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STAT SHEET STUFFER
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 Usually, 0-for-10 from the floor leads to a pretty bad night, but Andre Miller found other ways to pick up his stats. The Denver guard scored all of his points from the free throw line, hitting on 10-of-12 from the charity stripe, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with nine assists, six steals and a blocked shot.
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RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE
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 Toronto's Jose Calderon got the start and played 39 minutes, racking up eight points and eight assists. If this continues, Calderon could become a poor man's Brevin Knight.
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GAME OF THE NIGHT
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The Mavericks were 9-3 heading into Monday night's game. The Raptors were 1-13. This one should have been easy. However, Toronto showed that despite its struggles it should not be taken lightly, pulling ahead by six after a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter. Dallas fought back behind Dirk Nowitzki, who tied it 89-89 on back-to-back threes and gave Dallas the lead with a jumper. But Toronto would not go away. Matt Bonner drained a long jumper from the left corner to tie the score with two ticks remaining. Then, after taking an inbounds pass from Marquis Daniels, Jason Terry sliced through Toronto's defense and hit a teardrop runner to bail the Mavs out and give them the thrilling 93-91 win.
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QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
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"I was praying in the huddle that coach ( Avery Johnson) would call my name. I've been in that situation time in and time out and I love it. I want the ball in my hands."
- Dallas' Jason Terry on his mindset prior to hitting the game-winning shot on Monday.
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STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT
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 1. Davis' Key Contribution
Baron Davis spent the first six seasons of his career in a Hornets uniform, the final three of which were played in the city of New Orleans. Now in his first full season with Golden State, Davis let his former community know that he has not forgotten them. For each of the 17 points he scored in Monday's 99-83 Warriors' win, Davis pledged $500 to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Golden State Warriors Foundation matched the $8,500 raised by Davis. "It was a great cause, and I wanted to do something special for the city of New Orleans," Davis said. "The best thing that I could do was something for the people of New Orleans, who received and welcomed me with open arms and were very hospitable to me while I was there."
 2. Rare Act of Magic
Steve Francis' 19-point effort on Monday night not only gave the Magic an 87-83 victory over the Celtics, it also gave them a four-game winning streak, a feat that has not been accomplished by an Orlando squad since 2002-03. In addition to the Celtics, they have taken down the Wizards, the Blazers and the Heat on their current stretch, which has pulled them over .500 for the first time this season. They will look to make it five straight Tuesday night in Chicago.
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ROOKIE WATCH
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 After pumping in 17 points and hitting the game-winning three on Saturday, Nate Robinson continued to show signs of improvement for Larry Brown's Knicks squad on Monday. The diminutive guard scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and hit 2-of-3 from downtown. Unfortunately for Robinson and New York, the Heat rolled to an easy 107-94 win.
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COOL/CLUTCH PERFORMANCE
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Jason Terry may have hit the game winner, but it was Dirk Nowitzki who carried Dallas to victory on Monday. Nowitzki scored 24 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, including eight in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter to bring the Mavs back from six points down and set up Terry's heroics. "That's why he is our MVP," Terry said after the game. "He relishes those situations and we told him to just keep shooting it."
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SCOREBOARD: Nov. 28, 2005 |
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
