- Mavericks play best game of year. Shut down Rasheed, play stout D, Harris continually getting to the rack, Dirk playing efficient (10-15 FG, 9 REB, 35 min), and Avery being able to work with a full, healthy team. Continue to beat top teams, stay healthy, and fly under the radar. I sense a quiet confidence......
Detroit's Texas Trip Begins With A Stumble
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
DALLAS -- The first leg of the toughest back-to-back set that they'll see all season wasn't as demoralizing as it looked for the Detroit Pistons.
Word eventually reached them late Wednesday that the Boston Celtics lost at home to Charlotte -- yes, Charlotte -- while the Pistons were getting drilled in North Texas.
But that was the best thing you could say about the Pistons' night: Boston had it worse. The rest of the evening was so one-sided that Detroit, after absorbing a 102-86 hammering from the Mavs, was almost eager to get to San Antonio for the second stop of this daunting two-step.
It didn't help the Pistons, playing for the first time since their home loss to the Celtics over the weekend, that Dallas flowed as freely and efficiently as it has all season, flashing speed all over the floor and pulling away with a flurry of daggers from outside. But Detroit didn't help itself with the sort of passive, lifeless performance more commonly expected on the second night of a back-to-back. Especially back-to-backs as rough as this one.
"I don't know," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said when someone suggested that his team was still suffering from some sort of Saturday night Boston hangover. "I just know that we weren't aggressive as far as taking it to the basket [and] we weren't aggressive at attacking the ball defensively at the point of screens."
Indeed. The Pistons' problems defending pick-and-rolls in the middle of the floor -- something Boston picked at in Saturday's showdown and something LeBron James more famously exploited in a certain 48-point playoff game last spring -- resulted in a third-quarter runaway for the hosts. Detroit had sliced an early 14-point deficit to five by halftime, but the Mavs gradually opened up the floor with their quickness and aggression and rained in six 3s in the third to start pulling away, including three straight back-breaking triples at the end of the quarter.
Two of those 3s came from Dirk Nowitzki, who unexpectedly encountered greater defensive resistance from Walter Herrmann than he did against the more celebrated shut-down abilities of Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. Nowitzki was 3-for-4 from the floor with 'Sheed guarding him and 5-for-5 when shadowed by McDyess, finishing with 23 points on just 15 shots to lead Dallas in scoring for the 10th successive game.
It must be said that 'Sheed was never the same after getting hit with two quick fouls, but it's likewise true that it wasn't just Nowitzki who punished the Pistons. Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris were a combined 8-for-10 on 3-pointers … and you know what kind of damage Dallas can do when Harris has his jumper going. The much-maligned Mavs thus improved to a quiet 5-0 at home against the five division leaders they've played so far: Detroit, Orlando, San Antonio, Phoenix and Portland, with only Boston to go.
Not that Nowitzki did much celebrating. He chose instead to expound upon his recent pronouncement to the local media that there's no use touting regular-season milestones for his team because "nobody's going to believe in us anyway."
"After last year," Nowitzki added for our clarification, "we know you [media] guys will keep saying we can't do it until we do it."
With five of its next six games on the road and Dallas sporting an underwhelming 7-8 record away from the American Airlines Center, Nowitzki continued: "We know we can play well at home, but the great teams find ways to win on the road. We've got to see if we can get that road kill back that we had last year. We just had that confidence walking into other arenas knowing that we can win pretty much anywhere."
Nowitzki's coach was nonetheless encouraged by this showing and the overall vibe stemming from Dallas' 12-3 response to a 12-8 start.
"I think the men are focused," Avery Johnson said. "When a team has been together and had some pretty good regular seasons, [another] season can be a long, drawn-out point in your life. … [But] now that we are into 2008, I can see in the men's eyes that they are getting a little more into it."
On the Flip side …
Knowing all about the regular-season grind himself, Chauncey Billups managed to draw some solace from the fact that the Pistons (26-9) nearly made it halfway through the schedule before this kind of night.
"We saw a lot more of these early in the season last year," Billups said.
- 1 day after the signing of Mike Ribeiro to a long term deal caused Mikey to question his role on the team, he delivers like he should.
Modano front and center in Dallas Stars' win
12:30 AM CST on Thursday, January 10, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com
CHICAGO – Dave Tippett's theory of evolution regarding Mike Modano's game received a little support Wednesday night.
The Stars center tallied three assists and helped Dallas to a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in a game that Tippett said proved how difficult it is to label Modano as a No. 1 or No. 2 center.
"Three points tonight and probably half of his time was on special teams," Tippett said, before referencing a story in The Dallas Morning News that asked what Modano's role is in light of Mike Ribeiro's new $25 million contract.
"As much as the media wants to make it out as No. 1 or No. 2, I look at it all on the same page," Tippett said. "There's certain people who do certain things that help our team win. Mike Ribeiro does things that help our team win, and Mike Modano does things that help our team win."
Wednesday's game was a perfect example of that, as Modano had just one shot on goal, struggled in the faceoff circle (2-for-9) and still came up with the three assists and was plus-2 in 22 minutes 52 seconds.
"That might be the easiest three assists of my life," Modano said after the Stars pushed their record to 25-16-4 (54 points).
Still, the 37-year-old said the team followed a tried and true formula to get the victory. Dallas dominated time of possession of the puck, had a 30-18 edge in shots on goal and got two great scoring opportunities on a third-period penalty kill with the score tied 1-1.
"You make your breaks," Modano said. "You work for your chances, and we seemed to have the puck a lot on that kill."
Modano buzzed to the net on one run during the penalty kill and almost deflected a Sergei Zubov shot in. Twenty seconds later, Stu Barnes was teeing up a shot from the right point on the same run up ice. The shot dipped down and deflected off the ice midway on its path to the goal and then started knuckling. It slipped past Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin for Barnes' fifth goal in the last nine games.
"It was sort of a squib kick," Barnes said with a laugh.
"Barnesesque," Modano joked.
Still, it was exactly what the Stars needed to start a five-game trip – and it was a dagger to the heart of a Chicago team that is in the midst of a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2).
Barnes has seen his minutes decrease recently with a move to the fourth line, but he still is one of the team's best penalty killers.
"Stu doesn't play a lot of minutes, but he plays very valuable minutes," Tippett said.
Goalie Marty Turco could be given the same praise. He didn't face a lot of shots, but he faced some good ones. He stopped Chicago's Kris Versteeg on a third-period breakaway, he gloved a big slap shot from Dustin Byfuglien in the third period, and he got credit for a save on Patrick Kane's second-period penalty shot.
"I didn't look good on that one," Turco said of Kane missing wide on an open backhand shot. "But I'll take it."
And the Stars will take the win and move on to St. Louis for tonight's game against the Blues – not trying too hard to define exactly what it is they need to win.
"We need everything," Tippett said. "We need the entire team to play well together."
- This is awesome. Nothing better to see during a big-time game than the home team going nuts with rally towels. I have written several emails to Mark Cuban about this, but to no avail. We need this in May for the AAC.
Cowboys want you to wear white
4:09 PM Wed, Jan 09, 2008 | Permalink
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips
The Cowboys are asking fans to wear white to Sunday's game at Texas Stadium.
If you're one of the first 40,000 through the gates, they'll give you a cute, white rally towel to wave. Parking lots open at 10 a.m., gates at 12:30.
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