With the playoffs fast approaching it can be said the Mavericks are playing their best basketball of the season. The hope is that the strong recent play will not only carry over into the postseason but get even stronger.
The Mavericks were near perfect in their dominating 117-94 victory over the Clippers Monday night. The win, which gives the Mavs a perfect 3-0 road trip, guarantees they will finish no worse than third in the West with the number two spot right there for him. All they need to do to clinch is either win their finale against the Spurs on Wednesday or have the Nuggets win tomorrow or have Utah lose either of their last two games.
The Mavs were led by strong contributions from throughout the team with Dirk Nowitzki leading the team in scoring 25 points in 23 minutes. Dirk was 9-13 from the field, making all three of his three pointers and all four of his free throws. He has now made 72 free throws in a row.
Shawn Marion returned to lineup adding 21 points while Jason Kidd had a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists including a highlight pass off the backboard to Marion for a dunk.
Rodrigue Beaubois started for an injured Caron Butler and had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 18 strong minutes. Butler missed the game with a hip flexor that is not considered serious.
The Mavs jumped to a quick lead which they would not relinquish. They led 37-26 after one quarter and 64-43 at halftime. The lead would balloon to 30 at 99-69 at the end of three before growing to as many as 37 in the 4th quarter. The lone bright spots for the injury depleted Clippers were Craig Smith and Steve Novak who contributed 15 a piece off the bench.
Portland's win over Oklahoma City means the Mavs will face either Portland or San Antonio in the first round with the Spurs being the likely opponent assuming the Mavs can wrap up the two seed and Porltand beats Golden St. in its finale.
The win also means the Mavs will at worse tie for the league's best road record at 27-14, a record will give the team added confidence in the postseason that they can be anybody anywhere at anytime if they continue to play like they have on this road trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment