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.
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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.
Grizzlies beat Mavs for 3rd straight win
The AP reports: Long eliminiated from playoff contention, the Memphis Grizzlies looked a lot more like a postseason team than the Dallas Mavericks. Memphis broke a 97-all tie by outscoring the Mavericks 10-5 in the final 1:42 en route to a 107-102 victory Friday night. Rudy Gay had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 25 points as Memphis won its third straight game… O.J. Mayo, who put the game out of reach with consecutive baskets, added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies. Marc Gasol had 13 points and nine rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 35 points, 25 of them in the second half. Jason Terry scored 16 points, and Erick Dampier, Brandon Bass and Jose Barea had 10 each… Mavericks F Josh Howard, who returned two games ago after missing 11 with a bum left ankle, did not play. The official reason was the sore ankle, but Howard also aggravated a left wrist injury when he took a charge Wednesday night against Miami.
Dirk scores 30, Mavs beat Heat 98-96
The AP reports: With a few seconds left and the Miami Heat down only one point, Dwyane Wade saw teammate Mario Chalmers snatch a rebound and asked for the ball. He would’ve settled for a timeout. Instead, the rookie raced down the court and charged into Dallas forward Josh Howard with 2.3 seconds left. The Mavericks padded the lead with a free throw in the final ticks to pull out a 98-96 victory Wednesday night in a game that often was as intense as the 2006 NBA finals matchup between these clubs… Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and Howard had 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists in his second game since missing 11 straight with an ankle problem… “There was a lot of miscommunication going on,” said Wade, who had 23 points and six assists, but wasn’t able to pull off any late-game heroics, in part because of stiff defense by Jason Kidd.
Howard’s return sparks Mavs over Wolves, 108-88
The AP reports: Josh Howard had 14 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes in his return from an 11-game absence, Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and 12 boards, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves 108-88 on Tuesday night. Howard has missed a total of 28 games due to various injuries this season, and each time he has returned seemingly without missing a beat… Jason Terry scored 21 points and Jason Kidd had eight points and 13 assists for the Mavericks, who shrugged off a blowout loss at Cleveland on Sunday and moved four games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Kevin Love had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played their second straight game without Randy Foye and Craig Smith. It was the rookie’s 25th double-double, which is one more than the former MVP Nowitzki has.
Cavaliers top Mavs 102-74 for 12th straight win
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 24 points with 12 assists while orchestrating Cleveland’s show on and off the floor as the Cavs made more history with a 102-74 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, hitting the 60-win mark and extending their winning streak to a franchise record 12 straight… Cleveland is the 61st team to win 60 games in the regular season. Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 for the Mavericks, who came in with a three-game lead over Phoenix for the No. 8 playoff spot in the West. Dallas was held to a season-low in points… Mo Williams added 22 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas 14 and Joe Smith had his best game since returning to the Cavs, adding 12 points with 13 rebounds and was Cleveland’s only consistent player in the first half.
Mark Cuban fined for Twitter comments
The AP reports: The NBA slapped Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with a $25,000 fine Sunday for publicly criticizing the officials after Denver’s 103-101 win over Dallas. Cuban used the Twitter online social network to complain after Friday night’s game that Denver’s J.R. Smith was not called for coming off the bench to taunt Antoine Wright after he missed a shot near the Nuggets bench.
Anthony lifts Nuggets past Kidd-less Mavs
The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony was having his way with the Dallas Mavericks all night, scoring as easily on long jumpers as he was on drives to the basket. So how come, Dirk Nowitzki wondered, the Mavs didn’t smother him with the game on the line? Anthony squirted through traffic for a go-ahead layup with 12.2 seconds left, then added a free throw in the final seconds to cap a 43-point performance that lifted the Denver Nuggets to a 103-101 victory over the Jason Kidd-less Mavericks on Friday night. “We messed up,” Nowitzki said. “They set a little screen and he came off it. That can’t happen.”
NBA rule change on too many players on court
The NBA Board of Governors voted to approve a playing rules change in regards to “too many players on the court”, which will take effect beginning Friday, March 27.
Under the playing rules change, when a “too many players on the court” violation is called, a technical foul will be assessed against the offending team and the non-offending team will have the option of either accepting or nullifying the game action that occurred during the violation.
Option 1 — Accept Game Action
The non-offending team can opt to ACCEPT all play that occurred during the violation, including any points scored, with no adjustment of the game clock.
Option 2 — Nullify Game Action
The non-offending team can opt to NULLIFY all play that occurred during the violation, other than any acts of unsportsmanlike conduct or flagrant fouls or any points scored from free throws as a result of such actions.
Under this option, following the technical foul, the game clock would be reset to the time when the ball was put into play with too many players on the court and, depending on how the ball was originally put into play, play would resume in accordance with the following:
1) If the original play commenced with a throw-in, then the ball would be returned to the original throw-in spot and play commenced with a throw-in.
2) If the original play commenced with a missed free-throw attempt where the ball remained in play, then play would be commenced with a jump ball held at center court between any two players who were on the floor at the time play was suspended due to the violation.
3) If the original play commenced with a jump ball, then play would be commenced with a jump ball held at the original jump-ball spot between the same two players who participated in the original jump ball.
Nowitzki, Terry, Barea lead Mavs past Warriors
The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry came back from a four-day break as sharp as ever and J.J. Barea led a late surge, sending the Mavericks to a 128-106 victory over the weary, woeful Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. The Mavs scored their most points of the season and narrowly missed their most-accurate, too, settling for 58.5 percent. They went ahead for good when the game was only a few minutes old, then when the Warriors got within four late in the third quarter, Barea quickly ended any suspense, going on an 8-0 run that had Dallas up by 21 a few minutes later… Barea scored 20, including an 8-0 run at the end of the third quarter that included three straight layups then a pair of free throws after getting whacked on his next drive into the lane… Anthony Morrow was 10-of-11 for 29 points, his most since November, and Monta Ellis scored 22.