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Tuesday Rockets Game Links

By Wes Cox

Pretty enjoyable game last night even though I don't think the Mavs played particularly well overall. There were four performances worth noting. Stackhouse had his best game of the season. Josh Howard ran all over the place. He was only credited with one steal, but he had a huge number of deflected passes.

Two people were even better. Gana Diop was an animal, and was still hustling at then of the game despite playing for 40 minutes (including the entire fourth quarter). The player of the game was obviously Jason Terry. In the final 14 minutes of the game, he scored 16 points and basically won the game for Dallas. I keep reading in game recaps this morning about Tracy McGrady having a great game, or an "MVP performance", but think about this -- Tracy McGrady played 38.4 minutes and scored 35 points on 31 FGA. Jason Terry played 38 minutes and scored 31 points on 17 FGA.

Jeff Caplan recapped the game by focusing on Jason Terry.

"Jet is really playing some good basketball for us," Johnson said. "He just had that look in his eyes, and his shot really looked good. He just gave us a huge spark."

Terry outscored the Rockets 10-0 during a stretch at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth that flipped a 75-70 deficit into an 80-75 lead.

Then he was a catalyst in a 10-2 run, capped by his assist on a Dirk Nowitzki 3-pointer for a 101-92 lead with 2:56 to go.
Sefko says last night's game set the tone for what will be a very exciting Southwest Division title race. There were 25 lead changes last night.

Mike Fishers game observations.

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After missing Barea's 25 point outburst against the Kings, I was hoping that I could catch a repeat against the Rockets. Instead I saw Barea look very hesitant to go anywhere near Yao and be about a second slow in his decision making. He's definitely still a project. A good one though.

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Injury Update: Plenty to report here.

Josh Howard says he expects to play against Golden State Thursday after rolling his ankle late in 4th quarter last night.

Bass is having an MRI on his ankle today, and is questionable for Thursday night. It doesn't sound to me like he'll be ready.
Bass said his foot "is a lot better than it was" on Sunday, when he could barely put weight on it. He still was limping badly Monday night.
Devin Harris says he will definitely play Thursday night.

According to Avery Johnson, Devean George is "not close" to returning.

And some good news on the injury front too. Erick Dampier has been cleared for full practice. That's just the first step in what will probably be a slow return.

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This Day in Mavs History
2006 Unveiled the 2005-06 Western Conference Championship banner prior to the start of the Golden State game.
Oh sweet irony...

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