Mavericks 86 Trailblazers 74

The old Mavericks were back on display for this game. Josh Howard didn’t play but no one seemed to notice because Jet got his shooting touch back after that dismal 6 for 20 outing on Friday. He hit 12 of 19 from the field including 2 of 3, 3 pointers. He also played the most minutes with 36. The Mavs held the blazers to 12 points in the 2nd quarter while scoring 25 of their own and went into halftime with a 51 to 33 lead.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, Stackhouse still hadn’t played and the Mavs didn’t need his usual points off the bench. Mavs still had a nice lead by a 72 to 53 margin. Last Friday they only scored 71 by the end of the game. In this game, even Dirk only ended up playing around 26 minutes with such a large lead and the blazers not likely to mount a comeback with so many of their scorers injured and not playing.

A side note: even 44 year old Kevin Willis got some time. Just about a 1.5 minutes. He did get a welcome back from the refs as they blew the whistle on him twice in the short span he played.

Mavs out rebounded the blazers, 46 to 34. Blocked 7 shots to the blazers 4. Mavs shot 51% to the blazers 38%.

Odd stat: turnovers, Mavs 18 blazers 15 and blazers score 20 points while Mavs score 25.

D.Nowitzki - 11 points 4 boards
J.Terry - 29 points 2 boards
D.Harris - 18 points 2 boards 4 assists
D.Diop - 2 points 10 boards
A.Croshere - 6 points 10 boards
M.Ager - 8 points 3 boards

UP NEXT: Monday, Clippers
==========================
Spurs 112 Warriors 99

The good news for the Warriors was it’s 31 point outburst in the 1st period against the vaunted Spurs defense. The bad news, the Spurs scored 40 points against the less then vaunted warriors defense.

Warriors coach Don Nelson went to his speedy small ball offense to try and out run and wear down the Spurs. But, like the Suns before him learned, there is this guy named Duncan who changes things in the middle. Even with the 2 and at times 3 small guys guarding Duncan, there was no stopping him. When Duncan is taking up residence in the middle, your speed isn’t of much use.

Duncan’s line reads like this: 28 points, 15 rebounds (6 offensive and 9 defensive), 3 assists, 4 blocked shots in 38 minutes. Even though it won’t show up as much, Bowen was again a huge factor. In his 34 minutes, he scored only 5 points but had 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots as he disrupted the warriors offense and wouldn’t let the guards get untracked.

The Spurs played well even though they had several guys out with injuries or resting them. F.Oberto sat out as did Brent Barry and Robert Horry with their injuries.

Rebounds: Spurs 45 Warriors 34
FG % - Spurs 52% Warriors 43%
Assists - Spurs 30 Warriors 17
Blocked shots - Spurs 8 Warriors 4

T.Parker - 18 points 2 boards 7 assists
M.Ginobili - 25 points 7 boards 7 assists
F.Elson - 6 points 6 boards
M.Finley - 15 points 5 boards 4 assists

UP NEXT: Monday, Trailblazers

Rockets 112 Kings 106

T-mac is back and with his ailing back at that. You would have never known it by looking at his game stats. He shot 14 of 28 from the field and 9 of 12 from the foul line as he scored 40 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 10 assists. All in 39 minutes.

The Rockets had times when they looked great and then times when they were just awful. Not able to pass the ball into the post or even inbound it cleanly. Passes were thrown right to the defender and then just missing open shots. Hot and cold was the way they played and luckily, they got hot at the end.

Y.Ming - 18 points 6 boards
R.Alston - 9 points 6 boards 6 assists
L.Head - 18 points 5 boards
C.Hayes - 9 points 8 boards

UP NEXT: AT Sonics

Mavericks 96 Clippers 86

The Mavs clinch the league’s best record and the Western Conference’s top spot. They have home court advantage throughout the playoffs, including the NBA Finals, should they return.

D.Nowitzki - 26 points 6 boards
J.Terry - 7 points 2 boards 6 assists
J.Howard - 16 points 6 boards 4 assists
D.George - 11 points 4 boards
J.Stackhouse - 18 points
D.Harris - 14 points

UP NEXT: Wednesday AT Timberwolves
==================================
Rockets 95 Sonics 90

Is it just me or does Yao have to get fouled 3 times before he gets a call from the refs? What a beating he is taking under the basket!

With the win, the Rockets moved a half game in front of the Utah Jazz for the fourth best record in the Western Conference and home court advantage in their first-round series.

Y.Ming - 31 points 7 boards 2 blocks (10 of 19 shots)
T.McGrady - 27 points 5 boards 5 assists (10 of 24 shots)
J.Howard - 6 points 5 boards
R.Alston - 16 points 6 boards 3 assists
D.Mutombo - 1 point 10 rebounds

UP NEXT: Wednesday AT Trailblazers
==================================
Spurs 112 Trail Blazers 96

The Spurs are really ready for the playoffs when Matt Bonner has two dunks in a game. Duncan is again denied the ball with 2 and 3 guys boxing him out so Parker makes then pay with his outside shooting. The spurs look ready for the playoffs with 5 games left in the season. They shoot 59% from the field.

T.Duncan - 15 points 4 boards 4 assists
T.Parker - 30 points 5 boards 4 assists
M.Ginobili - 12 points 2 boards
B.Bowen - 10 points
J.Vaughn - 6 points 5 assists
M.Bonner - 9 points 5 boards

UP NEXT: Wednesday, Kings

Mavericks 105 Timber wolves 88

Though it meant nothing in the standings, Avery Johnson promised not to coach an “exhibition game.” Yet, Jerry Stackhouse (sore knee), Erick Dampier (strained right shoulder) and Dirk Nowitzki (sore left ankle) each had the night off and didn’t make the road trip. Just plug in guys like Austin Croshere, DeSagana Diop and Jose Barea and the Mavs will win their 30th road game of the season.

The game was close until the Mavs rained 3’s on the t-wolves. The score was tied at 63 when the 3’s started falling for the Mavs and the 3rd period ended with the wolves being out scored by a 38 to 15 margin. While the Mavs out rebounded the wolves 48 to 38, the real reason for the win was the balanced scoring and good defense.

J.Terry - 16 Points 3 boards 6 assists
J.Howard - 16 Points 3 boards
D.George - 14 Points 5 boards 3 assists
D.Diop - 10 Points 15 boards
A.Croshere - 19 Points 6 boards 4 assists
J.Barea - 13 Points 3 boards 4 assists

UP NEXT: Friday, Jazz
=====================
Rockets 99 Trail Blazers 95

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. “And yet we played an awful, awful, awful fourth quarter. “My greatest fear is we continue to make the same mistake. We get into a playoff situation (and) we do the same thing, then we’d have to live with the same regret for an entire summer, that we played the score instead of playing the game.

In the 4th, the Rockets had a 25 point lead but allowed the blazers to score 36 points and almost come back to win the game. The blazers did it with so many of their starters out of the game. The blazers were without Joel Przybilla, Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge already out for the season before Ime Udoka joined them for this game.

Yes, Yao and T-mac scored big and the rockets won but this isn’t a good sign if you are a Rockets fan. The Rockets inconsistency this late in the season is disturbing.

Y.Ming - 27 Points 12 boards
T.McGrady - 32 Points 8 boards 7 assists
R.Alston - 23 Points 7 boards

UP NEXT: SATURDAY, Hornets
===========================
Spurs 109 Kings 100

In the 4th period, Duncan was taking a breather and the Kings went up by a 84 to 80 count. Time to do all your breathing on the court, Tim. He returns, scores 13 of his 26 points as the Spurs score 30 in the final period to pull away and win. Duncan grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in his spare time. The Spurs bench also contributed as the Spurs look playoff ready. Of course this is against a team that won’t be in the playoffs this year.

T.Duncan - 26 Points 13 boards 4 assists
T.Parker - 14 Points 6 boards 8 assists
M.Ginobili - 14 Points 2 boards 6 assists
B.Bowen - 6 Points 6 boards
J.Vaughn - 11 Points 3 boards
M.Finley - 19 Points

UP NEXT: Friday AT Timber Wolves

Mavericks 89 Jazz 104

Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier sat out as the Mavs finish out their season of “practice” games. No one is saying they are just loafing out the season but lets face it, there is no reason to play all your starters a full game to wear them out or get them injured when home field advantage is guaranteed for the playoffs.

The Mavs need to get Diop and Willis some playing time before the playoffs and this is the time to do it. Other wise, the starters are just staying sharp while waiting for the real season to begin. The way the Mavs lost this game, in the paint, means Coach Johnson was correct in getting his other Big men ready. The Mavs give up 48 points in the paint and get out rebounded 50 to 26.

D.Nowitzki - 23 Points 4 boards
J.Howard - 12 Points 3 boards 3 assists
D.George - 11 Points 3 boards
D.Harris - 8 Points 8 assists
J.Barea - 16 Points 2 boards
K.Willis - 6 Points,0 boards, 3 fouls in 12 minutes.

UP NEXT: Sunday, Spurs
=====================
Spurs 110 Timber Wolves 91

If you saw Manu Ginobili after the game, you wondered if he was playing basketball or in a knife fight.  He had an 18 inch long scratch from the top of his left shoulder to his back. A shorter cut zigzagged above, forming a pattern bloody enough to make his team mates wince. Still another gash stretched across the opposite shoulder. Minnesota center Mark Blount also took Manu down hard to foul him and keep him from scoring again. Manu came in off the bench, played 22 minutes and scored 21 points while also contributing one, rebound, assist and steal. Tony Parker started but only played a few minutes, picked up two fouls and went to the bench. Coach Pop never got around to sending him back into the game.

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Spurs have now won 25 of 28 since the All-Star break. As expected, a lot of players got more minutes to insure they are playoff ready and other starters got more rest.

T.Duncan - 12 Points 10 boards in 21 min.
M.Ginobili - 21 Points
B.Barry - 13 Points 4 boards 4 assists
M.Bonner - 18 Points 6 boards
R.Horry - 11 Points 5 boards 3 assists
B.Udrih - 7 Points 5 boards

UP NEXT: Sunday AT Mavericks
===========================

ODD NOTE:

The Spurs arrived at the Target Center for their morning shoot around only to discover the arena had been evacuated because of a bomb threat.

Popovich gave the players two options:

“We can go back to the hotel,” he said. “Or we can send James White in and if the place doesn’t blow up, we can all go in.”

The Spurs took pity on their rookie guard and went back to the hotel. They held their shoot around in the hotel’s fitness club, which has a basketball court.

The Timberwolves ended up canceling their shoot around.

Rockets 123 Hornets 112

The Hornets want that eighth playoff spot so the Rockets said, pick you poison. The Hornets chose all of them and promptly killed their playoff chances. They didn’t stop Yao in the middle. They didn’t stop McGrady from driving to the hoop and they didn’t stop Alston from the outside or delivering the ball to the other shooters. The Rockets weren’t exactly hot on defense either but they didn’t have to be. It was an offensive shootout and everyone got into the act as the Rockets delivered 33 assists in the game.

Y.Ming - 30 Points 2 boards
T.McGrady - 25 Points 7 boards 10 assists
S.Battier - 14 Points 4 boards
J.Howard - 10 Points 6 boards 3 assists
R.Alston - 21 Points 2 boards 13 assists
L.Head - 15 Points 1 board 5 assists

UP NEXT: Monday, Suns

Mavericks 91 Spurs 86

According to Tony Parker, before the game, “this will be a good practice game.” According to Coach Avery Johnson, he had a plan of “not playing anyone more then 26 minutes.” All of that lasted until the ball was thrown in the air for the tip off. At that point, it was like game 8 of that 2nd round series last year.

When the game was on the line, Dirk came back in the 4th period to play the rest of 37 minutes. Howard played 37 minutes, Diop, 34 minutes, Jet played 32 and Harris 31. Tony Parker played 38 minutes of this “practice game.”

The biggest story though was Duncan getting tossed from the game in the 3rd period, with two technical fouls from Joe Crawford, while Tim was on the bench. Anyone remember Crawford from the playoffs with the Heat last year? Crawford is regarded as one of the NBA’s top officials but also has a temper. In Game 2 of the 2003 Western Conference finals between the Spurs and Dallas, he ejected former Mavericks coach Don Nelson for standing at the scorers table too long.

The veteran but thin skinned one must be rounding into playoff form where he gets lots of attention by injecting himself into the spotlight. He tossed Duncan because Crawford, took exception to Duncan’s apparent obnoxious laughter after Crawford called a foul on the Spurs’ Fabricio Oberto. At this point, I have got to say, this was one of crawfords worst games. He swallowed the whistle on so many real fouls that both teams had to adjust to those non-calls, then he would blow the whistle on an imagined foul. The replays showed that even if no one wants to admit it. Duncan and Dirk both should have gone to the line more than they did. Maybe he had worked the Mavs over enough last year that he chose the Spurs this game.  Duncan said, of Crawford, “He says, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?’ I didn’t say anything to him there, either.” Popovich wouldn’t comment on Duncan’s ejection except to say he plans to speak with the NBA.  Duncan’s only other ejection came in a Feb. 4, 2002, game against Minnesota when referee Luis Grillo sent him and Kevin Garnett to the locker room after they exchanged words. The league rescinded Duncan’s ejection the following day.

My opinion is the NBA needs to reign in calls like Crawford made. This wasn’t a playoff game but it was national TV and with the playoffs coming up, fans want to see the game played to determine the winner, not have a ref with a short fuse and thin skin decide the outcome. Crawford drew attention to himself instead of how well this game was played by two very good team who are obviously ready for the playoffs.

UP NEXT: MAVS, Tuesday AT Warriors
UP NEXT: SPURS AT Grizzlies

Rockets 120 Suns 117

If anyone thought this was just going to be a “playing out the season” game, they got a huge surprise. The Suns don’t know how to take their foot off the gas and they came out firing. The surprise was, the Rockets did too because they were playing for home field advantage in the first round. These two team weren’t saving any thing for later.

By games end, the Suns had shot a blistering 57% and scored 38 points in the 4th period to scare all the Rocket fans in the house. It was a typical Suns game where no lead is safe when they are on the court and the Rockets final, regular season, home game was no exception.

The Rockets too had their big guns on the court so the ball spent a lot of time in the air and the basket as the Rockets shot 48%, hitting 45 of 93 shots as they ended the Suns 5 game winning streak.

Y.Ming - 34 Points 9 boards
T.McGrady - 39 Points 11 boards 9 assists
S.Battier - 17 Points 2 boards
J.Howard - 7 Points 9 boards
R.Alston - 11 Points 3 boards 9 assists
L.Head - 8 Points 2 boards 3 assists

UP NEXT: Wednesday AT Jazz
==========================
Spurs 91 Grizzlies 101

Locked into the third seed in the Western Conference, the Spurs rested stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili as well as Brent Barry and Memphis, the worst team in the NBA, took advantage.  The Grizzlies, who have been eyeing Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, already are assured of finishing with the league’s worst record. With the Spurs resting their stars, they were able to reward their fans with a rare victory in their home finale.

The spurs did have 6 players score in double figures so getting the bench players some playing time worked out good for them. There will be more time for them in the next game too since the starters only need to get ready mentally and feel rested for the playoffs.

M.Bonner - 10 Points 10 boards
J.White - 17 Points 3 boards
M.Finley - 17 Points 2 boards
B.Udrih - 12 Points 2 boards 9 assists
J.Butler - 12 Points 10 boards
R.Horry - 11 Points 3 boards

UP NEXT: Wednesday, Nuggets

The NBA suspended referee Joey Crawford indefinitely on Tuesday after he ejected Tim Duncan on Sunday in the Spurs’ game against the Mavericks.

Tim Duncan got tossed from Sunday’s game for laughing on the bench.

Crawford’s suspension will at least cover the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.

“Joey Crawford’s handling of this situation failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. “Especially in light of similar prior acts by this official, a significant suspension is warranted. Although Joey is consistently rated as one of our top referees, he must be held accountable for his actions on the floor, and we will have further discussions with him following the season to be sure he understands his responsibilities.”

Crawford hit Duncan with two technical fouls just 1:16 apart late in the third quarter of San Antonio’s 91-86 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. The second came while Duncan was laughing on the bench and meant an automatic ejection, just the second of his nine-year career.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?’ “ Duncan said. “If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, ‘Do you want to fight?’ “

The Spurs sorely missed their top player against Dallas down the stretch, failing to score a basket over the last 6:32 while allowing a 9-0 run to end the game. The loss ended their hopes of catching Phoenix for the No. 2 seed and home-court advantage if they meet in the second round.

While this was a thrilling game between Western Conference powers, the story of the day turned out to be Duncan vs. Crawford.

“He came into the game with a personal vendetta against me,” said Duncan, who had 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks in his limited action. “It had to be because I didn’t do anything the entire game. I said three words to him and the three words were, ‘I got fouled’ on a shot. ... That’s all I said to him the entire game.”

Crawford disagreed, saying that “[Duncan] was complaining the whole game.”

“And then he went over to the bench and he was over there doing the same stuff behind our back,” Crawford said. “I hit him with one (technical) and he kept going over there, and I look over there and he’s still complaining. So I threw him out.”

Crawford spoke to a pool reporter before Duncan spoke to the media. Asked about Duncan not thinking he deserved to be tossed, Crawford said: “That’s his opinion. He said nothing when he was walking off the court and he called me a piece of [expletive]. Is that nothing?”

Mavericks 82 Warriors 111

The Mavericks rested Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier.  Maurice Ager poured in 20 points for the Mavericks, Jose Barea netted 13 points and grabbed 10 boards, Devin Harris added 13 points, off the bench, Devean George scored 12 in the defeat. The Mavericks Junior Varsity shot 37% from the floor while scoring 15 points in the 1st period and only 16 points in the 2nd period but they got some playing time while the starters rested and didn’t get injured.

UP NEXT: FINAL GAME IN THE REGULAR SEASON, AT Sonics

Mavericks 106 Sonics 75

This last game of the regular season was the tune up for the playoffs and the Mavericks sure look ready. They shot 53% from the floor and ended the season on a much better note then when they started the season, 82 games ago. They opened this season with a loss, in fact, 4 losses. Man, that seems a long time ago. The Mavs have a 31 and 10 road record with this win and finish overall with a 67 win, 15 loss record. They also know now they won’t have to face both San Antonio and Phoenix on the road to the Finals.

In this game, they held the Sonics to 16 points in the 1st and 4th periods and that defense with the usual offense is just about always a winning combination.

D.Nowitzki - 20 Points 5 boards 5 assists
J.Terry - 12 Points 3 boards 5 Assists
J.Howard - 15 Points 2 boards
E.Dampier - 4 Points 6 boards
D.George - 8 Points 4 boards
J.Stackhouse - 13 Points 4 assists
D.Harris - 10 Points 3 boards
D.Diop - 4 Points 4 boards
A.Croshere - 6 Points 5 boards
K.Willis - 6 Points 4 boards
============================
Rockets 91 Jazz 101

The Jazz proved their bench can beat the Rockets bench in a straight up game of bench players. McGrady and Ming didn’t play and the other starters like Battier and Alston only played part of the 1st quarter. Just enough to work up a sweat and stay sharp. With the loss, the Rockets 1st round playoff opponent gave them, the Rockets finish the regular season with a 52 win, 30 loss record and the 5th seed.

S.Battier - 2 Points
J.Howard - 20 Points 4 boards
R.Alston - Points boards assists
L.Head - 18 Points 4 boards 3 assists
C.Hayes - 6 Points 5 boards
K.Snyder - 14 Points 4 boards
J.Lucas - 10 Points 1 boards 4 assists
V.Spanoulis - 13 Points 3 assists
==================================
Sours 77 Nuggets 100

The Denver Nuggets scrimmaged the Spurs on Wednesday night then flew home, promising to return in four days when the playoffs games count for real. Both teams left their stars on the sideline in a game that looked more like an early October exhibition than the regular season finale. The teams meet again Sunday for the opener of their first round playoff series.  Bruce Bowen started, but played just four minutes, ensuring the NBA’s longest active consecutive games streak of 436 would continue into next season. The Spurs finish with a 58 win, 24 loss season.

F.Elson - 8 Points 1 boards
R.Horry - 8 Points 4 boards
M.Finley - 7 Points 2 boards
B.Udrih - 13 Points 2 boards
J.Butler - 10 Points 9 boards
J.White - 10 Points 5 boards
M.Ely - 11 points 7 boards

My final post of the season!

All three of MY Texas teams go into the playoffs and that is good news for me. I get to watch more Basketball, for a while. Of course the bad news for me is, only one of them has a chance to win the championship. I will be happy if one of them does win and very bummed if one doesn’t.

Though I won’t be commenting on the playoffs, rest assured, if any of you want to talk about the games, I will chime in on what ever thread you start.

Hope you enjoy the playoffs too!

Lufguy