Mavericks mishandle ball down stretch

updated 1:16 a.m. ET May 25, 2006

DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t hold on to the ball when it mattered most, then threw away their last chance to win.

Two-time MVP Steve Nash made sure the Phoenix Suns took full advantage of the opportunity in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

The Mavericks had four turnovers in the final 1:17, the last when Marquis Daniels threw an inbound pass over Dirk Nowitzki’s head and out of bounds with 0.5 seconds left in their 121-118 loss Wednesday night.

“It was a play designed to get a quick shot for Dirk,” Daniels said. “It didn’t work out the way we wanted.”

Dallas had 16 turnovers in the game, one-fourth of them coming at the end.

And Nowitzki, who had 25 points and 19 rebounds, didn’t score again after his putback and free throw with 6:15 left.

“The last couple of minutes, everything went wrong that could have gone wrong,” Nowitzki said. “Our execution was horrible. ... It’s a disappointing loss, a tough way to start the series.”

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Just two nights after ending their emotional, seven-game semifinal series against San Antonio, the Mavericks are right back where they were last year against the Suns — down in the series after the first game.

“Obviously we scored enough points to win the game,” Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. “We couldn’t hold the lead at the end. We didn’t execute.”

After keeping up with the Suns’ fast pace through the first three quarters, Dallas was the first team to 100 and surged ahead by as many as nine points early in the fourth quarter. The lead was still 109-103 when Phoenix guard Raja Bell had to be helped off the floor with an injured left calf with 5½ minutes left.

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Dallas even matched its largest lead when Devin Harris drove for a layup and made a free throw with 3:43 to make it 114-105.

But the Suns still had Nash on the floor, and they got plenty of help down the stretch from Dallas — which had been missing Josh Howard since the first quarter because of a sprained right ankle. Howard will have an MRI on Thursday.

Adrian Griffin had the first crucial turnover with 1:17 left, and Nash hit a 3-pointer to get the Suns within 116-115. That was the last of 10 straight Phoenix points by Nash after he had assisted on the previous three baskets.

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Harris, who had 30 points for Dallas, was called for an offensive foul with 55 seconds left when he tried to drive against Nash. At the other end, Nash fed Shawn Marion for a slam dunk and a 117-116 lead.

Jerry Stackhouse then turned the ball over for Dallas, but Boris Diaw — who scored 34 points — had his shot blocked by Keith Van Horn.

“The game got away from us,” Stackhouse said. “This is a game we should win. We expect to do better down the stretch. They got whatever they wanted and we had a few botched plays.”

After a timeout, the Mavericks ran a play and Harris hit a jumper with 4.8 seconds left to for a 118-117 lead. That left plenty of time for Phoenix, and Diaw hit the go-ahead shot with 0.5 left.

With one chance left for a winning shot, and in the frontcourt after a timeout, Daniels threw the ball past Nowitzki and everybody else. Tim Thomas then made two free throws for the final margin after the Suns inbounded the ball.

“We were bad in a lot of areas we have to improve on in a hurry,” Johnson said. “Defensively ... Nash, too easy. Diaw, too easy.”

Marion had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns, who are coming off a pair of seven-game playoff series.

Nash, the MVP in both of his seasons in Phoenix since leaving Dallas, had 27 points and 16 assists. Nash averaged 30 points and 12 assists in their six-game semifinal series last year.

“Nash must feel like he owns this team,” Stackhouse said. “If we find a way to get one more stop, this is a whole different song.”

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