[Dallas Morning News] Home floored: McGrady, Rockets take it to Mavs, 98-86

This site needs registration. So I just copy & paste the after game review here.

Some soul searching for those guys.

Home floored: McGrady, Rockets take it to Mavs, 98-86

Houston star has run of house, Mavs lose grip on home edge

12:48 AM CDT on Sunday, April 24, 2005

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

The Mavericks had just been outworked by the Houston Rockets on Saturday, and Michael Finley was trying to dig a positive kernel out of a big pile of negatives.

"If this was the NCAA Tournament," Finley said, "you'd see a grown man crying right now."

There's no time for tears, even if they might be justified after easily the Mavericks' worst performance of the brief Avery Johnson era. The Mavericks were scorched by Tracy McGrady's 34 points and were hapless offensively for long stretches in a 98-86 loss at American Airlines Center in Game 1 of a best-of-7 series. Game 2 is Monday.

The home-court advantage the Mavericks worked so hard for during the 82-game season was lost in 48 mostly lethargic minutes.

Mac attack too much for Mavs, 98-86
"It's bad timing to have one of those games," Dirk Nowitzki said. "But I don't think we're going to have two games in a row like that."

Nowitzki, in particular, can't afford a repeat performance. As great as McGrady was, Nowitzki was inadequate, and the battle of the superstars was a walkover.

But the Mavericks were guilty of a team effort in this loss. They shot 35.3 percent, including 4-for-21 (19 percent) in the fourth quarter, when any chance they had of overcoming an earlier 19-point deficit was sabotaged by their lack of execution at both ends.

"I can't remember a game where we didn't score and didn't play good defense," said Johnson, whose Mavericks won all nine home games under his watch after he took over for Don Nelson. "We couldn't control McGrady. But in the second half, Mike James was the key. He showed his playoff and championship experience."

It was James who peppered the Mavericks with eight fourth-quarter points. He finished with 16.

The Mavericks pulled within 75-71 with 9:16 to play after three free throws by Jerry Stackhouse. It was James who scored six points as the Rockets re-opened the wound to 84-73 with 5:50 left.

In the playoffs, nobody hides. Strengths and weaknesses are exposed. And the Mavericks' shortcomings were on display: They were a step slow as the Rockets shuttled the ball all over the court. And when they didn't create an open shot, McGrady made a difficult one. In the third, he had to heave a 3-point fadeaway with the shot clock set to buzz. It swished through, deflating the Mavericks.

This is not the way the Mavericks wanted to start the series. If you believe in history, the Mavericks are in trouble. They are 3-7 in playoff series when losing Game 1.

Nowitzki, fighting a smaller defender most of the night in either Ryan Bowen or McGrady, had a horrible night, missing 14 of 19 shots. He finished with more turnovers, six, than field goals, five.

Nowitzki was badgered from the start, when the Mavericks fell behind by 10 in the first quarter.

By the end, they were visibly upset, sometimes with each other. When Josh Howard, who had one of the rare strong games among the Mavericks, was shooting free throws with 2:01 to go, Nowitzki and Jason Terry had an animated yelling session from opposite ends of the court. Terry said they were confused about which defense to employ after the free throws. Nowitzki said it was more about being annoyed with the situation.

"Obviously, we're all a little frustrated," he said. "I think he wanted to double-team or something. I don't know. As a team, we have to stick together. We can't let one loss get in our heads."

But the Mavericks certainly must be thinking hard about a loss after the Rockets got little out of center Yao Ming (11 points, eight rebounds) yet won convincingly.

"It's disappointing, but it's not over by any means," Finley said. "It still takes four wins to win the series. Unfortunately, we let one go. We would have loved to have swept them. And I know they're looking forward to trying to sweep us. But that's not in the plans."

They hope.

E-mail esefko@dallasnews.

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Mavs better start to pray.

 

Rockets throw a surprise at Dirk

Bowen makes most of increase in minutes and helps stymie Nowitzki


By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News

Ryan Bowen's resume was sparse, to say the least. The 29-year-old Houston Rockets forward had played in 66 games this season, averaging 9.2 minutes.

So how did he become a key contributor Saturday? Well, a little luck and a lot of hustle.

Juwan Howard is out for the playoffs because of a viral infection in his heart, and regular starting forward Clarence Weatherspoon is perhaps a little too slow to face the quick Mavericks and didn't play Saturday. So Bowen took his five minutes of playoff experience and drew the toughest assignment of any Houston player – guarding Dirk Nowitzki.
"I was nervous, I'll admit it," Bowen said. "This was really my first time playing in the playoffs. I was definitely anxious to get out there."

And Bowen was out there. He played the third-most minutes (31) on his team and helped hold Nowitzki to 21 points on 5-of-19 shooting from the field as the Rockets beat the Mavericks, 98-86.

So is the former Iowa Hawkeye the next candidate for Defensive Player of the Year? Well, Bowen was clearly out of his element at times and probably didn't do as much damage to Nowitzki, one-on-one, as Tracy McGrady did. Still, Bowen was a key part of a slick plan.

"Coach asked me how many minutes I would take defending Dirk, and I said I'd go 40-plus," McGrady said. "But it helps to have a guy like Ryan Bowen, who is really energetic and who's going to lay it all out on the line and sacrifice. It's great to have him come in and kind of frustrate Dirk a little bit, and then I move in on him and just make things difficult for him."

Bowen was quiet statistically, with four points, three rebounds and six fouls. He admitted he had some trouble with Nowitzki.

"It's not like I was that good defensively," he said. "It was a team thing. It's nice to know when you're pressuring him that you've got Dikembe [Mutombo] or Yao [Ming] behind you, or if he's going to drive middle, you've got Tracy there. To play him one on one is impossible."

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy heartily admits that.

"We know Nowitzki missed some shots he normally would make," Van Gundy said. "We're not going to pound our chests like we have some answer for this guy. We have no answer. We're just going to try our hardest."

E-mail mheika@dallasnews.com

 

For openers, all McGrady all the time

Van Gundy sings forward's praises - for all-around dominance

11:58 PM CDT on Saturday, April 23, 2005

The two needed each other.

Tracy McGrady craved a coach and a new team to rekindle his intensity. Jeff Van Gundy was a splendid defensive coach in search of someone to lift Houston out of its offensive mediocrity.

We saw in Saturday's win over the Mavericks in Game 1 what they have meant to each other.

McGrady spoke of how Van Gundy has helped him become a complete player and made the game easier. Van Gundy wondered why his star player hasn't generated more buzz in the Most Valuable Player discussion and marveled at his level of performance and consistency over the last several months.

The Mavericks simply wondered what in the world they can do to slow McGrady down when they meet again Monday night.

"I'd put him up there with anybody for the year he's had and the impact he's had on his team," Van Gundy said. "I want him to succeed because he really has put a lot into this year, into analyzing himself and what he needs to do to go from being a great player to a great winner."

All of those attributes were on display in Game 1. It wasn't just the game-high 34 points and six assists that stood out. It was McGrady going to Van Gundy and volunteering to guard Dirk Nowitzki. It was the way he held his defensive ground, hounding the Mavericks star into one of his worst games of the season.

It was the fact that McGrady only came off the court for 1:16 of this convincing, tone-setting win.

"I'm more confident, more focused than ever," McGrady said. "I've got my team feeling the same way."

There isn't a player in the league who elevates quicker and drills more difficult shots than McGrady. Van Gundy will tell you there is no one else who can drive to his right, go up in the air and fire a cross-court pass to the open man the way McGrady does.

The Mavericks coaching staff will spend some sleepless nights before Game 2 trying to devise a way to defend the curl play the Rockets ran � and ran, and ran � to open the series.

Sometimes, McGrady would run the baseline, force his defender to bounce off two screens then pop open on the other side for a jumper. Other times, he would get to the crease, draw two defenders and swing the ball to Mike James (16 points) or Bob Sura (eight points) spotting up on the weak side.

"I don't think they knew how to defend that," McGrady said. "I'm pretty sure they're going to make some adjustments coming into Game 2 and try to stop that. It was a key for us."

Michael Finley started out on McGrady. Jerry Stackhouse took him next. Then Josh Howard. When he cut across the middle, the Mavericks had center Erick Dampier or Shawn Bradley jump out on him to try to get the ball out of his hands.

It didn't really matter. McGrady imposed his will on this game the way only a great player can. When he did find himself on a defensive switch, he put the ball on the court and blew by Nowitzki or Jason Terry or some other poor Mavericks soul for a dunk.

And defense? McGrady's commitment slipped in his final two years with Orlando.

But Van Gundy remembers when he coached in New York and McGrady played in Toronto that he was impressed with the forward's defensive skills.

When Van Gundy was an assistant with the Knicks and Don Nelson was the head coach, he always wondered what Nelson meant when he talked about giving a great offensive player his head. The Rockets coach figured that out once he got McGrady.

You don't tell McGrady what shots to take or berate him when he takes a bad one. You focus on the areas of his game � defense, rebounding and intensity � where you can make a difference.

That is what Van Gundy did. He now says McGrady can be anything he wants defensively.

"I want it so bad, man," McGrady said. "Whatever it's going to take to stop him [Nowitzki] and to stop Dallas, that is what I was willing to do."

It's hard to imagine he can do more than he did in Game 1.

But it will be mesmerizing to watch him try.

E-mail dmoore@dallasnews.com

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My words to all those Dalls experts: CRACK is bad for your brain

 

Nowitzki disappears at worst time

11:57 PM CDT on Saturday, April 23, 2005

Dirk Nowitzki has done a lot of things in his career. Score 40 points at will. Drop 3-pointers through the hoop as if he was standing right over it. Go on a rebounding tear that would make Bill Russell smile.

And then there was what he did Saturday to open this playoff season. He recorded one more turnover than he did shots made from the field.

Is that amazing for a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate, or what?

Final tally: six turnovers, five field goals.

Guess which team won?

Neither Avery Johnson nor any of his other charges would lay the blame for their disastrous 98-86 setback in Game 1 to the Rockets on their best player's absolutely abysmal performance.

Johnson said he thought his team "didn't lose this game because of anything Dirk did." Dirk scored 21 points while missing 14 of 19 shots from the field. Jason Terry pointed out that the team as a whole shot a woeful 35 percent from the field.

But Dirk knew what really hurt his team the most. And it wasn't a spectacular 34-point performance by Rockets perennial All-Star and MVP candidate Tracy McGrady, either.

"I gotta play better," Dirk said matter-of-factly. "That's the bottom line."

That's one of the things I've always liked about Dirk. He's never shied from criticizing his own play on those rare occasions � and Saturday, make no mistake, was a rare occasion � when it deserves criticism.

The Mavericks did not play well at all. They were slow out of the gate while the Rockets sprinted. They looked lethargic while the Rockets appeared energized.

But Dirk could've rescued his team if he'd played anything like we're accustomed to seeing him play. And he had plenty of opportunities.

That wasn't the Spurs' all-world defender Bruce Bowen guarding him. It was some guy named Ryan Bowen, a last minute lineup switch by Rockets veteran coach Jeff Van Gundy that shouldn't, but did, catch the Mavericks off guard.

How Bowen so effectively discombobulated Dirk was amazing. Even Van Gundy couldn't believe it.

"We have no answers for this guy," he said of Dirk afterward.

Who does? As we always say about Dirk: "We've never seen a 7-footer who can do the things he does."

This time, however, Dirk made himself disappear. Amazing.

Van Gundy decided to throw the 6-9, 220 pound Bowen at him instead of the shorter more physical Clarence Weatherspoon, who was slated to start. And somehow, it worked. Bowen dissuaded the 7-0, 245-pound scoring machine from shooting the basketball, from backing him down into the paint and from dribbling around him to the basket for easier shots.

That never should've happened, and Dirk admitted as much. He let his teammates down.

"I just didn't make them pay enough," he said. "If a 3 [small forward] is guarding me, I need to be able to work the post a little more."

He rarely did. Most often he caught the ball, and passed it away.

The other superstar on the court, McGrady, caught the ball and shot it. Not only that, but McGrady then picked up where Bowen left off, guarding Nowitzki and hounding him into more missed shots.

"I was too tense out there," Dirk allowed. "I certainly wasn't finding my stroke out there.

"It's been a long while," he said since he looked up and saw a small forward checking him. "The last couple of months, I was a lot more aggressive on the blocks ... not letting a team get away with a small [forward] on me."

Why he didn't maintain that same approach against the Rockets was baffling. I fully expected not to see Dirk after the game and instead be told by Mavericks brass that he was suffering from some flu-like symptoms and hadn't been able to keep food or liquids down the past 48 hours.

But Dirk was just fine. It was his game that was sickly.

It was a performance that was as much an aberration for Dirk in general as it is this time of year especially.

Historically, Dirk has been a player who has lifted his output in the playoffs. All of his numbers usually go up when the stakes are highest.

He's played sick. He's played hurt. He's played in need of emergency dental care. And he's come through.

That was probably why no one in the Mavericks' organization who counts on him was too disturbed about his immediate future in this series.

Chances are extremely high that the Dirk everyone has come to know and admire and be awestruck by will return starting Monday in Game 2. Only if he is AWOL then will it be time to call Nellie out of retirement and summon Dirk's shooting guru, Holger Geschwindner, from Germany.

E-mail kblackistone@dallasnews.com

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Dirk last night was pretty much like Yao... except Rockets get screwed by CUNext Tuesday Refs night in & night out

 

Mutombo comes up big in backup role

12:02 AM CDT on Sunday, April 24, 2005

From Staff Reports

With Yao Ming in foul trouble most of the game, Dikembe Mutombo had eight points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes. While the Mavericks were able to take advantage of Mutombo's lack of speed at times, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy still liked what his backup center offered.

"The difficulty for us is when we put Dikembe in, they try to go small, and that did create some problems," Van Gundy said. "But one thing Dikembe does is he does alter shots in the paint and he's a tremendous offensive rebounder. He's played as well as any reserve in the league this year. We couldn't be happier with what he's done."

Mike Heika

Playoff debuts mixed for three Mavericks

Mavericks point guards Jason Terry and Devin Harris and center Erick Dampier made their playoff debuts Saturday.


Terry finished with 17 points in 42 minutes. But Terry had four turnovers and three assists. Dampier finished with seven points in 25 minutes. He picked up two first-quarter fouls. Harris, a rookie, played seven minutes and didn't score.

"It's good to get the first one out the way," Terry said. "I had a little bit of jitters, but that's all behind me now."

Calvin Watkins

Mavs struggle early from the floor

The Mavericks shot 31.6 percent from the field in the first quarter and trailed, 26-16. Mavs starters went 5-for-15 to start the game, while the Rockets starters went 9-for-19.

"We settled for a lot of jump shots in the first half as opposed to the second half, where we put our head down and tried to get to the basket," Mavericks guard Jerry Stackhouse said. "A lot of times we had success with that and sometimes we didn't."

Calvin Watkins

Rockets still have areas to improve on

Statistically speaking, the Rockets were far from flawless. Dallas had 44 rebounds to the Rockets' 39, and the Mavericks shot 42 free throws to 20 for Houston.

"We need to be humble and learn from our mistakes tonight and try to play better in the areas we need to shore up," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Because of their speed advantage, we have to be the more willful, urgent team."

Mike Heika

Mayors lay it on the line

Dallas mayor Laura Miller has made a wager with Houston counterpart Bill White. One of them will end up wearing the other's NBA colors.

The losing mayor will have to wear the winning team's jersey to a city council meeting.

"I know Mayor White will look very dapper in Mavs colors," Miller said.

Eddie Sefko

Howard gets playoff career high

Mavericks' second-year forward Josh Howard scored a career playoff-high 17 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Howard played 43 minutes before fouling out with 55.9 seconds left in the game.

"They're so quick to the ball," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Josh Howard is like a human pogo stick. His second jump and third jump is very, very quick."

Howard's previous playoff high was 11 points against Sacramento in Game 1 of the first round last season. Howard averaged 6.7 points a game against the Rockets in the regular season.

Calvin Watkins, Mike Heika

Johnson is signed, sealed and delivered

Avery Johnson and Mark Cuban held true to their word.

Both said they would not announce Johnson's contract signing and they didn't, although both confirmed Saturday that it was wrapped up earlier this week.

Johnson's four-year deal is worth a total of $10 million but could be larger if certain playoff incentives are met.

Eddie Sefko

Odd signs make AAC appearances

There were a couple of bizarre signs on display in the crowd at AAC.

One read: Shawn Bradley for MVP. That just proves somebody out there has a good sense of humor.

The other one was a bit more disturbing: Ricky Davis for 6th man.

No, the game was not moved to Boston and did not involve the Celtics' reserve.

Eddie Sefko

[BTerry adds to his superstition repertoire[/B]

Mavericks point guard Jason Terry slept in a pair of Rockets game shorts Friday night as a way to gear up for Game 1 on Saturday.

Terry has an assortment of things he does as part of his pregame routine. He always has chicken as his pregame meal. He always wears three pairs of socks. Now, he has another rite.

"Once I got the shorts, I was hoping it would be Houston [in the first round], so I had to wear them," Terry said. "I know it's crazy. But it's just a superstition."

Eddie Sefko

Mavericks don't get the point

The Mavericks' point-guard duo of Jason Terry and Devin Harris combined for four assists and five turnovers in 49 minutes.

"We didn't get in the lane and attack like we're supposed to," Terry said. "We got to be stronger with the ball. [The Rockets] are playing physical. But we have to make plays and be better at protecting the ball. I know the General is going to have some film ready for us."

Avery Johnson is particularly sensitive to erratic point guard play. Terry had 17 points. But Harris looked like a rookie in his first playoff game. Terry, a six-year veteran, also was in his first playoff game.

"I'm glad [it's over]," Johnson said. "We'll watch film and get back to the drawing board."

Eddie Sefko

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sleeping in a pair of Rockets Shorts ?

I am going to get my voodoo dolls