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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) -- A stretch of passive play in the fourth quarter
allowed a 22-point lead to dwindle to six, and it was up to Dallas
Mavericks leader Michael Finley to stop the slide.
He didn't fail.
Finley scored 25 points, including five straight to halt the
momentum of the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Mavericks went on to
a 105-96 victory on Thursday night.
"We lost our aggressiveness, and we had to find it again,"
Finley said. "We got it back and then we started getting some easy
baskets again. When I'm aggressive, it opens up opportunities for
other guys to make a play."
The Clippers trailed 86-64 at the start of the fourth quarter,
but Darius Miles' free throw closed a 10-0 run that reduced Dallas'
lead to 98-92 with 4:31 left.
From that point, the Mavericks began attacking again. They got a
layup from Christian Laettner, Finley worked inside for a
three-point play, then hit a 15-foot jumper to push the Dallas
advantage to 105-92 with 2:30 to play.
The Clippers used a zone trap to spark their comeback, getting
the Mavericks out of their fastbreak offense.
"It was the change in tempo from that zone trap," said
Mavericks coach Don Nelson. "Everybody wanted to spread out, but
we didn't attack it. We settled for outside shots."
Steve Nash added 20 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 17 points and
15 rebounds for the Mavericks, who went to 20-11 as one of the
league's most improved teams.
"Twenty wins is monumental at this point, to see how far we've
come and the direction we're headed," Finley said.
Lamar Odom had 21 points, Miles added 18 and Corey Maggette 17
for the Clippers.
Los Angeles coach Alvin Gentry was pleased with the effort from
his young team, then praised the once-lowly Mavericks as a genuine
Western Conference playoff contender.
"I thought we played hard, but that's a good team," Gentry
said. "I saw them almost beat the Lakers. When you've got that
many weapons, you can beat any team in the league."
Shawn Bradley contributed 14 points, 12 rebounds and four
blocked shots for the Mavericks, who have won six of seven overall.
Dallas carried an 86-64 lead into the final quarter despite
Odom's 13-point third quarter.
But the Clippers made things interesting down the stretch.
"It's a big concern that they were able to come back against us
at that point," Nowitzki said. "It's a perfect situation to have
20 wins, but now it's time to pick it up a notch in all facets of
the game."
The Mavericks got off to a 28-15 first-quarter lead and built a
58-43 halftime advantage behind Nash's 17 points.
The Clippers got as close as 64-51 early in the third quarter,
but Dallas responded with an 11-4 run that included two 3-pointers
from Finley.
Game
notes
Mavericks coach Don Nelson posted his 946th career
victory, third-most in NBA history. ... Nelson will leave the team
Jan. 4 to have his cancerous prostate removed. His son, assistant
coach Donnie Nelson, will take over for what is expected to be
6-to-8 weeks. ... Dallas forward Loy Vaught missed the game with a
bruised right knee. ... The Clippers had won three of their
previous five games, their best stretch of the season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Clippers Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
RECAPS
Milwaukee 107
Cleveland 89
Boston 112
New Jersey 111
Orlando 102
Detroit 96
Dallas 105
LA Clippers 96
Minnesota 88
Atlanta 81
Portland 103
Utah 102
Chicago 105
San Antonio 104
Toronto 94
Denver 93
LA Lakers 115
Phoenix 78
Sacramento 91
Charlotte 87
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