The Mavs were officially eliminated from the playoffs when Seattle beat Sacramento to clinch the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. Well, Don Nelson had said that Cedric Ceballos would sit out 5 to 6 games, but Ceballos was inserted into the Portland game midway through the 2nd quarter after only sitting out 3 games. Ceballos played 10 minutes in the game. Dallas at Portland (March 30) Portland led 9-8 with 7:20 left and went on a 12-2 run, including 10 points from Rasheed Wallace, to go up 21-10 with 3 minutes remaining. Michael Finley nailed a 18-foot fall away jumper at the buzzer and Portland led 25-19 after 1. Wallace had 16 points on 8-9 FG. Dallas scored 5 straight points to pull within 28-29 with 9:30 to go. Portland led 43-42 with 3 minutes left and scored the next 8 points to go up 51-42 with 45 seconds left. Portland led 54-45 at the half on a 3-pointer by Steve Smith. Wallace had 20 points, Smith had 13 points (all in the 2nd), and Finley had 16 points. Dallas shot 0-7 3-pointers in the quarter (Dallas is leading the league at 39.2% in 3-pointers). Portland open the 3rd quarter with a vengeance scoring the first 9 points to go up 63-45 with 10 minutes left. Dallas answered with a 15-5 run to get back in the game down only 60-68 with 6 minutes left. Portland led 77-69 after 3. Scottie Pippen was hit in the head by teammate Jermaine O'Neal with 9 minutes left and left the court feeling light headed. Pippen did return to start the 4th quarter. Finley scored 12 points in the 3rd quarter. Portland led 82-71 with 9:45 to go and Dallas scored the next 7 points to pull within 78-82 with 7 minutes remaining. The teams traded 2 points and Portland then scored the next 6 points to go up 90-80 with 3 minutes to go. The teams traded baskets and Dallas then missed on 3 3-pointers in one offensive set. Smith hit a jumper with 44 seconds left to put the game out of reach. Pippen popped in a meaningless jumper with 7 seconds left and Erick Strickland hit an even more meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer (though it did make the final score more reflective of the game). Portland won 96-85. The Mavs played hard, but their shots just weren't falling. Portland did apply defensive pressure on the Mavs by running players at the Mavs' outside shooters. The Mavs only shot 3-21 from the arc (10% (2-20) if you take out Strick's 3 at the final buzzer) where as the team was shooting 39.2% for the season going into the game. Portland didn't take the Mavs lightly and did try to blow the Mavs out, but Dallas did not give up. The pure reason Portland won this game was that Portland shot 54.3% FG and Dallas shot 42.3% FG. Rasheed Wallace came out shooting lights out and didn't let up the whole game. He finished with 34 points including 16-22 FG and 9 rebounds. Steve Smith carried the load in the 2nd quarter (13 points) and finished with 22 points including 8-10 FG. And Scottie Pippen was the 3rd Blazer in double digits with 19 points and had 8 assists. Michael Finley tried carrying the team offensively (even though he couldn't hit behind the arc (1-7)) with 30 points, but only 2 came in the 4th quarter. The Mavs also only had 16 points in the 4th. Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points and Greg Buckner continued to show that he is a nice find with 12 points. No other Mavs was in double digits. The Mavs were within 6 points with 4:30 left. Pippen was called for the hand check on Finley and the Mavs had the ball out of bounds. So who do the Mavs set up a play for? Finley with 30 points? Nowitzki with 16 points? How about Cedric Ceballos, who hasn't played in 3 games and whose only 2 points came from the line. Ceballos missed the layup and Wallace got a layup on the break. Quotes Mike Dunleavy: "Rasheed Wallace had a great game offensively. He's got a great stroke. He has the ability to pop out and set pick and rolls. But he is not the kind of guy that wants or demands the ball. In the 3 years I have been here, I can't remember a time when he's come over and asked for the ball. He is a real team player." Dunleavy: "They have been shooting the heck out of the ball lately and have been beating teams - especially from 3-point range. We were able to rotate out and contest a lot of their shots in the early part of the game." Scottie Pippen on Wallace: "He played a great game. We need more games out of him like that." Steve Smith: "The win was good for us. Sometimes a win brings better spirits in the locker room. We were all talking out there and scrambling around. We played 48 minutes instead of having lapses." Smith on Wallace: "I didn't think he was going to miss a shot in that 1st half." Greg Anthony: "We basically have been winning one and then losing one. I thought we finished strong, defended well against some good perimeter players. We did what we had to do defensively and just did enough offensively." Don Nelson: "We had no answer for Rasheed. He was inside, outside, he did it all. That's what star players are supposed to do." Nelson: "If we have a chance to win, we have to make the 3s. We had a number of them and missed. Portland defended the 3 pretty well, too, but when we get those, we normally make them." Michael Finley: "They didn't shut me down in the 4th quarter. I just missed some shots. Overall, we all got good looks at the basket tonight and we were still in the game at the end." Erick Strickland: "I think this team can play with anyone, but when you factor in all the circumstances that went down, I guess you can say that. We could have won this one, too." Portland Trailblazers 96, Dallas Mavericks 85 at Portland (March 30) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Portland 25 29 23 19 - 96 .541 .545 .542 .632 Dallas 19 26 24 16 - 85 .526 .143 .423 .800 Halftime: Portland 54-45 3rd Q: Portland 77-69 Dallas' only lead: 4-2 10:19 1st Portland's largest lead: 63-45 9:53 3rd Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 8:01 2nd, Sean Rooks 5:49 2nd, Detlef Schrempf 0:12 2nd, Shawn Bradley 1:57 3rd Refs: Mike Mathis, David Jones, Gary Benson Attendance: 20,399 (sellout) Portland Trailblazers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Jermaine O'Neal 14 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 Scottie Pippen 35 6-14 2-5 5-6 19 0-4 8 3 3 0 0 Rasheed Wallace 42 16-22 0-0 2-2 34 2-9 4 4 0 1 1 Steve Smith 35 8-10 2-3 4-6 22 2-5 0 0 3 0 0 Damon Stoudamire 27 3-7 0-1 0-1 6 0-3 7 2 2 3 0 Bonzi Wells 13 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-2 1 0 2 1 0 Brian Grant 18 1-2 0-0 0-2 2 2-3 2 4 2 0 0 Stacey Augmon 13 1-4 0-0 1-2 3 3-4 0 0 1 1 0 Detlef Schrempf 21 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 1 0 4 0 0 Greg Anthony 22 2-3 2-2 0-0 6 0-1 2 2 2 0 1 Totals 48 39-72 6-11 12-19 96 10-36 25 16 19 6 2 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 42 12-23 1-7 5-7 30 4-7 2 2 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 41 5-13 1-4 5-7 16 0-4 2 3 2 3 0 Shawn Bradley 23 1-5 0-1 0-0 2 0-6 0 3 2 0 4 Steve Nash 37 2-6 0-4 0-0 4 2-3 7 2 3 2 0 Erick Strickland 28 3-7 1-3 2-2 9 0-4 2 2 2 1 0 Hubert Davis 26 2-7 0-1 1-1 5 1-3 2 0 1 1 0 Sean Rooks 12 2-3 0-0 1-1 5 2-2 0 1 3 1 0 Greg Buckner 21 6-11 0-1 0-0 12 2-3 0 0 1 1 1 Cedric Ceballos 10 0-3 0-0 2-2 2 1-1 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 33-78 3-21 16-20 85 12-33 15 13 18 10 5 patricia