The Denver Post reports: Forward Chris Andersen has had perhaps the best season of his career, but in this series he may have moved to the category of “indispensable.” He is the Nuggets’ most effective defender against Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, and never was that more apparent than Monday night. Andersen missed the game with a bout of food poisoning and Nowitzki went berserk, scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter and 44 points total in Dallas’ 119-117 victory. Asked if he would be ready for tonight, Andersen said, “I’m going to have a really large storage of energy.”
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Mavs avoid sweep at hands of Nuggets
The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs awoke from their early-game slumber with rally after rally, getting close or even tied yet unable to get ahead until the former MVP made a tough, high-arching shot with 1:05 left. Having worked so hard for the lead, they weren’t about to give it back, pulling out a 119-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night to avoing being swept… Carmelo Anthony scored a career playoff-best 41 points and snagged five steals. He was the one turning away most Dallas rallies and made a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left that got Denver within a point. Yet when Mavericks guard Jason Terry intentionally missed a free throw with 1.1 ticks left, Anthony was out of answers. He got the rebound, but couldn’t stop the clock and didn’t even have time to try a 90-foot heave… “We’ve been fighting and fighting this whole series,” said Mavs forward Josh Howard, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds on two bad ankles… “They’re allowed to be fans, but when it gets personal, it goes over the top,” said Denver’s Chauncey Billups, who had 24 points and seven assists.
NBA says refs missed intentional foul in Mavs-Nuggets Game 3
Joel Litvin, NBA President, League and Basketball Operations, issued the following statement regarding the final seconds of Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks:
“At the end of the Dallas-Denver game this evening, the officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony’s three-point basket.”
Melo clutch as Nuggets beat Mavericks 106-105
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The Denver Nuggets Saturday evening got 32 points from Chauncey Billups and 31 from Carmelo Anthony, beating the Mavericks in Dallas to take a 3-0 lead in their second round NBA playoffs series.
The final and biggest shot of the night came with one second left from Nuggets star small forward Carmelo Anthony, who nailed a big three-pointer from the left side of the court.
There was controversy, as just before Melo took that shot, Mavericks swingman Antoine Wright bumped Anthony, intentionally trying to foul him. The bump wasn’t very hard, though, and no call was made. Melo didn’t stop and nailed the shot anyway.
Wright’s bump on Melo was close. It was a “touch-bump,” if you will. It probably should have been called, but it was not a clear “must-call.” It wasn’t a particularly hard bump and it didn’t really affect Melo. Wright probably should have just grabbed him or something.
As for the game, it was close most of the way through. The Nuggets led 48-45 at halftime. The Mavericks led 80-79 after three-quarters.
STAT BREAKDOWN
In the win, Billups (9-of-16) had 32, but just 3 assists. Anthony (just 9-of-24, but 11-of-14 free throws) had 31, plus 8 rebounds and a pair of steals. Kenyon Martin (5-of-6) had 12, but just 4 rebounds. J.R. Smith (just 3-of-10) had 10 with 6 rebounds off the bench.
In the loss, Dirk Nowitzki (9-of-19, 13-of-15 free throws) scored 33, with 16 rebounds and 2 blocks. Jason Terry (5-of-12) had 17 with 4 rebounds off the bench. Brandon Bass (2-of-5) fought hard and earned 14 free throw attempts for 16 points and 5 rebounds. Josh Howard (just 5-of-15) had 14 points, 7 rebounds and more turnovers than assists. Jason Kidd scored 13 with 5 rebounds, 5 assists.
Both teams shot badly (though the Nuggets were slightly better from three-point range), and spent much of the night on the free throw line, with Dallas connecting on 40-of-49, and Denver hitting 32-of-40.
Denver controlled the ball, committing only 7 turnovers. The Mavericks had just one steal (Josh Howard).
THE AFTERMATH
The Mavericks boiled over with frustation after the loss, with several players yelling at anyone nearby who would listen. Passionate team owner Mark Cuban stormed down the sideline of the court and shoved aside the off-arm of a cameraman who was nearly in his way. I didn’t see if any Mavs players did anything crazy after the game, aside from letting off a lot of steam.
Fan discussion of the game took place in this forum topic.
-Jeff
Nuggets take Game 2, beat Mavericks 117-105
The AP reports: Denver didn’t trail again after J.R. Smith’s bucket, which sparked the Nuggets’ 117-105 rout Tuesday night that gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that shifts to Dallas this weekend… Carmelo Anthony scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 10 in a 16-2 spurt the Nuggets used to start the quarter and break open a close game… “I thought we were right there again like we were the other night and just things with this team can get out of hand quickly,” said Dirk Nowitzki(notes), who scored 35 points… Nene scored 25, Smith had 21 and Billups 18 for the Nuggets, who won for the 15th straight time at the Pepsi Center, where they haven’t lost since March 11.
LeBron James wins MVP
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LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.
James totaled 1,172 points including 109 first place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.
Rounding out the top five in voting for this season’s award are the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (698 points), Miami’s Dwyane Wade (680), Orlando’s Dwight Howard (328) and New Orleans’ Chris Paul (192).
James, the first Cavalier to win the award, led Cleveland in scoring (28.4 ppg, second in the NBA), rebounds (7.6 rpg), assists (7.2 apg, fourth), and steals (1.7 spg, eighth). Since the 1973-74 season when steals became an official stat, James is the fourth player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, while also leading his team to 50-plus wins (Larry Bird 1985-86; Grant Hill, 1996-97; Kevin Garnett, 2002-03). The 6-8 forward helped Cleveland to an NBA- and franchise-best 66-16 season, a 21-game improvement over last season (45-37), marking the 12th time an NBA team has reached 66 wins in a season.
More info and the voting results on our NBA MVP page.
Nene busts out, Nuggets beat Mavericks 109-95
The AP reports: Nene scored 18 of his career playoff high 24 points in the first half and the Denver Nuggets raced past the Dallas Mavericks 109-95 Sunday in the first day game in the Pepsi Center’s 10-year history. Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, including a dunk off J.R. Smith’s behind-the-back assist that rocked the arena in the closing minutes. Smith added 15 points, leading a bench that outscored Dallas’ celebrated reserves 38-24 before both teams emptied their benches in the meaningless final minutes. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 28 points and 10 boards and Josh Howard, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry each scored 15… Howard, who missed two 11-game stretches this season with a bum left ankle and probably needs surgery, turned his right ankle in the second quarter when he got tangled up with Billups. He went to the locker room but returned to action before halftime.
Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.
Mavericks oust Spurs from playoffs with 106-93 win
The AP reports: For the first time since 2006, the Mavericks are moving past the first round. And for the first time since 2000, the San Antonio Spurs are not. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points in his first breakout game of a lopsided series, and the Mavericks won a playoff series for the first time in three years by eliminating the Spurs in five games with a 106-93 victory on Tuesday night… Tim Duncan scored 30 and Tony Parker had 26 but again got little help—the story of the series for the two-dimensional Spurs. Predictions that the Spurs were doomed while Manu Ginobili sat out the playoffs with a bum ankle appeared largely validated, as San Antonio never got anyone to step up in his absence.
Mavs overcome Parker, Spurs for 3-1 series lead
The AP reports: Tony Parker was exhausted, having done everything the San Antonio Spurs wanted him to by aggressively taking the ball to the basket. When Parker wasn’t scoring, Tim Duncan was while bouncing back from the worst playoff game in his long career. That still wasn’t enough to save the Spurs from the brink of an unusual early playoff elimination against the Dallas Mavericks. Josh Howard scored 28 points, seven in an early second-half spurt that put Dallas ahead to stay in a 99-90 victory Saturday. The Mavs gained a 3-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference series, putting them on the verge of ousting a Spurs team that has little beyond Parker and Duncan. “It’s obvious that that’s what we need to do. Those guys have to have the ball as much as possible,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Sure, we hope that other people step up and make shots and make plays. It didn’t happen enough.”
Mavericks rock Spurs 88-67, take Game 3
The AP reports: During a timeout early in the third quarter, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs starters headed to the bench. They never returned. Humiliated since the opening tip, coach Gregg Popovich decided Game 3 of a first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks was a lost cause. Instead of hurting the Spurs with hard fouls—like Mavs center Erick Dampier threatened to do—Dallas slapped around San Antonio with tight defense, the return of Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting touch and the energy of their home crowd, producing an 88-67 victory Thursday night and a 2-1 lead in their first-round series… The Spurs’ backups weren’t much better, resulting in their fewest points ever in a playoff game.
InsideHoops.com notes: Dallas shot 47.2%, San Antonio just 32.1% and hit a disgustingly awful 2-of-17 three-pointers. Dallas had more rebounds, and double the assists San Antonio did… For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki (8-of-12) had 20 points and 7 rebounds, Josh Howard (6-of-12) had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks… For the Spurs, Tony Parker shot just 5-of-14 for 12 points and not much else. Francisco Oberto had 10 off the bench. No other Spurs even reached double digits. Tim Duncan shot 2-of-9 and did nothing.