Mavs 93, Blazers 89: 'NoJetSki'!

Mavs 93, Blazers 89, featuring the 24-hour 112-point offense of “NoJetSki’’ (new DB.com nickname alert) and it’s a three-game sweep of Portland and it’s a wide-open look up in the standings. … hey, it’s a Broom With A View!

   Your All-Access Pass to the Mavs’ second dynamic road win in a 24-hour span:

   And all that, right there, is all Mark Cuban was talking about last week when he started waving around pink slips. Some effort. Some execution. Some enthusiasm.

   And as a result, some victories.

   QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: “Everybody gets a chance to catch their breath as we’ve got one hell of a basketball game here at the Rose Garden! Wow!’’– Mavs TV play-by-play man Mark Followill, speaking in the final minutes of the game.

    How often has Followill said a swear word on the air in his career? Not often. … But how often have the Mavs won back-to-back road games against Western contenders?

     Plus, it was 11:10 p.m. So the kids were in bed. And Followill can work blue.

   THE CENTER OF THE NIGHT: Greg Oden, right? Nope. He was in street clothes, having been admitted to the Rose Garden with an AARP discounted ticket.

    Joel Przybilla, right? Gigantic and pretty athletic and he did have 15 rebounds, but nope.

    Try Erick Dampier, the dunking machine, who was 6-of-9 for 12 points, added nine rebounds, and ran the floor with a distinctive spring in his step. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry were making the sorts of shots that leave opponents shrugging their shoulders. Damp made the sort of shots that leave opponents ducking for cover.

   You won’t believe this if you didn’t watch the game, and even if you did, you might have to rewind to believe it. But Damp was intimidating enough – and the zebras were whistle-swallowing enough – that the Blazers grew increasingly disinterested in excursions into the paint.

   I NEVER PROMISED YOU A …: Aw, skip the musical pun and let’s get to the chorus: That team almost NEVER loses at home. The Blazers had won 12 straight at the Rose Garden. They’d lost just five games for the year there. They were 17-2 since Christmas, which includes one of the rare times they were beaten here. …

    By Dallas, of course.

   ALDRIDGE VS. DIRK: LaMarcus was damn good. Dirk was damn better. The UberMan’s line: 29 points, 10 rebounds, 13-of-24 shooting, two steals, two blocks and an assist. LaMarcus was 23/11, but he wasn’t Dirk. 

   COMFORT AT THE LINE: The night before in Phoenix, the Mavs were sent to the line in the final minutes to prove their mettle. … and hit eight of eight. Same situation here, with Brandon Bass and Jason Terry the guys Portland was forced to foul.

   Bass is an 88-percent free-thrower. He made both of his.

   Jet is an 88.9-percent free-thrower. He made one of two.

   Comforting.

   LET’S CHECK THOSE STANDINGS: Time to look up again: Dallas (40-25) has won three straight and seven of its past nine games, and moved within a half-game of Denver for the seventh playoff seed in the Western Conference. Dallas is one game out of the fourth spot, with four-through-eight in a cluster.

   The Mavs even got a little help. The Rockets, led by the selfish insanity of Ron Artest, sustained a home loss to the Lakers. Also, the Jazz lost to Atlanta.

    The Mavs take the floor again in Golden State on Friday and then close this demanding – but so far wildly successful – roadie with a Sunday matinee at the Lakers.

Fancy chart courtesy of MavsMoneyball

   TURNOVER REVOLUTION: Underappreciated Stat of the Night: Dallas committed just eight turnovers. None in the first quarter (just like in Phoenix) and with 9:30 left just three and then a few of them during the late scramble.

    But it’s a scramble game and a road game and you’re trying to move in transition and you commit just eight turnovers? That’s a credit to Kidd (seven points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and two turnovers) and it’s a credit, too, to the SmallBall lineup that includes ballhandlers JJB and Jet.

   Oh, one more thing about turnovers: I would like to submit to the court that Dirk Nowitzki is the biggest man to ever have the ball in his possession as frequently as he does while committing an absurdly low number of turnovers.

   THE TWO-MAN OFFENSE: It’s 29 for Dirk and 24 for Jet and that’s 53. And while it’s “too many jumpshots’’ and “two many 3’s’’ and “it’d sure be nice to have a scorer,’’ it’s a credit to the Mavs. They know they must win this way. The opponent knows they must win this way.

    And on two occasions, in trying circumstances, the Mavs have won this way.

  I guess we should calculate the 24-hour totals for NoJetski:

   Dirk: two games in 24 hours, shoots 26-of-51, with two double-doubles, impossibly clutch in both fourth quarters.

   Jet: two games in 24 hours, shoots 18-of-40, scores 49 points, (and over the course of the last three, shoots 29-of-50 for 82 points), impossibly clutch in both fourth quarters.

   NoJetSki: two games in 24 hours, 44-of-91 for 112 points.

   THAT FT-LINE ISO: Bread-and-butter again for Nowitzki in the fourth was that FT-line iso. Also, pick-and-rolls as the staple in the third. And a 2-3 zone defense that confused Portland at different times throughout the second half. Oh, and a pace that cranked along as Dallas needed it to (including, at times, “slow,’’ which limited Portland’s possessions.)

   All in all, a fine button-pushing night for the coach.

   DESPERADOS: Let’s not dismiss too quickly the singular flaw in Dallas’ jump-shot offense (while in no way meaning to ignore the fact that Dirk did get inside, that Damp was a force inside and that Jason Kidd actually attempted and made a layup!): there is a tendency to search and search for a shot in the halfcourt offense and then to eventually settle for what amounts to a desperation shot-clock-beating 3. And Dallas was just 4-of-16 from the arc.

   There. There’s my negative. That’s it.

   LOOOONG BREATHERS: Carlisle obviously tried to sneak guys a breather whenever possible, understandable given the exhausting circumstances.

   But boy, did he play with fire here.

   Dirk sat out the last couple minutes of the first half. … and what do you know, his replacement, Brandon Bass (with a rep for perimeter defensive problems) fronts his man and records back-to-back steals. And Dallas keeps a 10-point intermission lead.

   And then in the fourth quarter, there’s JJB and George on the floor. … tick-tick-tick. … and we get to almost the nine-minute mark before Jason Kidd is back on the floor. But those guys were able to hang onto the seven-point lead, so Rick is Slick.

    ‘Bout gave me an aneurism, but it worked.

   TO .500. … AND BEYOND!: The Mavs are now 16-17 on the road. Golden State gets you to 17-17, and while that’s not world-beating, it is – given the nature of the West – world-surviving.

   SKIN AND MOSELY AND OOPS!: ESPN’s Matt Mosely checks in with me this morning to straighten out the Skin-to-Portland angle from yesterday. Matt was joking on the air about the possibility that Skin, the Mavs’ third-TV-guy-in-the-booth, would make an emergency trip to Portland for the game. Of course, because Matt is such an accredited newsman, somebody on our 75-Member Staff took him seriously.

   Skin didn’t go to Portland, Matt has a sense of humor, and I owe ‘em both a beer.

   THE BUBBLE ROY: Brandon Roy is a stellar player and, just as notable, a hybrid star. He’s a wing, he’s a point guard, he’s a distributor, he’s a creator. But he was largely controlled here, by Kidd and by Antoine Wright and by a strategy that seemed to roll double-team coverage his way almost every time he was positioned on the right side of the floor.

   Many of the seven shots Roy made were contested by not only his primary defender but also people like Nowitzki, rotating over to help. He took 20, made seven and finished with 22. … a stick of dynamite that seemed lit. … but that never quite went off.

    THE THIRD-QUARTER TEST: Dallas had its 10-point halftime lead. In just under four minutes in the third, the Blazers staged a mini-run, nine straight points to pull to within 61-57 with six minutes left in the period. Aldridge’s monster dunk over Damp and three-point play was the standing-ovation-earner. And while you knew a fourth-quarter effort would also factor in, I felt this would be the test – not of talent on the roster but rather of gas in the tank. On the second night of a b-2-b, would Dallas have enough fuel to respond?   

    Dallas not only responded, but did so in Aldridge-like fashion. The Mavs stole the momentum back with not one but two resounding Damp dunks. And by the time the quarter had ended, Dallas endured, still holding a seven-point edge to take to the final 12 minutes.

   INJURY UPDATE: All sorts of news here, and stuff that we’ll update throughout the day:

   *J.J. Barea, who had earned his second consecutive start, drove to the hole early in the fourth and was absolutely hammered by giant Joel Przybilla. Przybilla used one hand to goaltend the layup try (no call) and the other hand to accidentally fist JJB right in the face. … and I think, very near where JJB recently underwent dental surgery. Barea appeared to be clutching his arm as he retired for the evening, but I think when he wakes up this morning he’s going to be clutching his battered face.

    *Only seconds later, another bad break: Devean George leaked out for a one-pass, length-of-the-floor fast break from Kidd and as he went up for the layup. … he never went up. George was fouled on the attempt, and his right knee wobbled. He made one of his FTs and then wobbled away to the locker room.

     *Josh Howard’s ankle is still subject to more tests. But J-Ho reportedly plans on joining the team in Oakland before Friday night.

    *Jerry Stackhouse may not be ready to play on that foot, but he’s ready to travel and will also be in Golden State. (Given the state of the economy, I’m thinking Stack and J-Ho can get together for some sort of Buddy Pass?)

   MAVS WANNA-BES: Dear Dallas fans, please be mindful of this as I continue to urge you to enjoy this ride and to bask in the excitement of the playoff run (while at the same time always demanding the Mavs’ best stabs at excellence):

   The Portland TrailBlazers wish, dream and hope of being what the Mavs have been in this decade. … and maybe still are.

   AND FINALLY: Mavs fans spend an inordinate amount of time, I think, discussing which teams Dallas should not want to meet in the playoffs. Well, suddenly, I can name at least one “contender’’ that probably wants no part of a postseason series with the Mavs.

1030am mar 12 2009