Category: Dallas Mavericks Blog

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Mavs beat Spurs 113-111, force Game 7

Monta Ellis is headed to his first Game 7, and DeJuan Blair gets a chance to play his old team in San Antonio one more time after all.

Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki will return to the site of one of the best moments of his stellar career.

Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points to lead a fourth-quarter comeback that also got an energetic boost from Blair in his return after getting suspended, and the Mavericks forced a deciding game in their first-round series with top-seeded San Antonio, beating the Spurs 113-111 on Friday night.

“Put all of our chips on the table and see what happens,” said Ellis, whose 3-pointer put eighth-seeded Dallas ahead for a good at 94-92 with 5 minutes to go.

Tony Parker matched Nowitzki with 22 points to lead the heavily favored Spurs, who are stuck in a tossup series after they won all four games against the Mavericks during the regular season and had a 10-game winning streak against them after taking the opener.

— Associated Press

Spurs beat Mavs for 3-2 series lead

Tony Parker was nursing a sprained left ankle and playing a critical playoff game on no sleep only hours after the birth of his first child.

It was the perfect formula for a resurgent performance from the San Antonio Spurs point guard.

Parker had 23 points and five assists and San Antonio never trailed in a 109-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, taking a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

“Coming into the game I told him this is perfect for you,” Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. “This is what he does in situations like this where he doesn’t get a lot of sleep or is in a stressful situation. He always seems to play better. I somewhat expected it from him.

“He was really excited before the game. Obviously, he was really excited to have his son here and wanted to get this game really badly not only for his son but for the situation and the timing of it. He was really focused and it was good for us.”

Parker’s rebirth put San Antonio on the verge of closing out a tense series against its intrastate rival with Game 6 set for Friday in Dallas.

Vince Carter scored 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting for the Mavericks.

— Associated Press

Spurs Big 3 does big damage to Mavs

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog repoting on the Spurs and Mavericks, who are facing each other in the first round of the NBA playoffs:

Spurs Big 3 does big damage to Mavs

On a night when the Dallas Mavericks’ offense went silent after the first 41 minutes, the San Antonio Spurs’ Big 3 came up big Sunday afternoon.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined to score 65 of the Spurs’ 90 points, grab 17 of their 48 rebounds, and dispensed nine of their 14 assists as San Antonio opened the playoffs with a 90-85 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks at AT&T Center.

“I wish I could always score like this, or Tony, or Tim,’’ said Ginobili, who scored 17 points and collected six rebounds. “The way they play defense didn’t let us move the ball as much as we usually do to find open teammates, so we played way more one-on-one.”

Mavericks clinch NBA playoff spot with win over Suns

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting on the Dallas Mavericks, who are back in the playoffs. There is now just one playoff berth left, in the Western conference, and it will go to the Grizzlies or Suns. Anyway:

Champagne might as well have been flowing in the Dallas Mavericks’ locker room after what they were able to accomplish Saturday night.

Down 13 points in the third quarter and in a tense fight for their playoff lives, the Mavs clinched their 13th postseason berth in the past 14 years with a pulsating 101-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks (49-32) will seek to win 50 games for the first time since the 2010-11 season when they end the regular season Wednesday night in Memphis.

Using every ounce of energy they had, the Mavericks had to rally from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Suns, who dropped to 47-33.

Monta Ellis tied his season high with 37 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half as the Mavericks kept barking at each other on the court during tense moments, and it paid off in the end.

Dirk Nowitzki passes Dominique Wilkins on NBA all-time scoring list

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting on Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, who is a scorer of historical proportions:

Dirk Nowitzki has climbed higher than “The Human Highlight Film.”

The Dallas Mavericks star passed Dominique Wilkins for 11th place on the all-time scoring list Friday night when Nowitzki hit a free throw with 8:47 remaining in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Unbelievable,” said Nowitzki , who finished with 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting in the Mavs’ 107-95 win, giving him 26,678 points for his career. “It’s been a crazy ride. I used to be a big fan of Dominique. I watched all his dunk contests and the many ways he could score, sometimes missing his own shot and he’d be the person to dunk over two people. He was just so much fun to watch.

“It’s been surreal. It’s been a crazy ride for 16 years, and I’m going to keep competing for a couple more years.”

Mavericks enjoy big win vs Clippers

Here’s the Dallas Morning News blog reporting on the Mavericks, who on Thursday beat the Clippers in Los Angeles, 113-107.

It’s a huge win: Just keep repeating that to yourself. Don’t worry about the fact that the Mavericks lost all but two points of a 109-97 lead in 85 seconds, which is really hard to do for an NBA team that still is trying hard. “The win was nice,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “Not so much the last couple minutes. We started to give the ball away again. And (J.J.) Redick had a (3-point) shot for the lead, which was amazing after having a 10-point lead.” Nevertheless, the Mavericks held on and that’s all that really matters.

Hope springs eternal: This win, and the win against Oklahoma City at home last week, is the sort of showing that makes you believe that the Mavericks have a puncher’s chance when the playoffs roll around. And it looks more and more now like the Mavericks will be a part of the postseason party this season. They aren’t in, by any stretch. But they have the three worst teams in the Western Conference (by record) coming up to finish this trip. They could be knocking on the door of clinching a playoff spot by the time they return home Wednesday.

Mark Cuban never surprised when Dirk Nowitzki steps up

Here’s the Dallas Morning News blog reporting on the Mavericks, owner Mark Cuban and veteran star Dirk Nowitzki:

Last week, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sort-of called out Dirk Nowitzki, saying the Mavericks needed more defense and rebounding from the future Hall of Fame forward, especially on nights when he isn’t shooting well.

Tonight, Cuban watched Nowitzki score 32 points, pull down 10 rebounds, add six assists and four steals in a 128-119 overtime victory over Oklahoma City.

Is this what you were hoping for, Mark?

“It’s not a surprise,” Cuban said. “That’s what he does.”

Cuban laughed when asked if he would take credit for lighting a fire under Nowitzki. “No, absolutely not,” he said. “It’s all Dirk.”

Besides, Cuban’s semi-critical comments occurred a full week ago. In between, the Mavericks played four games, two of them overtime losses.

In his most recent game, Sunday’s 107-104 home overtime loss to Brooklyn, Nowitzki shot 2-of-12 from the field and scored only 10 points.

Cuban, though, knew Nowitzki would bounce back.

Nets beat Mavs on Jason Kidd`s 41st birthday

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the latest Nets victory:

Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson made sure Jason Kidd’s 41st birthday was a happy one.

Johnson, who has been automatic in late and close situations since joining the Nets two summers ago, hit the game-tying layup with 9.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and then led the Nets with six points in overtime on the way to an improbable 107-104 victory over the Mavericks in front of a sellout crowd of 19,603 at American Airlines Center Sunday night.

“Down the stretch, man,” Johnson said, “those moments are ones I really cherish and love.”

They have become moments the Nets (37-31) love to have Johnson for, as he is 7-for-7 in his one-plus seasons as a Net when they are within three points in the final 10 seconds of the game, and 3-for-3 this season.

“He’s clutch, man,” said Deron Williams, who finished with 15 points in his return to his hometown. “That’s why the ball is in his hands.”