Mavs host Clippers: 64-13

[ddh33]

Home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs! The Mavs win again, and they did so in a much more impressive fashion that some of their recent wins. Hey, what does it say about this team, its status, and its fans that many have been clamoring and complaining about not looking good while winning? And yes, I do understand the sentiment on wanting to go into the playoffs as a finely tuned machine. Still, this team is awfully good.

It's hard to quantify exactly what Josh Howard brings to this team, but the Mavs are sure better when he is on the floor. We all know about the numbers, but it's become pretty clear that he supplies much more than even the numbers indicate. The energy, and dynamic of the team just seems to be completely different when he's on the floor. It was nice to have him back tonight.

Erick Dampier strained that same shoulder tonight though. He exited the game early, and he never returned. The earliest reports indicated that is was nothing serious, but with home court being locked up, I wouldn't be surprised if Damp got a day off. He's earned it.

Desagana Diop might have gotten my vote for player of the game tonight too because of what he was able to give the team. With Damp missing, Diop was relied on for some heavy lifting. He had to defend against the Clippers bigs, battle on the boards, and close down the lane without much help. He did a great job. Brand still got his, and the Mavs did do a good job of playing team defense to help out, but Diop stood up well all night long. Actually, he's been on a little bit of a tear the last half of this season. He had 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals tonight.

Dirk Nowitzki was the actual player of the game though. He finally looked like himself too after struggling with ankle and stomach trouble the last couple of weeks. He was much more aggressive tonight though, and he looked like the MVP. He scored 26 points on 10-18 shooting, and he also added 6 rebounds. But Dirk seemed more intent and focused tonight. When the team needed baskets, they went to him, and he delivered.

Josh Howard, as mentioned earlier, was a difference maker. He shot 6-14 for 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. I liked his defense though, and he really does change the whole look of this team.

Devean George might finally be all the way back. I thought he played an excellent game tonight. He did a fine job defensively, and he looked much better on the offensive end. He was able to hit his open shots, but he was also able to create a few looks for himself to knock down as well. He shot 5-7 for 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Jason Terry was pretty quiet tonight. The Clippers seemed to do a pretty good job of trying to keep him from being a primary scorer, but Jet still did a good job of running the team. He didn't force anything either. He hit 3 of his 5 shots for 7 points and 6 assists.

Jerry Stackhouse had 18 more points tonight. Stack loves resting. Give him a day off, and you are almost assured of 20 points. He scored 18 tonight, got the line, and played with his usual toughness and competitiveness.

Devin Harris impressed me again tonight. In just 17 minutes, he scored 14 points and 3 assists. He shot 3-7, but he did most of his damage by getting into the teeth of the defense and working his way to the free throw line. He knocked down all 8 of his free throws too.

Austin Croshere had 7 minutes. He didn't do a ton though.

Buck also got 13 minutes. He worked on defense against Maggette and pulled down 3 rebounds. All in all, Buck is one of those guys that gives more than shows in the stat sheet.


64 wins though and a clinched home court throughout the playoffs. Some have wanted to criticize the Mavs recently, but what else do they have to play for now. This is all about getting healthy, getting rest, and getting a nice tune-up before the playoffs. But no one is catching them in this regular season...

[shaw-xx]

Congrats Mavs. Great work. And glad to see Josh made a couple nice passes.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Both teams started the game combining for something like 35/35 from the line. What was the actual number? Terry's the one that messed it up with around three minutes left.

[StackAttack]

Josh is looking more and more like Bruce Bowen defensively by the game (for better or worse).

[WraithXx]

this is all fuzzy math... IT'S ALL FUZZY MATH, DAMMIT!!!!! IT'S FUZZY MATH!!!!!! ALL OF IT!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

[shaw-xx]

Originally Posted by StackAttack

Josh is looking more and more like Bruce Bowen defensively by the game (for better or worse).

Uh, hope you don't mean dirty plays...

[dude1394]

Well to take up for the fans saying they haven't been playing that well. The last two games have seen them:

Portland 7 3pta's, 28ftas
Clippers 8 3pta's, 29ftas..

So the fans weren't the only ones seeing what was going on.

Way to clinch mavs...well done...let's get ready for the jungle baby.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Casual fans browsing espn.com/nba right now have to read the fine print to realize what Dallas accomplished today. The main picture and headline they have for Dirk leaves the wrong impression.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by dude1394

Well to take up for the fans saying they haven't been playing that well. The last two games have seen them:

Portland 7 3pta's, 28ftas
Clippers 8 3pta's, 29ftas..

So the fans weren't the only ones seeing what was going on.

Wow. Good numbers. That's actually better news IMO than clinching #1.

[mavsfan1000]

Good news is Dallas gets to rest their players but the bad news is now they'll likely be facing the Warriors who are on fire right now.

[left texas]

From ESPN
Nowitzki leads Mavs to win, wrap up top seed in WestVideo Highlights Associated PressDALLAS -- Prop up your feet, Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse. The Dallas Mavericks have clinched the NBA's best record with five games to go.Nowitzki and Stackhouse were Dallas' leading scorers in a 96-86 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night that sealed the top seed this postseason, then coach Avery Johnson announced right away that they wouldn't be joining the club on a road trip to Minnesota."I told them if I see them on the plane, I'll fine them," Johnson said.It makes sense. With home-court guaranteed in every round of the playoffs, one less round-trip flight and one less game is far more important in the Mavericks' big-picture goal of getting back to the NBA finals and this time winning the title they let slip away last summer."We didn't come into the season trying to be No. 1 (seeded), we came into the season trying to finish the year with a win," Johnson said. "If we continue to pay attention to details, and don't skip a step, and don't make too much of ourselves, we have a chance of really kicking it into another gear. There's still another level for us to go."Nowitzki scored 12 of his 26 points in a row during the third quarter, and Stackhouse scored 18 off the bench in what might've been a preview of a first-round playoff series.Well, sort of. The Clippers, who fell to 37-39, were without Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas, both of whom likely will be back if the team makes the playoffs."We tried everything we could do and we did it well some of the time, but we didn't do it enough," coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Defensively, I thought in the first half we did a great job on Nowitzki, but in the second half we didn't do as good. ... We didn't get good enough help on him at times."In their first opportunity to wrap up the top spot, the Mavericks never trailed by more than a basket. They started pulling away in the final minutes of the first half, going up by seven at the break, then scored the first six points of the third quarter. Nowitzki's flurry followed, keeping Dallas comfortably ahead.The Clippers got within nine points with about 2 minutes left. The shot clock nearly ran out on Dallas' next possession, but Josh Howard stepped back and nailed a 3-pointer with 1:41 left and the Mavericks pulled away for their franchise-record-extending 64th victory -- and the first No. 1 seed in club history."It's good we got that taken care of," said Howard, who scored 16 points.Devin Harris scored 14 and Devean George had 11 for Dallas. The bad news for the Mavs was that center Erick Dampier left in the opening minutes with a sprained right shoulder. Johnson said Dampier was scheduled to have an MRI Tuesday, but was still expected to make the trip to Minnesota.Corey Magette led Los Angeles with 24 points and Elton Brand scored 20. Jason Hart had 14 points and eight assists.The Mavericks won the season series against the Clippers 2-1, with Los Angeles' win coming on Nov. 8, during Dallas' 0-4 start to the season.A 12-game winning streak followed, and the Mavs have been atop the league pretty much ever since, setting various NBA and franchise records along the way. They could still tie the second-most wins in league history, but would have to go 5-0 the rest of the way in games that are now otherwise meaningless.Nowitzki and Stackhouse will play again Friday night at home against Utah. Other regulars will get that game off, Johnson said.Dallas finishes with five games in eight days. The last two are back-to-back on the West Coast and there's no telling what kind of lineup the Mavericks will have in those games.Howard and Stackhouse returned after sitting out the previous game, Howard because of a sprained ankle and Stackhouse merely for rest. His legs sure looked fresh went he flew to the rim and shoveled in a lob pass with one hand while being fouled from behind.The Clippers opened the game 8-of-11, mostly on mid-range jumpers, but their last lead was 23-21.Game notesAfter Stackhouse's nifty one-handed, alley-oop scoop with 2.9 seconds left in the first quarter, the Clippers caught the Mavs asleep. James Singleton threw about a 90-foot pass that Brand caught in the middle of the lane. He turned and made the short jumper pretty easily. ... The technical on Dunleavy came just 25 seconds into the second half for griping about a non-call on a stripped ball by Devean George. Dunleavy later talked officials into reversing their call on an out-of-bounds play, drawing a laugh from George. ... Dallas made its first 22 free throws. The Clippers were 16-of-16.

[chumdawg]

At least there are no rivers running through that mass of text.

But toss in a paragraph break, wouldya?

[nowhereman]

the clips really wanted this game. bill simmons wrote an article in espn mag about the clipper's terrible chemistry being evident early this year. boy, was that ever the case tonight.

but how about the clippers being in the playoff hunt on talent alone? things have changed.

[dude1394]

Lesson one...



Lesson two...


Please pay attention to my partner on this move.

[kriD]

Win assures Mavs of NBA's top spot

05:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 10, 2007
By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News
tmacmahon@dallasnews.com

Chalk up another first for the Mavericks in a regular season full of them.

This one was the most meaningful in terms of achieving their ultimate goal.

The Mavericks will finish with the NBA's best record for the first time in franchise history. They made sure of that with a 96-86 win Monday night over the Los Angeles Clippers that clinched the Western Conference's top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

But there wasn't much celebrating after the Mavericks (64-13) padded their franchise-record win total in front of a sellout crowd at American Airlines Center.

"Hey, it's special. You can't discount it," coach Avery Johnson said. "But we didn't come into the season wanting to be No. 1 [at the end of the regular season]. We came into this season wanting to end with a win. There's only one team that can do that."

The Mavericks used a practically foolproof formula to put the finishing touches on its march to the top seed: an MVP candidate with a hot hand to establish a comfortable lead, and stingy defense down the stretch to protect it.

Dirk Nowitzki broke out of a mini-slump by scoring half of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter. He made all four of his shots from the floor and all five of his free throws during the quarter, when he exceeded his point total from Saturday's win over Portland.

Nowitzki cooled off in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers couldn't put the ball in the basket often enough to take advantage. Los Angeles went a stretch of nearly six minutes without a field goal.

This was a potential first-round preview, sort of. The Clippers (37-39) are tied with the Golden State Warriors.

But the Mavericks didn't put much stock into Monday night's game as a sign of things to come, although Los Angeles forwards Corey Maggette (24 points) and Elton Brand (20) confirmed their ability to give Dallas problems. Clippers point guard Sam Cassell, who has earned a reputation as one of the league's most dangerous clutch shooters, sat on the bench in street clothes.

"There's a factor that's going to be there when it's money time," said Mavericks sixth man Jerry Stackhouse, who scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half. "That's Sam."

Center Erick Dampier re-injuring his right shoulder also put a slight damper on the Mavericks' night. Johnson said Dampier would undergo an MRI today and would probably play Wednesday.

The Mavericks' focus for the remainder of the regular season will be resting its key players while trying to remain sharp entering the playoffs. Celebrating their run to the league's best record is not in the plans.

"We're obviously happy to get the No. 1 seed now," said Nowitzki, who won't join the team on its trip to Minnesota tomorrow. "But we all know the regular season doesn't mean much. If you want to win it all, it's just two more months of grinding basketball."

[kriD]

Mavericks 96, Clippers 86

Mavs beat Clippers to clinch the West

By ART GARCIA
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

DALLAS – If the Mavericks and Clippers hook up the first round, it’ll be the No. 1 seed vs. No. 8.

The Mavs locked up the front end of the deal Monday night, clinching the league’s best record and the Western Conference’s top spot by handling the Los Angeles Clippers 96-86 at American Airlines Center. For the first time in the 27 years, the Mavs (64-13) put together a regular season unequaled by anyone else in the league. They also have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, including the NBA Final should they return.

“It’s special,” coach Avery Johnson said. “You can’t discount it. We didn’t come into the season trying to be No. 1 or whatever. We came into the season trying to end this year with a win. There’s only one team can do that.

“If we continue to pay attention to detail and don’t skip a step and don’t think too much of ourselves, we have a chance of kicking it into another gear.”

The Southwest Division champs – only the franchise’s second outright division title – have five full games left to rest up, prepare for the first round and not worry about where they finish.

Clinching early has its privileges. But it’s hardly the end game.

“You work hard to get the homecourt advantage, you lose one game and it’s all gone away,” Jerry Stackhouse said. “It’s about going into the playoffs playing well, also. So we want to close this season off strong as well as go ahead and put ourselves in position to maybe get guys a little healthier and rest.”

Johnson talked about having the “perfect plan” to prepare his team for the rigors of postseason. It now begins in earnest.

Dirk Nowitzki and Stackhouse won’t accompany the team to Minneapolis after Tuesday’s practice. Both will sit Wednesday against the Timberwolves and Johnson will sit two rotation regulars Friday with Utah coming to town.

Johnson wants to get in at least one dress rehearsal, a game with a playoff-type of rotation, before the season ends April 18 at Seattle.

“We still want to win the rest of the games no matter who’s in uniform,” Johnson said.

The Clippers (37-39) are currently sitting eighth, but the final playoff spot in the West could go a number of ways. Denver, Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers are the most likely possibilities.

However it unfolds, the Mavs have a courtside seat for the next nine days. They plan to enjoy the view and not fret about getting stale in otherwise meaningless games.

“Everybody is really going to focus on getting themselves ready,” Devean George said. “I don’t think anybody is going to take this as, ‘We don’t want to win the game.’ Everyone is going to try to get in the best shape [and] get a good rhythm going into the playoffs.”

Getting the best of the Clippers also gave the Mavs a 2-1 win in the season series. The Mavs lost the first meeting in Los Angeles – the last loss in the infamous 0-4 start – before claiming a pair of double-digit wins.

The two teams traded baskets for much of the first half before a surge late in the second quarter left the Mavs up 52-45 at the break. Looking refreshed after taking a Saturday off, Stackhouse led the charge early with 13 of his 18 points in the first half.

The lead quickly began to grow at the start of the third quarter, as Nowitzki (26 points) began to heat up. The Mavs would go up 15 midway through the period and the spread remained in double figures for most of the game’s balance.

[kriD]

MAVS PLAYBOOK

George, Howard key Mavs' run

By JEFF CAPLAN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS -- The Mavericks needed one spurt -- a 14-2 run to end the first half and open the second -- to shut down the Clippers 96-86 and lock up the No. 1 seed.

And they did it by playing the versatile style on both ends that Mavs coach Avery Johnson said had been eluding his club over the past two weeks.

Even better were the two players who were in the thick of the decisive run. Devean George, who's still working his way back from a knee injury, and Josh Howard, who missed Saturday's game with a sprained ankle, combined for eight of the 14 points.

George had a 3-pointer, plus two of his three steals in that 2-minute, 23-second span that blew open a 44-43 Mavs lead into an 58-45 cushion just 1:07 into the third quarter.

George, who logged 33 minutes, tying his longest stretch since returning from the knee injury, also had an offensive rebound that led to Howard's deep 3-pointer, his only 3-point attempt of the game. That capped the run.

"I'm trying to build a rhythm and that's pretty much my role to be all over the place," George said. "I try to knock shots down when I'm open and really on defense try to make things happen, get deflections, try to disrupt their offense."

Howard had five of his 16 points during the decisive run. He played 22:31 and added four rebounds and three assists.

While Johnson plans to rest key players in the final five games, starting with Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse on Wednesday at Minnesota, the energetic Howard said he prefers to keep on playing.

"I had my two days off," Howard said. "I missed the game in Denver, then [against Portland]. Keep the rhythm."

Dampier aggravates shoulder

Erick Dampier headed to the locker room early in the first quarter after aggravating his strained right shoulder. Avery Johnson said initial reports are positive, but that Dampier will have an MRI today as a precaution.

DeSagana Diop was the benefactor, logging 31 minutes, just the second time this season he's played 30 or more.

"I think it's a good thing coming down to the playoffs," Diop said of the extra minutes. He finished with nine rebounds, four offensive, two steals and two blocks.

Kevin Willis, the Mavs' emergency center who signed to a 10-day contract last week, did not play.

Clippers making push

The Clippers hope to meet the Mavs again in a couple of weeks in the playoffs. By then they figure to be closer to full strength with the possible return of Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas.

Cassell (back spasms) and Thomas (sprained left wrist) didn't play Monday. Cassell said he hopes to return for the last three or four games. Coach Mike Dunleavy said he doesn't know when Thomas will be back.

The Clippers dropped to percentage points behind Golden State for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Warriors defeated Utah late Monday.

"Right now it's all about just trying to get into the playoffs," Dunleavy said. "If we can get one guy back just to get us into the playoffs, it'll be worth it."

Briefly

Avery Johnson returned to the starting lineup he used before Devean George got hurt, going with George instead of Devin Harris for a bigger backcourt with Jason Terry.

The Mavs made 25 of 29 foul shots, but were 22-of-22 until the final three minutes of the game. Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki each missed one, and DeSagana Diop missed two.

The Mavs' bench outscored the Clippers' reserves 34-11, led by Jerry Stackhouse with 18 points and Devin Harris with 14.

SPOTLIGHT: THE NO. 1 SEED

Mavs coach Avery Johnson will take the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but he's proof that finishing No. 1 at the end of the regular season doesn't mean anything come playoff time.

Johnson harkened back to the 1995 West finals: No. 1 Spurs vs. No. 6 Rockets. The Spurs had won five of six from the Rockets in the regular season.

"They won 46 [47] games and we won 62, and they won the championship," Johnson said. "I just think if you are the best team, you are going to win the championship whatever your regular-season record is."

The Rockets won that series 4-2, the same as Miami's Finals victory over the Mavs last season. Miami finished the job on the Mavs' home court.

"If you get it and can use it to your advantage," Johnson said of the home-court edge, "that's the perfect world."

[alexamenos]

i don't care what the haters say, last night was a solid W for the mavs.

Maggette and Brandt played really well, the sac kings 3rd string pg played pretty well, they'd won 7 of 10 before last night, and they were blessed by the absence of uber-spare Tim Thomas...that was a decent team playing fairly well...

best of all -- good to see the big german looking like the big german.....

i'm so happy today, I don't even mind the rockets trolls.

cheers

[kingrex]

Two franchises passed like ships in the night one going North and the other going South.

The Clips showed why they have no business being in the playoffs last night. Just NOT enough fire power and too much in-fighting.

The Mavs proved yet again why their depth is one of their largest assets. Starting ceinter Dampier leaves in the first half and the defense never missess a beat.

[kriD]

Originally Posted by kingrex

The Clips showed why they have no business being in the playoffs last night. Just NOT enough fire power and too much in-fighting.

Well, they were missing Cassell and Thomas, both regular double figure contributors. Not to mention Livingston who's out for the season (and the next). But even with Sam and Tim, I don't think they would win more than one game against the Mavs.

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by kriD

Well, they were missing Cassell and Thomas, both regular double figure contributors. Not to mention Livingston who's out for the season (and the next). But even with Sam and Tim, I don't think they would win more than one game against the Mavs.

see now....this is why i said the haters don't see that this was a really solid win for the mavs....

and i was talking about the clips haters. The clips strength is in their front court, and their front court is doing just fine, thank you very much.

The clips have gone 7-3 over the last ten w/o sam i am and Hart was adequate at worst last night. Tim Thomas is a 6' 10" pile of worthlessness when he's on the court...heck, Singleton had ten boards, six on the offensive end last night -- singleton's six offensive boards >>>>>>> Tim Thomas contribution on his best night.

and....

they're right on the bubble...nobody is more balls out than the bubble teams this time of year.

good win for the mavs over a team that is very much a bottom-half of the bracket calibre team.

[Dirkadirkastan]

TimTom was better in Phoenix. Why can't he do anything right now?

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

TimTom was better in Phoenix. Why can't he do anything right now?

i think he's doing exactly the same thing now -- he's sittin' out on the perimeter waitin' for nash to give him the ball.

[kingrex]

Originally Posted by kriD

Well, they were missing Cassell and Thomas, both regular double figure contributors. Not to mention Livingston who's out for the season (and the next). But even with Sam and Tim, I don't think they would win more than one game against the Mavs.

You made my point exactly. No Cassell, Thomas or Livingston means NOT enough fire power to belong in the playoffs.