# GT: Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trail Blazers



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

*Dallas Mavericks [50-29] @ Portland Trailblazers [39-40]*
 | Saturday, April 12 2008 | Portland, Oregon | Rose Garden | 10:00 pm ET | 
| *TV*: Ch. 21, NBA TV | *Radio*: KESN-FM 103.3


*Game Notes*

One injured MVP, two teams on their heels and three straight losses put the Dallas Mavericks’ playoff chances briefly in jeopardy.

Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t about to let that possibility become a reality.

With a playoff berth locked in, Nowitzki and the Mavericks will look to win their fourth straight while trying to improve their seeding on Saturday at the Rose Garden against the Portland Trail Blazers.

When Nowitzki went down with a high ankle sprain on March 23, Dallas (50-29) appeared to be in trouble. It lost its third straight that day, 88-81 to San Antonio, and though it was in the seventh spot in the tight Western Conference playoff race, Denver and Golden State were closing in.

The Mavericks split four games without Nowitzki, but the league’s reigning MVP returned on April 2, scoring 18 points to help them beat the Warriors 111-86.

After a four-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas has won three straight, and Nowitzki has led the charge. He scored 32 in a 105-98 win over Phoenix on April 6, and had 32 again on Thursday - including the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left - as the Mavericks clinched a playoff spot, beating Utah 97-94.

“How do you leave the MVP wide open? It’s unbelievable,” said guard Jason Terry, who added 21 points.

With one win and one Denver loss, Dallas can guarantee itself at least the No. 7 seed in the West. Catching Phoenix for the sixth spot remains a possibility, but Nowitzki knows a tough opponent will await the Mavericks regardless of where they end up.

“In the West, in the first round, whoever you’re going to face is going to be a tough series, so it should be fun for everybody involved,” he told the team’s official Web site. “Nothing in this league, especially in the West, is going to come easy to you.”

Terry has stepped up lately to give Dallas another strong scoring option in addition to Nowitzki (23.6 points per game) and forward Josh Howard (20.0). He’s averaging 21.8 points in his last six, helping the Mavericks to five wins.

The Trail Blazers (39-40) have lost 15 of 16 overall to the Mavericks, but have split two meetings this season.

They need to win their last three to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2002-03, when they went 50-32.

They beat the Lakers 112-103 on Monday to snap a five-game losing streak, but lost 103-86 Friday in Sacramento - their largest margin of defeat since their 20-point loss to Dallas on Feb. 13.

“I want to have a winning record, if we get above .500 it’s more for your own pride,” guard Brandon Roy said.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 15 rebounds in the loss to the Kings, and the second-year power forward is playing his best basketball as the season nears its end. Since March 7, he’s averaging 20.9 points and 8.6 rebounds.

But Roy, last season’s rookie of the year and an All-Star in 2007-08, has struggled down the stretch. He was averaging 19.8 points in his first 63 games, but that number has dropped to 15.0 per game in his last eight, when he’s shooting just 41.4 percent.

Roy has averaged 21.7 points this season against Dallas.



*Starting Lineups*





































*Steve Blake - Brandon Roy - James Jones - Channing Frye - LaMarcus Aldridge*

*vs.*





































*Jason Kidd - Jason Terry - Josh Howard - Dirk Nowitzki - Erick Dampier*


*Injuries*
*Blazers:* Greg Oden (right knee), Darius Miles (right knee), Martell Webster (irregular heartbeat) and Joel Pryzbilla (right hand) are out 
*Mavs:* Jerry Stackhouse (right groin strain) is out; Josh Howard (right knee) is probable. 









​


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

The playoff picture is so crazy right now that we still can't tell the seeding order of the top 3.

Needless to say, DAL needs to finish the season strong heading into the playoffs.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

croco said:


> With a playoff berth locked in, Nowitzki and the Mavericks will look to win their fourth straight while trying to improve their seeding on Saturday at the Rose Garden against the Portland Trail Blazers.


With the Suns only having two games left and the Mavs having three, is it really worth it to attempt a hostel takeover of the #6 seed?


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

I agree, we can't let give players too much rest, they need to have some kind of rhythm.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

xray said:


> With the Suns only having two games left and the Mavs having three, is it really worth it to attempt a hostel takeover of the #6 seed?


Definitely not, our seeding doesn't matter because we won't have homecourt anyway.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

croco said:


> I agree, we can't let give players too much rest, they need to have some kind of rhythm.


Are you saying they should go for the #6 seed and not give any rest? I'm saying stay in a rhythm, but don't wear the team out on the small chance that the Suns will fall apart.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

xray said:


> Are you saying they should go for the #6 seed and not give any rest? I'm saying stay in a rhythm, but don't wear the team out on the small chance that the Suns will fall apart.


See above


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

croco said:


> Definitely not, our seeding doesn't matter because we won't have homecourt anyway.


Ok.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

croco said:


> See above


Damn internet. :lol:


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

I really don't care if DAL wins the next two games, but I want to see a solid performance in the NOR game, the season finale.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> I really don't care if DAL wins the next two games, but I want to see a solid performance in the NOR game, the season finale.


Yeah, it seems they've built some momentum and you'd like to see them being the hottest team going in.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> I really don't care if DAL wins the next two games, but I want to see a solid performance in the NOR game, the season finale.


We can't afford to lose against non-playoff teams, nobody on Dallas should get more than 30 minutes though. They have some momentum, let's not waste it by giving away those games against Portland and Seattle.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Nothing about being a Mavericks fan is easy, especially this time of year. :banghead:


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## Jet (Jul 1, 2005)

Hmm... yeah... Go Mavs. :sadbanana:

I hate this time of year.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Wow... I watched the Stars game tonight. They took both games from the Ducks in the 1st round on the road.

That's one impressive squad!!

Perhaps the Stars will break the Dallas teams 1st round before the mavs would....


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

How about playing some defense ?


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