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12-21-2002, 09:50 AM
DALLAS, Dec. 20 (Ticker) -- Neither of the Nelsons were around at the end to see the Dallas Mavericks' first home loss of the season.
Matt Harpring scored 19 points as the Utah Jazz posted a 93-81 victory over the Mavericks in a game in which both Dallas coach Don Nelson and assistant Donn Nelson were ejected in the second half.
At 12-0 at the American Airlines Center, Dallas came in as the NBA's only unbeaten home team. But they fell victim to the Jazz, who snapped a four-game losing streak by holding the Mavericks to just 33 percent shooting (25-of-75). Dallas still owns the NBA's best record at 22-4.
"That was a great team effort on the defensive end," Utah forward Karl Malone said. "Everybody wants to talk about offense all the time, but that was a great defensive effort."
Don Nelson picked up his first technical foul with 4:22 left in the third quarter and was ejected with his second just under a minute later. His son, who took over the coaching duties, got his first technical with 1:44 left in the third quarter and his second with 5:21 remaining.
Donn Nelson stormed onto the court to argue with referee Greg Willard before being escorted to the locker room.
That left the Mavericks in the hands of Del Harris, who watched the team make a brief run, cutting a 17-point deficit to 87-79 on Dirk Nowitzki's driving layup with 2:18 left. But Dallas got no closer.
"We are obviously disappointed about losing a game and seeing the whole (home) winning streak come to an end," Harris said. "Even though we probably knew we weren't going to go 41-0 (at home), we wanted to win one more."
The Mavericks had a chance to draw within six following a steal by Walt Williams, who broke into the clear. But Steve Nash got too much on the outlet pass, giving back the ball to the Jazz.
John Stockton banked in an off-balanced jumper as the shot clock was running down to make it 89-79 with 2:18 to go. Dallas did not score again until the final seconds.
"It's nice to come out on the road and get a win," Malone said. "The guys, when they face a little adversity, seem to come together. Every time down the stretch, somebody did something to stop their run."
The Mavericks could not take advantage of 19 Utah giveaways, converting them into just nine points.
Dallas committed only 12 turnovers but was just 4-of-24 from 3-point range and was outrebounded, 50-37.
"We just weren't really smart with the ball," said Nash, who had six turnovers. "I threw it away too much and defensively, we made too many errors. We just weren't good tonight."
Utah's Calbert Cheaney scored seven of his 18 points in the decisive third quarter, while Malone and Greg Ostertag added 16 apiece for the Jazz.
Mark Jackson's layup capped a 7-0 run that made it 67-52 with 2:39 to go in the period. Jackson's breakaway layup gave Utah its biggest cushion, 74-57, with 31 seconds left.
"We had chances to win those but we couldn't finish," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, referring to the losing streak. "Tonight, we were able to build a big enough lead that we were able to finish the ballgame."
Nowitzki scored 28 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds and Nash added 25 points for the Mavs.
Michael Finley, the other member of Dallas' "Big Three," contributed 15 points. But no other Dallas player had more than four points. Nick Van Exel missed all five shots and was held scoreless.
"You're going to have nights when everybody lacks production," Nash said. "Tonight, none of us were terrific. We all made our mistakes and all cost our team and that's why we lost."
Dallas, the NBA's highest-scoring team at 104.9 per game, suddenly is in a scoring slump. The Mavericks were held to a season low in points in Wednesday's 80-75 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
"We've come out play two games in a row now," Bradley said. "Tonight, we didn't come to play like we usually do and we got beat."
Matt Harpring scored 19 points as the Utah Jazz posted a 93-81 victory over the Mavericks in a game in which both Dallas coach Don Nelson and assistant Donn Nelson were ejected in the second half.
At 12-0 at the American Airlines Center, Dallas came in as the NBA's only unbeaten home team. But they fell victim to the Jazz, who snapped a four-game losing streak by holding the Mavericks to just 33 percent shooting (25-of-75). Dallas still owns the NBA's best record at 22-4.
"That was a great team effort on the defensive end," Utah forward Karl Malone said. "Everybody wants to talk about offense all the time, but that was a great defensive effort."
Don Nelson picked up his first technical foul with 4:22 left in the third quarter and was ejected with his second just under a minute later. His son, who took over the coaching duties, got his first technical with 1:44 left in the third quarter and his second with 5:21 remaining.
Donn Nelson stormed onto the court to argue with referee Greg Willard before being escorted to the locker room.
That left the Mavericks in the hands of Del Harris, who watched the team make a brief run, cutting a 17-point deficit to 87-79 on Dirk Nowitzki's driving layup with 2:18 left. But Dallas got no closer.
"We are obviously disappointed about losing a game and seeing the whole (home) winning streak come to an end," Harris said. "Even though we probably knew we weren't going to go 41-0 (at home), we wanted to win one more."
The Mavericks had a chance to draw within six following a steal by Walt Williams, who broke into the clear. But Steve Nash got too much on the outlet pass, giving back the ball to the Jazz.
John Stockton banked in an off-balanced jumper as the shot clock was running down to make it 89-79 with 2:18 to go. Dallas did not score again until the final seconds.
"It's nice to come out on the road and get a win," Malone said. "The guys, when they face a little adversity, seem to come together. Every time down the stretch, somebody did something to stop their run."
The Mavericks could not take advantage of 19 Utah giveaways, converting them into just nine points.
Dallas committed only 12 turnovers but was just 4-of-24 from 3-point range and was outrebounded, 50-37.
"We just weren't really smart with the ball," said Nash, who had six turnovers. "I threw it away too much and defensively, we made too many errors. We just weren't good tonight."
Utah's Calbert Cheaney scored seven of his 18 points in the decisive third quarter, while Malone and Greg Ostertag added 16 apiece for the Jazz.
Mark Jackson's layup capped a 7-0 run that made it 67-52 with 2:39 to go in the period. Jackson's breakaway layup gave Utah its biggest cushion, 74-57, with 31 seconds left.
"We had chances to win those but we couldn't finish," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, referring to the losing streak. "Tonight, we were able to build a big enough lead that we were able to finish the ballgame."
Nowitzki scored 28 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds and Nash added 25 points for the Mavs.
Michael Finley, the other member of Dallas' "Big Three," contributed 15 points. But no other Dallas player had more than four points. Nick Van Exel missed all five shots and was held scoreless.
"You're going to have nights when everybody lacks production," Nash said. "Tonight, none of us were terrific. We all made our mistakes and all cost our team and that's why we lost."
Dallas, the NBA's highest-scoring team at 104.9 per game, suddenly is in a scoring slump. The Mavericks were held to a season low in points in Wednesday's 80-75 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
"We've come out play two games in a row now," Bradley said. "Tonight, we didn't come to play like we usually do and we got beat."