[Ft Worth Star Telegram] Rockets Notes / Mavericks Notes

<font size="+1"><a href="http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/basketball/11511333.htm">Rockets Notes</font></a>
Posted on Thu, Apr. 28, 2005

<b>Rockets make joke about Bowen slowing Nowitzki</b>
By Dwain Price, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

HOUSTON - Ahead 2-0 in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series, the Rockets are having some fun at the Mavericks' expense. Well, in this case, it was at the expense of Dirk Nowitzki.

After Wednesday's practice, Rockets guard Jon Barry borrowed a microphone from a television reporter for an impromptu interview with teammate Ryan Bowen.

"This is Jon Barry for Fox 26," Barry said. "I'm here with Ryan Bowen, The Germanator ..."

That drew laughter from the reporters crowded around Bowen and Barry.

A surprise starter in Game 1, Bowen has been given a lot of credit for holding Nowitzki to an average of 23.5 points per game on 32.5 percent shooting (13-of-40) and 4.5 rebounds per game in the first two games.

<b>Rockets bonding</b>

On Friday, when they arrived in Dallas to prepare for two games at American Airlines Center, the Rockets went out to eat dinner together. That was their way of bonding, and showing that they associate with each other on and off the court.

That bonding has spilled onto the court. Now in his eighth season, forward Tracy McGrady said he often finds himself yelling at 14-year veteran Dikembe Mutombo about mistakes Mutombo makes on the court without any backlash, and vice versa.

"We criticize each other, but we take it," McGrady said. "I've been on some teams where you come out of games, and you want to sit by somebody that you're real close with. You don't want to sit by somebody that you think is bad, or that you think, 'Why is he on this team?' "

McGrady said that bond is why the Rockets won 51 games during the regular season and are two victories away from reaching the Western Conference semifinals.

"The relationship with the players from 1 through 15 -- everybody gets along well," McGrady said. "Nobody cares about how many shots I go out and take [or] if I'm being selfish. We have great chemistry."

<b>Briefly</b>

• Coach Jeff Van Gundy says the Rockets are receiving too much credit for winning the first two games, and the Mavs are getting too much credit for losing them. He added that it's "ridiculous" for anyone to think he's out-coaching the Mavs' Avery Johnson. "You don't coach against another guy," Van Gundy said. "Anybody who doesn't think that guy is coaching his team exceedingly well throughout the time he's been there, I don't agree with it."

• As he thought about his performances (averaging 31 points, 6.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.5 steals) in the first two games, Tracy McGrady reminded the media what he said before he left Houston last weekend. "I told y'all before we left to go to Dallas that it was going to be a show," McGrady said. "Y'all thought I was kidding. I've got a lot of time to vacation, so I'm going all out and leaving it all out on the court."

<img src="http://www.dfw.com/images/dfw/startelegram/news/1701680-627268.jpg">
STAR-TELEGRAM/KHAMPHA BOUAPHANH
Tracy McGrady, center, hugged by Yao Ming, background, and Bob Sura after he hit the game-winning shot against the Mavericks in Game 2, said the Rockets have a special bond. "The relationship with the players from 1 through 15 -- everybody gets along well," he said.


<font size="+1"><a href="http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/basketball/11511348.htm">Mavericks Notes</font></a>
Posted on Thu, Apr. 28, 2005
By Art Garcia and Mercedes Mayer, Star-Telegram Staff Writers

<b>Mavericks down, but say they are not out in series</b>

HOUSTON - The Mavericks are a wounded bunch. Dropping the first two games at home to the Houston Rockets in a best-of-seven, first-round series will do that to a team.

Whether the Mavs can overcome the doubt that's crept into the locker room is the challenge ahead in this series. The Mavs have faced plenty of challenges this season, but none is bigger than Game 3 tonight at the Toyota Center.

"You can get down to a point where it's mentally affecting you," guard Michael Finley said. "We want to win every ballgame, so from that standpoint, we're down and disappointed, but we still have an opportunity to win this series."

Several issues have to be resolved for that to happen. Forward Dirk Nowitzki needs to get on track and punish Houston's defense when it uses a small lineup. The breakdowns defensively, especially against Tracy McGrady, need to be corrected, too. Rookie playoff coach Avery Johnson hasn't dictated matchups as consistently as Houston's Jeff Van Gundy. The Mavs need to play with a sense of urgency and looseness -- if possible.

"If you believe," point guard Jason Terry said, "you can get it done."

One saving grace -- at least according to the Mavs -- is that they're on the road. The Mavs' 29-12 record away from home was second only to Phoenix's during the regular season. The Mavs also beat Houston 102-78 at the Toyota Center in December.

"We've been a good road team all season, and we have to have this third game," Nowitzki said. "If we get this third game, I think we're in good shape. If we don't, we're really in trouble."

Fourteen teams have overcome a 2-0 deficit to win a series in NBA history, including the Mavs in 2001.

Overcoming the gap mentally is another story.

"Our guys are professionals," owner Mark Cuban said. "I have complete faith in our players and staff. We have been down 2-0 before. And I know the entire team watched the Red Sox overcome the Yankees at the beginning of the [NBA] season."

<b>Defensive catchup</b>

The Mavs posted a sign in their locker room earlier this season, quoting then-assistant coach Avery Johnson. It read: "Contested shots will wound us. Uncontested shots and layups will kill us."

Then, the message was something to put the offense-first Mavs into a defensive mind-set. Now, it's something they've been harping on the past five days.

The Mavs turned around their offensive woes from Game 1 (35.3 percent from the field) to Game 2 (50 percent), but now their defense needs to catch up.

The Rockets are shooting 51 percent in the two games combined. Nearly 38 percent (29 of 77) of the Rockets' made shots in the series, though, have been layups or dunks.

"Basic fundamental help defense, contain the ball and contest shots," Jason Terry said. "They had a lot of uncontested shots, and that's why they're shooting a high percentage right now."

<b>Briefly</b>

• The Mavs have outrebounded the Rockets in both games. Dallas was 33-3 in the regular season when it had the edge in rebounding.

• The Mavs have lost at least two straight for only the second time since mid-January.

• Dallas is 0-8 since the start of the 2001 playoffs when their opponents shoot 50 percent or better, which the Rockets did in Game 2.

<img src="http://www.dfw.com/images/dfw/startelegram/news/1702309-627263.jpg">
STAR-TELEGRAM/KHAMPHA BOUAPHANH
Coach Avery Johnson, left, Michael Finley and the Mavericks are confident they can still win the series against Houston.