Mavericks at Utah Jazz preview8 p.m., Delta Center, Ch. 21; ESPN-FM (103.3), KFLC-AM (1270, Spanish)09:26 PM CST on Friday, March 10, 2006By EDDIE SEFKO / Staff WriterSeries: Tied 1-1 this season; Jazz lead 78-46 all timeKey matchupANDREI KIRILENKO VS. DIRK NOWITZKISo far, the Mavericks have not been burned by one of Kirilenko's diverse, fill-up-the-box-score games like the one he had against Minnesota earlier this week when he nearly had a quadruple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, eight blocks). Dirk Nowitzki, meanwhile, has struggled this season against the Jazz, averaging 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two meetings.Inside the MavericksStill working on it: Avery Johnson's system has grown on the Mavericks, but it isn't anywhere close to fully implemented. Johnson points to the trouble with spacing on the court as a key indicator of how far his team has to go. "There's still growing pains there," he said. "Guys continue to make mistakes at not being in the right place. But we work on it, and hopefully, our spacing can come sooner than later."Briefly: Devin Harris had seven assists against Portland on Thursday. Dallas is 20-2 when he has four or more assists. ... Jason Terry's franchise record for consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer is at 42.Inside the JazzDifferent kind of race: While the Mavericks chase San Antonio for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, Utah has joined a heated race for the final playoff spots in the West. Only 5 ? games separate Memphis, New Orleans, the Lakers, Utah, Sacramento and Houston as that sextet jockey for the last three playoff spots. Utah was tied for ninth going into Friday's action.Briefly: The Colony product Deron Williams is the fourth-leading scorer among rookies at 10 points per game. ... Williams also is shooting just 39.7 percent from the field.PROBABLE STARTERSMavericks Pos. JazzDirk Nowitzki F Andrei KirilenkoJosh Howard F Mehmet OkurDeSagana Diop C Jaron CollinsAdrian Griffin G Milt PalacioJason Terry G Deron Williams http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...ap.df4e5a5.html
Nice win for the mavs but it came with a price. Harris re-aggravated his quad and Griffin aggravated his hamstring. Howard didn't play. Dirk pretty much single handedly dominated the 4th quarter. Mavs win 88-84.
