# GT: Dallas Mavericks @ Chicago Bulls



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

*







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*Dallas Mavericks [11-6] @ Chicago Bulls [4-10]*
 | Monday, December 03 2007 | Chicago, Illinois | United Center | 8:30 pm ET | 
| *TV*: FSNSW, NBA TV | *Radio*: KESN-FM 103.3; KFLC-AM 1270 (Spanish) |


*Game Notes*

Things might finally be turning around for the Chicago Bulls, who have won consecutive games for the first time this season. 

They'll go for three in a row Monday when they host the Dallas Mavericks at the United Center. 

The Bulls (4-10), widely expected to be one of the Eastern Conference's best teams, struggled in losing 10 of their first 12 games. But they've rebounded with consecutive home wins, including a 111-95 win over Charlotte Saturday. 

Slow starts are nothing new for Chicago. In 2004-05, the Bulls started 2-13 before finishing 47-35, and last season, they stumbled to a 3-9 start before a 49-33 finish. 

They're hoping this season's early struggles will be similarly forgotten, and the last two games have been a step in the right direction. They held Atlanta to 30 first-half points in a 90-78 win last Tuesday, and Ben Wallace posted his first double-double of the season in Saturday's victory with 10 points and 19 rebounds. 

"We're just trying to work on getting better as a team," Wallace said Saturday. "I think that we definitely think that we can be one of the elite teams in this league, but as of late we haven't been playing like it. Tonight we came out and put together a great effort collective, as a team." 

Ben Gordon and Luol Deng each shot 13-for-21 against the Bobcats, with Gordon scoring 34 and Deng 29 -- both season highs. The Bulls shot a season-best 54.3 percent from the field in that game, the first time they've been above 46 percent. 

For the season, their 39.7 percent mark from the field is still the worst in the NBA. 

"We are not going to shoot 50 percent every game," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "The wide-open ones, you have to make 80 percent of those and tonight we did." 

The Mavericks (11-6) also think they're capable of more than they've been showing recently. Dallas has lost four of six since a 9-2 start, including a 112-108 overtime loss at New Orleans on Saturday. 

Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki each scored 19 points, but the Mavericks squandered a late five-point lead and were held scoreless for a pivotal 2:20 stretch of overtime. 

"Our guys were battling. We were rebounding. We were getting after it. We left everything out there on the floor," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "The game never should have gone into overtime. ... Hopefully, we will learn from this situation and do better." 

Nowitzki was 5 of 15 from the field in the game, and is averaging just 20.9 points, his lowest since the 1999-2000 season. 

The Mavs have lost three straight road games, their worst since a four-game skid from March 3-11, 2004. They are 3-5 outside of Dallas after going 31-10 on the road last season. 

Dallas has won 16 of the last 18 between the teams, but Chicago handed the Mavericks one of their 10 road losses in 2006-07, a 96-85 victory on Jan. 25. The Bulls limited them to 31.2 percent shooting and ended a seven-game losing streak to Dallas at the United Center.



*Starting Lineups*






































*Kirk Hinrich - Ben Gordon - Luol Deng - Tyrus Thomas - Ben Wallace*

*vs.*





































*Devin Harris - Jason Terry - Josh Howard - Dirk Nowitzki - Erick Dampier*



*Injuries*

*Bulls:* None.
*Mavs:* Devean George (left foot) and Eddie Jones (right leg) are out. 











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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

CHI wins by 7


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## someone (Jul 17, 2007)

edwardcyh said:


> CHI wins by 7


are you serious? wow, bulls fan but I have to go with Dallas here.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

liekomgj4ck said:


> are you serious? wow, bulls fan but I have to go with Dallas here.


Take Ben Wallace off the line-up against DAL, and it's an easy W for CHI.

Ben is big and slow, but a smaller and faster line-up will surely kill DAL. Plus, DAL sucks on the road. :cheers:


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## someone (Jul 17, 2007)

this thread needs a stickie :-D


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## Jet (Jul 1, 2005)

Chicago is going to win.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

If the Mavs were to win it all, they would still suck imo. :biggrin:


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

xray said:


> If the Mavs were to win it all, they would still suck imo. :biggrin:


You are just jealous that somebody else sucks.... :biggrin:


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

are we gonna blow the 4th quarter lead again?!!


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## someone (Jul 17, 2007)

told you guys the mavs would win, geez... :lol:


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

I was watching the highlights and all I saw was jump shots ... jump shots ... jump shots ... jump shots and jump shots. :whoknows:


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

liekomgj4ck said:


> told you guys the mavs would win, geez... :lol:


Ben Wallace played the COMPLETE GAME!

That's 4 pts, 8 boards, 0 blocks, 0 stl.... in *48 minutes* of PT! If Wallace had been on the pine for just 15 minutes, DAL wouldn't have won the game.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Bass continues to roll with 12 points (8/8 from FT), 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 ast, and 2 reb with *15 minutes* of PT.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

croco said:


> I was watching the highlights and all I saw was jump shots ... jump shots ... jump shots ... jump shots and jump shots. :whoknows:


AJ seems to think that's the BEST way to beat a zone defense is taking outside shots.... :lol:

I could have sworn.... when you force the other team to settle for outside jump shots, your zone defense is working.

Oh well.... difference in opinion I suppose.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> AJ seems to think that's the BEST way to beat a zone defense is taking outside shots.... :lol:
> 
> I could have sworn.... when you force the other team to settle for outside jump shots, your zone defense is working.
> 
> Oh well.... difference in opinion I suppose.


Amen :dead:

Sometimes I get the feeling that it doesn't really matter if the shot clock is at 22 or 2, they are going to take a jumpshot after 20 seconds with no movement anyway.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

croco said:


> Amen :dead:
> 
> Sometimes I get the feeling that it doesn't really matter if the shot clock is at 22 or 2, they are going to take a jumpshot after 20 seconds with no movement anyway.


That depends on what you mean by movement....

If you consider 4 players camped at 3-point line and swinging the ball around, that's...... sort of movement.

If you are talking about movement, as in players running assignment and designed plays, wow... you are asking too much.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

I mean we could go really small and have five players standing around the three-point line.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

croco said:


> I mean we could go really small and have five players standing around the three-point line.


Barea, Harris, JET, Stack, JHo?

lol... now that's a jump shooting team.


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