Full-Court Press

Mavs clinch playoff spot

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks can bring out the pom poms. And the rocking chair.

With Houston's 105-99 overtime loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday, the Mavs clinched a playoff spot for an unprecedented 12th straight season. That means with three regular season games left, coach Rick Carlisle can begin resting some of his regulars in preparation for the postseason, which starts Apr. 28.

The Mavs are 35-28 and will host the Golden State Warriors on Friday before ending the season with road games Saturday in Chicago and Apr. 26 in Atlanta.

Because of their inconsistent play this season, a lot of folks thought the Mavs would become the third defending NBA champions to not make the playoffs the following season. But that no longer is the case.

-- Dwain Price

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Dirk scores 31 points in the second half

DALLAS – Whenever the Dallas Mavericks need a clutch basket Wednesday night against
the Houston Rockets, they knew they could count on Dirk Nowitzki.

When the Mavs were down and the game appeared as though it was slipping away, Nowitzki switched to a higher gear and got the Mavs right back on track. The 14-year veteran tallied 31 of his 35 points in the second half in spectacular fashion as the Mavs rallied for a 117-110 victory over the Rockets
at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs’ franchise record for the most points in a half is held by Nowitzki, who tallied 34 points in the second half of a Nov. 3, 2009 game against the Utah Jazz.

As Nowitzki was in the midst of his “zone,” some fans started chanting MVP! MVP! The chants were
certainly well deserved after Nowitzki tallied 21 of his point sin the fourth quarter when the Mavs scored 39 points after trailing 84-78 entering the final period.

“In the second half I was able to get some good looks,’’ said Nowitzki, who was 8-of-11 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free throw line in the second half. “Guys kept looking for me.

“I had some cuts to the basket, I had some three’s that went in, so I just got involved in the game a little more. I had some good looks, I got to the foul line -- that obviously helps – so it was fun way to play.’’

The fourth quarter was particularly fun for Nowitzki. In that quarter alone he was 4-of-6 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.

But Nowitzki will be the first to say that Wednesday’s victory wasn’t all about him.

Vince Carter tallied 10 straight points for the Mavs in the first quarter – he had 23 points overall -- which ended knotted at 27 apiece. Jason Terry opened the second quarter by tallying 10 of the Mavs’ first 12 points, and he finished the night with 19 points

And Jason Kidd scored the Mavs’ final nine points – all on three-pointers -- of the first half, which ended tied at 55-55.

“The pick and roll was good for us all night,’’ Nowitzki said. “The first half Vince got in for two or three dunks.

“They really stayed at home on me. Our guards were able to get in the paint and make some stuff happen.’’

Nowitzki also credits Kidd for helping bring the Mavs (35-28) out of their deep sleep.

“We had a slow first half, no energy,’’ Nowitzki said. “But the guys did a good job keeping us in the game.

“J-Kidd had a good first half with a couple of three’s. That really kept us in the game.’’

Nowitzki’s shooting spree moved the Mavs to within one win of clinching a playoff spot. They also moved up to sixth in the Western Conference standings because of Denver’s 104-98 loss to the
Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

“He hit some tough shots,’’ forward Shawn Marion said of Nowitzki. “He had some good looks early, but they weren’t going in.

“But as soon as they started going in, he was able to get to the free throw line and it just opened up everything.’’

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs top Houston, 117-110, behind 35 from Nowitzki

DALLAS -- For a moment, Wednesday's game with the Houston Rockets looked like it was going to get away from the Dallas Mavericks.

But the Mavs (35-28) put on a fourth-quarter surge en route to defeating the Rockets, 117-110, at the American Airlines Center.

The Rockets had everything going their way and were ahead, 84-76, late in the third period. But the Mavs kicked into high gear and went on a 26-10 run to go up, 102-94, with 4:05 remaining in the game.

Dirk Nowitzki, who led the Mavs with 35 points, had nine points in that game-deciding run.

Houston cut it to 111-107 with 55.5 seconds on a four-point play by Kyle Lowry. But Jason Terry fed Dirk Nowitzki for a layup and a 113-107 lead with 36.2 ticks to go.

Other than Nowitzki, the Mavs got 23 points from Vince Carter, 19 points from Jason Terry, 12 from Jaosn Kidd and 11 points form Delonte West.

The loss serious crippled the Rockets' playoff chances. Houston is now 32-30 on the season.

Carter tallied 10 Mavs points in a row in the first period, which ended tied at 27-27. Two other Mavs' players also had a hot hand in the first half.

Terry popped in 10 of the Mavs' first 12 points of the second quarter, and Kidd scored the Mavs' final nine points of the second period, which ended knotted at 55 apiece.

The Rockets got 20 points and 10 assists from Goran Dragic, 18 points from Luis Scola, 16 points from Courtney Lee, 14 points from Chase Budinger and 11 points and 17 reobunds from Marcus Camby.

Dallas plays its final home game Friday against the Golden State Warirors before finishing the season with two road games -- Saturday in Chicago and Apr. 26 in Atlanta.

-- Dwain Price

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NBA fined West $25,000 for 'wet willie' incident

DALLAS -- The NBA fined Dallas Mavericks guard Delonte West $25,000 today for using his left index finger to poke Utah guard Gordon Hayward in the right ear during Monday's 123-121 triple overtime loss to the Jazz.

Before the league announced the fine, coach Rick Carlisle had a frank discusison with West about the incident.

"He and I sat down (Tuesday) and talked about that incident, and he understands,'' Carlisle said. "I made it clear to him that that's unacceptable.''

West is a hard-nosed player who brings a lot of aggressiveness to the table. And Carlisle doesn't want him to lose any of that aggression.

"We talked about that and I'm never going to do anything to take competitiveness away from anybody,'' Carlisle said. "But in a situation like that where a competitive advantage is gained by the other team, that's logic enough to stay from it, and he understands.''

The Mavs knew West was an edgy player when they signed him to a one-year, $1.18 million contract during the offseason.

"He's a competitive guy, but your competitiveness has to manifest in the right way,'' Carlisle said. "By and large, he's had a tremendous year for us, and he's done the right things.

"I see that as an isolated incident and I don't see it happening again.''

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs getting other team's best shot

DALLAS – As the Dallas Mavericks have discovered the hard way, defending NBA champs
always get hit with the other team’s best shot.

The Mavs have seen that time and time again, as teams come very well prepared to play the team that won last year’s NBA title. The Mavs have become the barometer – especially on the road – and a way for teams to show their home crowd just how impressive they can be when the champs come to town.

But that places more pressure on the Mavs to be on top of their game every game. And that’s a near impossible task for any team.

“It’s been a tough year from that standpoint,’’ forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “A lot of teams have been hitting some incredible shots against us where you’re just shaking your head.

“It just feels like this year has been more than any regular season, but it is what it is. If you’re the champs, some stuff next year isgoing to go against you and you’ve got to fight through it.’’

The Mavs (34-28) have been fighting through it, even through the midst of a heartbreaking 112-108 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, and a disappointing 123-121 triple overtime loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

“I’ve never been bitten by a snake, but I definitely feel like we’ve had some misfortune in these situations where in the past we’ve been the team that came out victorious,’’ guard Jason Terry said. “But we’ve got a lot of fight in us.

“But if this doesn’t get you ready for the playoffs, nothing will.’’

Terry said there’s no reason to jump off a bridge just because they couldn’t hold on and beat the Jazz.

“Utah, obviously they’re fighting for their playoff life, we’re fighting for ours and they showed it,’’
Terry said. “Each guy that was inserted into the game (Monday) played like he was playing for something, and you’ve got to love it.

“(Jason) Kidd said after the second overtime, he said, ‘You’ve got to love this.’ And I just looked at him and smiled and said, ‘(Heck) yeah. Let’s keep playing.’ ‘’

And play on they did.

Between the overtime game against the Lakers and the three overtime game against the Jazz, the Mavs played the equivalent of 41.7 percent of another game.

“That’s a lot of basketball, but it was a battle all the way to the end,’’ Marion said. “We just couldn’t pull it out.’’

The Mavs know they need to pull out a few victories in some of these next four games if they don’t want to become just the third NBA champion to not advance to the playoffs the following season.

“It’s coming down to crunch time, teams are playing to win, everybody wants to be in the playoffs, nobody wants to lose, and the season is coming to a close and guys want to make a statement,’’ guard Delonte West said. “We played two dangerous teams.

“We played a team that’s scratching to get in the playoffs (in Utah) and we played a team that’s trying to hold position (in the Lakers). It’s anybody’s game out there.’’

-- Dwain Price

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Rockets pose a problem for the Mavs

DALLAS -- Just because Houston has dropped four straight games, Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki acknowledged that now is not the time to fall asleep at the wheel on the Rockets.

"That's another team that always competes,'' Nowitzki said. "I don't care who they throw out there, they play hard and they played us tough twice already.

"They're a good defensive team, they play hard, so they're going to give it their best shot.''

Back on Mar. 24, the Mavs won in Houston in overtime, 101-99. Three days later in Dallas, the Mavs prevailed over the Rockets, 90-81.

The Mavs (34-28) host the Rockets (32-29) at 7:30 Wednesday night.

-- Dwain Price

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NBA hasn't ruled on West

DALLAS -- The NBA didn't rule on a fine and/or suspension for Dallas Mavericks guard Delonte West today.

West poked a finger into the ear of Utah Jazz guard Gordon Hayward with 3:40 left in the second period of. West was assessed a technical foul on the play, and a league spokesman said the NBA could make a ruling on the situation as early as Wednesday.

If West is suspended, the ruling would come down Wednesday. But if he is only fined, the ruling could come down any time this week.

West said of the incident: "I was just getting some lint out of his ear.''

-- Dwain Price

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West may hear from the NBA

SALT LAKE CITY -- Guard Delonte West may get a call from the NBA today after he stuck his fingfer in the ear of Utah Jazz guard Gordon Hayward during Monday night's thriller at the Energy Solutions Arena.

With 3:40 remaining in the first half of Utah's 123-121 three overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks, West committed a foul on Hayward and then walked over and stuck his finger in Hayward's ear.

The crowd roared angrily, because the three referees apparently didn't see the incident.But after the refs watched the instant replay on the monitor at the scorer's table, West was accessed a technical foul.

In explaining what happened, West said: "(Hayward) had some lint in his hair. I was just trying to get it out for him.

"I was giving him a wet willie. That's all.'

'Asked about possibly receiving a fine or a suspension from the NBA, West said: "We are two warriors. We're out here battling on the battlefield.

"I forgot the NBA is a gentleman's game, so we have to fight and scrap and do it nicely. Everything is left on the court, though.''

-- Dwain Price

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Jefferson had his way with the Mavs

SALT LAKE CITY -- Whle the Dallas Mavericks were at a loss on how to contain Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson, his own coach praised the work of his gentle giant.

Jefferson finished with 28 points and a career-high tying 26 rebounds as the Jazz nipped the Mavs in dramatic fashion, 123-121, in three overtimes Monday night at the Energy Solutions Arena.

Jefferson's performance helped keep the slim playoff hopes of the Jazz (32-30) alive.

"He was huge,'' Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "I mean, 26 rebounds, the timely shots he made on the perimeter.

"They did a great job of not letting him get the ball low. They were double-teamming him as soon as he got it, the had bodies on him all night to try to get him off the block, but he hung in there.''

Jefferson, who never went to the free throw line Monday -- converted 14-of-25 shots while playing 54 out of a possible 63 mind-boggling minutes -- said the torrid race to make the playoffs is what keeps him going.

"We want to be in the playoffs, (so) this is a big test for us,'' Jefferson said. "We've just got to see where our heart is at, and I know everybody in that locker room wants to make the playoffs.

"So we are going to fight and we are going to fight until the end. That's all we can do.''

The 20/20 game by Jefferson was the first one for the Jazz since Carlos Boozer collected 21 points and 20 rebounds in a Jan. 25, 2010 game against the Phoenix Suns.

-- Dwain Price

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Howard remembering the folks in Dallas

SALT LAKE CITY -- Josh Howard no longer plays for the Dallas Mavericks. But the Utah Jazz forward is still being supportive in the Dallas community.

Howard will host a basketball camp in Dallas from June 18-22 at the Sportsplex on Galleria Road. He also will host a Celebrity Basketball Game at PC Cobb Fieldhouse at 5 p.m. on June 22, and host a comedy show on June 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Palladium Ball Room in downtown Dallas.

Howard played for the Mavs from 2003 until they traded him to the Washington Wizards on Feb. 13, 2010 in a seven player deal that brought Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas. Howard currently is recoveirng from recent surgery on his left knee.

-- Dwain Price

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