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GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) _ The Dallas Mavericks had a lot to celebrate
Wednesday night. Michael Finley scored 14 of his 24 points in the first quarter
as the Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-100, capping
their best season in 13 years with a victory in their final
regular-season game at Reunion Arena. Dallas won its last four to finish 53-29, matching the record of
the 1987-88 team for the second-most wins in franchise history. The
Mavericks, who haven't won a playoff game since '87-88, open the
postseason Saturday in Utah. Minnesota finished 47-35 with losses in four of its last five,
and all the defeats on the road. The Timberwolves open the playoffs
Saturday in San Antonio. With Dallas playing for milestones and Minnesota playing out the
schedule, the result was predictable. The Timberwolves showed their
indifference before tipoff by placing Kevin Garnett on the injured
list with a bruised left calf. He'll be back for the playoffs. Finley personally outscored Minnesota for much of the first
quarter and the Mavericks led by as many as 17. The margin was 31
by the third quarter. The Timberwolves emptied their bench by halftime and the
Mavericks did so by the third quarter. At one point in the second quarter, Dallas had players from five
countries on the court: Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Steve Nash
(Canada), Eduardo Najera (Mexico), Wang Zhizhi (China) and Vernon
Maxwell (United States). Wang played a season-high 17 minutes and scored 13 points. And,
for the second time in his eight-game career, he hit the basket
that guaranteed Mavs fans free chalupas, drawing thunderous cheers.
He acknowledged it with a smile and wave of his index finger. Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points to finish with a team-best
scoring average of 21.8 points. He fell 0.5 ppg shy of the record
for a foreigner set by the late Drazen Petrovic in 1992-93. Finley played a season-low 24 minutes, but it was enough to make
him the league leader in minutes per game at 42, just ahead of
Allen Iverson. It's the second straight year he's done that and the
third time in four years. By not playing, Garnett secured a nice statistical feat of his
own. His averages of 22 points, 11.4 rebounds and five assists make
him the seventh player to have multiple 20-10-5 seasons and the
fifth to do it in consecutive seasons. The last was Larry Bird in
1983-84 and '84-85, the end of his record run of five straight. Chauncey Billups led Minnesota with 21 points in 19 minutes.
Felipe Lopez had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
^Notes: A halftime tribute to Reunion Arena included appearances by
former players Mark Aguirre, Derek Harper, Rolando Blackman and
Brad Davis, plus former coach Dick Motta and former owners Don
Carter and Ross Perot Jr. Current owner Mark Cuban got the loudest
cheer and ex-Mav Jason Kidd the loudest boos when he was shown on a
video. ... Dallas went 12-6 in their final 18 games, 16 of which
were against teams with winning records. ... By beating Minnesota
for the sixth time in nine tries, Dallas evened the all-time series
at 28-28.
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