Johnson Propels Hawks Past Mavericks

Team	1	2	3	4					Full Time
Mavericks	19	20	30	25					94
Hawks	29	17	22	33					101

Atlanta 101, Dallas 94

ATLANTA, Nov. 2 (AP) -- The Atlanta Hawks' last playoff season began with their last season-opening win.

It's no wonder Joe Johnson and the Hawks placed so much emphasis on their 101-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Atlanta opened with a win for the first time since the 1998-99 season, and the Hawks believe a strong start is needed to end their eight-year playoff drought, the longest active streak in the NBA.

Johnson scored 28 points to offset a 28-point effort by Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, and the Hawks outscored the Mavericks 11-4 in the final 3 minutes to take the win.

Dallas recovered from an early 16-point deficit to lead 69-68 entering the final quarter. Normally for the Hawks in recent years, that has been a signal to collapse.

This time, the Hawks outscored the Mavericks 33-25 in the final period.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said the fourth-quarter performance, following a 7-1 preseason, is a sign of maturity.

"Our team is growing up,'' Woodson said. "That's the difference. These guys are three- and four-year guys. They're starting to figure out what the league is all about.''

Johnson is beginning his seventh season, but the other leaders include such recent first-round picks as Josh Smith, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Marvin Williams, who added 16 points.

Rookies Al Horford (nine points and 10 rebounds) and Acie Law (eight points in 14 minutes) also showed promise. Horford had three dunks and six rebounds in the opening period.

"If they can find that effort night in night out, they're a playoff team,'' said Dallas forward Jerry Stackhouse.

Added Mavericks coach Avery Johnson: "They made basically all the hustle plays all night. They got all of the loose balls. They really wanted this game.''

Johnson put the game away with a jumper with 11 seconds left that made it 97-92.

Jason Terry had 20 points for Dallas and Jose Barea added 14.

Nowitzki scored 11 points in the third quarter when Dallas took its first lead since the opening minute.

The Hawks were without their two most experienced inside players, Zaza Pachulia (left knee) and Lorenzen Wright (foot).

When Horford sat down with four fouls less than 4 minutes into the second half, Nowitzki took advantage of a matchup with Shelden Williams to score nine of the Mavericks' next 11 points.

The 6-foot-7 Johnson eventually shifted to defend the 7-foot Nowitzki, cutting off the Mavericks' momentum.

"I like taking a challenge guarding the team's best player,'' Johnson said. "I just wanted to stay in front of him and make him take tough shots.''

Law drove past Devin Harris with 6:22 left in the first half to give Atlanta its biggest lead, 41-25. The Hawks didn't have another field goal the rest of the half as Dallas cut the lead to 46-39.

A 3-pointer by Nowitzki gave Dallas its first lead, 57-56 with 6:30 left in the third quarter, but the Hawks responded.

"They can jump, they can run with the best in the league,'' Nowitzki said.

Harris scored the first 10 points for Dallas but scored only one more before bruising his left thigh late in the second quarter. He did not play in the second half.

The Mavericks reported Harris' status as day-to-day.

"My thigh is pretty sore so we will see how it responds tomorrow,'' Harris said.

Dallas plays Sacramento on Saturday, but Harris said he hopes to play Monday against Houston.

Dallas' Josh Howard served the second game of a two-game suspension for an altercation with Sacramento center Brad Miller in a preseason game. Howard will return Saturday for a rematch with the Kings.

Notes: F Juwan Howard made his season debut with Dallas late in the first quarter. He joined the team Tuesday. He did not score in 7 minutes. ... Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, also of "Dancing with the Stars'' fame, declined an invitation to join mascot Harry the Hawk in a dance routine during a timeout. ... Pachulia began running Friday as he recovers from a sprained left knee.

source : NBA.com

Granger's 25 Helps Pacers Cool Heat

Team	1	2	3	4					Full Time
Heat	22	25	18	20					85
Pacers	24	24	20	19					87

Indiana 87, Miami 85

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 2 (AP) -- Two games, two down-to-the-wire wins for the Indiana Pacers and new coach Jim O'Brien.

Danny Granger was 10-for-13 from the field and had 25 points and nine rebounds to help the Pacers beat the Miami Heat 87-85 on Friday night.

The Pacers overcame a seven-point deficit with four minutes left. On Wednesday, they beat Washington in overtime.

"We're not going to win every game, but we're not going to stop playing,'' Granger said. "We're going to play our style until the buzzer. I would bet to say we're going to win more than we're going to lose.''

Ike Diogu scored 16 points, Mike Dunleavy added 15 and Jamaal Tinsley had 10 assists for the Pacers.

Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal, who sat out the opener with a hyperextended left knee, had 10 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 24 minutes.

The assist total tied a career high for O'Neal. He has been Indiana's top scoring option for years, but now he's content to set up his teammates.

"I'm not looking to score a lot,'' O'Neal said. "I'm looking to soften the defense up with the pass. I wanted to play a few more minutes because I wanted to get as many assists as possible. I feel like that changes the dynamics of the game.''

Rookie Daequan Cook, who didn't play in the season-opening loss to Detroit, led Miami with 17 points, while Ricky Davis added 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

Miami center Shaquille O'Neal fouled out with 5:07 to go. He had eight points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes, shot 4-for-13 from the field and had six turnovers.

Miami led 76-75 in the fourth quarter when Mark Blount hit a 3-pointer with 4:42 to go. Cook followed with a 3 to give Miami an 82-75 lead with 4:03 to play.

Kareem Rush hit a 3-pointer for Indiana with 1:42 to go that tied it at 82, and he made another one with 1:06 to go for an 85-82 lead.

Miami's Jason Williams missed a layup on a drive to the hoop, and the Pacers gained possession after Miami fouled on the rebound. A pull-up jumper by Granger gave the Pacers an 87-82 lead with 41 seconds to play.

Davis made a shot from just beyond halfcourt at the buzzer for the final margin.

The Pacers acquired Rush in the offseason to cure some of their perimeter shooting woes. He didn't make a shot until the final two minutes.

"The gun is always loaded,'' Rush said. "If I'm open, I'm going to take the shot. I knew we needed threes when I came in, so I came in firing.''

The Pacers weren't worried when Miami had the lead in the closing minutes. Jermaine O'Neal said O'Brien has changed their mental approach.

"His personality has rubbed off on this team in a major way from day one,'' O'Neal said. "His relationship with this team has gone way beyond basketball. We're willing to lay it on the line. It doesn't matter who's out there.''

Miami coach Pat Riley said his team played poorly down the stretch.

"We couldn't get a stop, and we couldn't get a bucket, and we couldn't get a free throw in,'' he said. "It was just very frustrating for our guys.''

The Heat were 4-of-13 on free throws.

Cook's performance was a bright spot for the Heat.

"Coach has told me to be ready, my time could come at any time,'' Cook said. "Tonight was that night.''

Aside from that, the Heat had little to take from their trip to Indianapolis.

"We played selfish tonight,'' Williams said. "It's pretty self-explanatory. I didn't think we gave the game away. I think they took it away from us.''

Notes: Riley announced before the game that All-Star G Dwyane Wade has been cleared to play. Wade had surgeries on his left knee and left shoulder in May. Riley didn't say when Wade would play. ... Indy Racing League star Helio Castroneves and his "Dancing With the Stars'' partner Julianne Hough performed at the end of the first quarter. ... Indiana F Shawne Williams served the second game of a team-imposed three-game suspension after being caught driving without a license. ... Indiana C Troy Murphy sat out for the second straight game. ... Dunleavy split his lip in the first quarter. He got eight stitches and returned. ... Tinsley sprained his left thumb in the first quarter.

source : NBA.com

Bobcats Give Vincent First NBA Win

Team	1	2	3	4					Full Time
Bucks	18	31	20	30					99
Bobcats	24	22	25	31					102

Bucks 99, Bobcats 102

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 2 (AP) --Charlotte's Sam Vincent talked about needing to hire a free throw coach. Milwaukee's Larry Krystkowiak may want to hire a scoreboard coach.

Raymond Felton had 26 points and 12 assists, and hit two free throws with 0.1 seconds left to help the Bobcats take advantage of a mistake by the Bucks' Maurice Williams in a 102-99 victory Friday night.

Gerald Wallace added 22 points and 10 rebounds, Jason Richardson had 21 points in his first game with Charlotte and the Bobcats won their opener despite hitting just 22 of 43 free throws.

The final seconds were bizarre. With the Bucks trailing by three, Williams inexplicably drove the lane and made a layup with 0.6 seconds left.

"I thought we were down two,'' Williams conceded.

Felton was then fouled, and he finally put it away by sinking both foul shots, allowing Vincent to rest easy on a night he was thinking about hiring somebody to help his players make shots from the line.

"Maybe a free throw coach. We don't have one right now,'' Vincent said. "Some teams do, and the teams that do shoot pretty high free throw percentages.''

The players gave Vincent, in his first NBA game as a head coach, the game ball. And as the Bobcats got off to the first 1-0 start in their fourth season, it allowed them to joke about their horrendous night at the line that kept the Bucks in the game.

"You make Shaq look like Reggie Miller,'' Bobcats reserve Derek Anderson told Wallace, who was 2-of-5.

Wallace was hardly the worst of the lot. Emeka Okafor was 3-of-13 and Richardson 2-of-6.

But Williams was the most embarrassed. Before Felton went to the line with 7.3 seconds left, Krystkowiak, because the Bucks were out of timeouts, huddled his players in front of the bench.

"My point to the guys was, hey if they make one of these, not two, then we have a chance to tie,'' Krystkowiak said. "I think maybe something got lost in the translation.''

Michael Redd scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, and Williams added 20 for the Bucks, who took 29 fewer free throws in their second straight loss. China's Yi Jianlian, the No. 6 pick in the draft, was held to two points and four rebounds and didn't play in the fourth quarter.

Felton's two free throws with 1:41 left put Charlotte ahead to stay. But Felton and Okafor then combined to hit two of their next six free throws.

The Bobcats' opener was played in front of thousands of empty seats and without part-owner Michael Jordan, who was said to be out of town attending an event with his son.

Vincent, Jordan's hire in the offseason as coach despite having only one year of NBA experience as an assistant, grew agitated at the Bobcats' free throw woes. Wearing a gray suit and a red tie, Jordan's former teammate in Chicago, folded his arms and sighed after Felton missed a free throw with just over 2 minutes left.

Vincent said little early when Wallace made all six shots and scored 13 points in the first quarter to help Charlotte lead by as many as 10 points. But Wallace was 0-for-4 in the second quarter, and Redd scored all the points in a 9-2 run to close the first half to give the Bucks a 49-46 lead.

Yi, who fouled out in his debut Wednesday night in Orlando, picked up two fouls before the game was 8 minutes old. He spent the next 13 minutes on the bench. When he returned, the 7-footer appeared to struggle in the transition game.

Yi headed to the bench again after picking up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter. Krystkowiak used Charlie Villanueva in his place in the final quarter.

The Bucks rallied even after Andrew Bogut fouled out with 3:38 left, finishing with 11 points and 17 rebounds. Desmond Mason's half-hook tied the game with just under 2 minutes left

Richardson, who Jordan acquired on draft night in hopes of giving the Bobcats the go-to scorer they've never had, missed 10 of his first 14 shots through three quarters. But his scoop shot in the lane was part of a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter to give Charlotte a 77-69 lead. He hit 4 of 5 shots in the final quarter.

"It was trying to do too much,'' Richardson said. "You're trying to impress the fans first time out. ... I settled down, but I know I've got to perform better than I did today.''

Notes: Bobcats F Othella Harrington, still recovering from offseason knee surgery, did not play. ... Krystkowiak was dismayed at Orlando's 13-minute opening introductions before Wednesday's opener. "It's a little bit of a concern when you let your body cool down and you don't get to go out and warm up again,'' Krystkowiak said. "But it's the nature of the league at this point.''

source : NBA.com