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Saturday, Feb. 5 10:30pm ET
Dallas never trails in Los Angeles | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Dallas Mavericks were mentally prepared to face a Los Angeles Clippers squad playing its first game after a coaching change and coming off one of its most lopsided defeats ever. That's why they never trailed and built a 27-point lead Saturday night in a 119-106 victory that was fueled by Erick Strickland's 22 points and Dirk Nowitzki's 20. "We were worried that they might come out with a lot of emotion, so we knew we had to be good," coach Don Nelson said. "I don't know how good we're going to get, but we're doing real well without an established inside game. We don't have anybody who can post up, so we have to find creative ways to score -- which we're doing." It was the Clippers' first game since Chris Ford was fired as head coach and replaced on an interim basis by assistant Jim Todd. It also marked the debut of former defensive specialist Dennis Johnson, an owner of three NBA championship rings, as a Clippers assistant coach. "One of the things we talked about was that this was going to be our training camp," Todd said. "We can't sell the media and the fans on doing the same thing, when we've lost 35 games." Todd, 47, filled in as head coach during Ford's two-game bout with back spasms in December and guided a Clippers squad with only nine healthy players to victories over Golden State and Sacramento -- the team's last back-to-back wins. Ford's final two games resulted in a 31-point blowout by Golden State and a 46-point drubbing at Phoenix. The Clippers were outscored 134-46 in the paint during those two games while shooting only 51-for-159. Ford kept pleading with the players to push the ball inside and stop shooting from the perimeter -- orders that fell on deaf ears until it cost him his job. "With Jim, it's just a little more freelancing style on offense, and a little more up-tempo type of game," rookie Lamar Odom said. "We're more of an up-tempo team, and that's the way we want to play." Maurice Taylor scored 17 points for the Clippers, who lost for the 17th time in 19 games. But their outlook appeared to more upbeat with Todd at the controls. "Everybody feels comfortable with him and everybody would love for him to be back as head coach next year," said Tyrone Nesby, who was ejected after picking up two technical fouls with 3:28 remaining. "He's a good coach. He just let us go out there and play, and that's what the guys like about him." Michael Finley had 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as Dallas won for the sixth time in seven games. With their 19th victory, the Mavericks matched their win total from last season, which was shortened to 50 games by a lockout. Dallas made 10 3-pointers in beating the Clippers for the fifth straight time. "We were doing a good job rotating the ball," Strickland said. "We were penetrating, drawing double-teams and then kicking it out. We couldn't have played it any better than we did -- just driving, setting each other up for shots and knocking them down." Dallas shot 55 percent in the first half en route to a 67-51 lead. Cedric Ceballos paced the Mavericks with 15 points, Nowitzki contributed 13, and Strickland hit a 3-pointer with less than a second on the clock for their biggest margin of the half. Derek Anderson, who scored a career-high 35 points in a losing cause against the Mavericks on Jan. 27 at Reunion Arena, missed nine of his first 10 shots -- including a slam-dunk attempt with 5:56 to play -- and finished with seven points. Game notesFord is the first head coach who failed to last at least 100 games with the Clippers since Cotton Fitzsimmons, who coached the entire 1977-78 campaign before Gene Shue was hired in the offseason. The Clippers have had 10 full-time head coaches since then. ... This is only the fourth time in Donald Sterling's 19 years as owner that the Clippers have changed coaches in mid-season. Jim Lynam was fired after six straight losses in 1984-85 and replaced by Don Chaney, who lost his first five games. Shue, in his second stint as Clippers head coach, lost his last 11 games in 1988-89 before Don Casey lost his first eight and 21 of his first 22. Mike Schuler was dismissed in 1991-92 and relieved by assistant Mack Calvin, who ran the team for three games before the Clippers finished the season 23-12 under Larry Brown and rallied to make the playoffs. ... The Mavericks haven't had more than 14 rebounds in a game from any of their players this season. Dennis Rodman, who is expected to play his first game with the Mavericks on Wednesday against Seattle, averaged 16.5 rebounds over his previous eight seasons. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Dallas Clubhouse LA Clippers Clubhouse Clippers hire Dennis Johnson as assistant coach
RECAPS Charlotte 110 Washington 102
Dallas 119
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