Memphis 112 vs Dallas 92

[ducks]

see good teams sometimes lose to lesser teams

[ducks]

Memphis 112, Dallas 92
Preview - Box Score - Recap

November 27, 2005

Dallas Mavericks' Devin Harris, front, collides with Memphis Grizzlies' Antonio Burks, center, and Jake Tsakalidis, back, of Greece, after losing control of the ball during the first half Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005, in Dallas.
AP - Nov 26, 10:03 pm EST
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DALLAS (AP) -- Pau Gasol quickly put a bad game behind him with an aggressive start.

Gasol scored a season-high 36 points, added 15 rebounds and five assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies snapped the Dallas Mavericks' seven-game winning streak with a 112-92 victory Saturday night.

Damon Stoudamire added 22 points and eight assists for the Grizzlies, who've won six of eight and handed the Mavericks their first home loss. It was the Grizzlies' first win in Dallas in five years.

Gasol, who had a season-low nine points in Friday night's victory over Houston, was determined to get to the basket early and he was 5-for-8 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw line in the opening quarter.

"I was upset about last night," said Gasol, who finished one point short of matching his career high. "I didn't play at a high level and felt I let the team down. I wanted to bounce back and be aggressive from the get-go."

Memphis coach Mike Fratello said Gasol's aggressive play rubbed off on his teammates.

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"The energy that Pau brought tonight was evident," Fratello said. "His teammates played off of it superbly. He brought everyone else to another level."

The Grizzlies had lost their last nine games in Dallas. Their last road win over the Mavericks came on Nov. 8, 2000, when the franchise was based in Vancouver.

"It was a huge win for us," Memphis forward Shane Battier said. "For some of us, this was our first win in this building. It's great to come in here and beat one of the best home teams."

The loss prevented Dallas' Avery Johnson from matching the best regular-season coaching record in NBA history after 30 games. Johnson fell to 25-5 since becoming the coach near the end of last season.

Al Cervi's 26-4 mark for the Syracuse Nationals in 1949-50 remains the best 30-game coaching start in NBA regular-season history.

The Mavericks, who were led by Dirk Nowitzki's 27 points and Josh Howard's 17, began the season 5-0 at home and 9-2 overall, but were flat against the Grizzlies a night after winning at Miami.

"This was probably one of the worst games that we've had since I've been the head coach," Johnson said. "They deserved to win. They were the aggressor. They looked energized, rested and enthusiastic."

Memphis Grizzlies' Eddie Jones, center, tries to get by the defense of Dallas Mavericks' Devin Harris, left, and DeSagana Diop, right, of Senegal, during the first half Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005, in Dallas.
AP - Nov 26, 9:57 pm EST
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Nowitzki criticized his team's defense against Gasol. Dallas allowed Memphis to shoot 55 percent from the field (41-for-74) and the Grizzlies outscored the Mavericks 52-36 in the paint.

"(Gasol) is a good player but he's not that good," Nowitzki said. "We should have had an answer for him."

Howard hurt his right ankle with 2:35 left when he stepped on teammate Devin Harris' foot while guarding Stoudamire under the Memphis basket. Howard had to be helped off the floor and underwent X-rays, which were negative. Howard's status will be evaluated on Sunday.

Both teams were playing their third game in five nights, but the Grizzlies were able to maintain the momentum from Friday's win in Memphis.

Memphis took an 87-75 lead into the final quarter.

Dallas got as close as 89-83 early in the fourth quarter, but Memphis got back-to-back 3-pointers from Eddie Jones and Stoudamire for a 95-85 edge with 6:29 left.

Memphis took control with a 29-13 first-half run, converting 11 straight field goal attempts during the stretch to grab a 44-30 lead with under eight minutes to go until halftime.

The Grizzlies were in front 60-49 at the break behind Gasol's 19 points in Memphis' best scoring half of the season.

Notes

Memphis G Mike Miller missed the game after sustaining a concussion and a cut over his eye early in Friday night's game. ... The Grizzlies took a 31-27 lead after the first quarter, matching their high quarter of the season and representing the most points allowed by the Mavericks in the opening quarter this season. ... The Grizzlies shot 60 percent from the field in the opening half (21-for-35).

[mavsfan1000]

It was a back to back and Dallas put alot of effort into the Miami game. Anyways giving up 112 points isn't as bad as losing Howard for awhile. You definitely looking for the right time to kick us when we're down.

[JMarkJohns]

Josh Howard killed me in my fantasy matchup this week. Of all the week's he starts playing like an All-Star

70+ points, 25+ rebounds, solid threes, solid steals, great FG%.

Damn. Without McGrady, I lost the SF matchup BAD. I like James Jones, but unless the Suns are playing four games in a week, he shouldn't be starting. He's a solid 14-3 guy, but he had an off game this week which really put me at a disadvantage.

With the week over, hopefully Josh doesn'y miss any time.

[mavsfan1000]

Howard definitely will be missing alot of time. At least 3 weeks.

[Brutalis]

Memphis isnt a lesser team in that respect. They're a level better than the Bulls in my books.

Dallas might of got in a grove or something happend to click, and it wasnt this game. It happens.

The injury will have them playing .600 ball I think.

[JMarkJohns]

Had a friend in high school who sprained his ankle severely. It never healed. He always tweaked it.

Not sure how they fixed it, but I remember talks have a medicle breakage, then reset that broke the bone at the recurring point of weakness, then allowed it to heal properly.

Not sure if that's what happened in the end, but his nickname was "gimp" because he was always on crutches it seemed.

[mavsfan1000]

Thanks for sharing that story. I feel much better about this injury now.

[Brutalis]

^^^^^^^

I always had weak ankles. Actually sprained it trying out for UCA in Arkansas when I graduated high school.

[JMarkJohns]

Thanks for sharing that story. I feel much better about this injury now.

Hey... whatever brightens your day!

Ankles roll all the time. No biggie in most cases.

When does Stack come back? He'd help out...

[mavsfan1000]

In a couple weeks.

[boutons]

On NBA TV, they said that Mike and an asst coach had separate man-to-man, heart-to-heart talks with Pau. It sounded like the message was "you're the franchise, time to put the team on your back". Pau must have listened, had a monster game vs Mavs. Will he keep it up?

I'd love for Tim to have some of the low-block power moves that Pau has. It's not like Pau has a power body and Tim doesn't. Even wimpy Yao showed some power stuff last night vs Bulls that was super and effective and wonderful to see.

The at ude has to be "inside 5 ft, NOBODY stops me"