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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Dallas Mavericks finally found a team it
couldn't beat on the road.
|  | | The Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, left, collapses on the Bucks' Mark Pope and collects a foul. |
Sam Cassell scored 21 points and had nine assists to lead the
Milwaukee Bucks to their eighth straight win at the Bradley Center,
a 102-94 victory over the Mavericks.
While the Bucks kept their streak alive, Dallas ended what had
been a perfect road trip with a loss. The Mavericks, 24-14, had won
four straight on their current trip and a franchise-record seven
straight road games.
Milwaukee held the third-highest-scoring team in the NBA under
100 points for the first time on the Mavericks' road trip. Dallas
has never won at the Bradley Center.
"It was a solid game against one of the hottest teams in the
league," Bucks coach George Karl said. "It might be our best home
win of the year. I'm glad they played last night. I saw some
fatigue in their team at the end."
Glenn Robinson added 20 points, and Ray Allen and Tim Thomas
each scored 18 for the Bucks, who improved to 20-15 and one game
behind Charlotte in the Central Division.
"You spend so much energy when you're coming from behind,"
Cassell said. "You need everything to go right for you. We fought
them off."
Michael Finley led Dallas with 30 points, and Dirk Nowitzki had
23 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bucks took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter and saw
their lead dwindle to five when Finley rebounded his missed free
throw and made a layup to make it 91-86 at the 5-minute mark.
Finley sank a fadeaway jumper to make it 91-88 with 3:08 left,
but he missed two free throws with 2:36 to go. Thomas made a
3-pointer with 1:46 that put the Bucks up 98-90 and wrapped it up.
"I think we just ran out of gas," Dallas coach Donn Nelson
said. "This was a long road trip. I'm proud of the effort our guys
made.
"We made four to five good runs at them, but they made the
plays they had to each time. Sam (Cassell) is the key to how they
play. We threw a lot of things at Sam tonight, and he handled them
all. He takes big shots and makes big shots."
Finley said the Mavericks still had a good road trip.
"It could have been a great trip if we had won tonight,"
Finley said. "We were hot on the road. They were hot at home. One
of us had to go down tonight, and unfortunately it was us."
Christian Laettner scored the first eight points of the game for
Dallas, and the Mavericks built an early lead.
But the Bucks went on a 13-2 run that stretched from late in
the first quarter to early in the second to go up 40-29, and led
55-47 at halftime.
Cassell scored nine points in the third quarter to help the
Bucks to an 80-70 lead by the end of the period.
Game notes
Although Don Nelson was not with the Mavs, the team still
came to the Bradley Center with a lot of Wisconsin ties. Donn
Nelson, who spent part of his childhood in Milwaukee when his
father was Bucks coach, is serving as head coach while his father
recuperates from prostate surgery. Assistant coach Del Harris was a
Bucks coach. Assistant coach Sidney Moncrief starred for the Bucks.
Mavericks forward Michael Finley starred at Wisconsin. ... Dallas
guard Steve Nash was not in uniform because of the flu.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 107
Golden State 96
Portland 83
Charlotte 70
Orlando 101
New Jersey 87
Houston 76
New York 75
Milwaukee 102
Dallas 94
Phoenix 93
Indiana 85
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
George Karl Official Site
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