Phoenix is denied NBA's best mark at the break

PHOENIX (AP) -- Before the Dallas Mavericks embarked on a tough four-game road trip leading up to the NBA All-Star game, coach Don Nelson had a heart-to-heart talk with Michael Finley, asking him to be more productive.

Finley sure has responded.

He matched his season high with 33 points and Josh Howard had a career-high 30, helping the undermanned Mavericks rally from a 10-point halftime deficit for a 119-113 victory over Phoenix on Thursday night.

The loss dropped the Suns to 41-13 and denied them an opportunity to finish with the best record in the NBA before the All-Star break. Instead, that honor goes to the idle San Antonio Spurs (41-12).

Dallas (35-16) completed a perfect four-game trip with the victory. The Mavericks beat three of the league's elite -- Phoenix, Sacramento and Seattle, in addition to Golden State -- on the swing through the West.

"We went into four hostile environments and got four big wins," Finley said.

Finley, one of the league's elite players for many years, had been playing below par before his talk with Nelson. His shots weren't falling and he wasn't his usual aggressive self. Even some of his teammates wanted Finley to step up his game.

"They harped on me to be more aggressive," he said.

"More than offense, we wanted consistent leadership from him, more rebounding and tougher defense," assistant coach Avery Johnson said. "Sometimes, you need a heart-to-heart with the coach."

Finley scored 25 points in the second half. In the fourth quarter, he connected on three 3-pointers and scored 13 points.

Howard, a second-year pro, surpassed his previous high of 26, set earlier this season.

The Suns concentrated on stopping Dirk Nowitzki, the league's third-leading scorer with a 27.1 average, and did a good job, holding him to 16 points. He also had 16 rebounds. But the other Mavericks came up big offensively.

"They hit off Nowitzki all the time and that opened the floor for everyone else," Howard said.

Nelson obviously was pleased with the Mavericks' performance on the road.

"That was an incredible trip," he said. "We just capped off a perfect week."

Amare Stoudemire topped the Suns with 31 points and 12 rebounds, Quentin Richardson had 22 points, and Steve Nash added 19 points and 11 assists -- the 11th consecutive game he had at least that many assists.

Dallas trailed by four points starting the final period, but surged in front for good at 95-93 on a layup by Howard with 8:05 left.

"We didn't stop them in the second half," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We played well in the first half, but in the second, we gave them 74 points and that is way too many. Howard played well and Finley made unbelievable shots."

Is Best Record A Real Break?
Although Phoenix (41-13) trails San Antonio (41-12) for the best record in the NBA, it might not be so bad for the Suns not to have the NBA's best mark at the All-Star break. Did you know ... the last time a team with the best record at the break that has gone on to win the NBA title was 1997 (Chicago Bulls).
Season	Team	W-L	Pct.	Champion
'04-05	Spurs	41-12	.774	???
'03-04	Kings	37-13	.740	Pistons
'02-03	Mavs	38-10	.792	Spurs
'01-02	Kings	37-12	.755	Lakers
'00-01	Sixers	36-14	.720	Lakers
'99-00	Blazers	38-11	.776	Lakers
'97-98	Sonics	37-10	.787	Bulls
'96-97	Bulls	42-6	.875	Bulls
'95-96	Bulls	42-5	.894	Bulls
*The 1998-99 season was abbreviated to 50 games because of a lockout.

The game started slowly for two teams with high-powered offenses, and the score was only 22-22 after one period. However, the pace picked up in the second quarter, when the Mavericks hit eight of their first nine field-goal attempts and bolted to a 43-37 lead with 6 minutes remaining.

Then, the Suns ran off 11 straight points, capped by a tap-in and a 3-pointer by Richardson, and led 48-43. After Nowitzki hit a jumper, the Suns finished the half with a 7-0 spurt, including an 11-foot jumper by Stoudemire at the buzzer. That combined 18-2 burst gave the Suns a 55-45 lead at intermission.

By that time, they already had three players in double figures -- Stoudemire (16), Nash (12) and Richardson (10). The Suns did a lot of their damage in the paint, outscoring Dallas 20-10 in that area.

Howard's 13 points topped the Mavericks, who hit only one of their final 10 shots in the second period.

Dallas, sparked by Finley's 12 points and Howard's 10, cut the Suns' lead to one point, 84-83, in the closing seconds of the third quarter, but Nash's three-point play with nine-tenths of a second remaining gave Phoenix an 87-83 advantage at the end of the period.

Game notes
The Mavericks were missing three of their key players -- center Erick Dampier (strained tendon in right foot), swingman Jerry Stackhouse (strained right groin) and point guard Marquis Daniels (appendectomy). ... All five Suns' starters -- Stoudemire, Nash, Shawn Marion, Richardson and Joe Johnson -- will participate in various activities during All-Star weekend in Denver. ... The crowd of 18,422 was the Suns' 12th sellout of the season; they had only six all last season. ... Phoenix's 16-point scoring increase from last season is the largest in the shot clock era, and its average of more than 110 points is the highest in the league in 10 years. ... Dallas' 38 points in the third quarter matched the high against the Suns this season.