Gordon was consistent yet again with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

Yao Ming was by far the best player for Houston, although he was unable to get the hook shot going thanks to tight marking by DeSagana Diop. He scored 26 points mainly off putbacks and post moves. Rafer Alston shot a terrible 8-from-30 with 1 of 10 three-point shooting in his 18 while McGrady was flustered into 7-of-24 shooting in his 17 point game.

The two teams meet again in a few days, but Dallas have to face New Orleans first.



Dallas boxscore
Houston boxscore

[jonthefon]

------DALLAS PREVAIL IN OVERTIME BATTLE------

(fourth-quarter sim)

Avery Johnson was frustrated everyone tonight.

He was frustrated at the refs for making a big no-call at a critical point in the game. He was frustrated at Chris Paul who had committed the "foul". He was frustrated at his Dallas Mavericks, who had squandered a decent lead on the back of some non-existent rebounding. He was frustrated at Ben Gordon for not getting off a shot with scores tied.

Yet despite all this, the Mavericks pulled through to another win, albeit in overtime thanks to a tying three by Peja Stojakovic, as they looked re-establish themselves after the drubbing handed out by New Jersey a couple of games ago. This time it was against the lowly Hornets.

Johnson was unsmiling at the post-match press conference though.
"We should've had the game locked up after the first quarter. We played awful, awful ball in the fourth. We got lucky today, if we'd lost, I'd be angrier than I am now." Johnson fumed before storming out. He may get a reprimand for the incident.

But then again, who could blame him?

After taking a comfortable thirteen-point lead into the first break, New Orleans picked at the lead and at the last change, were seven points down. Dallas held steady despite a series of blunders, then dramatically collapsed in the final minute of the game.

After reducing the gap to three at the start of the quarter, Dallas held back and pushed the lead back up to eight. But the Hornets weren't going away, and they started making their shots. The Mavericks tried responding each time, but that wasn't going to work, especially when they were struggling to get stops at the other end. A big component was the atrocious rebounding at the defensive end, which saw Tyson Chandler and David West pull down offensive boards at will, and either reset or clean up with a few thundering jams.

Despite all this, and Avery Johnson being called a T for screaming out loudly in anger, Dallas still held a six-point lead coming into the last minute. Dallas made their free-throws at clutch time, but their open shots kept missing, leaving the game still open. With seventeen seconds left and a five-point lead still to the Mavs, DeSagana Diop gathered a defensive rebound and threw a massive outlet pass to Ben Gordon, streaking down court. The open dunk would've sealed the victory, as would the free throws if it were a foul.

But Chris Paul intervened.

As Gordon jumped for the dunk, Paul came up with a shove in the back, sending Gordon flying and the ball clanging off the rim. Surprised by the no-call, Paul grabbed the ball and threw his own full-court pass to Chandler for a dunk. Desmond Mason stole the ball from Luol Deng and the Hornets called a time-out to set a play up. A poor rotation resulted in Stojakovic drilling an open three to tie the game up. Gordon, still possibly fuming about the call, was given the ball after the time-out and failed to get a shot off.

The Mavericks were quick to reply in overtime though, and they bounced away as Gordon and Nowitzki made a series of threes to seal the win.

Gordon played possibly his best game for the Mavs since arriving from the trade with 12-of-20 and 4-of-5 three-point shooting, ending with 31 points. Dirk gave his usual input with 25 points and 9 rebounds, but his missed shots at the end of the fourth quarter nearly cost Dallas. There were dead solid contributions from the rest of the starting line-up and Luol Deng, who has proved to be great bench punch to replace Stackhouse.

Chris Paul struggled with his shot, throwing up 31 in all and making 9, but he complemented it with 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Peja top-scored with 31 points, David West scored 18 and gathered 15 boards, but it wasn't enough for the Hornets. This time at least.



Dallas boxscore
New Orleans boxscore

Dirk cleans up Chandler with a monster dunk
Gordon uses a screen to drive in and finish

[jonthefon]

DIRK EXPLODES WITH 52: DALLAS CAP OFF DECEMBER WITH NICE WIN

Thankfully for Houston fans, their team showed up to play.

Unfortunately, so did Dirk Nowitzki.

The German All-Star lit up Toyota Center with a superb outing of 52 points, matching the high he scored at the same venue a couple of seasons previous.

In a superb 22-of-33 performance which came with 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 blocks, Nowitzki showed his MVP credentials. But the Mavs only just got off the hook after an amazing shooting streak by Shane Battier nearly took away the game.

Dallas got the jump on Houston yet again, but this time stirred by their fans' boos, Houston recovered well to push the lead back to 4 at half-time thanks to some better shooting by Rafer Alston and Tracy McGrady. Nowitzki took over in the third, scoring 21 of Dallas' 32 points and that should've sealed it. But Tracy McGrady then found the form that made him such a scoring threat in Orlando. Whereas the Harris-Gordon double-team a few days ago in Dallas had intimidated him, this time he shrugged it off and started shooting-and making. Dallas held their nerve though and replied each basket with a bucket of their own. With a couple of minutes left, the margin was 12, but Shane Battier changed all of that. On three consecutive possessions, he sank threes, bringing the crowd into a wild frenzy. Each time though, it was punctured by Nowitzki. He burst through double teams, sank a three and then finished off with a three-point play after driving past Juwon Howard to finish viciously. And when the Rockets turned to free throws, the Mavericks replied suitably to win the game.

The main problem for Houston was the bench-only seven players were used all night and the total sum contribution outside the starting line-up for Houston were four points and two boards. Whereas with Dallas, their bench chipped in with 22 points, but more importantly, gave the starters rest for the crunch time.

Along with Dirk's 52, there wasn't much going around, but that didn't really matter. Devin Harris impressed again with 14 points and 7 dimes and the Mavs' two centers were strong on the boards unlike at New Orleans. T-Mac finished with 33 for the Rockets. Rafer Alston's shooting was still shoddy with 11-of-31 to finished with 25 points and Battier scored 22. The taming of Yao Ming was a big part of the victory.

Things won't get easier for Avery Johnson's troops though-a block buster three-game series against the Spurs could make or break their season.
"Almost like baseball." Johnson joked in the post-match conference. But he was deadly serious when he told reporters:
"The next three are our season. If we play well, everyone will know we're in for a shot."



Dallas boxscore
Houston boxscore

Harris alley-oops to Gordon
Dirk goes coast-to-coast with an amazing finish
Deng rises up to put back the ball

[Its_asdf]

Nice writing man, you use vocabulary in your recaps that give it that extra "zing" that make it that much more easier and fun to read.

Congrats on Dirk's 52 as well.

[Clutch]

phenomenal game by Dirk

and damn! what's Alston doing shooting 31 attempts to Yao's 5!? No wonder the Rockets lost (then again, I couldn't beat Dallas in my dynasty either with both Dirk and Stack injuried heh )

[jonthefon]

BoomDizzle, I think I abused Alston's crappy shooting ability. Basically, I had Harris selected, and when he passed it to someone reasonably close, I'd throw the double-team. Then, they'd kick it out and I'd be quick enough to contest the shot. Usually, it'd miss. And so I repeat, he keeps shooting and missing...etc. The only jumpshots he hits are mid-range ones, even if I'm following him all the way.

Thanks for both your comments though

Though I'm thinking about giving this one up. Dallas is a really easy team to play with since Dirk is so good at shooting and you can run the offense around him and the trade I made gave depth at every position, allowing me to use the bench fearlessly. I gotta figure out how to use a DBF, I want to have a go and see if I could convert the new NLSC 1.14 roster and start a new dynasty for 07-08 with a younger team with more holes.

[Clutch]

Though I'm thinking about giving this one up. Dallas is a really easy team to play with since Dirk is so good at shooting and you can run the offense around him and the trade I made gave depth at every position, allowing me to use the bench fearlessly. I gotta figure out how to use a DBF, I want to have a go and see if I could convert the new NLSC 1.14 roster and start a new dynasty for 07-08 with a younger team with more holes.

I hear ya man. If you don't feel like any team can challenge/beat you and you're just steamrolling everyone it's just not as fun

anyway, good luck with the roster conversion and your eventual new team; i'm thinking I may try the same conversion w/Andrew's latest roster but for Live '06; as far as I've followed, nobody seems to be working on one

[Lamrock]

Haven't checked this one out in a long while, but I would say that you must continue it. This is one of the best dynasties; and I really want to see the Mavericks win the title that eluded them, and possibly hit that 70 mark also. If you must, sim the rest of the regular season, but I really want to see the end of this. It is a great sleeper dynasty.

[jonthefon]

Well, I just played the second of my three straight games against the Spurs-it was painful. I didn't use Freestyle at all (usually I use it while taking it up-court) and I was twenty points up midway through the second. Would've been more if I hadn't shot 2 from 14 from the three-line, with about three-quarter of those misses open shots.

I think I'll do what you suggested, Lamrock-play maybe one game a fortnight from now on, sim the rest, play All-Star Weekend and get to the playoffs as soon as possible. Then I can get fresh on a new dynasty, which I'm not sure yet about. Maybe I'll have a hand at converting the ratings of the new rookies on the new roster patch, and add them to Seushiro's recent roster, then do the trades of the off-season.

[zmac]

Good signing with Gibson, hes gonna start scoring consistent 30pt games just you wait and see !!

Good dynasty, keep it going!!

[---]

Man, I completely forgot about checking out the dynasty section.

Your writing is great and I love the way your setting out your recaps, it makes it so easy on the eye. Looks like your season is going pretty damn smoothly, but that is too be expected with your roster. Having Dirk Nowitzki, Devin Harris, Ben Gordon, Josh Howard and Luol Deng all on the same team is absolutely disgusting. Fucking disgusting.

Keep it up man.

[jonthefon]

Yeah, after three games, I was like...shit, I ripped the Chicago Bulls off so bad.

I mean, Jet and Stack are good, but Deng and Gordon fit my needs really well.