GAME THREAD: NBA: DALLAS (15-9) at HOUSTON (12-11)

NBA: DALLAS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NBA DALLAS 88
HOUSTON 74 2:54 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: DALLAS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NBA DALLAS 94
HOUSTON 76 1:03 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: DALLAS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NBA DALLAS 96
HOUSTON 83 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: DALLAS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DALLAS 25 13 30 28 96
HOUSTON 21 20 20 22 83 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: DAL - JOSH HOWARD 23, DIRK NOWITZKI 20, JERRY
STACKHOUSE 17
HOU - YAO MING 28, TRACY MCGRADY 12, SHANE
BATTIER 11</div>

 

NBA: DALLAS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NBA
DALLAS 96
HOUSTON 83 FINAL</div>

 

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Josh Howard and the Dallas Maverickscontinued to have the Houston Rockets' number.


Howard scored 14 of his 23 points in the first half and DirkNowitzki added 20 as the Mavericks posted a 96-83 victory overthe Rockets on Saturday.


Jerry Stackhouse scored just 17 points off the bench for theMavericks, who had five players score in double figures and shot50 percent (36-of-71) from the floor.


Howard shot 9-of-18 from the field and Nowitzki added eightassists for Dallas, which beat Houston for the 10th time in thelast 11 meetings between the clubs.


The Mavericks beat the Rockets in their two earlier meetingsthis season. They notched a 107-98 win on November 5 in Dallasand also erased a 14-point deficit to post a 100-94 victory onNovember 21 in Houston.


Dallas held a slim 54-53 lead with 4:33 left in the third andbroke open the game with a 25-12 run to take a 79-65 lead on ajumper by Jason Terry with 8:11 to go in the fourth.

Houston, which held a 41-40 lead at halftime, trailed by doubledigits the rest of the way.


A big reason the Rockets were unable to stay competitive werethe struggles of Tracy McGrady, who suffered a sprained ankle onMonday. He scored just 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting in thisone.


Yao Ming scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for theRockets, who shot just 40 percent (31-of-76) from the floor andhave lost five of eight.

 

NBA: DALLAS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">DALLAS (96) AT HOUSTON (83)

DALLAS

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

D HARRIS G 37:03 5-7 2-2 1 1 2 7 1 5 3 14
J TERRY G 24:44 4-8 0-0 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 10
D NOWITZKI F 39:48 7-16 6-6 1 5 6 8 2 1 1 20
J HOWARD F 37:45 9-18 4-5 0 5 5 1 3 1 1 23
E DAMPIER C 28:48 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 2 2 2 0 2
J STACKHOUSE 28:24 6-13 3-3 0 3 3 1 2 2 2 17
B BASS 16:54 1-4 2-2 2 2 4 1 2 0 1 4
E JONES 14:26 2-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 4
D DIOP 10:30 1-2 0-0 3 0 3 0 2 2 2 2
J HOWARD 1:38 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 240:00 36-71 17-18 8 21 29 21 15 14 12 96
(.507) (.944) TEAM REBS: 8 TOTAL TO: 12 (0 PTS)

HOUSTON

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

S FRANCIS G 23:22 1-8 0-0 1 0 1 3 3 1 5 3
T MCGRADY G 38:02 5-18 1-2 0 5 5 3 2 0 1 12
C HAYES F 28:43 2-3 1-2 5 2 7 0 2 1 2 5
S BATTIER F 35:28 4-10 0-0 1 3 4 2 2 0 2 11
Y MING C 41:49 10-18 8-8 7 7 14 3 1 1 3 28
L HEAD 25:30 2-6 2-2 0 4 4 2 1 0 1 6
B WELLS 20:55 3-4 2-3 1 1 2 0 3 2 2 8
L SCOLA 12:03 1-4 1-2 1 0 1 1 3 1 2 3
M JAMES 5:41 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
K SNYDER 6:11 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 5
A BROOKS 2:16 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 2

TOTALS 240:00 31-76 15-19 16 24 40 16 18 7 19 83
(.408) (.789) TEAM REBS: 8 TOTAL TO: 19 (0 PTS)

DALLAS 25 13 30 28 - 96
HOUSTON 21 20 20 22 - 83

BLOCKED SHOTS: DALLAS - E JONES, J HOWARD. HOUSTON - Y MING 3, T MCGRADY.

3-PT. FIELD GOALS: DALLAS 7-15 (.467), D HARRIS 2-3, J TERRY 2-4, D NOWITZKI 0-
1, J STACKHOUSE 2-4, J HOWARD 1-3. HOUSTON 6-19 (.316), S FRANCIS 1-
3, T MCGRADY 1-6, S BATTIER 3-5, L HEAD 0-4, K SNYDER 1-1.
TECHNICAL FOULS: DALLAS - D NOWITZKI, J STACKHOUSE, D NOWITZKI.
HOUSTON - B WELLS.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DERRICK COLLINS, MARK LINDSEY, RON GARRETSON.
A - 18,307. T - 2:07.</div>

 

NBA: DALLAS at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">DALLAS (96)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
D Harris 37:03 5-7 2-2 1-2 7 1 14
J Terry 24:44 4-8 0-0 0-2 1 1 10
D Nowitzki 39:48 7-16 6-6 1-6 8 2 20
J Howard 37:45 9-18 4-5 0-5 1 3 23
E Dampier 28:48 1-1 0-0 1-2 2 2 2
J Stackhouse 28:24 6-13 3-3 0-3 1 2 17
B Bass 16:54 1-4 2-2 2-4 1 2 4
E Jones 14:26 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 4
D Diop 10:30 1-2 0-0 3-3 0 2 2
J Howard 1:38 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 36-71 17-18 8-29 21 15 96
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.507, FT-.944. 3-Point Goals:
7-15, .467 (D Harris 2-3, J Terry 2-4, D
Nowitzki 0-1, J Stackhouse 2-4, J Howard
1-3). Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked Shots:2 (E
Jones, J Howard). Turnovers:12 (D Harris 3, J
Stackhouse 2, D Diop 2, E Jones, J Terry, J
Howard, D Nowitzki, B Bass). Steals: 14 (D
Harris 5, J Stackhouse 2, E Dampier 2, D Diop
2, J Terry, J Howard, D Nowitzki).


HOUSTON (83)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
S Francis 23:22 1-8 0-0 1-1 3 3 3
T McGrady 38:02 5-18 1-2 0-5 3 2 12
C Hayes 28:43 2-3 1-2 5-7 0 2 5
S Battier 35:28 4-10 0-0 1-4 2 2 11
Y Ming 41:49 10-18 8-8 7-14 3 1 28
L Head 25:30 2-6 2-2 0-4 2 1 6
B Wells 20:55 3-4 2-3 1-2 0 3 8
L Scola 12:03 1-4 1-2 1-1 1 3 3
M James 5:41 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
K Snyder 6:11 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 5
A Brooks 2:16 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 31-76 15-19 16-40 16 18 83
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.408, FT-.789. 3-Point Goals:
6-19, .316 (S Francis 1-3, T McGrady 1-6, S
Battier 3-5, L Head 0-4, K Snyder 1-1). Team
Rebounds: 8. Blocked Shots:4 (Y Ming 3, T
McGrady). Turnovers:19 (S Francis 5, Y Ming
3, B Wells 2, S Battier 2, C Hayes 2, L Scola
2, T McGrady, A Brooks, L Head). Steals: 7 (B
Wells 2, S Francis, K Snyder, C Hayes, L
Scola, Y Ming).

-------------------------------------------
DALLAS 25 13 30 28 - 96
HOUSTON 21 20 20 22 - 83
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: Dallas - 3 (D Nowitzki, 8:07
1st; J Stackhouse, 2:32 4th; D Nowitzki,
10:41 4th). Houston - 1 (B Wells, 2:32 4th).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 18,307. T: 2:07.
Officials: Derrick Collins, Mark Lindsey, Ron
Garretson.</div>

 

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Dallas Mavericks want to make thing one<div class="pre">clear to the Houston Rockets and the rest of the league: They</div>don't rely soley on reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki.

Josh Howard scored 14 of his 23 points in the first half andNowitzki added 20 as the Mavericks posted a 96-83 victory overthe Rockets on Saturday.


Jerry Stackhouse scored just 17 points off the bench for theMavericks, who had five players score in double figures and shot50 percent (36-of-71) from the floor.


Nowitzki had been struggling of late, scoring just 20 points inhis previous two contests. But the Mavericks managed to beatthe Rockets for the 10th time in the last 11 meetings thanks toa great supporting cast.


"That's what we need - four, five, six guys that can get usdouble figures," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "It's notDirk and the Mavericks."


"I think that's what we've been doing the last couple of years,"Nowitzki said of the one-man show label. "We got to the Finalstwo years ago. But this league is too good to win with one ortwo guys."


"I just wanted to get guys involved, get Dirk off to a goodstart," said Dallas point guard Devin Harris, who went scorelessin the first half but netted 12 in the third quarter. "Itmakes it so much easier when the playoffs come around that fouror five guys can score."


The Mavericks beat the Rockets in their two earlier meetingsthis season. They notched a 107-98 win on November 5 in Dallasand also erased a 14-point deficit to post a 100-94 victory onNovember 21 in Houston.


Dallas held a slim 54-53 lead with 4:33 left in the third andbroke open the game with a 25-12 run to take a 79-65 lead on ajumper by Jason Terry with 8:11 to go in the fourth.

"It's a division game, a conference game," Stackhouse said."It's become somewhat of a rivalry. The games are always(close), and it's whoever hits a run at the right time."

"It is a rivalry," said Terry, who added 10 points. "It's beenthat way since I've been a Maverick. It wasn't easy all nightlong."


Houston, which held a 41-40 lead at halftime, trailed by doubledigits the rest of the way.


A big reason the Rockets were unable to stay competitive werethe struggles of Tracy McGrady, who suffered a sprained ankle onMonday. He scored just 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting in thisone and also aggravated a knee injury in the third quarter.

"That's a great ball club over there," McGrady said. "They knowwhat it takes to turn it up another notch. That's what theydid in the third quarter. I've had a knee problem for twoweeks. Tonight I banged it, and it's just one of those things."

Yao Ming scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for theRockets, who shot just 40 percent (31-of-76) from the floor andhave lost five of eight.


"They fronted me and double-teamed," Yao said. "We should notbe surprised by that. When they front me, we should have anadvantage. Our defense is not good enough. Whether it's skillor following the game plan, I think it's how much you want (toplay) defense."


"I don't think we played with the energy we needed," Rocketscoach Rick Adelman said. "They really got rolling shooting theball and their main people, once they get it going, it's reallyhard to stop them. We couldn't make a shot. We missed layups.The only one who was consistent all night was Yao."