Game 2: Portland at Dallas Portland showed their desire to get both Wesley Matthews and Gerald Wallace going in this game after both had poor outings in Game 1 as Matthews scored Portland's first basket and Wallace scored their 2nd basket and Portland held small leads early. Matthews suffered a hard hit when he and Jason Terry collided and Matthews left the game, but was able to return in the 2nd quarter. A jumper by LaMarcus Aldridge gave Portland a 17-9 lead with 4:15 left, but 8 points would be the largest lead of the quarter. After a layup by Wallace gave Portland a 19-12 lead with 2:50 remaining, Dallas scored the next 7 points (with 2 nice assists by J.J. Barea) to tie the game with 1:45 to go. But Aldridge hit a tough jumper and Nicolas Batum nailed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left. Peja Stojakovic drained a 3-pointer late in the shot clock for the final points in the quarter. Portland led 24-22 after 1. Portland shot 9-18 FG and 2-3 3-pointers and Dallas shot 8-19 FG and 3-5 3-pointers. Portland shot 4-6 FT and Dallas shot 3-4 FT. Wallace had 11 points and Aldridge had 8 points (and the two played all but 3 seconds in the quarter). Barea made another nice pass and Brendan Haywood got a layup to tie the game 45 seconds into the 2nd quarter, but Batum converted on consecutive buckets to give Portland back the lead. A 3-pointer by Batum gave Portland a 36-30 lead with 6:45 remaining, but Dirk Nowitzki hit a defensive 3-seconds free throw and Jason Kidd nailed a 3-pointer and the game stayed close. A 3-point play by Kidd gave Dallas their first lead at 42-41 with 4 minutes left, but it was a short lived lead as Portland scored 9 seconds later. The teams traded leads over the next minute. Consecutive buckets by Aldridge and a technical free throw by Andre Miller (from Tyson Chandler complaining to the refs) gave Portland a 52-46 lead with 1:10 to go. But Nowitzki scored the last 4 points of the quarter. Portland led 52-50 at the half. Both teams scored 28 points in the 2nd quarter and Dallas shot 10-21 FG (including just 1-6 3-pointers) and 7-9 FG and Portland shot 11-21 FG and 4-7 FT. Nowitzki had 10 points in the 2nd quarter. Kidd opened the 3rd quarter with a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to give Dallas a 1 point lead. A 3-point play by Nowitzki gave Dallas a 64-57 lead with 7:45 left. Portland pulled within 63-66 with 4 minutes to go on consecutive buckets up close. After Stojakovic nailed a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 71-65 lead with 3:05 remaining, Miller answered with a 3-pointer and Wallace had a layup to pull Portland within 70-71 with 1:30 left. Each team would score 2 points the rest of the quarter and Dallas led 73-72 after 3. Dallas out-scored Portland 23-20 in the 3rd quarter while shooting 10-19 FG and 1-3 FT while Portland shot 8-17 FG and 3-4 FT. The teams traded 1-2 FT to open the 4th quarter and Barea scored the next 4 points to give Dallas a 78-73 lead with 10 minutes remaining. A 3-pointer by Stojakovic gave Dallas an 83-76 lead with 8:25 to go. Dallas continued to hold a single-digit lead over the next 5 minutes as Portland could get no closer than 5 points. Consecutive buckets by Nowitzki gave the Mavs their first double-digit lead at 94-84 with 2:50 left. Miller connected on 2 free throws with 2:30 left, but Nowitzki rattled off the next 5 points to give Dallas a commanding 99-86 lead with 1:25 remaining. Dallas won 101-89. Dallas leads the series 2-0. Dallas once again had a dominate 4th quarter - this time out-scoring Portland 28-17 in the 4th. Dallas did not have a turnover in the quarter while Portland had 6 turnovers on which Dallas scored 10 points (Dallas also did not have a turnover in the 3rd quarter). Dirk Nowitzki also once again dominated the 4th with 14 points including 6-8 FT in the quarter. For the game, Dallas shot 48.7% (37-76) FG and 3-5 3-pointers while Portland shot 48.5% (32-66) FG including 7-14 3-pointers. Dallas shot 19-26 FT and Portland shot 18-27 FT. Both teams had 37 rebounds, but Dallas had 3 more offensive rebounds with a 10-7 edge. And both teams had 20 assists. But Dallas had just 6 turnovers on which Portland converted to 7 points. Portland had 13 turnovers on which Dallas scored 14 points. As nice as being up 2-0 is, it is still only holding home court. Dirk Nowitzki again had a stellar 4th quarter (and did better in the first 3 quarters). He had a game high 33 points including 15-17 FT to go with 7 rebounds. And Jason Kidd again played well with 18 points including 7-11 FG and 8 assists. Peja Stojakovic came alive and was a key to the win with 21 points including 5-10 3-pointers. He also had 5 rebounds. Jason Terry was the 4th Mav in double-digits scoring with 10 points. J.J. Barea showed signs of life with a couple of nice drives and some nice assists. He had 6 points and 4 assists in 16 minutes. It was again a defensive focus for Shawn Marion, DeShawn Stevenson, Tyson Chandler, and Brendan Haywood. Marion had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 27 minutes and Stevenson missed his only shot and shot 1-2 FT for 1 point and had a foul and a steal in 13 minutes. Chandler had 4 points on 2-4 FG and 10 rebounds and Haywood had 2 points on 1-1 FG and (grumble) 0-4 FT and 5 rebounds. Corey Brewer got his first ever playoff exposure, but had just a rebound and 2 fouls in 3 1/2 minutes. Brian Cardinal also saw a touch of end-of-quarter time with a rebound in a minute of play. LaMarcus Aldridge again played well (but not as stellar as Game 1) and had a team high 24 points and a team high 10 rebounds. He also had 3 blocks. 11 of Gerald Wallace's 18 points came in the 1st quarter. He also had 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Andre Miller had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Wesley Matthews improved on his mere 2 points from Game 1 with 13 points (including 7 in the 2nd quarter) in 36 minutes. Marcus Camby wasn't the rebounding monster he was in Game 1 (18 boards) with just 8 rebounds to go with 5 points. Nicolas Batum was the bench production with 10 points. The rest of the bench produced just 1 point. Rudy Fernandez had 1 point and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes. Brandon Roy missed his only shot and missed 2 free throws in 8 minutes - and wasn't happy about his playing time and complained to the press about it after the game. Patrick Mills missed 2 shots and had 1 rebound in 4 minutes. Armon Johnson had one of the more bizarre stat lines that I've seen as he was listed with 0:00 minutes yet had 1 rebound - he was actually in for 0.3 seconds and snagged the last rebound 2nd quarter. Quotes Rick Carlisle on Stojakovic: "His shot-making was great and very timely. But his defense was better. He just was real solid. He didn't let anybody drive by him all night, which was huge. And he just played a terrific all-around game. We're never sure which 2 or 3 guys may or may not get hot, but we need contributions from a lot of different guys on a nightly basis to be successful. And that's what we got tonight." Carlisle on Nowitzki: "Look, he's a great player and he's been aggressive. We're obviously looking for him. And so, when he gets the ball, he's going to make something happen. He's either going to be aggressive to score or, if there's a double-team, you know, he'll make the pass out. You know, balance is so important to our game and we had a pretty good balance before we really started going to him exclusive, and I think that helped us." Carlisle: "They're tough guys. We had to play 2 tough-minded games to beat this team twice. And both games were extremely difficult." Carlisle: "It's a long series. It's 2 games. We've done our job. Now we have to regroup and get out to Portland, where it's going to be tougher." Carlisle on Kidd: "Kidd was really important to us at the beginning of the 3rd quarter because we're down 2 points and beginnings of 3rd quarters have been really tough for us." Dirk Nowitzki: "It was definitely a great effort there, I thought, in the 2nd half. Started the game off a little slow again. But there in the 2nd half, I thought we did a great job defensively - gave up 37 points again." Nowitzki: "I thought Peja had a phenomenal game. Obviously shooting the ball well, but also trying to keep Wallace in front of him." Nowitzki on his strong 4th quarter: "I didn't really have much going there in the first 3 quarters. Missed some shots, especially there in the 3rd quarter. We had like an 8, 9 point lead and we're about to actually extend the lead - I had like 3 great looks in a row from like 15-, 16-feet, open, that are shots that I just got to make. So was a little frustrated there for a minute, but, hey, the 4th quarter, you got to forget what happen the first 3 quarters and keep attacking. Made a strong move there right away and got 2 free throws right away at the start of the 4th, just like in the 1st game, and that always helps me get my rhythm." Nowitzki: "We've been doing that 2nd scorer by committee [all season]. Our bigs did a good job of battling Aldridge all game, and we've got to do more of the same on Thursday." Jason Terry on the 4th quarter: "We maintained our defensive intensity. Regardless of what was going on on the offensive end, defensively we were in tuned to our coverages. Everyone was focused. And then, going down the stretch in the 4th, Dirk kind just took over. But again, Peja Stojakovic off the bench tonight was huge. Those shots that he hit, no one even seen them coming. Performances like that are made for the playoffs." Peja Stojakovic: "I was able to make a couple of shots and that gave me confidence. With Dirk, JKidd and JET on the floor, they draw so much attention that we can move the ball around and get good opportunities." Nate McMillan on Kidd: "Right now Jason has his confidence. He is looking for his shot. Normally he's a guy who is going to set up the offense. Now he's looking for that 3-ball. He's an unbelievable passer and floor general, and now that he's knocking down his shot, it makes him even more dangerous." McMillan on Nowitzki: "He's a tough guy to guard. No matter what happens in the 1st half, you know they're going to go to him, play through him. With single coverage, you want to try to deny his catch. With [Stojakovic and Kidd] hitting their 3s, that made it tough to mix up the defense. Dirk is capable of shooting over the top, getting to the free throw line and making you pay with the pass. He hurt us on double-teams a couple of times by finding Stojakovic on the weak side." McMillan on the 4th quarter: "Starting off that quarter, we had some [favorable] matchups. We hurried a couple of those and turned the ball over, got a little too anxious, which led to transition [for Dallas]. Down the stretch, the ball's going to be in Dirk's hands, and he made plays." McMillan: "When we did get the matchups we wanted in the 4th quarter, I thought we hurried. We weren't patient, didn't play with the patience we needed to allow our spacing. We started to play in traffic. We've got to do a better job of getting our spacing once we get the matchup." LaMarcus Aldridge: "In the 4th, they found their rhythm, got going. We had our chances to take the lead, but every time we'd turn the ball over or make a big mistake, and they closed out the game." Aldridge: "In the 4th, they found their rhythm. We had a chance to try to take the lead, but every time we turned the ball over or made a big mistake. We've got to be more solid down the stretch. We forced some things." Andre Miller: "Good game, back and forth. We just lost it in the 4th quarter again. That's all." Wesley Matthews: "We're giving up too many easy baskets. They got 17 2nd chance points, and we gave 15 points to Dirk at the free throw line." Brandon Roy on his lack of playing time: "There was a point in the 1st half, and I was thinking 'You better not cry.' I mean, serious. I mean, there was a moment where I felt really sorry for myself. Then I was like, nah, you can't be sorry for yourself. I'm a grown man, but there was a moment there that I felt sorry for myself. Especially when I think I can still help." Roy: "I come in the last sub of the 1st quarter ... then okay, I'm in there for [2:36], then I play, then it's the end of the quarter. Then I start the 2nd and, bam, I'm right back on the bench again. I mean, I don't know what I could have done. Then I sit, and he puts Patty and Rudy in before me. I know physically I have to play, but mentally, how do I just go, 'It's okay, I'm going to play' and be all giddy?" 2011 Playoffs - First Round: Game 2 Dallas Mavericks 101, Portland Trailblazers 89 at Dallas (April 19) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 22 28 23 28 - 101 .509 .421 .487 .731 Portland 24 28 20 17 - 89 .481 .500 .485 .667 Halftime: Portland 52-50 3rd Q: Dallas 73-72 Technicals: Portland defensive 3 seconds 6:35 2nd, Tyson Chandler 1:08 2nd Refs: Danny Crawford, Ed Malloy, Pat Fraher Attendance: 20,620 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Caron Butler, Dominique Jones, Rodrigue Beaubois Portland - Greg Oden, Elliot Williams, Luke Babbitt Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 27 3-5 0-0 0-0 6 0-3 2 0 3 0 1 Dirk Nowitzki 38 9-22 0-0 15-17 33 1-7 4 1 2 1 1 Tyson Chandler 28 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 4-10 0 1 4 1 0 DeShawn Stevenson 13 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 0 1 1 0 Jason Kidd 33 7-11 3-6 1-1 18 0-4 8 0 0 0 1 Brendan Haywood 20 1-1 0-0 0-4 2 4-5 1 1 4 0 0 Jason Terry 33 5-12 0-2 0-0 10 0-1 1 1 0 2 0 Peja Stojakovic 27 8-13 5-10 0-0 21 1-5 0 0 2 1 0 J.J. Barea 16 2-7 0-1 2-2 6 0-0 4 2 2 0 0 Corey Brewer 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Brian Cardinal 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 37-76 8-19 19-26 101 10-37 20 6 20 6 3 Portland Trailblazers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Gerald Wallace 38 6-11 1-3 5-8 18 1-7 6 2 3 0 0 LaMarcus Aldridge 44 9-18 0-0 6-8 24 1-10 2 1 4 0 3 Marcus Camby 36 2-5 1-1 0-0 5 3-8 1 1 3 0 0 Wesley Matthews 36 6-11 1-2 0-0 13 1-1 0 3 4 0 1 Andre Miller 39 5-10 2-2 6-7 18 1-6 8 1 5 0 0 Nicolas Batum 25 4-7 2-5 0-0 10 0-0 2 2 2 1 0 Rudy Fernandez 11 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0-3 1 0 1 1 0 Brandon Roy 8 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Patrick Mills 4 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Armon Johnson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 32-66 7-14 18-27 89 7-37 20 13 22 2 4 Go Mavs! patricia ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html