Quite a bit out there today...
Art Garcia's game recap focuses on Dirk's inspiring performance.
Shaking off a sprained ankle -- what's new there? -- Nowitzki set the tone early as the Mavs claimed No. 6 in their latest winning streak, humbling the Los Angeles Clippers 115-83 Friday night at American Airlines Center.
Nowitzki's early aggression -- six points and seven rebounds in the first quarter -- inspired everyone. Josh Howard, Devean George, Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, Devin Harris, just about everybody, followed suit.
"He's our leader," Howard said of Nowitzki. "We follow him. He's a guy we always need out on the court regardless of the situation. He's going to keep fighting and we're going to keep fighting for him."
---------------------"He's our leader," Howard said of Nowitzki. "We follow him. He's a guy we always need out on the court regardless of the situation. He's going to keep fighting and we're going to keep fighting for him."
Sefko points out that the Mavs probably won't be repeating a performance like that any time soon.
As usual, however, Johnson could find faults. The Mavericks' outrageous 3-point shooting, for instance (15-of-27), was not something he wants his team to rely on.
"We played a pretty strong game from start to finish," Johnson said. "They caught us on a hot night. We made some incredible shots. Some of those shots we made, we can't live on those shots. But at the same time, the ball moved and we had some good execution."
--------------------"We played a pretty strong game from start to finish," Johnson said. "They caught us on a hot night. We made some incredible shots. Some of those shots we made, we can't live on those shots. But at the same time, the ball moved and we had some good execution."
Sefko also has a tiny bit on Devean George. Apparently George was 5'11" when he graduated high school and didn't even get a scholarship to the D-III school he attended.
---------------------
Tim Cowlishaw has a list of the 12 most important professional athletes in Dallas. He's got Jason Terry at 10, Josh Howard at 5, and correctly places Dirk at number 1.
--------------------
Injury Update: Jerry Stackhouse will rest his ankle over this break coming up and should definitely be ready to go on Tuesday.
And fans weren't the only people thinking the worst when Dirk fell to the ground in the Seattle game.
"I was kind of thinking about that old Joe Theismann injury," said Johnson, referring to the Washington Redskins' quarterback who suffered a career-ending broken leg when tackled by Lawrence Taylor. "It just kind of went that same way."
"Even though it was an ankle, we have a lot to be thankful for with that," Johnson said. "We caught a big-time break there, because that could have been much worse than it was."
"Even though it was an ankle, we have a lot to be thankful for with that," Johnson said. "We caught a big-time break there, because that could have been much worse than it was."
 |
Down in the D-League: Even the Mavs playing in Fort Worth played out of their minds last night.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu played 32 minutes in the Flyers win. He scored 29 points on a remarkable 14-18 from the field. He just missed a double-double by getting nine rebounds, four offensive.
Maruice Ager had his best game for the Flyers as well. He had 22 points on 12 attempts, eight points from the free throw line, three assists, and four rebounds. He also attempted five threes, committed five fouls and had four turnovers.
--------------------
Around the NBA: SI.com has a blog now which means more Kelly Dwyer! He has a quarter-by-quarter look at Iverson's Nugget Debut where he 22 points and 10 assists in a loss to the Kings.
Phoenix had their 15 game winning streak snapped by Washington in overtime last night. Gilbert Arenas has 54 points in that game and Steve Nash had 42.
The Knicks won their third in a row since their fight with the Nuggets. Before you start to think that fight pulled the team together in some way, I guarantee it has a lot more to with ballhog Nate Robinson being out and Isaiah Thomas having no choice but to start his best player, David Lee.