Full-Court Press

Diiiiiirrrrrrrrrk!

Doesn't matter what's shaking with the rest of the Mavericks or his own personal life, Dirk Nowitzki comes to play when it's time to play. Fabulous night for him again, and the Mavericks are just one point down at the 8:30 mark of the third quarter.

Mavs have gone on a 12-3 run to get to this point.

-- Tracey Myers

Nowitzki doing his part

Yeah, I know, what a shocking headline. Dirk's forcing the issue, drawing fouls, making free throws, etc. He has 27 points thus far.

Other than Antoine Wright chipping in here, where is everyone else?

-- Tracey Myers

Uh, he's OK

Talking, of course, about Dirk Nowitzki... he gets the Mavs' first four points, and the crowd responds to it with the expected fervor.

-- Tracey Myers

Pregame thought on Dirk

I was just chatting with a few media folk, and I had this discussion with a friend yesterday regarding Dirk Nowitzki. We're all curious to see how he reacts, right?

Well, this whole situation didn't just happen on Wednesday afternoon/evening. It's probably been ongoing for the guy. Yet when he hits the court, his mind is completely focused on the court, the game, the task at hand. He had 35 points on Tuesday in Denver. You think the whole thing back here wasn't on his mind on Tuesday? But he shakes that stuff off when it's game time.

So is there anyone who doubts his focus for Game 3?

-- Tracey Myers

Postgame audio clips

All right, folks, all the things you want to hear (and probably some you don't) are right below for your listening pleasure...

Coach Rick Carlisle: http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2009/02/13/00/0212_carlisle.source.prod_affiliate.58.mp3

Josh Howard:  http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2009/02/13/00/0212_howard.source.prod_affiliate.58.mp3

Jason Kidd: http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2009/02/13/00/0212_kidd.source.prod_affiliate.58.mp3

Antoine Wright: http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2009/02/13/00/0212_wright.source.prod_affiliate.58.mp3

Dirk Nowitzki: http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2009/02/13/00/0212_nowitzki.source.prod_affiliate.58.mp3

 

Nowitzki fine

Dirk Nowitzki apparently banged his knee against the Chicago Bulls the other night, but it didn't seem to bother him too much after the opening minutes. He just took it easy the last few days, and should be fine for the All-Star game.

"I didn’t do much during practice, just rode the bike and then called it a day. But it felt all right. (The swelling) went down this morning and I was able to move fine. We've got another day off tomorrow, and then we'll get ready for B

oston

."

-- Tracey Myers

Big-time hustle play

That was a big hustle play from the Mavs with Dirk getting the block, the Hornets recovering and Jet getting the block on Pargo. Jet saved the ball to Devean and they hurled it up court, where Peja Stojakovic fouled Stack. Now, Peja has three fouls, so that hustle play will likely play dividends for the rest of the game.

-Scooter Hendon

Dirk drives, keep it up

Dirk has settled for some jump shots, and has made most of them. But, as you can see by that driving shot that drew him two free throws, when he sees his lane, he's going to take it. That is a good sign and it will bring offensive dividends as the game progresses. It's another facet of the game that the Hornets will have trouble matching, and putting Dirk on the free-throw line is obviously a Maverick priority as well.

-Scooter Hendon

Franchise records, ready to be broken

Dirk Nowitzki is the playoffs franchise leader in 15 statistical categories, several of which he earned in the Mavs short stint in the playoffs last year. But, he has a few more he can grab in these playoffs, and there are several other Mavs that are closing in on records as well. A look at how close some of them are to moving up the franchise ladder after the jump:

Down goes Dirk -- update

The replay doesn't look good. It looks like it could be an ankle or knee injury, as Dirk came down hard defending a Spurs fast break with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

UPDATE: Dirk was helped off the court. He can't put any weight on his left leg.

UPDATE, PART II: ABC's Michelle Tafoya says Dirk tried to put weight on the leg in the tunnel, but he could not do it. She made it sound like there was pain in the foot, but again, this is just speculation.

UPDATE, PART III: Tafoya confirms that it is a left leg AND ankle injury. Dirk has had X-rays, but the results aren't known yet.

-- garza, mavs lite