Golden State Crashes Mavericks' Celebration
Warriors 107, Mavericks 104
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Tuesday, November 7, 2006; 1:54 AM
DALLAS - Don Nelson has walked off a basketball court with a hand on the shoulder of his pal Del Harris plenty of times.
Never under circumstances this wild, though.
Nelson and the Golden State Warriors crashed the Dallas Mavericks' celebration of last season and continued their slow start to this season with a 107-104 victory Monday night.
While Nelson's return to his old stomping grounds was the major story line, the Mavs added to the drama with forward Josh Howard spraining his ankle, coach Avery Johnson and point guard Jason Terry getting ejected, then botching a final sequence -- with no help from the officials.
"I never expected this win," said Nelson, who came out of retirement late this summer to take over the Warriors. "I didn't think we'd be able to beat a good team at this point of the season, but I was wrong. I'm very proud of my squad. You take the win when you can get it."
Nelson and Mavs owner Mark Cuban are squabbling over $6 million, which is likely why there was no formal recognition for the winningest coach in Mavs history. Still, he received a warm ovation from fans and took pride in the unveiling of a banner recognizing Dallas for being the 2005-06 Western Conference champions.
"At 66, you don't find a lot of emotion except for love and death. But it was a special (night) for me," Nelson said.
Jason Richardson put Golden State ahead 107-97 with a layup with 2:26 left, but Dallas rallied to get within a 3-pointer of forcing overtime.
Jerry Stackhouse missed one with about 5 seconds left, then Anthony Johnson got the rebound and headed for the 3-point line. He instead passed to Devin Harris in the corner. Harris passed it back and time expired before Johnson could shoot.
All the while, Del Harris -- who took over when Avery Johnson was tossed before halftime -- was near midcourt screaming for a timeout. He had been hollering since before Stackhouse's shot.
"You could pretty much hear him through the monitor," said Johnson, who was watching on television.
When Harris complained to official Dan Crawford, he apologized and gestured that he couldn't hear Harris over the crowd. Nelson smiled, laughed and gave Harris a pat on the back, then they left the court together.
