Donnie Nelson Loses in First Game

DALLAS (AP) â€” When the buzzer sounded on the Dallas Mavericks' loss to the Detroit Pistons, Donnie Nelson dropped his head and slumped his shoulders. <br><br>An emotionally wrenching game ended in

Thursday, January 4th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DALLAS (AP) â€” When the buzzer sounded on the Dallas Mavericks' loss to the Detroit Pistons, Donnie Nelson dropped his head and slumped his shoulders.

An emotionally wrenching game ended in a 107-104 defeat, and as disappointed as he was for himself, he was equally upset that he couldn't deliver a victory for his father.

Don Nelson watched Wednesday night's game on television in the coaches' locker room, then headed to Utah for prostate cancer surgery early Thursday. He had hoped to coach one final game before his leave of absence, but didn't feel up to it.

The medication he's been taking for a few days, combined with a two-day fast from solid foods, left Nelson weak, so his son's stint as interim coach began a game earlier than expected.

``Once the game went up, it was pretty natural,'' said the younger Nelson, an NBA assistant for 15 years. ``Afterwards, it was hard. Coach did not react very well to some of his medication.''

Nelson is expected to spend about a week at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. He'll likely be gone from the team 6-to-8 weeks, missing up to 26 games.

``He didn't talk to us,'' center Shawn Bradley said. ``We all knew he wasn't going to be here. He needs to get his mind right for what's coming up. We'll miss him, but we understand the situation. We'll be thinking of him.''

Fans arriving for Wednesday night's game signed a ``Get Well Nellie'' banner, then saw it paraded around the court during pregame introductions. A youngster waved a poster that read ``Get Wellie Nellie.''

Donnie Nelson was quiet at the start, watching most of the first quarter crouched near midcourt. He shouted simple commands such as ``Go!'' ``Run!'' and ``Back!'' as Dallas trailed by 15 midway through the second quarter.

He became more animated in the second half as the Mavericks rallied to lead by three, fell behind by 12 and tied the game in the final minute.

Then Detroit's Jerry Stackhouse hit three free throws in the final 26 seconds, and Dallas couldn't answer. Steve Nash missed two 3-pointers in the closing seconds that would've forced overtime.

Stackhouse finished with 33 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, prompting coach George Irvine to call this Stackhouse's best game of the season.

``We needed one like that,'' Stackhouse said. ``We gave ourselves a chance all night long by doing the right things, especially in the late stretches. We did all the things that coach has talked about.''

Joe Smith, heavily pursued by Dallas after his Minnesota contract was voided, added season highs of 28 points and 15 rebounds as the Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak.

Michael Finley led the Mavs with 35 points, and Dirk Nowitzki added 19 of his 25 in the second half, including two straight 3-pointers that tied it at 102.

During the comeback, Nelson bounced along the sidelines and could hardly contain his emotions. He used body English to help shots fall and once flashed a signal with one hand while waving encouragement with the other.

``I knew last night that there was a strong possibility that he would not be physically able to coach, judging how he was reacting to his medicine,'' Donnie Nelson said. ``He wanted to leave it for a game-time decision.''

Doctors warned the 60-year-old Nelson that he might not feel up to coaching the night before his surgery, but he refused to ease his schedule until he experienced side effects.

``Nellie's played with 205-degree temperatures. He's one of those guys who is an old warhorse, he's going to show up and do his job,'' his son said. ``Until you actually go through it, you don't know how your body is going to respond.''

So what about that projected two-month absence?

``I would say that's highly likely,'' Donnie Nelson said.

The potential upside for Donnie is doing a good enough job to get hired by another NBA team.

The downside?

``You don't want to be fired by your own old man,'' he said.