Full-Court Press

Beaubois, Brewer in running for final roster spot

It’s possible that the Lakers’ series will be
Roddy Beaubois’ first playoff action since Game 6 against San Antonio
last year.
 
Beaubois was active for the series-clincher against
Portland, but did not play. He was inactive in the first five games of the
series because of a sprained left foot, the same one he had surgery on in
August that cost him more than half the season.
 
“He’s doing better,’’ coach Rick
Carlisle said. “He was active last game. And we wouldn’t activate
him if he wasn’t ready. But we’ll see. That’s a decision
that’s going to be one I’m going to make on the night of the game.
 
“If he plays, it’ll be a situational thing, most
likely, to start with and then we’ll kind of go from there. But the
important thing is he got 20-some starts under his belt. That was a positive
thing. The injury set him back a little bit. But he’s getting healthier
now and it’ll be between him and (Corey) Brewer as to who’s active
most likely.’’
 
Eddie Sefko
 
 

Mavs had close connection with their fans in 1988

 

 

DALLAS _ The last time the Dallas Mavericks met the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs was back when the Mavs began their close connection with their fans.

It was 1988, and the Mavs were just in their eighth NBA season. And there they were battling the iconic Lakers, toe-to-toe, in the Western Conference Finals.

Reunion Arena – the Mavs’ home at the time – was so loud it was about to blow its stack. And then-Mavs owner Don Carter was loving every loud burst from the Reunion Rowdies.

“You couldn’t hear anything back then,’’ said Derek Harper, the Mavs’ point guard during that time. “In fact, Mr. Carter -- I see him all the time -- and that’s one of the things that we always end up talking about is the old rowdies.

“Just how loud and into the games that they were. I’m a little bias to those days and the support that the fans gave us.’’

The upstart Mavs took Magic, Kareem, Worthy and the big, bad Lakers to seven games in ’88, where they lost Game 7 at the old Forum in Los Angeles. But the love affair between Harper, his teammates and the Mavs’ fans was just beginning.

“I think the newness of the Mavericks going that far in the playoffs at that time, it was just crazy and it was baffling,’’ Harper said. “I remember just how rowdy it was back then.

“I sit down at courtside now – and I’m not knocking the Mavericks fans. But I think we all know what the fans here are about you giving them a reason to cheer.’’

That certainly wasn’t the case in the 1980’s. After dropping Game 7 in LA, 117-102, the Mavs were surprised when they landed at DFW Airport.

“We didn’t have a private plane and I just remember so much support out there at the airport,’’ Harper said. “There were so many dog-gone fans out there, and the fans just showered us with respect and were happy for us.

“You can say what you want, but when you find a way to please 20,000 people and a lot more people around the Metroplex, it seemed like you’ve been successful anyway. So that sticks out.’’

-- Dwain Price

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@DwainPrice

Mavericks no longer alone at the bottom

Adios, Spurs.
 
The No. 1-seeded San Antonio Spurs went down tonight at
Memphis, losing their first-round series against the Grizzlies 4-2.
 
That makes the Spurs just the second No. 1 seed in NBA
history to lose a best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
 
As we all know, of course, the first one was the Mavericks
in 2007. There also were best-of-five first-round losses by Miami and Seattle,
both of whom were the No. 1 seed and lost to New York and Denver, respectively,
back in the ‘90s.
 
The Spurs ran into a hot team with the sort of tough players
at exactly the positions they didn’t excel at. Zach Randolph and Marc
Gasol were awesome and Tim Duncan clearly is on the last legs of his career.
 
In fact, here’s a prediction: don’t be surprised
if Duncan announces his retirement sometimes soon. And I say that without even
checking his contract status. Sometimes, you just know it’s time. And maybe
the Spurs could regroup and make another run next year, but in the immortal
words of Charles Barkley, I doubt it.
 
The Spurs had the best record in the NBA in the regular
season, just as the Mavericks did back in 2007. And yet, after six games, they
are sitting on the sidelines for the rest of the playoffs. That’s the
same number of games it took Golden State to oust the Mavericks four years ago.
 
So rejoice, Maverick nation.
 
The Spurs are goners. And that’s always a good thing
for anybody who supports the Mavericks and has had to endure more than a decade
of San Antonio supremacy.
 
Eddie Sefko
 

An early look at how to play the Lakers

Like all the Mavericks, Tyson Chandler paid close attention
to the Lakers’ first-round series against New Orleans.
 
He saw what gave the Lakers problems. And he saw situations
when they flourished. He believes the Mavericks can use that education to their
advantage.
 
“How to play them,’’ he said about what
he’d learned from the regular season and first round of the playoffs with
regard to the Lakers. “We watched the way New Orleans played them and we
can’t play a slow-paced game. If we play a slow pace, it falls right into
their hands. We got to turn it into a race and get up and down the
floor.’’
 
Chandler also believes the Mavericks are equipped to handle
that challenge, citing mental toughness as a huge improvement in the Mavericks.
 
“The Lakers are a tough team that’s going to go
at you and they execute so well,’’ he said. “But we held our
ground and sustained it.’’
 
Chandler, by the way, doesn’t put much stock in
whether people view the Mavericks as a massive underdog or not against the
Lakers.
 
“If you want to win a championship, whether people
have you picked as favored to win or picked to lose, you got to get
there,’’ he said. “I think our goal is to keep our eye on the
prize and not get caught up in what anybody says.’’
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Second round tickets on sale Saturday

Single-game
tickets for Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the
Mavericks and Lakers go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
 
Tickets
start at $19 and there’s a four ticket limit per customer. Tickets will
be available online at mavs.com, via phone (214-747-6287, at the American
Airlines Center north box office and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery
Stores, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).
 
A lottery system will be in place for
those fans that choose to purchase their tickets at AAC. Beginning at 8:30
a.m., a lottery number will be given to each person. At approximately 9:30
a.m., there will be a drawing to determine the first person in line. All
numbers sequentially following the drawn number will be the second, third,
fourth, etc. in line. Lottery numbers do not guarantee anyone the right to
purchase game tickets. Tickets will be sold based on availability. AAC
policy prohibits camping out on the premises.
 
Game
3 is Friday, May 6 at 8:30 p.m. Game 4 is Sunday, May 8 at 2:30 p.m.
 
Eddie
Sefko
 
 
 

Mavericks give an early size-up of the Lakers

As the Mavericks were leaving the court after ending Portland’s
season, some of the Blazer fans were understandably yelling at them.
 
But the message wasn’t one of anger.
 
“They were great,’’ Dirk Nowitzki said of
the fans. “When we won and were walking off the court, a lot of them were
yelling “go beat LA.’’
 
The Mavericks will give that their best shot, of course, but
they understand that it will not be easy. They went 1-2 against the Lakers in
the regular season and everybody knows that beating the two-time defending
champions is going to be a huge challenge.
 
The Mavericks will be massive underdogs, even though Charles
Barkley of TNT already has predicted that the Mavericks will win the series in
six games.
 
“It’s going to be hard,’’ coach Rick
Carlisle said. “They’re great. They’ve been playing great.
They had their stretch of struggles, but they’re back on track. Both
teams will be rested. We’re looking forward to it.
 
“We know how good they are, but our team has a strong
belief in itself. We’ve got great fans. We know we’re going to have
to win on the road at some point in the series and we’ve been a good road
team for two years. That bodes well, but it doesn’t guarantee us anything
and we know that.’’
 
Nowitzki said that the Mavericks have to approach the Lakers
with respect, but also with a frame of mind that they have to be the
aggressors. But they have to do all that without losing their poise against a
team that is bigger and more athletic than the Mavericks are. In the final
meeting in the regular season, the Mavericks became agitated down the stretch,
losing their cool on their way to a blowout loss.
 
“We got to go for it in Game 1 and Game 2 and let it
all hang out,’’ Nowitzki said. “You got to go for it in the
first one. That’s how we’re going to approach it. You never want to
trail in a series, so Game 1 is big.
 
“We got to learn from that (the regular season against
the Lakers). They’re going to try to do the same thing Portland did and
that’s being physical. We can’t let that bother us. We can’t
lose our composure like we did in the last game there. We got to fight through
that stuff.’’
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Mavericks had heroes to spare in series clincher

Everybody knows Dirk Nowitzki was a beast in Game 6. He had
33 points, 11 rebounds and even had a key block on Nicolas Batum early in the
fourth quarter to slow down the Blazers’ run.
 
But there were a ton of other key moments and key contributors
in the series clinching victory.
 
Most notably, it was Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood, who
combined to do an effective job defending LaMarcus Aldridge. The Mavericks made
the decision going into the series that the centers were going to have to guard
Aldridge mostly one on one so that other Mavericks could stay with the
Blazers’ shooters. It was a strategy that was well-thought-out and that
the centers executed.
 
Yes, Aldridge had some big games. But he did not take over
games, which is what the Mavericks wanted to make sure didn’t happen.
 
Meanwhile, the Mavericks also got a key 3-pointer from J.J.
Barea, his first one of the series. And they had Jason Kidd again making sure
that the train stayed on the tracks even when things weren’t going well.
 
Jason Terry poured in 22 points to lead a big bench effort,
but people may forget about his eight assists, many of them on nice, slip
passes in the paint that set up easy dunks or layups for big men.
 
Mostly, the whole collection of Mavericks kept their focus
in a tough environment.
 
“If you look at this team, they’re as tough to
beat here as any team in the league,’’ Nowitzki said of the
Blazers’ ability to be a hard out on their home floor. “This is
about as good a test as you can see on the road. This is a big win for us and
it’s definitely big for our confidence to win a road game in the
playoffs.’’
 
Eddie
Sefko
 

Final: Dallas Mavericks 103, Portland Trail Blazers 96

The Blazers made a push in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 34-28.

The Mavs did not repeat their mistakes from Game 4, however, and  managed to hold on to their lead in Portland to close out the series in Game 6.

Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Jason Terry added 22 points and 8 assists.

Gerald Wallace led Portland with 32 points and 12 rebounds.

The Mavericks won their second post-season series since falling to the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals. They will travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals with Game 1 on Monday night.

End of 3rd quarter: Dallas Mavericks 75, Portland Trail Blazers 62

Although Dirk Nowitzki did not score in the third quarter, the Mavericks extended their lead to 75-62. The Blazers went on an early 7-1 scoring run, but with 5:26 remaining in the quarter, Jason Terry sparked a Mavericks resurgence that extended their lead to as many as 15 points, although Gerald Wallace's free throws in the final second brought Portland within 13.

Terry now has 18 points for Dallas.

End of 2nd quarter: Dallas Mavericks 52, Portland Trail Blazers 43

After trailing by as many as 12 points early, the Mavericks rode a huge second quarter to a 52-43 halftime lead. The Mas outscored the Blazers by more than double in the second period, which ended on a Jason Terry 3-point shot at the buzzer. Led by Dirk Nowitzki and Terry, Dallas went on a 30-10 scoring run in the final 9 minutes of the half.

Nowitzki leads all scorers with 19 points while Terry has ten points and five assists. Gerald Wallace leads Portland with 13 points and 6 rebounds.