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Tuesday, Dec. 7 8:30pm ET
Abdur-Rahim's 26 points lead Griz | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) -- After nearly a 10-month drought, the Vancouver Grizzlies finally won a game on the road. The Grizzlies snapped a 30-game road losing streak Tuesday night, beating the Dallas Mavericks 104-95 behind Shareef Abdur-Rahim's 26 points and 15 rebounds. Michael Dickerson added 21 points and Othella Harrington had 16 for Vancouver, which won on the road for the first time since beating the Los Angeles Clippers 93-89 in double overtime on Feb. 16, 1999. "The feeling was not one of euphoria," said Vancouver coach Brian Hill. "These guys expected to win more games than this. It's not a sense of relief. It's almost a sense of anger, like we should have won one last night, we should have won one last week." Brent Price hit two 3-pointers down the stretch for the Grizzlies, who also ended an overall 11-game losing streak. "I thought we just needed to win one to build some confidence," said Abdur-Rahim. "We weathered the storm, we dealt with some adversity. Now we have to try to turn it all the way around and get some wins." The Grizzlies, who lost their first seven road games this season, improved their overall record to 4-14. After several close calls, Vancouver finally closed out a game down the stretch. During the 11-game losing streak, the Grizzlies had lost five games either in overtime or by margins of four points or less. In six of the 11 defeats, Vancouver wasted late-game leads. "It kind of relaxes your mind," Harrington said. "You're not worried about losing another one." Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki matched his career-high with 31 points, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter. Cedric Ceballos added 23 points for the Mavericks, who had won three of their previous four at Reunion Arena, but Ceballos scored only two points in the fourth quarter. Michael Finley had 17 points for Dallas. The Grizzlies took advantage of porous Mavericks defense for 40 inside points. Shawn Bradley had six blocked shots for Dallas, but otherwise the Mavericks gave a half-hearted defensive effort. "Our defense was awful and is awful," coach Don Nelson said. "We have to step up individually and take pride on defense. We're not good individually on defense. We can't expect when Shawn Bradley is in there to block every shot." Price's 3-pointer with 7:24 left gave the Grizzlies an 87-84 lead, and Vancouver never trailed the rest of the way. Price also hit a 3-pointer on Vancouver's previous possession to give the Grizzlies an 84-82 lead before Hubert Davis' 20-footer tied it for the Mavericks. Vancouver clung to a 91-89 lead with five minutes left, but the Grizzlies pulled away with a 6-0 run. Dennis Scott hit a 3-pointer, and Abdur-Rahim had a free throw and a tip-in as the Grizzlies built a 97-89 lead. Dallas took a 76-75 lead into the final quarter. Nowitzki equaled his career-high when he hit a layup with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter, but he picked up his fifth foul with 5:52 to play and was ineffective down the stretch. Vancouver held a 51-50 lead at the break despite 22 points by Nowitzki. Game notesGrizzlies radio play-by-play man Don Poier was trapped in a hotel elevator for more than two hours before he was freed, arriving at Reunion Arena 10 minutes prior to tipoff. Color man Jay Triano was preparing to replace Poier on the CKNW broadcast, which would have been Triano's first try at doing play-by-play. ... Mavericks point guard Robert Pack got the start after missing eight games with a groin injury. ... Dallas placed forward Randell Jackson on the injured list with a bruised thigh. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Vancouver Clubhouse Dallas Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 101 Cleveland 98
Vancouver 104
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