Howard Propels Dirk-Less Mavs Past Clippers

Posted Mar 26, 08 4:41 AM CDT in Sports

(Newser) – In the Mavs' first game since Dirk Nowitzki was sidelined with sprains to his left knee and ankle, Josh Howard stepped up with a 32-point performance, lifting Dallas over the Clippers, 103-90. Howard started slowly before exploding in the third quarter, scoring 20 rapid points to break open a 60-58 lead into a 16-point Dallas advantage by the fourth.

Erick Dampier joined his teammate on the leader board, scoring 19 points with 17 rebounds, and keeping the Mavs in it early. The win snaps a three-game skid for Dallas, who are in a tight playoff race in the West with Golden State and Denver, the next two teams they face. The Clippers have now lost eight straight games.

National Basketball Association Game Capsules

(Sunday, December 21st)

Final Score: Atlanta 85, Detroit 78

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Mike Bibby scored a game-high 27 points and Joe Johnson added 19 points and seven assists as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Detroit Pistons, 85-78, at Philips Arena. Bibby finished 10-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-6 from three-point territory, while Al Horford turned in a strong game with 11 points and 11 boards for the Hawks, who have won two straight and five of six. Josh Smith contributed 11 points and eight rebounds and Marvin Williams had nine points and 10 boards in the win. Rasheed Wallace and Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 20 points apiece, while Richard Hamilton had 16 before being ejected with 1:14 left in the game for arguing a non-call. Allen Iverson contributed 10 points and six assists. Detroit has lost two in a row after winning the previous three.

Final Score: Boston 124, New York 105

Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Rajon Rondo scored 26 points and doled out five assists, as the Celtics tied a franchise record with their 18th consecutive victory, a 124-105 rout of the Knicks. The C's 18-game winning streak is the longest since Houston's 22-game run last season. The win also helped Boston match the best 28-game start in NBA history, equaling the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1969-70 Knicks, both of which started 26-2 en route to NBA championships. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce scored 18 and 17, respectively, for the Celtics, who will attempt to set the franchise record for consecutive wins on Tuesday against the 76ers. Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and 12 boards in the win. Quentin Richardson poured in a game-high 29 points for the Knicks, who have dropped four straight. Nate Robinson added 23 points and Chris Duhon 20 and 10 helpers in defeat.

Final Score: Dallas 97, Washington 86

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Jason Terry led the way with 25 points as Dallas cruised by Washington, 97-86, at the Verizon Center. Dirk Nowitzki picked up 23 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won four of six. Josh Howard added 17 points, Devean George picked up 10, while James Singleton pulled down a game-high 13 boards. Antawn Jamison scored 22 points with eight rebounds for the Wizards, who have dropped nine of their last 10 games. Caron Butler contributed 18 points, six boards and four assists, while Mike James had 17 points in a losing effort.

Final Score: Cleveland 102, Oklahoma City 91

Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - LeBron James scored 31 points and doled out seven assists to lead the Cavaliers past the Thunder, 102-91. Mo Williams added 20 points for Cleveland, which has won three in a row and 14 of 15 overall. Delonte West chipped in 18 points in the win. Kevin Durant poured in 26 points for the Thunder, who came back to reality after a 91-83 win over Toronto on Friday, which was the team's first win since November 29. Russell Westbrook chipped in 24 points and 11 assists in defeat.

In tailspin, Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki was a sleepy, sore loser

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki is sleeping
a little better these days. At least the best he can.

"I don’t sleep
well after games anyway, win or lose," Nowitzki said. "I always have stuff going through my mind, playing plays over, that’s how I’ve always been. After losses it’s usually worse. I’m not in a great mood when we lose."

No one was particularly upbeat during the Dallas Mavericks’ awful 2-7 start that consumed the first two spiraling weeks of a new season.

"I tried to stay positive and still have fun in the locker room with the guys, but you can sense that the atmosphere wasn’t the same," Nowitzki said. "The coaches were pretty much brand new and they were on edge more trying to find answers. We practiced longer. We watched longer films. That’s all a by-product of losing."

Eight wins in nine games later, coach Rick Carlisle limited two off-day workouts to weightlifting and film sessions after the Mavs began this seven-game homestand 2-0.

Nowitzki, 30, will take the extra rest with the improved Atlanta Hawks in town tonight. Over the past nine games, starting with the tide-turning overtime win at New York on Nov. 16 to Thursday’s wire-to-wire dusting of Phoenix, Nowitzki has averaged 38.1 minutes a game.

He’s averaged 27.8 points to lift his season average to 25.1, tied for fourth in the league with Kobe Bryant entering Friday’s games. He’s posted 11.9 rebounds, moving him to a tie for 13th in the league at 8.9.

Of the 7-footer’s seven double-doubles, six have come in the last nine games.

If the five-game losing streak, the longest in eight seasons, seemed like a two-month slog as Nowitzki says, his calling out his teammates in Los Angeles after losing to the Clippers on Nov. 9 almost seems like a different season.

"There’s no question that period was difficult for all of us, but I think particularly him," Carlisle said of his 11th-year power forward.

During the nine-game span that has dulled the thud of the 2-7 start, Nowitzki has displayed numerous double fist pumps and primal roars, his big-shot exclamations typically reserved for postseason pressure cookers.

"He hates to lose," point guard Jason Kidd said. "For him, he felt that maybe he wasn’t giving us enough points. I think it wasn’t so much the points. We just needed him to rebound maybe a little more. He felt as the leader of this team he had to do more, bring up every stat category a little bit more, and he did that."

During the rocky start, Nowitzki met several times with Carlisle behind closed doors to discuss the team’s direction, why players were uncomfortable with the offense and how to go about finding a more complementary mix.

"The last two weeks I like what we’re running," Nowitzki said. "We’re mixing it up with moving plays, pick-and-roll plays, simple stuff, and I just think we found a good mix with coach together."

The Mavs have increased their scoring to 100.2 a game, one of eight teams to average at least 100. Improvement has come at the other end, too. Dallas ranks third in field-goal percentage defense (42.6).

While this run of success has hardly been flawless, Nowitzki said it became possible through teamwork at a critical juncture when fracturing seemed not only possible, but also plausible.

"That was the major thing," Nowitzki said. "The players, one through 15, coaches, free-throw doc, whomever, I mean, if you’re losing, it’s all of us in it together."

How did they pick Dirk Nowitzki to speak for Guitar Hero?

Dirk Nowitzki sure is a cool guy, but I'm not sure GameStop and the marketing experts behind the Guitar Hero franchise did enough research before picking the Dallas Mavericks star as their spokesman.

Two weeks ago, Dirk made an official appearance at a GameStop store in Plano to promote the new Guitar Hero: World Tour.

As what looked like about 2,000 screaming fans waving camera phones pressed in, I snagged a small corner from which to interview the big German.

They tried to sneak Dirk in the back entrance, but the crowd noticed him almost immediately and went wild, and Dirk turned bright red and grinned.

After he made his way to the tiny, roped-off corner at the front of the store, he signed a few guitars and talked to a few reporters.

As I tilted my head nearly straight up into the air to talk to him (and at 6-foot-2, I don't have to do that for many interviews), I asked him whether he played a lot of video games.

"Nope."

Somewhere, a GameStop marketing executive began to experience chest pains.

Well, have you played much Guitar Hero?

"I think I've played it like one time."

(GameStop exec fumbles for the phone to dial 911.)

Have GameStop or Activision hooked you up with an early copy of World Tour?

"No, but they better!"

(Exec tumbles to the floor, vision going dark, wheezing for breath.)

What about the other guys on the team? What games do they like?

"A lot of Madden, sports games."

(Exec flatlines.)

Dirk was a heck of a good sport, though, and after posing for countless pictures, he took to a stage in the parking lot.

First he threw autographed jerseys into the crowd and then drew names for bigger prizes, and that's when he displayed a quick wit that I think most people missed.

Several weeks ago, the Mavs traded little-used guard Eddie Jones to Indiana.

During the raffle at GameStop, one of the goodies was a pair of Mavs tickets to an upcoming game against the Indiana Pacers in Dallas.

As Dirk was rummaging in the box of names, he asked out loud into his microphone, "Who's going to the game?!"

And then, almost under his breath, before announcing the actual winner, he said, "Eddie Jones is going."

I LOL'd.

After that, while the PR people said Dirk wasn't going to play a song from World Tour, he went ahead and sat down with a guitar, snatched a pair of sunglasses from one of the chubby Mavs Maniacs dancers on the side of the stage, and strummed through Nirvana's "About a Girl."

Then Dirk mingled with the crowd a bit longer, climbed into his dusty SUV (seriously, can the man get a car wash?) and slowly backed out of his parking space while trying to avoid flattening any of the dozens of fans who'd converged.

Good times.

NBA’s Top 10 Players 2008

Who are the top 10 players in the NBA today? Really? Let’s get all the bias opinions aside and really take a look at who the top 10 players are in the NBA. Forget Marc Stein and his power rankings (which he does for teams not players, but he’s still mostly wrong anyway) and forget all the stupid analysts like Charles Barkley.
1. Kobe Bryant - Need I say more? The best player in the game period. Can shoot, pass, defend, he’s clutch, he’s a winner, he’s unstoppable, stop me someone please.
2. Lebron James - Charles Barkley is right about something. The fact that Kobe Bryant is superman, but Lebron James is “tuggin on his cape”. Lebron has had a fantastic individual season this year with many more to come.
3. Tracy McGrady - when he’s healthy, and when his team gives him the ball he’s as good of a player offensively than anyone in the NBA. We don’t talk about Tmac a ton these days with all the talk about all the other guys around the league, but Tracy McGrady has put together a fantastic season. Showing yet again that’s he’s right there behind Kobe and Lebron.
4. Allen Iverson - It’s sad that the Denver Nuggets might not make the playoffs this year. But it won’t be because of the play of AI. He brings it every game of every season. The guy is fantastic.
5. Tim Duncan - I hate to say it. But yes Timmy makes number 5. I am a certified Spurts Hater all the way. But you can’t ignore the 4 championships Tim Duncan has won in his career.
6. Steve Nash - Two MVP’s says enough. Even though one of those deserved to go to Kobe Bryant. But you gotta give the little white guy his props. One of the most creative and fascinating offensive players of our time.
7. Dwayne Wade - The last couple of seasons people were trying to compare Dwade to Kobe. Now we have a little better of an idea of some of Dwayne Wade’s weaknesses now that he’s without Shaq. But, he still can dominate games and can get to the basket at will.
8. Dirk Nowitzki - A very deserving MVP winner from last season. Dirk seems to have solid seasons every single year. He’s a competitor, shoots the lights out, and has learned to play some descent defense.
9. Kevin Garnett - Many people would place him higher. I don’t. I think he’s a fantastic player. But has some obvious limitations. But overall a great competitor and will continue to do well with Pierce and Allen at his side.
10. Shaquille O’Neal - I know he’s getting old and dried up. But with 4 rings and still at an old age helping the Suns get better, you have to keep the Diesel on your top ten list. He still wins more than the other so called superstars that are not on this list.

the list top 10 players is my opinions. Is there any question? I’d like to see anyone challenge me on this subject.

Legend of Basket Ball

NBA Player 1984-1999, 2001-2003

Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 17, 1963. His parents, James and Delores Jordan, moved to Wilmington, North Carolina when he was still a toddler. Jordan has two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister.

Jordan loved to play baseball when he was a child, and also played some basketball and football. His love for basketball began when his older brother, Larry, continuously beat him in one-on-one pickup games. As with any challenge Jordan faces, this determined Michael to become a better player.

Jordan played basketball for Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ironically, Jordan was cut from the varsity team as a sophomore. Instead of giving up after failing to make the team, Jordan used it to spur himself to greater achievements, practicing hour after hour on the court. "Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I'd close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it," Jordan said, "and that usually got me going again." He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship.

Jordan accepted a basketball scholarship from the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, Jordan's ever-growing popularity began when he scored the game-winning basket in the 1982 NCAA championship game against the Georgetown Hoyas. Jordan was selected college player of the year in the 1983-84 season, and led the US Men's Basketball Team to an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics under coach Bobby Knight.

Jordan left college and entered the NBA in 1984, he was selected third in the draft (First pick: Houston--Hakeem Olajuwon; second pick: Portland--Sam Bowie) by the Chicago Bulls, a team that had won only 28 games the previous season. Ironically, Jordan played in his first game as a pro against Washington on Oct. 26, 1984. Jordan became an immediate impact in the league and proved that he belonged among the elite players. He finished his rookie season as one of the top scorers in the league, averaging 28.2 points per game, was named Rookie of the Year, and also made the All-Star team. Jordan led the Bulls into the playoffs in every season, but didn't make the NBA Finals until 1991, where he led the Bulls to their first of three consecutive NBA Championships (1991, 1992, and 1993).

Jordan played in the 1992 summer Olympics with the original Dream Team, perhaps the greatest team ever assembled. It was the first time NBA players were allowed to compete in the Olympics. Michael Jordan averaged 12.7 points per game as the USA Dream Team went 6-0 to win the gold medal, Jordan's second in his career.