Jackson's hot hands seal the show By MEGAN MANFULL

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/rox/2438307

March 8, 2004, 1:12AM
Jackson's hot hands seal the show
Forward fuels 4th-quarter surge in unusual fashion by going to the hole
By MEGAN MANFULL

The Mavericks accounted for Yao Ming. They figured he would find his way to the hoop, especially with the mismatches presented by Dallas' big men. They expected to give up a number of points to him and still be able to win.

What Dallas wasn't counting on was Jim Jackson. And with an offensive outburst and strong defense down the stretch, Jackson helped the Rockets deal a 101-98 loss to the Mavericks at Toyota Center on Sunday.

Jackson finished with 24 points -- 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.

"I thought Jackson had the big game," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "When you give up a lot of points to one guy, then you have to hold everyone else down. And I thought he and (Clarence) Weatherspoon did a good job of keeping them in there when I thought we could have taken control."

Jackson came up big beyond the arc, hitting four of seven 3-pointers. But none of those baskets came in the fourth quarter. Instead, Jackson exploited the holes in Dallas' zone defense and drove inside. He scored on three fourth-quarter layups.

Jackson's most critical points came with less than three minutes left in the game when he rebounded Steve Francis' missed layup and scored to extend the Rockets' lead to 88-80. The Mavericks came back with five unanswered points, cutting their deficit to three, but Jackson hit a 14-foot jumper to put the Rockets up 90-85.

"What happened is they extended the zone a lot more, so that allowed us to drive a lot more and get in some gaps, and that's what I was trying to do," said Jackson, who also finished with six rebounds, five assists and two steals. "Because if they are going to give us the lane, why take 3-pointers? Exploit the defense, and if you can get the ball up on the glass, you may be able to get a second or third try."

Jackson didn't only contribute offensively down the stretch. With 14.9 seconds left and the Rockets up 95-92, the Mavericks were set to inbound the ball. Antoine Walker was at midcourt looking for Steve Nash, and as Nash made his move to get open, Jackson read the play, stepping toward the top of the key and snatching the pass.

"We tried to set a screen to Steve, and they played it well," Walker said. "Jimmy Jackson read the play real well."

As soon as he got the ball, Jackson said, he planned to hold on to it, knowing the Mavericks would foul him. Instead, he saw Francis open on the Rockets' end of the floor. In an attempt to run out the clock, he passed to Francis, who was fouled by Walker when he drove toward the hoop. Francis made one of two free throws, extending the Rockets' lead to 96-92.

"Jackson was like a defensive back. He saw it coming, and he was able to steal that pass," Francis said. "(When I got the ball) I didn't even look at the basket. I was thinking about running the time off. It worked out for us."

Jackson, who played for the Mavericks for 4 1/2 seasons, is averaging 22.3 points against Dallas this season. His 24-point outing Sunday was his best offensive night since he scored a season-high 28 points against Sacramento on Jan. 28.

Although Jackson started out quietly against the Mavericks on Sunday -- attempting only three field goals in the first quarter and scoring five points -- he looked for open scoring opportunities as the Mavericks switched to a zone defense in the second half. He attempted a season-high 17 field goals and knocked down nine of them.

"A team that plays zone, you know you're going to have open shots," Jackson said. "It's just a matter of when and where and how you're going to get them. You have to be patient, but you have to know, too, that you can't just rely on the jump shots. You have to exploit that `D' by putting the ball on the ground and making those guys play you."

 

Codell please explain??