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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was a happy man.
|  | | Dallas' Eduardo Najera tries to elbow his way past Scott Williams' defensive pressure. |
"This definitely wasn't just one game out of 82. The season opener is obviously special. I've been looking forward to this night since April 18," Cuban said after Dallas' 97-93 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Michael Finley scored 26 points to lead the Mavericks, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bucks.
Ray Allen scored 26 points to lead the Bucks, whose winning
streak over Dallas included sweeps the last three seasons.
Finley leaped high for a rebound that he shoveled in for a
basket in the last two seconds of the third quarter, giving the
Mavericks an 81-73 lead going into the last 12 minutes.
"Finley was the leader out there and wouldn't let anybody let
up," Cuban said.
Tim Thomas scored on a drive and a 12-foot jumper, starting a
7-point run that cut the Mavs' lead to 81-80 with 8:46 to play.
But 7-foot Dirk Nowitzki almost personally kept Milwaukee at
bay, hitting two 3-pointers in a 10-2 Dallas run over the next
three minutes.
Allen pulled the Bucks within six points on a field goal and two
free throws, but Nowitzki brought the crowd of 16,600 to its feet
with another 3-pointer from the right corner for a 97-88 lead with
1:26 to play.
Bucks coach George Karl said his team didn't play smart enough
to win.
"We made it a game, but then they made their 3s. There was a stretch there where it was a 4-point game, then it goes up to 9," Karl said.
"Dirk, the ice man with those backbreaking 3s!" Cuban yelled
from across the dressing room, throwing a high-5 from 15 feet away,
over a crowd of writers. "He was up and down early in the game,
but when the money was on the line, Dirk was the man."
Finley scored 10 points and Steve Nash added eight as the
Mavericks took a 30-21 first-quarter lead.
Sam Cassell added 15 points for Milwaukee, while Thomas and Lindsey Hunter added 12 each and Glenn Robinson had 11.
"The first game is important to win, sure, but it's the entire
first week that's important for us. We have to get off to a good
start," Finley said.
"Last year, we had the lead late in a lot of games, but let it get away. I think we learned from that. We didn't play well tonight, but still managed to win."
Nash had 20 points and Nowitzki added 16 for the Mavericks.
Game notes
Dallas won 16 of its final 21 games last season. ... Finley
played in his league-high 381st consecutive game. ... Karl was
hoping for five assists a game from Allen. The Olympic gold
medalist was Milwaukee's leading scorer, but got only two assists.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 106
Atlanta 82
Cleveland 86
New Jersey 82
Orlando 97
Washington 86
Dallas 97
Milwaukee 93
Philadelphia 101
New York 72
Detroit 104
Toronto 95
Sacramento 100
Chicago 81
Minnesota 106
Houston 98
San Antonio 98
Indiana 85
Utah 107
LA Clippers 94
Golden State 96
Phoenix 94
LA Lakers 96
Portland 86
Vancouver 94
Seattle 88
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Eduardo Najera goes baseline and hits the reverse layup for the score.
avi: 524 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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