Mavericks’ Coach Nelson Has Prostate Cancer

The Dallas Mavericks had more serious subjects on their minds after losing to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

Coach Don Nelson told his players after the 109-102 loss at Houston that he has prostate cancer.

“That really puts the game in perspective,” Michael Finley said. “His life is a lot more important than any basketball game. But he’s a fighter and I have confidence he’ll get through this. We’ll all be praying for him.”

Nelson, 60, plans to see his doctor today in Dallas, and will seek a second opinion.

“It’s a tough thing,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who scored a career-high 35 points in the loss. “It’s very sad but hopefully everything will work out for him.”

Nelson, who said he was “not shaken up” before the game, didn’t want to talk about the cancer after.

“I’ve said all I want to say about my prostate right now,” he said. “I’ve already talked enough about that for a lifetime.”

Steve Francis scored a career-high 36 points for Houston, and Shandon Anderson scored 22.

“This was a huge win for us,” Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “We could have just showed up. We had a lot of guys sick and we were going against a team playing very well.

“They’re very hard to defend but we found a way to get it done.”

Indiana 88, New Jersey 64--Jalen Rose scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half and Reggie Miller scored all 16 of his points in the first two quarters at Indianapolis as the Pacers extended the Nets’ losing streak to eight games.

Miami 100, Atlanta 92--A.C. Green scored a season-high 14 points to lead the Heat at Atlanta.

Minnesota 100, Chicago 90--Kevin Garnett scored 25 points and Chauncey Billups added 22 for the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Cleveland 71, Charlotte 66--Andre Miller, not known for his outside shooting, scored 17 of his 20 points on jumpers at Cleveland and the Cavaliers ended a four-game losing streak.

Sacramento 81, San Antonio 75--Chris Webber scored 30 points and the Kings held the Spurs without a field goal in the final eight minutes at Sacramento.

Orlando 101, Boston 98--Tracy McGrady scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Magic at Orlando, Fla.

Vancouver 91, Detroit 83--Backup center Bryant Reeves grabbed two critical rebounds and made four crucial free throws in the fourth quarter for the Grizzlies at Vancouver, Canada.