<font size="+2">Mavs saving their best for last </font> <font size="+1">'Crunch-time' formula rates Dirk, Harris, Terry as NBA's clutch three </font> <font size="-1">11:53 PM CST on Monday, December 26, 2005 </font> <font size="-1">By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News </font> You've heard of things being better late than never. In the NBA, it's better late than ever. Crunch time might be an overused phrase, but how players produce late in games when the score is close is perhaps the best indicator of their value. In one semi-scientific rating, Dirk Nowitzki, Devin Harris and Jason Terry rate as the best in the NBA at performing in the final two minutes of close games and overtime periods. The NBA tracks a crunch-time statistic based on the formula of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, minus missed shots, missed free throws and turnovers. A player also gets four bonus points if his team wins. If the margin is 15 points or greater with two minutes left, only the losing team's players get crunch-time points. Based on that, Nowitzki was No. 1 with 139 crunch-time points, followed by Harris with 115 and Terry with 106 (before Monday's games). New Jersey's Vince Carter (102) and San Antonio's Tim Duncan (101) were next on the list. Those numbers were partly skewed by the fact that the Mavericks had had only four games decided by more than 15 points. But they underscored their ability to perform well in the fourth quarter, a nice habit that has manifested itself with the Mavericks getting outscored in only four of the last 12 fourth quarters and two of those were by one point and two points. "I think we've been pretty good," coach Avery Johnson said. "Our defensive ratings have been pretty good in the fourth quarter. "It's just the other quarters [that have posed problems]." The Mavericks also have scored well, a product of better ball movement, Johnson said. He cited Nowitzki's two assists in the fourth quarter against Seattle: "We couldn't get that in a game before." Added owner Mark Cuban: "This team has a lot of weapons. How you brand them doesn't matter ? whether they are a Big Five or whatever. Our guys now are being asked to do a little more. DMN
