Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 106 – NBA Blog

Game 3 is often must-win

Memo to San Antonio and Dallas, Portland and Houston, Boston and Chicago, Orlando and Philadelphia, and Atlanta and Miami: If you plan on advancing to the semifinals, winning Game 3 of your tied series is No. 1 on your to-do list.

All time in NBA postseason play, a best-of-seven series has been tied after the first two games 161 times. The winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the series 76 percent of the time (122-39). The home team’s record in Game 3 with series tied 1-1 is 89-72 (.553).

There are two Game 3s tonight that fall into this category. The Bulls host the Celtics (8 p.m. ET, TNT) and the Spurs visit the Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT). At home, the Bulls hold an all-time postseason record of 105-34 (.755) – first among existing NBA franchises. Dallas is 41-26 (.612) at home in the playoffs. San Antonio (59-81, .421) and Boston (100-144, .410) have the second and third, respectively, best road winning percentages in the playoffs.

– NBA News

Jason Terry to win Sixth Man of Year

The Dallas Morning News (Eddie Sefko) reports: Jason Terry, who accepted a strange new role this season, will be rewarded Friday when he receives the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year honor, several sources said Wednesday. The Mavericks have scheduled a news conference for Friday and Terry’s award will be commemorated Saturday before Game 4. The 6-2 Terry, 31, averaged 19.6 points and came off of the bench in 63 of 74 games that he played, missing eight with a broken bone in his left hand.

Parker 38 points, Spurs even series against Mavs

The AP reports: Tony Parker walked off the court with 38 points, a comfortable lead and a roaring Spurs crowd cheering him back to the bench with a Game 2 victory minutes away. Unlike the first game, Dallas was unable to pester Parker and the Spurs breezed to a 105-84 blowout over the Mavericks on Monday night. It evened the series and handed Dallas one of the worst losses in the history of the playoff rivalry… Parker had 27 points in the first half and finished 16-of-22 from the floor. It was a marked difference from Game 1, when the Mavs let Parker score 24 but made him a non-factor in the second half, when he made just two field goals… Jason Terry had 16 for Dallas, and Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd had 14 points. Josh Howard scored just seven points after torching the Spurs for 25 in Game 1… Tim Duncan had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Drew Gooden had 13 for the Spurs.

Fans predict first round playoff results

InsideHoops.com posted a poll two days ago asking fans to predict the results of the 2009 NBA playoffs first round.

In the East:

325 fans picked the Cavaliers to beat the Pistons. Just 29 picked Detroit.
321 fans picked the Magic to beat the 76ers. Just 20 picked Philadelphia.
258 fans picked the Celtics to beat the Bulls. 87 picked Chicago.
And in the East’s only fairly close result, 183 fans picked the Heat while 155 picked the Hawks.

As expected, other than the Lakers-Jazz series, the voting was pretty close in the West:

336 fans picked the Lakers to beat the Jazz. Just 17 picked Utah.
241 fans picked the Nuggets to beat the Hornets. 113 picked New Orleans.
224 fans picked the Spurs to beat the Mavericks. 122 picked Dallas.
198 fans picked the Trail Blazers to beat the Rockets. 152 picked Houston.

Mavericks beat Spurs 105-97 in Game 1

The AP reports: In a giant Game 1 road victory for the Mavericks, who hadn’t won a road playoff game or postseason series since going to the NBA finals in 2006, Josh Howard scored 25 points and Dallas stole the home-court edge in 105-97 victory Saturday night… Tim Duncan scored 27 points, and Tony Parker had 24 for the Spurs… Jason Terry scored 12 points for the Mavs, including two 3-pointers. But the NBA’s leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year took a backseat in the fourth to Barea, whose floating runner with 5:31 left made it 93-83.

Late Terry jumper, Mavs beat Wolves 96-94

The AP reports: Trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves by seven points with 3:13 left, Dirk Nowitzki got his teammates going, then Jason Terry finished off the rally by swishing an 18-foot jumper from the right side with 0.2 seconds left for a 96-94 victory… “This was one we had to get,” said Nowitzki, who had 34 points and nine rebounds… Craig Smith came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points and Sebastian Telfair had 14 points and tied his season high with 12 assists. Minnesota players were jumping up and down on the bench, hoping to make amends for what happened on their last visit to Dallas—when they blew a 29-point, third-quarter lead.

Chris Paul amazing, Hornets beat Mavericks 102-92

The AP reports: Chris Paul narrowly missed his seventh triple-double this season with 31 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102-92 on Sunday to earn a split in a key late-season home-and-home series… “Paul was setting everybody up and he was scoring, so that’s why he’s one of the best point guards in the league,” said Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, who had 29 points and 14 rebounds. David West scored 31 points to help New Orleans (49-31) move a game ahead of Dallas for the sixth playoff seed in the Western Conference. Each team has two games left in the regular season… Josh Howard added 15 points for the Mavericks, who had pulled even in the standings with New Orleans on Friday by beating the Hornets in Dallas.

Paul shines, but Mavericks beat Hornets 100-92

The AP reports: With a great start and a feisty finish, the rolling-at-the-right-time Dallas Mavericks were able to withstand a big game by Chris Paul and beat the New Orleans Hornets 100-92 on Friday night, forcing a tie between the teams for sixth place in the Western Conference. Now Dirk Nowitzki is eager to see if the Mavs can do it again—on Sunday, in New Orleans. “We’ve won some nice home games, but our true tests are on the road,” said Nowitzki, who scored 25 points… Paul scored 42 points, one shy of his career high, plus had nine rebounds and seven assists. However, he didn’t get much help. David West was the only other double-digit scorer with 20 points and it took him 20 shots. New Orleans trailed by 10 after a few minutes and was down 42-21 midway through the second quarter.

Mavs clinch playoff spot with 130-101 win over Jazz

The AP reports: With their spot in the playoffs secured, now the Dallas Mavericks can work on trying to avoid a first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, a dozen in a row at one point, and Josh Howard overcame a bloody nose and swollen eye to add 13 points and a career-high seven steals as the Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 130-101 on Wednesday night to clinch the final playoff spot in the Western Conference… “Knowing the importance of each game and the sense of urgency, we treat every game like it’s a Game 7 playoff game,” said Jason Terry, who added 21 points off the bench… Deron Williams scored 18 points to lead all five Utah starters in double figures, and also had 12 assists. Andrei Kirilenko had 17 points.

Mavs beat Suns 140-116 in crucial West matchup

The AP reports: Jason Kidd had 19 points, a season-high 20 assists and a major career milestone— all in just three quarters—sending Dallas to a 140-116 victory over Phoenix on Sunday, virtually assuring the Mavericks of grabbing no worse than the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Dallas owns a four-game lead with five games left. Because the Mavs won the season series, they hold the tiebreaker over the Suns, so Phoenix must finish 5-0 and Dallas 0-5 for the teams to trade places in the standings… The 81 points at halftime was easily the most of the season for the Mavericks, and it included a 24-3 burst after Phoenix got within 46-45… Dirk Nowitzki made 10 of 12 shots and scored 28 points for Dallas, marking his 20th straight game with at least 20 points. Howard had 24 points after missing the Memphis game with a flare-up of his pesky ankle problem. Having two days off before facing the Jazz should help him remain in the lineup. Jason Terry hit his first four 3-point tries and scored 18 points. Brandon Bass added 14 points and J.J. Barea had 12.

InsideHoops.com notes: The Mavs shot 60 percent for the game, as well as 60 percent (15-of-25) from three-point range, and nailed 23-of-25 free throws. Dallas dished 34 assists, the Suns 21.