Dallas, UNITED STATES, May 17 (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki, the 7-footer from Germany had 30 points, 19 rebounds and a super-timely 3-pointer - one of 11 by the Mavericks - as Dallas defeated the Sacramento
Kings 112-99 in Game 7 of their conference semifinal series.
Van Exel, the Mavs' most consistent offensive
producer during the high-octane series, had 23
points and four 3-pointers. Finley added 18,
Nash had 18 points and 13 assists and Bell
chipped in 12 points.
Bradley did his part during the first three quarters, giving the Mavericks an interior defensive presence that caused the Kings problems trying to run their inside-outside game on offense. That tactic that usually worked when Sacramento had Chris Webber available, but he went down with a knee injury in Game 2 to irrevocably change the dynamic of this series.
"You lose Webber, it's like them losing Nowitzki or San Antonio losing (Tim) Duncan, but there's nothing you can do about it," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "But I still give my team a lot of credit. They truly felt we could win this series without Chris Webber."
Mike Bibby scored 25 and journeyman Jim Jackson added 24 for the Kings,
whose season ended in a disappointing Game 7 loss for the second straight
year.
Unlike last season when they had only themselves to blame for their Game 7 loss
to the Lakers in the Western finals, this time they were simply outplayed for all
but a few brief stretches.
"We had a couple of stops, hit some big shots and we were back in the game," Divac said. "But every time we did that, they made big shots and put us away."
Nash opened the fourth quarter with a 60-foot pass to Finley for a layup that upped the lead to 11. Sacramento got within five on a 22-footer by Jackson and a layup by Bibby, but the Mavericks answered instantly.
After Bibby's basket, Nash beat everyone downcourt for a breakaway layup that turned into a three-point play. Finley followed with a pair of foul shots and a 3-pointer. Suddenly, the lead was up to 13 with 7:26 left.
A flagrant foul by Bell against Divac led to a five-point possession that hushed the raucous crowd of 20,595, but that moment of doubt was brief.
Nowitzki answered with a 3-pointer that rolled around the rim, hit the backboard and dropped through, and Nash stole the ball from Divac and found Finley for a fast-break layup.
After Jackson missed underneath, Van Exel launched a 3-pointer from well behind the arc. The shot hit all net, the lead was up to 16 - and it was all but over for the Kings.
For only the second time in the series, the Mavericks held a lead at the end of the first quarter. Nowitzki shot 5-for-7 in the quarter and led the Mavericks with 10 points, while Bibby had a dreadful 12 minutes - missing all five of his shots.
Nelson was forced to go to Bradley just 3 1/2 minutes in after LaFrentz picked up two fouls, but the presence of the 7-foot-6 center was an effective deterrent against the drives to the basket that Sacramento had been successfully
making.
A 3-pointer by Finley with 7:10 left in the second quarter gave Dallas its first double-digit lead at 34-24, but Sacramento came back with a 15-0 run before Dallas closed the quarter with a 9-1 spurt run for a 48-43 halftime lead.
LaFrentz picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, but again Bradley came in and helped the Mavericks to keep playing from ahead. Running a unique set of dual 7-footer pick-and-rolls with Nowitzki and Bradley, the taller of the two hit a jump hook and then assisted on a short jumper by Bell midway through the third quarter as Dallas did not let its lead dip below six.
Bradley finished with four points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
NBA Playoff Conference Semifinals - RESULTS
New Jersey Nets - Boston Celtics 4-0
Detroit Pistons - Philadelphia 76ers 4-2
San Antonio Spurs - Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
Dallas Mavericks - Sacramento Kings 4-3
NBA Playoff Conference Finals
Detroit Pistons - New Jersey Nets
San Antonio Spurs - Dallas Mavericks
Player Statistics of Serbia-Montenegro' s Vlade Divac, Predrag Stojakovic and Zeljko Rebraca in NBA Conference Semifinals
Vlade Divac (Sacramento): Seven games, 25 minutes, 12.7 points, five rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0,43 steal, 0.57 block.
Predrag Stojakovic (Sacramento): Seven games, 43 minutes, 23.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, one steal, 0.29 block.
Zeljko Rebraca (Detroit): Two games, six minutes, 4.5 points, no rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
Kings - Mavericks 115-109 (series tied 3-3)
Stojakovic hugs teammate
Christie after the match
|
Sacramento, USA, May 15 (AP) - Doug Christie had 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal to lead the Kings to a 115-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, evening the Western Conference semifinal series 3-3. Game 7 is Saturday night in Dallas.
Nick Van Exel nearly singlehandedly put Dallas into the conference finals for only the second time, scoring 35 points on 15-for-23 shooting in 37 minutes.
He leapt high for a rebound and scored on a putback with 8:16 left for a 95-94 lead, but the Mavs then didn't make another basket for 5:05.
Peja Stojakovic had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who played their fourth game in the series without injured star Chris Webber. Divac finished with 21 points and only three rebounds. Sacramento center didn't have a rebound in the first half.
Sacramento overcame a sluggish first quarter and converted 31 of 32 free throws, including 30 straight after Christie's miss.
The Mavs remain one win away from advancing to the conference finals, while the Kings' quest for the franchise's first title in 52 years is still alive.
Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, while Michael Finley had 21 points, seven boards and four assists.
Reserves Bobby Jackson and Jim Jackson had 21 and 16 points, respectively, for the Kings.
Mavericks - Kings 93-112 (3-2)
Mavericks guard Nash is fouled
by Kings center Divac
|
Dallas, USA, May 13 (AP) - Raja Bell was the unlikely hero for the Dallas Mavericks, who usually depend on their big three.
Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley all had solid games for the Mavericks, but it was Bell who outshot the Sacramento Kings in a game-turning third quarter of a 112-93 victory Tuesday night.
Bell provided a big boost for the suddenly re-energized Mavericks with four baskets and nine of his 13 points in the third quarter. That was one more basket than Sacramento managed while being outscored 29-10 in the period.
Nash, held to just six points in the Game 4 loss,
scored 25 points. He was just 5-of-12 from the
field, but hit 15 of 16 free throws. All five
starters, plus Nick Van Exel, scored in double
figures for Dallas.
Dirk Nowitzki has 16 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high nine assists, falling just short of the first triple-double in Dallas postseason history.
Bell's 3-pointer with 8:20 left in the third period broke a 65-65 tie and put the Mavericks ahead to stay. That also started a 15-4 run he ended with a putback layup that made it 80-69 with 1:59 left.
The Kings were just 3-for-25 in the third quarter, when their 10 points were the fewest ever by a Dallas opponent in a postseason quarter. Bell was 4-of-5 in the period.
Peja Stojakovic had 19 points and seven rebounds for Sacramento, which is without star forward Chris Webber (knee injury).
Sacramento never got closer than 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Playing their third game without leading scorer Webber, who got hurt in Game 2, the Kings led 61-54 at halftime. Dallas missed 13 of its first 17 shots.
But while Dallas was struggling, Sacramento's big men were getting in foul trouble. Vlade Divac had two fouls in the first quarter, and his primary replacement, Keon Clark, had three. Both finished with five points and five fouls.
With Divac and Clark spending so many minutes out of the game, LaFrentz had five blocks. Finley and Nowitzki had three each, giving the Mavs a postseason franchise high of 11.
Kings - Mavericks 99-83 (2-2)
Nowitzki (Dallas), top, goes up
for a rebound with Stojakovic
|
Sacramento, USA, May 12 (AP) - Christie had 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Sacramento Kings calmly executed their game plan and evened their second-round series 2-2 by beating the Dallas Mavericks 99-83 on Sunday night.
With their best player on the bench,
Christie established the energy early, and
it rubbed off on his teammates. All five
Sacramento starters scored in double
figures and six players reached the mark
in all, including Webber's replacement in
the starting lineup, Hedo Turkoglu, who
had 17 points.
Vlade Divac added 16 points and nine rebounds, and the fun-loving Kings were suddenly themselves
again - smiling as they walked off the court during timeouts and patting each other on the back of the
head.
Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, who was averaging 27.6 points in the postseason, was held to 11, and was
ejected with 2:20 left for kicking a pile of towels after being whistled for a technical.
After that, the game got heated again. Bobby Jackson and Raja Bell
both were tossed with 1:14 to go after shoving each other at
midcourt.
Michael Finley and Bell each scored 16 points to lead Dallas, but the
Mavs couldn't count on the players who came through in the clutch a night
earlier.
Dallas shot just 0-for-9 from 3-point range in the first half and finished 8-of-15, a night after making 19 of 42, an NBA playoff record for attempts.
Van Exel, who scored a career playoff-high 40 Saturday night, was held scoreless through three
quarters and finished with five points on 2-for-11 shooting. He had 36 in Game 2.
Sacramento extended its big lead to 61-43 on a three-point play by Peja Stojakovic (15 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, in 40 minutes) in the third quarter. Divac also had a three-point play early in the period.
Kings - Mavericks 137-141 2OT (1-2)
Sacramento Kings Vlade Divac
is fouled by Dallas Mavericks
Raef La Frentz
|
Sacramento, USA, May 10 (AP)- In a desperate move by coach Don Nelson, who was running out of bodies because of foul trouble and injuries, Walt Williams had to play - and
he delivered. Against his first NBA team, no less.
Williams scored all 10 of his points in two overtimes as the Mavericks
defeated the Kings 141-137 Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Nick Van Exel scored 40 points off the bench and Nash had 31 to lead four Dallas players with at least
20 points.
The Mavs rallied from a 10-point
fourth-quarter deficit, then prevailed in
two back-and-forth extra periods to
beat an inspired Kings team
determined to show it could win
without star Chris Webber, who is out
for the rest of the playoffs with an
injured knee.
Dallas put up 42 shots from 3-point range, breaking the NBA playoff record by eight. The Mavs made 19 of them, falling short of Houston's 1996 mark by one. Van Exel was 6-of-12, and Nash and Michael
Finley each were 5-of-10.
Peja Stojakovic delivered the brilliant performance the Kings desperately needed, but Sacramento
couldn't convert when it counted the most.
Stojakovic scored a career playoff-high 39 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. Six other
players scored in double figures for Sacramento, with Vlade Divac finishing with 20 points and 10
rebounds. Doug Christie added 18 points, including two big 3-pointers in the first overtime.
Divac sat most of the fourth quarter with a right elbow stinger. He
wrapped it and iced it and returned to the game with 1:17 left in
regulation.
The Kings missed 12 free throws, including two by Divac with 27.6
seconds left in regulation. The Mavs went 16-of-20.
Mavericks - Kings 132-110 (1-1)
Mavericks guard Exel reacts
after making a three point shot
|
Dallas, USA, April 8 (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki made five of Dallas' 11 straight baskets in the first quarter, and Van Exel went 8-of-9 in the first half as the Mavs set or tied several
NBA playoff scoring records in a 132-110 victory, tying their second-round matchup at one game apiece.
Van Exel scored a career playoff-high of 36 in 30 minutes, and he didn't even get rolling until after the
big run of consecutive shots. He sparked a 30-7 run in the second quarter with three straight
3-pointers.
His biggest contribution, though, was inspiring his teammates to keep believing in themselves after a
lopsided loss in the opener made them 2-8 in their last 10 games against the Kings.
Dirk Nowitzki finished with 24 in 30 minutes.
Michael Finley also scored 24 and Steve
Nash had 19 as Dallas became the first
team since Houston in 1995 to top 130
points in a playoff game.
The Mavs set a first-half playoff scoring record with 83 points and were one shy of the mark for the first quarter with 44. With 113 points through three quarters, they even had a shot at the playoff record of 157 set by Boston against New York in 1990. But they scored only seven in the final 8:52.
The loss may have been extra costly for Sacramento.
All-Star forward Chris Webber, who led the Kings with 31 points
in 29 minutes, was carried to the locker room by four teammates late in the third quarter after he injured his left knee while going for a lob pass. He limped back to the bench on his own early in the fourth and didn't return. The exact nature of Webber's injury was uncertain.
Peja Stojakovic typified how the Kings deflated, going from 17 points in the first quarter to seven over the next two quarters. He sat out the fourth.
Jim Jackson was Sacramento's third-leading scorer with 12. Vlade Divac was 0-for-1 in 15 minutes (finished with two points, two rebounds and two assists) and Bibby had nine points after scoring only seven in the opener.
Mavericks - Kings 113-124 (0-1)
Mavericks Nowitzki
is fouled by Kings Divac
|
Dallas, USA, May 7 (AP) - Using baskets from all five starters to start an early 15-2 run, the Kings turned Game 1 of their second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks
into a rout. They led by 20 points early in the third quarter, then cruised to
a 124-113 victory Tuesday night.
"We knew exactly what we needed to do," said Kings center Vlade Divac,
who had 14 points in 15 minutes. "It was beautiful."
Chris Webber drove for an easy layup on the first possession and had 13 of his 24 points before the
first quarter was over. The highlight was when he faked his way past Shawn Bradley at the foul line and went in for an uncontested dunk that put Sacramento up 13.
Dallas got within six points late in the
second quarter, finally generating the
electricity expected from two of the
league's three highest-scoring teams. But
it didn't last.
The Kings were up 12 at halftime and
made it 74-54 with 8:22 left in third on a
dunk by Divac, drawing boos from a
franchise-record crowd of 20,525. Many of
them left early in the fourth quarter, already
looking ahead to Game 2 on Thursday
night.
Sacramento made 55 percent of its shots, going 9-for-21 on 3-pointers - even though Mike Bibby, who usually had huge games against the Mavs, scored only seven.
Peja Stojakovic had 26 points and nine rebounds and Bobby Jackson, the NBA's top sixth man, scored
23.
