Nattens NBA (21/12)
- Dallas utan Dirk bröt Clevelands svit
Dallas visade enorm styrka inatt när de, utan storstjärnan Dirk Nowitzki, bröt Cleveland Cavaliers vinstsvit.
Dallas Mavericks - Cleveland Cavalliers 102-95
(24-26, 27-24, 21-17, 29-28)
Tim Thomas fick starta i Dirk Nowitzkis frånvaro och han gjorde det med bravur. Thomas noterades för 22 poäng och 7 returer, totalt sex Dallasspelare noterades för Double Digits. Veteranen Thomas var tacksam för att han fick starta:
- I just wanted to be aggressive with the minutes I was given tonight. I told coach I wanted to get back to playing an all-around game, which is my strength. Backing guys down, going to the post and driving and pulling up for jumpers, so he's allowed me to do that.
Dallas coach Rick Carslie hyllade Thomas efter matchen:
- The best compliment I can give a guy like that is to say he's a pro. He has just given us positive production any time he has been on the floor and people have to guard him because he's a great shooter. ... In a situation like this when you lose a guy like Dirk, it is a real blessing to have a guy like Tim ready to go.
LeBron James spelade sin 500 match i NBA och firade med 25 poäng. Efter matchen var Clevelands coach Mike Brown missnöjd med att domarna tillät Marion och Howard trackasera O'Neal och James matchen igenom:
- For me, those two guys are the hardest to figure out when they'll get a call and when they won't get a call. I've got to go back and watch the tape, but it definitely affected the rhythm that we had offensively. Having said that, that had nothing to do with our pick-and-roll defense.
Övriga matcher:
New York - Charlotte 98-94
Miami - Portland 95-102
Detroit - LA Lakers 81-93
Boston - Minnesota 122-104
Memphis - Denver 102-96
Toronto - New Orlea 98-92
