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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- With Don Nelson's penchant for quirky
lineups, NBA teams have a tough time matching up against the Dallas
Mavericks.
|  | | Dallas forward Christian Laettner scored 16 points against his old team Sunday as the Mavericks beat the Pistons. |
Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, hitting five 3-pointers, as the
Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 99-90 Sunday night.
"Don exploits matchups, and he'll put a crazy lineup on the
floor just to get you to do things that you don't want to do,"
said Detroit guard Dana Barros, who left the Mavericks in a
preseason trade between the teams. "Then he puts Dirk on the
perimeter and makes you guard him with a big guy. Those guys aren't
used to covering 3-point shooters."
Nowitzki played with despite a case of the flu that nearly
caused him to miss the game.
"We didn't even know if he could play," Nelson said. "He
played a lot more minutes that I ever thought he could, and he
still had enough to knock down some big shots for us."
Detroit lost its second straight game at home, and has dropped
four of five games overall. The Pistons shot only 36.6 percent.
"We got good shots all night long, and we just didn't knock
them down," Pistons coach George Irvine said. "Most nights, we'll
hit those shots."
Dallas' Steve Nash had 16 points and nine assists, while Michael
Finley had 13 points and eight assists. Christian Laettner scored
16 in his first game against the Pistons since leaving Detroit in
the offseason.
"Christian was just tremendous," Nash said. "He played with a
lot of energy and heart."
Jerry Stackhouse led Detroit with 24 points, and Joe Smith added
20 points and a season-best 13 rebounds.
"This was a tough one," Stackhouse said. "We've got to go on
the road now and do a lot better than we did on this homestand."
Dallas held Stackhouse scoreless in the first quarter, and took
a 31-16 lead. But he had 12 points in the second to pull Detroit
within 47-45 at intermission.
Stackhouse then hit two 3-pointers in an 11-2 Piston run to
start the second half. Smith scored the other five points.
Dallas came back with a 10-3 surge late in the quarter that
helped them take a 66-65 lead into the final period.
The teams traded the lead until baskets by Nash and Finley gave
the Mavericks an 84-81 edge with 4:36 left. After Barros hit two
free throws, Nash's 3-pointer made it a four-point game.
Dallas led by as many as five, but two free throws by Smith
pulled the Pistons to 89-88 with 1:50 left.
After Finley missed a jumper, Barros had a chance to put Detroit
ahead, but his 3-pointer bounced off the rim. Nowitzki then swished
a 3-pointer to make it 92-88 with 1:06 to go.
Then Smith's shot was blocked by Laettner, and the Mavericks
sealed the victory with free throws.
"Everyone was making big shots, but none of them were bigger
than Dirk's 3 off that screen," Nelson said. "That came right
when we needed it the most."
Game notes
Both teams made roster moves Sunday. The Pistons put Jud
Buechler on the injured list with a chip fracture of his right
ankle, and activated John Wallace. Dallas activated Gary Trent, and
placed Eduardo Najera on the injured list. ... The game was the
first between the teams since a pair of offseason trades that
brought Laettner and Loy Vaught to Dallas for Barros, Wallace and
three players (Eric Murdock, Cedric Ceballos and Ansu Sesay) who
are no longer with the Pistons. The new Mavericks outscored the new
Pistons 16-7, with all the points coming from Laettner and Barros.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
RECAPS
LA Lakers 104
Toronto 101
Orlando 101
Vancouver 91
New York 100
Milwaukee 97
Dallas 99
Detroit 90
Sacramento 95
New Jersey 79
Washington 103
LA Clippers 94
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Jerry Stackhouse Official Site
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