Dragnsmke1

10:14 PM CST on Saturday, February 4, 2006
Associated Press



Josh Howard had 23 points to lead Dallas in scoring again and the Mavericks beat Seattle 110-91 Saturday night for their 11th straight victory, matching the NBA's longest winning streak this season.

The Mavericks are winning with defense, and without Dirk Nowitzki as their leading scorer every night. Howard led the team in scoring for the fourth straight game.

Dallas' winning streak coincides with the its franchise-record stretch of holding 11 straight opponents under 100 points. Seattle came in second in the NBA with 102.3 points per game, but was also coming off a 100-77 loss at Houston the night before.

Nowitzki, the team's leading scorer at 25.6 points a game, has led Dallas in scoring just once in the last seven games. He wasn't even in the game when the Mavs made their push that finally put it out of reach.

When Nowitzki took a breather late in the third quarter, Dallas led 73-68. By the time he returned with 9:24 left, the lead had been stretched to 92-78.

Things were going so good for the Mavs during that spurt that a deflection wound up in Jason Terry's hands in the left corner, and he hit a 3-pointer that made it 88-74. On the next possession, Jerry Stackhouse penetrated then passed out to Devin Harris for an open jumper.

Terry finished with 22 points, while Nowitzki and Stackhouse had 17 each. Erick Dampier, continuing to come off the bench, had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Ray Allen led Seattle with 17 points while Rashard Lewis was held to nine on 1-of-11 shooting. Lewis was averaging 21.9 points and had made 60-of-110 shots (55 percent) his last 10 games.

Lewis missed his first 10 shots before a fastbreak reverse layup got the Sonics within 71-68 in the third quarter. They never got closer, as Howard hit a field goal and made a free throw right after that.

Detroit had an 11-game winning streak snapped Tuesday at New Jersey. The next night at Memphis, the Mavericks overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and won 81-80 after Nowitzki hit two free throws with 7.2 seconds left.

Next up for Dallas are Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, the second of nine home games the Mavericks will play over 10 games. Bryant scored 62 points against the Mavs on Dec. 20 in Los Angeles without playing the fourth quarter, and had 43 points in Dallas a week before that.

The game was tied at 12 midway through the first quarter when a frustrated coach Avery Johnson called timeout.

Howard hit a 10-foot jumper out the timeout, starting a 20-2 run that put the Mavs ahead to stay. Howard and Terry had consecutive 3-pointers after Seattle's only basket in that spurt that put Dallas ahead 32-14.

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The Future7

One word can sum up this 11 game winning streak. "Defense"

Dragnsmke1

Dallas' 11th straight win starts with 'D'
Mavericks lower boom on Sonics, 110-91



11:48 PM CST on Saturday, February 4, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News



Jerry Stackhouse was doing his best John Stockton imitation. So was Erick Dampier.

And as good as the Mavericks were Saturday night at moving the ball from shooter to shooter, they still won because of their defense, not their offense.

One of today's Super Bowl participants could guarantee a win if it would buy into the defensive formula the Mavericks have used lately. For the 11th consecutive game – all of them victories – they held an opponent below 100 points, and not just any opponent.

The Seattle SuperSonics are the second-highest-scoring team in the league. But the Mavericks shut them down in the second half for a 110-91 victory at American Airlines Center.

The list of superlatives is long.

The 11th win ties the longest streak in the NBA this season, accomplished earlier by Detroit. It ties the second longest in franchise history. Only the 14-0 start to the 2002-03 season is longer.

The Sonics were averaging 102.3 points coming into the game but got only 40 after halftime, when they shot just 38.9 percent. Their nine assists were a season low by a Mavericks opponent.

"We could go on and on," coach Avery Johnson said.

He didn't have to. The Sonics did it for him. Rashard Lewis was the unlucky recipient of the Mavericks' clamp-down. After shooting 54.5 percent in the last nine games, the forward started 0-for-9 Saturday and finished 1-for-11.

So, Rashard, is the defense that much better?

"Definitely, there's no question," he said. "You can just tell, they're much better with Avery. He makes them play defense. They're helping each other out there. You hear them talking to each other, which you never did before."

Josh Howard, who led the Mavericks in scoring for the fourth consecutive game with 23 points, said it has become almost laughable how people around the country discount the team's defense.

"We'll never get any credit for it," he said. "But it's no secret in here that we've all bought into Avery's system."

The defense kicked in early in the fourth quarter, when an 82-74 lead quickly doubled when the Mavericks scored the first eight points and never looked back.

There was even a magical offensive moment for Dampier in that stretch. He grabbed an offensive rebound and shoveled a gorgeous pass through traffic to Keith Van Horn. His layup was blocked, but it was the sort of play that typified the Mavericks, who had 25 assists, their third-highest total of the season.

"That's another side of my game that you haven't seen," Dampier said. "I got a little John Stockton in me."

More than that, Dampier had a little Shaquille O'Neal in him as he dragged down a season-high-tying 14 rebounds to go with 11 points.

"When he plays like that," Dirk Nowitzki said, "we're a different animal."

Ditto for Stackhouse, who continues to distribute the ball as well as he scores with it. He had seven assists to go with 17 points.

But he was no different than anybody else. He knows the defense made the difference, not the offense.

"If they see somebody as old as me out there playing defense, everybody knows they can go out there and do it," Stackhouse said.

These days, it's the Maverick way.

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All Or Nothing

Ruff Draft

They just keep on rolling.


I just had to do it.

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"I'm not just saying we are going to do it my way, I'm just saying we are going to do it the Championship Way."
-Michael Curry

2008-2009 Detroit Pistons
PG: Allen Iverson, Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum
SG: Rip Hamilton, Arron Afflalo
SF: Tayshaun Prince, Walter Herrmann, Walter Sharpe
PF: Kwame Brown, Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson
C: Rasheed Wallace

Dragnsmke1

Mavs' win streak faces tall order
Dallas must go through Shaq, Heat to extend winning streak to 13



11:01 PM CST on Wednesday, February 8, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News


As the streak grows, so do the stakes. And the degree of difficulty.

The Mavericks have a dozen wins in a row, which is impressive stuff. But reaching the franchise record of 14 consecutive victories will be even more demanding.

Going into Wednesday's action, only four of the 12 opponents in the Mavericks' streak had winning records. Starting tonight, they play two division leaders on back-to-back nights, leading off with Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. The Mavericks visit Denver on Friday night.

"It doesn't get any easier," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. "And we wouldn't have it any other way."

As the run has ballooned, subplots have emerged, too. One of them involves brainwashing, although Mavericks coach Avery Johnson prefers to call it reprogramming the mind.

Johnson, you see, refuses to deal in two-game increments, and his team has gotten the message that their winning streak has been built by taking one quarter and one game at a time. He's had to recalibrate some gray matter to get this accomplished.

And they have done a terrific job during the streak of not losing focus. That shouldn't change tonight. Facing Shaq for the first time this season (he missed their meeting in November) is enough to get anybody's attention.

"Shaq's a handful," Johnson said. "Everybody has to pay close attention to Shaq, kind of like we did with Kobe [Bryant on Tuesday]."

Which brings us to another subplot: Erick Dampier, one of O'Neal's favorite targets when the Big Aristotle gets philosophical.

Who can forget O'Neal saying that Dampier could be one of the best centers in the league. "Yeah, the WNBA." Or when he said that Dampier is soft and told reporters to write it, print it, put it on TV and send it to Dampier.

Seems like overkill for one of the best centers in NBA history to be so worried about a center who is no longer starting but certainly will see his share of O'Neal tonight.

"That's what comedians do, comedians talk a lot," Dampier said. "I laugh at it, too. He's never hung out with me. I don't even know him. So I can say anything about him, and he can say anything about me."

But for a comedian, O'Neal is a pretty good NBA center. And most likely, the Mavericks shouldn't expect any excess gushing from him or anybody else with the Heat tonight. Miami has gone through a coaching change and numerous injuries, but it has come around with seven wins in nine games since losing to San Antonio on Jan. 23.

And O'Neal has something that Dirk Nowitzki doesn't – a teammate who is better than him.

"They have two really terrific players in Shaq and Wade," Johnson said.

But while the Heat feels its depth is one of its best assets with former Mav Antoine Walker, Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton coming off the bench, nobody can match the Mavericks' bench.

Their reserves have scored as much or more as opposing backups 33 times in 48 games. The Mavs are 27-6 in those games.

"It is a rarity, and I think in terms of talent, I don't think any of us will play on a more talented team throughout our career," Mavs forward Keith Van Horn said. "And like I've always said, that's why we really want to take advantage of this situation this year, and hopefully, win a championship."

E-mail esefko@dallasnews.com

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