Lowly Mavericks Better Than Clippers

Michael Finley and Gary Trent of the Dallas Mavericks are regarded as solid players around the league, but Saturday night, the Clippers made them look like future Hall of Famers.

Finley, who averaged 16.7 points the first nine games of the season, broke loose for 31 points and 10 rebounds, and Trent came off the bench to get 25 points and 16 rebounds to help the Mavericks hand the winless Clippers their seventh consecutive defeat, 105-90, before an announced 10,946 at the Sports Arena.

Those hoping for the Clippers’ first victory went home extremely disappointed as a supposedly tired Maverick team, which came in with a 1-8 record, outworked the Clippers in the fourth quarter.

“If anything was going to happen for us to wake up, this has to be at least one of the games,” forward Maurice Taylor said. “Everything was in our favor. They were playing back-to-back and they were on a road trip for a while and we had time to rest. Time to prepare. If this doesn’t wake us, I don’t know what will.”

Clipper Coach Chris Ford was not pleased with how his team fell apart down the stretch against Dallas, which had lost at Golden State on Friday night and was playing its sixth game of a seven-game trip. The Clippers had not played since losing in double overtime to Vancouver at the Arrowhead Pond on Tuesday.

“You see [the players’] body language and reactions to things that occur,” Ford said. “I think the guys have to be more respectful for one another. If you want respect around the league, you should to have respect for one another first of all. As I keep saying, there are going to be mistakes made out there.”

Eric Piatkowski, who led the Clippers with 16 points, said the Clippers have to stick together.

“You can’t be out there on the floor yelling at teammates,” Piatkowski said. “If a guy misses you [with a pass], he’s not missing you on purpose. Look at Utah, you don’t see Jeff Hornacek rolling his eyes when John Stockton misses him. We have to cut that out.”

As one would expect in a game between two teams with a combined record of 1-14 coming in, the start of Saturday’s game was not highlight material unless it was for a blooper show.

For nearly two minutes, Dallas and the Clippers exchanged fumbled passes, kicked dribbles and forced shots until Finley put Dallas ahead with a steal and a fastbreak basket.

The Mavericks continued to hold the lead the rest of the first quarter with Finley and former Laker Cedric Ceballos doing most of the damage by combining for 15 points. The Clippers were able to head into the second quarter tied, 19-19, thanks to a late rally led by Lorenzen Wright and Darrick Martin.

Using a variety of moves, Finley continued his hot shooting with nine more points in the second quarter and the Clippers were fortunate to trail only 48-45 at halftime. Rookie Tyrone Nesby was huge reason why the Clippers were close with four rebounds and solid defense off the bench in place of Lamond Murray, who had only four points in the first half.

Dallas came out more aggressive in the third quarter and extended its lead to 10 with Steve Nash joining Finley as the Mavericks’ top scorers. Nash, who has struggled since signing as a free agent from Phoenix this season, discovered his outside shot and scored nine of his 13 points in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Finley and Trent dominated the Clippers as Dallas cruised to its first road victory of the season.

“You saw [Finley] on a good night,” Dallas Coach Don Nelson said. “He hasn’t always had these kind of nights this year.”

The Clippers don’t catch a break with their next game. They play at Utah on Monday.

“We broke down defensively,” Taylor said. “They had too many layups where they were wide open. We had too many breakdowns. Until we as a team decide that opponents are not going to score. We are not going to win.”

Murray, the Clippers’ leading scorer, made his first start at shooting guard in place of Piatkowski and struggled with only six points in 23 minutes. Rookie Michael Olowokandi had eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds in his fourth consecutive start.