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Saturday, Mar. 4 9:00pm ET
Dallas 96, Phoenix 110 | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) _ Liberated from the Los Angeles Clippers, Rodney Rogers is having fun in the NBA again, and his joy has been reflected in a season that might earn him the Sixth Man award. Rogers scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night as the Phoenix Suns increased their homecourt winning streak to 10 games with 110-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Suns are confident in going to Rogers for clutch shots late in the game, and Rogers didn't have many clutch shots in his four miserable seasons with the Clippers. "It feels good," Rogers said, "just to have your teammates feel comfortable with you and have the confidence that if they can get me the ball late in the game, I can knock the shot down. I'm enjoying it. I'm having a good time with it. If they keep finding me, I'm going to keep on shooting it." Rogers made 10 of 13 field goals and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Suns, who have won 11 of 13 overall. He made consecutive 3-pointers as Phoenix outscored Dallas 19-8 during the final five minutes. Cliff Robinson scored 21 of his 27 in the first half for the Suns. Tom Gugliotta added 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 13 points and 14 assists. Phoenix took the lead for good 60-50 with a 10-2 run to close the first half, then stretched the margin to 16 in the third quarter. But Dallas rallied behind Cedric Ceballos, whose rebound basket capped an 8-1 run that cut the Suns' lead to 91-88 with 5:36 to play. Phoenix scored the next nine points, punctuated by Rogers' fastbreak slam-dunk on an underhand lob pass from Kidd to make it 100-88 with 3:07 left. Ceballos came off the bench to make 13 of 19 shots and score 33. Michael Finley added 22 points and Dennis Rodman followed his 21-rebound performance against New Jersey with 19, then ripped the league's officiating after the game. For the second consecutive game, the Mavericks were without coach Don Nelson because of the flu. His son, assistant coach Donn Nelson, filled in. Nelson may rejoin the team for its game in Sacramento Monday. "It's a rare occasion when he misses a game, whether as a player or a coach," Donn Nelson said. "So he's really been sick. I don't know what it is, the Tazmanian flu or whatever, but he's got it and it's bad." Phoenix coach Scott Skiles praised the defense of Penny Hardaway on Finley, who wasn't a major factor until late. "If you take away those last two or three field goals in the last couple of minutes, he didn't really have that productive a night, and most of it was due to Penny's defense," Skiles said. Nelson said his team is sick of playing well but losing. "We're really disappointed in that locker room," he said. "We're tired of coming up with close seconds. We want to put some of these games home." Rogers scored the last five points of the Suns' 10-2 run to end the first half. Hardaway, just 4-for-17 from the field, started the surge with a 3-pointer. Another 12-2 spurt gave Phoenix a 76-60 lead. Gugliotta began the run with a 3-point play and ended it with an inside basket. Robinson hit eight of 11 shots in the first half, including 4-of-7 3-pointers, for 21 points. Ceballos scored 11 in the second quarter as Dallas climbed back from an early 11-point deficit to tie it 50-50 on Erick Strickland's 20-footer with 3:36 left in the second. Notes: The Suns' Rex Chapman missed the game with the flu, and the Suns used small forward Shawn Marion as the backup off-guard. ... After shooting 28 percent in the first quarter, the Mavericks made 13 of their first 15 shots in the second. ... Robinson scored 15 in the first quarter, including 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions. ... Dallas had won three in a row on the road, and seven of 10. ... Rodman drew a technical foul in the first quarter for throwing the ball into the stands, then gave the "T" signal simultaneously with referee Joe Forte. Later, he blew a kiss to some hecklers after missing a free throw. With 40 seconds to play, Rodman went to the bench and tossed his jersey into the crowd. ... During its home streak, Phoenix has never won by fewer than 12. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Dallas Clubhouse Phoenix Clubhouse RECAPS Houston 99 New Jersey 92
Phoenix 110 AUDIO/VIDEO   Rodney Rogers makes the shot in the lane.avi: 273 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||