Mavs Win Again

Sunday, February 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Michael Finley scored eight of his 34 points in overtime, sparking the Dallas Mavericks to a 103-99 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies on Sunday night.
Steve Nash, from nearby Victoria, B.C., enjoyed a sweet homecoming, scoring 24 points off the bench as the Mavericks won their third straight and improved to 7-1 in their last eight games.
The victory marked the fastest the Mavericks have reached the 20-win plateau since they went 20-20 in the 1989-90 season. Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored a season-high 36 points and set a franchise record with 22 rebounds for the Grizzlies. After Vancouver's Michael Dickerson hit a 16-footer with 7.4 seconds left to tie it at 91 and force overtime, the Mavericks took control at the start of the extra session.
Finley started overtime by sinking two free throws, putting the Mavericks ahead for good. Ahead 97-93, Finley sealed the victory by hitting two more free throws with 23.6 seconds left. Finley got to the line after Shawn Bradley intercepted Grant Long's inbounds pass which was intended for Abdur-Rahim, who turned the wrong way. Abdur-Rahim and Dickerson hit 3-point shots in the final 11seconds, but couldn't get any closer as Finley and Nash each made two free throws.
Notes: Despite the inevitable distractions that Dennis Rodman will bring, the Mavericks are anxious to welcome the Worm, who is expected to make his debut against Seattle on Wednesday. "It's just a matter of us allowing him to affect us positively, and anything that he would do to deter from our success just to ignore it and not allow it to affect us," said Nash. ... The officials called three illegal defenses against the Mavericks in the 10 minutes of the game. ... Dickerson, the Grizzlies' second-leading scorer, went 0-for-10 from the field before hitting a five-foot jumper with 3:39 left in the game and eventually finished with 14 points, five of them scored in overtime.