31 pts 17 boards 8 assists Great game against Mavericks. TWolevs lost but they were preety good. Nowitzki was clutch Nowitzki had 32 points and 10 rebounds and fellow All-Star Steve Nash added 25 points and eight assists as the Dallas Mavericks rallied for a 112-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who got another dominant effort from Garnett. Nowitzki and Garnett are unquestionably two of the best players in the league and both will represent the Western Conference at the All-Star Game. But while Nowitzki is surrounded by a deep and talented roster, Garnett continues to carry the load for Minnesota, which had a season-high six-game winning streak snapped. Garnett was nearly unstoppable, with 31 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists, but had little help down the stretch as the Nowitzki and Nash took over. "Some people, some nights, efforts are bigger than others," Garnett said. "If you're a good team then supposedly you've got to prove that. Everybody here has that mindset and can go out and play at that intense level. For the most part, we did that. No one in here would ever let you know that they had a 'We're outmanned' attitude." The Mavericks scored 17 of the game's final 25 points, including 11 by Nowitzki, who made a pair of free throws and jumper to spark the burst. Nowitzki buried a 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining and forged a 104-104 tie on an alley-oop from Nash 34 seconds later. He stripped Garnett at the other end before Nash buried a runner at the foul line to give Dallas the lead with 49 seconds left. "We showed some courage down the stretch," Nowitzki said. "We made some key stops and were able to get some scores. Steve gave me the ball. I just went to work. I'm just glad it worked out for us." "He made some incredible plays for us," Nash said. "That's why he's one of the best players in the world." Garnett made a reverse layup for a 106-106 tie 10 seconds later, but Nowitzki hit a turnaround jumper over Anthony Peeler to give Dallas the lead for good with 22 seconds to go. "We were a stop away or one bucket," Saunders said. "They made some great defensive plays on us. Nowitzki and Nash hit every shot coming down the stretch. We made them beat us down the stretch and they hit shots." Raef LaFrentz and Nash each buried a pair of free throws in the final seven seconds and the Mavericks won for the fifth time in six games. Nowitzki, who will backup Garnett at the All-Star Game, and Nash combined to make 23-of-37 shots for the precise Dallas offense, which scored 21 fast-break points and committed only five turnovers. LaFrentz had 13 and a season-high 15 rebounds and fellow reserve Nick Van Exel added 15 points and seven assists as the Mavericks bench outscored its counterparts, 34-6. Minnesota's Troy Hudson scored 23 of his season-high 31 points in the second half but was held to just one 3-pointer in the final five minutes. "Whenever you can't pull out a victory, the good game that you had doesn't mean anything," he said. "It would have been great if we had won. I could have celebrated a great game, but we have another game tomorrow and I need to look forward to doing what I have to do to help the team win." Joe Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Wally Szczerbiak added 14 points for the Timberwolves, who shot 50 percent (42-of-84) from the floor. Minnesota led by as many as 11 in the third quarter, but Dallas rallied with a 19-1 run. Tempers flared midway through the burst when Nowitzki was hit in the back of the head and neck by Garnett while driving to the basket. "I've been watching some film on Dirk. I know he likes to tuck the ball behind his head and dunk," Garnett said. "I was just trying to anticipate him putting the ball behind his head and it turned into a hard foul. I wasn't trying to do it deliberately." Garnett was called for a flagrant foul and was confronted by Finley before both were given technical fouls. Minnesota responded to Dallas' run with an 18-3 spurt and had a 99-93 lead after a dunk by Garnett with 5:05 remaining.
I watched the game yesterday and today I wore my KG jersey. KG and Hudson played very well but the T'wolves just could not slip past the Mavs. Great game.
KG is just great. I wouldn't trade for any player. KG is the only big man that always gets an TRIPLE DOUBLE. I never see other players like Webber get Triple Doubles.
