Mavs' Playoff Party Ends
Posted on: Wednesday, 30 April 2008, 03:00 CDT
NEW ORLEANS -- The Dallas Mavericks had one last good run in them, and for a flicker it almost seemed possible that out of a sure-fire New Orleans Hornets rout a Game 6 could actually happen.
Trailing by 17 points with 7:21 to play, a desperate Mavs team, playing the duration with Josh Howard and Erick Dampier benched, put fear into an otherwise electrified, sold-out New Orleans Arena as they bulldozed the lead down to three points with 33.2 seconds to play.
As has been the case for this team throughout the final two months of the season, the defensive stop that mattered proved elusive, as did a victory in crunch time.
Hornets point guard Chris Paul missed a difficult jumper, but center Tyson Chandler batted out the rebound and Peja Stojakovic ended up with the ball, was fouled and sealed the 99-94 series-clinching victory with two free throws.
The last gasp simply showed how tattered the seventh-seeded Mavs had become. Howard, who started 4-for-4 and then went 2-for-10 from the floor, was not involved in the final 9:08, and Dampier did not play the entire second half. Their bench had practically dissolved, and Dirk Nowitzki and Brandon Bass had become the only reliables. Unbelievably, all that was only part of the tale during a bizarre week.
It started last Wednesday when Jerry Stackhouse blasted Hornets coach Byron Scott_named NBA Coach of the Year on Tuesday morning_on the radio. On Friday, hours before tip-off of Game 3, Howard decided to hit the radio and share his affinity for smoking marijuana in the off-season.
The final straw came Monday, when coach Avery Johnson canceled that day's practice after learning that Josh Howard held his 28th birthday party at a Dallas nightclub after Sunday's Game 4 defeat.
Nowitzki, the team workhorse ever since he returned early from a high left ankle sprain April 2, said all the distractions took a toll.
"I mean, obviously it was very disappointing what happened here in the playoffs with everything," Nowitzki said. "It was bad timing. In the playoffs, it's time to just really concentrate about basketball and focus on it and not let any distractions come up. So, it's very disappointing about the timing of the whole thing.
"I still tried to keep them all together, make everybody play as hard as they can. But, it wasn't good enough."
Now comes an interesting period. Players will pack up their lockers this afternoon, and owner Mark Cuban, who did not make himself available after the game, will have to decide whether to bring Johnson back and just how he'll attack a high-dollar roster that will have seven unrestricted free agents, yet limited flexibility to make a major addition.
"Our off-season has started," Johnson said. "We will evaluate everybody and every situation from the coaching staff and the players. Mark and I have great communication. We'll sit down and talk about it and see where we need to go from here."
Nowitzki finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Jason Kidd, the veteran leader the Mavs traded half a team to acquire, finished with 14 points and nine assists. He has one season at $21.4 million remaining on his contract. How the Mavs look come training camp_the coaching staff and the roster_will provide intrigue for the summer.
"I'm disappointed we didn't win, but did I let them down?" Kidd said, repeating the question asked to him. "I gave them everything I had. Now you get some rest and try to get better over the summer and see what happens come October."
Devean George, one of those free-agents-to-be, came off the bench late to spark the run with all 11 of his points coming in the final six minutes.
As was the case for much of the series, Paul had his way. And when he wasn't on fire, David West or Stojakovic or reserve guard Jannero Pargo was. Paul recorded his first playoff triple-double with 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds. West had 25 points and Pargo dropped 17.
"You just have to take your hat off to New Orleans," said Jerry Stackhouse, who made four of his first five shots, then missed six in a row. "It wasn't so much game planning or anything like that. It's just in between the lines. They played better."
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds