ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NHL.com | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

  Scores/Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  NBA StatSearch
  NBA en espaņol
Clubhouses






Wednesday, Apr. 11 10:00pm ET
Mavs' chances for home-court advantage take a hit

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PHOENIX (AP) -- Shawn Marion wants everyone to know he's a scorer, and not just on those gravity-defying dunks.

Shawn Marion
Phoenix's Shawn Marion chases after the ball after making a steal against Dallas' Howard Eisley.

Marion tied his career high with 38 points Wednesday night as the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-106 in a game that had major implications in the Western Conference playoff scramble.

"I can shoot the ball," said Marion, who's been a consistent outside threat much of this season. "I don't know who in the heck told somebody I couldn't. It made me mad. I've always been able to shoot the ball, from high school all the way up."

Marion was 16-for-23 from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds.

"He was unstoppable," Dallas coach Don Nelson said. "We didn't have an answer for him. We played some of their guys pretty well, but we just couldn't find him tonight."

Jason Kidd played all but eight seconds and fell one point short of a triple-double, finishing with nine points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for Phoenix, which was coming off a 26-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

"That's why we're all professionals," Kidd said. "We can't go out and think about what we did last night. We've got a big game tonight, so that's what we did."

Dallas lost its third in a row, matching its longest losing streak of the season, and severely damaged its chances for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Mavericks were beaten in San Antonio 91-79 Tuesday night.

"San Antonio and Phoenix is a tough back-to-back," Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki said. "I don't know, defensively they killed us tonight. We couldn't stop them, and offensively we just aren't clicking. We are just playing bad right now."

Phoenix got big help from reserves Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers. Delk scored 23 points, including two free throws that sealed the victory with 3.5 seconds to play. Rogers added 16 points and 10 rebounds despite a sore right thumb that nearly prevented him from playing. Cliff Robinson added 15 points.

Michael Finley scored 34 points for Dallas. Juwan Howard added 23 points, Nowitzki 19 and Steve Nash 18.

Down by as many as 16 in the fourth and trailing 105-95 with a minute to go, the Mavericks stunned the Suns with a rally that cut the lead to 107-104 on Michael Finley's 3-pointer with 27.9 seconds to play.

Kidd and Howard each hit a pair of free throws to make it 109-106.

Dallas got the ball back with 11 seconds to play when the Suns' Mario Elie was called for moving with the ball on the sidelines as he tried to pass it inbounds after a timeout.

But Nash's 3-point try was short.

"I thought it had a chance," Nash said. "It was straight on, but it was just a little short."

Delk got the rebound, was fouled, and hit two free throws to clinch it.

"We thought the game was over against a very dangerous team," Suns coach Scott Skiles said. "They almost made us pay."

Nash scored the first six points in Dallas' late comeback. His 3-pointer with 58 seconds to go cut the lead to 105-98.

Rogers was called for kicking Nash while going for a loose ball, then drew a technical for complaining about the call. Nash sank all three free throws to cut it to 105-101 with 47.2 seconds remaining.

With the defeat, Dallas fell into a tie with Portland for fifth in the Western Conference playoff scramble, one game ahead of the Suns. The Mavericks are 2{ games behind No. 4 Utah with four games to play.

Phoenix led 58-48 at the half behind Marion's 22 points.

Finley led a third-quarter rally that nearly caught the Suns. His 3-pointer capped 15-7 spurt that cut the lead to 71-69 with 2:51 left in the quarter.

Marion made a turnaround jumper on Phoenix's next possession and the Suns led 76-73 entering the fourth.

Delk's 3-pointer capped a 16-6 run at the start of the fourth quarter as the Suns built a 92-79 lead with 6:15 remaining. After Nash was called for a technical on the same play, Kidd was fouled. Kidd made two of three free throws to give Phoenix its biggest lead, 99-83, with 4:30 left.

The Suns had a 16-6 advantage on offensive rebounds and had 20 second-chance points, compared with five for Dallas.

Game notes
Marion had 15 of the Suns' 23 points in the first quarter. Phoenix was without Tom Gugliotta because of a sprained left wrist. ... Phoenix plays three of its remaining four games at home. ... The Suns won the season series with Dallas 3-1. ... The Mavericks' only other three-game losing streak was Jan. 11-15 to Milwaukee, Phoenix and San Antonio.

Send this story to a friend
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Dallas Clubhouse

Phoenix Clubhouse

RECAPS
Miami 102
Boston 97

Chicago 113
Washington 109

Atlanta 107
Cleveland 102

Detroit 99
Toronto 87

Indiana 100
New York 93

Seattle 107
Golden State 101


ESPN.com:  HELP |  ADVERTISER INFO |  CONTACT US |  TOOLS |  SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.