[外電] Mavericks clinch final playoff berth in West
Source: http://www.star-telegram.com/526/story/1308181.html
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Mavericks clinch final playoff berth in West
Posted on Thu, Apr. 09, 2009 / By STEPHEN HAWKINS
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DALLAS -- Josh Howard looked more like he had been in a prize fight than a
basketball game with the bloody nose and swollen left eye.
That irony shouldn't be lost on the Dallas Mavericks.
Howard overcame being popped hard in the face in the first quarter to score
13 points with a career-high seven steals and the Mavericks finally clinched
the final playoff spot in the hard-fought Western Conference, beating the
Utah Jazz 130-101 on Wednesday night.
"He looked pretty busted up," said Dirk Nowitzki, whose 31 points included a
game-clinching surge in the third quarter.
With four games left, Dallas matched the Jazz at 47-31 for seventh place and
within a game of New Orleans, which lost at home to Phoenix. The Suns were
eliminated from playoff contention by the Mavs' victory.
With its spot in the playoffs secure, Dallas can now work on trying to avoid
a first-round series in Los Angeles against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers
(62-16), who have won all three meetings against Dallas this season.
The Mavericks play their next two games against New Orleans, on Friday night
at home before their final road game Sunday.
"It's a playoff-type atmosphere already," Nowitzki said.
New Orleans, which eliminated the Mavs in five games in the first round of
the playoffs last year, has won the first two games in the season series.
Since a 107-102 loss at 22-win Memphis on Friday night, the Mavericks have
scored more than 125 points in consecutive games for the first time since
April 2004. They won 140-116 Sunday against Phoenix.
"As I have been saying, I just feel like we have been getting better," coach
Rick Carlisle said.
"Knowing the importance of each game and the sense of urgency, we treat every
game like it's a Game 7 playoff game," said Jason Terry, who added 21 points
off the bench. "We go out there and fight and scrap and do whatever it takes."
Utah was within 73-64 midway through the third quarter when Deron Williams,
who led the Jazz with 17 points and 12 assists, made a free throw to convert
a three-point play.
Nowitzki then scored 12 consecutive points for Dallas, and 15 of its last 18
in the quarter to push the lead to 19.
"They beat us all night long. They were so much quicker. We looked like we'd
been on the road for 10 months," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They deserved
to win because we didn't make it a contest for them."
Howard, who missed 12 of the previous 15 games with a sore left ankle, got
knocked in the face attempting a shot late in the first quarter. He returned
in the second, and left again early in the second half before returning again.
"It kept bleeding. I was playing with one eye. But I was able to see the ball
to steal it," said Howard, who was 3-for-11 from the field. "As long as my
eyeball wasn't falling out or I was half dead, I was going to come back out
there."
Cavaliers 98, Wizards 86
At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 21 points before spending the fourth
quarter playing air guitar on the bench and the Cavs avenged an embarrassing
loss to Washington.
The Cavs improved to 38-1 at home and became the first team in NBA history to
have two 15-game winning streaks at home in the same season.
Nick Young scored 16 to lead the Wizards.
Celtics 106, Nets 104
At Boston, Rajon Rondo had 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and the
Celtics overcame an early 10-point deficit and a last-minute scare.
The Celtics, coming off four days of rest, assured themselves of a lead over
the Orlando Magic in the race for the No. 2 seed in the East, and kept the
Cavs from locking up the best record in the conference.
Vince Carter had 33 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets.
Suns 105, Hornets 100
At New Orleans, Steve Nash had 24 points and 13 assists, but Phoenix was
still eliminated from the postseason.
Chris Paul had 29 points and 16 assists for New Orleans.
Nuggets 122, Thunder 112
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points, helping the Nuggets to their
eighth straight win.
Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Denver,
which inched closer to the No. 2 seed in the West with its ninth straight
home win.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 31 points.
Trail Blazers 95, Spurs 83
At San Antonio, Brandon Roy scored 26 points and Portland won in San Antonio
for the first time since 2002.
The Blazers moved into a three-way tie with the Spurs and Houston for the
third-best record (50-28) in the West with four games left.
Roger Mason scored 18 points for the Spurs.
Magic 81, Grizzlies 78
At Orlando, Fla., Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points, Dwight Howard added 14 and
the Magic rallied to beat pesky Memphis.
Rudy Gay had 18 points for the Grizzlies.
Hawks 113, Bucks 105
At Milwaukee, Joe Johnson scored 30 points for the Hawks, who are in control
of the No. 4 playoff seed in the East but having trouble wrapping it up.
Keith Bogans scored 22 for the Bucks.
Pistons 113, Knicks 86
At New York, Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, Rasheed Wallace had 14 points
and 12 rebounds, and Detroit rolled into a tie for seventh place in the East.
The Pistons lowered their magic number to one to clinch their eighth
consecutive playoff berth.
Al Harrington scored 26 points for New York.
Pacers 130, Raptors 101
At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 29 points, and the Pacers had their
highest point total and largest margin of victory of the season.
Chris Bosh had 21 points and nine rebounds for Toronto.
Timberwolves 105, Warriors 97
At Oakland, Calif., Sebastian Telfair scored 21 points and Kevin Love added
20 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota.
Jamal Crawford scored 31 points to pace Golden State.
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