DALLAS _ Some bad blood is about to spill over into Game 6 of the Dallas Mavericks-Portland Trail Blazers’ first-round playoff series.
And it all stemmed from when Monday’s Game 5 was unofficially officially in the books and the Mavs were on their way to a 93-82 victory and a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven series.
Blazers guard Wesley Matthews got upset when Mavs forward Brian Cardinal set a hard screen on guard Patrick Mills near midcourt with about 13 seconds left in the game. So, when Mavs guard J.J. Barea was dribbling out the clock in a game that was all but history, he was closely and ferociously guarded by Mills.
Once the clock struck 0:00, Matthews shouted some unpleasantries at Cardinal, Barea was shouting unpleasantries at Mills, Cardinal was shouting at Matthews, and so was Mavs guard DeShawn Stevenson. And Blazers coach Nate McMillan scoffed at the referees about Cardinal’s screen.
“(Matthews) said something to Cardinal and I’m not going to let anybody talk to my teammates like that,’’ Stevenson said. “I said what I had to say and he walked away and we walked away.’’
Asked what set Matthews off, Stevenson said: “I think he was mad about the little screen, but I look at it like we’re up 13 -- 34 seconds to go -- just play it out. You pick up our point guard like that.
“I got hit like that today. If’s just part of basketball.’’
When asked what did Matthews said, Stevenson said: “It was pretty bad. He said something to Cardinal, I said it back and I’m going to leave it like that.’’
The Mavs won Monday, 93-82, and will play Game 6 Thursday night TBD at 8 p.m. in Portland. If Game 7 is necessary it will be played Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
With so much at stake, it won’t be surprising if play gets even more physical and tempers flare up once again.
-- Dwain Price
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@DwainPrice
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