Nelson Ties Auerbach's Record; Battles Cancer

D A L L A S, Dec. 7 -- Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson will rememberWednesday night’s victory over the New York Knicks for two reasons.

The win was the 938th of his career, tying him with his mentor,Red Auerbach, for fourth on the NBA career list. Auerbach wasNelson’s longtime coach on the Boston Celtics.

Equally important was the fact that Nelson’s players dedicatedthe victory to him the day after he learned that he has prostatecancer.

A Mentor in Red

“This is a very special win for me personally because I had twomentors [as a player],” Nelson said. “One was Jack McMahon, my first coach in the NBA with the Chicago Zephyrs, and the other was Red Auerbach, who I played for and was my general manager at Boston for so long. To tie him is indeed a special evening for me, and Iwould hope that Red would sign [the game ball].”

Nelson will continue to run the team despite the cancerdiagnosis. Nelson said before the game that he will explore hisoptions for treatment as soon as possible and then will determinehow much time he will miss.

Michael Finley scored 21 points, Howard Eisley added 17 andSteve Nash 14 as all five of Dallas’ starters scored in doublefigures.

Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points and 14 rebounds and Davis added 15points for the Mavericks, who improved to 4-0 against the EasternConference.

After the game, the focus was on Nelson and his battle withcancer.

“We love to play for him, and we said congratulations to himafter the game,” Nowitzki said.

Marcus Camby had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Allan Houstonadded 17 points for New York, which had its three-game winningstreak halted.

Knicks Trapped

Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said his team fell into the trap ofattempting to match the Mavericks’ long-range shooting. Dallas shot 54.8 percent from the field and outrebounded New York 46-35.

“We tried to jump shoot with them and we’re not as good a jump-shooting team,” Van Gundy said. “We got mauled on the boards. We got broken down on the dribble and didn’t get the appropriate help.”