April 30 1981 Won the coin flip with Detroit to determine which team would draft #1 and which would draft #2. Detroit made the call of heads and tails came up. 1981 Marty Byrnes rejected Dallas' new contract offer and, thus, became a free agent. [He would not play in the NBA in 81-82.] 1987 In the first round of the playoffs, Seattle defeated Dallas 124-98 to take the series 3-1 and eliminate Dallas from the playoffs. It was the first time a #7 seed had eliminated a #2 seed. 2006 The NBA downgraded Dirk Nowitzki's flagrant foul from game 3 vs Memphis on 4/29/06 to a personal foul. 2008 Fired head coach Avery Johnson. Johnson was hired on 3/19/05 and finished with a regular season record of 194-70 (.735) and a playoff record of 22-20 (.489) with Dallas. Games Record: 1-6 (home: 0-2, road: 1-4) Playoffs Score Dallas Dallas High Opponent Year WL Opponent Dal-Opp Margin High Scorer Rebounder High Scorer 1986 L @LA Lakers 113-117 -4 Aguirre 28 Aguirre 12 A-Jabbar 26 The game was tied at 100 when Mark Aguirre fouled out with 5:33 left. The game was again tied at 108-108 with 3:17 left and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar helped the Lakers to the win with 3 skyhooks. Dallas set the team playoff record with 36 assists. Derek Harper had 7 steals, then tied the 2nd most in league playoff history [most: 8, done 4 times (it was the 8th time a player had 7)]. Harper had a team playoff record 16 assists (old: 11), the 1st time a Mavs player had 15+ assists in the playoffs and the 1st of 10 times Harper had 15+ assists with Dallas. He also had 19 points. Aguirre had 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists and Rolando Blackman had 22 points including 11-17 FG. Abdul-Jabbar had 26 points, James Worthy had 23 points and 9 rebounds, Magic Johnson had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists, and Byron Scott had 20 points. Game 2: LA Lakers led series 2-0; LA Lakers would win series 4-2 Playoffs Score Dallas Dallas High Opponent Year WL Opponent Dal-Opp Margin High Scorer Rebounder High Scorer 1987 L @Seattle 98-124 -26 Blackman 25 Tarpley 17 Chambers 31 Seattle out-scored Dallas 36-21 in the 4th quarter. Seattle shot 54.7% FG and Dallas shot 37.1% FG. The 26 point loss margin was Dallas' 2nd largest playoff loss. Seattle became the first #7 seed to defeat a #2 seed. Rolando Blackman had 25 points, Sam Perkins had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Roy Tarpley had 12 points and 17 rebounds including 9 offensive. James Donaldson did not play due to a stress reaction in his right leg - the first game he has missed in 537 games. Tom Chambers had 31 points including 11-16 FG, Xavier McDaniel had 29 points, and Dale Ellis had 21 points. Clemon Johnson tied the opponent playoff record with 7 blocks. Game 4: Seattle won series 3-1 Playoffs Score Dallas Dallas High Opponent Year WL Opponent Dal-Opp Margin High Scorer Rebounder High Scorer 1988 L Houston 108-119 -11 Tarpley 23 Tarpley 13 Floyd 42 Houston ended the game with a 16-5 run. Roy Tarpley had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Rolando Blackman had 19 points. Sleepy Floyd had 42 points - the 3rd most by an opponent in the playoffs. It was the 2nd (along with Olajuwon) time a Mavs opponent had 40+ points in the playoffs and the 2nd of 2 times Floyd had 40+ points against Dallas. He shot 16-22 FG and had 9 assists. Hakeem Olajuwon had a 20-20 with 41 points and 26 rebounds. It was the 1st time a Mavs opponent had a 20-20 in the playoffs and the 2nd of 5 times Olajuwon had a 20-20 against Dallas. 41 points is the 4th most by a Mavs opponent in the playoffs and 26 rebounds is the most. It was the 2nd (along with Floyd) opponent had 40+ points in the playoffs and the 1st of 3 times Olajuwon had 40+ points against Dallas. It was the 1st time a Mavs opponent had 25+ rebounds in the playoffs and the 2nd of 5 times Olajuwon had 20+ rebounds against Dallas. Olajuwon tied the league playoff record for 2nd most defensive rebounds in a game with 19 [most: 20]. It was only the 2nd time in league playoff history where 2 teammates scored 40+ points. Game 2: Series tied 1-1; Dallas would win series 3-1 Playoffs Score Dallas Dallas High Opponent Year WL Opponent Dal-Opp Margin High Scorer Rebounder High Scorer 2003 L Portland 99-103 -4 Nowitzki 35 Nowitzki 11 Randolph 22 Rasheed Wallace hit a 3-pointer to give Portland a 99-98 with 1:06 left. Ruben Patterson got a block and Zach Randolph hit 2 free throws with 39 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki hit 1-2 FT with 32 seconds left. Bonzi Wells missed with 10 seconds left, but Arvydas Sabonis got the tip-in to clinch the win. Dallas scored just 1 point in the last 2:30 of the game. Portland out-scored Dallas 32-22 in the 4th quarter. Nowitzki had 35 points including 11-12 FT and 11 rebounds and played all 48 minutes, Nick Van Exel had 25 points, and Steve Nash had 7 points including 2-11 FG and 11 assists. Dallas only played 7 players. Randolph had 22 points and 9 rebounds and Damon Stoudamire had 19 points and 8 rebounds [yes, rebounds]. Derek Anderson (left knee surgery) did not play. Game 5: Dallas led series 3-2; Dallas would win series 4-3 Playoffs Score Dallas Dallas High Opponent Year WL Opponent Dal-Opp Margin High Scorer Rebounder High Scorer 2005 W @Houston 97-93 +4 Terry 32 Nowitzki 7 TMcGrady 35 A 3-pointer by David Wesley pulled Houston within 93-94 with 19 seconds left. Jerry Stackhouse shot 1-2 FT with 12 seconds left, but Josh Howard was able to knock the ball out of Tracy McGrady's hands. Dirk Nowitzki hit 2 free throws for the game's final points. The largest lead by either team during the game was just 9 points. Jason Terry had 32 points, including 24 points in the 2nd half, including 11-18 FG and 6-8 3-pointers, tying the then team playoff record for most 3-pointers made. Nowitzki had 18 points including 4-14 FG, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Michael Finley had 18 points. McGrady had 36 points including 17 points in the 3rd quarter, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Yao Ming had 20 points. No other Rocket was in double-digits. Keith Van Horn did not play due to a sprained left ankle (out for the rest of the playoffs). Game 4: Series tied 2-2; Dallas would win series 4-3 Playoffs Score Dallas Dallas High Opponent Year WL Opponent Dal-Opp Margin High Scorer Rebounder High Scorer 2012 L @Oklahoma City 99-102 -3 DNowitzki 31 SMarion 8 Westbrook 29 Oklahoma City built up a 16-point lead in the 2nd quarter, but Dallas got back in the game with a 17-4 run and it was a tight 2nd half. A jumper by Vince Carter gave Dallas a 97-96 lead with 2:15 left, but Oklahoma City scored the next 4 points to take a 100-97 lead with 25 seconds left. Jason Terry got a quick layup after a timeout and James Harden (OKC) was fouled and hit 2 free throws with 15.5 seconds to go. Dallas didn't call timeout and Terry missed a 3-pointer, Carter rebounded, and Terry missed a 3-pointer as time expired. Kevin Durant (OKC) had 26 points on 5-17 FG and 14-16 FT, 10 rebounds, and 7 turnovers; Russell Westbrook (OKC) had 29 points; and Harden (OKC) had 15 points on 2-7 FG and 10-10 FT, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Shawn Marion had 15 points and 8 rebounds and Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points including 11-11 FT and 6 rebounds. Game #2, Oklahoma City led 2-0; Oklahoma City would sweep series 4-0 Playoffs Score Dallas Dallas High Opponent Year WL Opponent Dal-Opp Margin High Scorer Rebounder High Scorer 2014 L @San Antonio 103-109 -6 VCarter 28 DNowitzki 15 TParker 23 San Antonio led 58-49 at the half as San Antonio out-scored Dallas 31-23 in the 2nd quarter. San Antonio led 71-59 with 4:50 remaining, but Dallas then went on a 9-2 run to pull within 68-73 with 3:10 left. San Antonio led 79-71 after 3. A 3-pointer by Vince Carter pulled Dallas within 94-98 with 3 minutes left. San Antonio then went on a 7-2 run to take a 105-96 lead with 30 second remaining and Dallas would get no closer than 5 points the rest of the way. San Antonio led the entire game (though their largest lead was just 13 points). San Antonio had 6 turnovers and Dallas had 8 turnovers. Kawhi Leonard (SA) had 15 points and 8 rebounds, Tim Duncan (SA) had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Tiago Splitter (SA) had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Tony Parker (SA) had 23 points and 5 assists, and Manu Ginobili (SA) had 19 points and 5 assists. Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 15 rebounds, Monta Ellis had 21 points and 6 assists, and Vince Carter had 28 points including 7-9 3-pointers - no other Mav was in double-digits. Game 5: San Antonio led series 3-2; San Antonio would win series 4-3