Dallas Keeps it Close Early, Folds Late 117-105

Chris Anderson dunks the ball with ease as the Mavericks allowed Denver over 50 points in the paint for the second consecutive game this series.

Dirk Nowitzki did his part, but the rest of the Dallas Mavericks didn't contribute much even though Dirk willed Dallas to be down by only 3 points at the end of the third quarter. Josh Howard left the game midway through the first quarter after it appeared that he could no longer play with his injured ankles. He did not return and really no Maverick stepped up in his absence. The game changed when the Nuggets began to double Dirk in the fourth quarter. This set up his teammates for open shots, which they repeatedly missed. An 11-2 run midway through the fourth quarter sealed it as Dallas could not respond to Denver's easy transition buckets and wild three pointers.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 35 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists for the game on 11-20 shooting. Dirk was relentless attacking the basket as he had 13 free throw attempts for the game while making 12 of them. This loss can't be pinned on Dirk as he played MVP caliber basketball throughout the game.

There are many more than 3 keys to this loss so I will break all of them down.

• Jason Terry hasn't played like the 6th man of the year the entire playoffs and although he did score 21 points this game, it took him 18 shots to do so and his +/- while he was on the floor was an atrocious -21; the worst of any Maverick that played in the game. When Josh Howard went out in the 1st quarter, Terry was expected to carry J-Ho's percentage of the burden on offense, but he did not rise to the challenge. Terry continued to get himself into the air without a place to go with the ball (something that is taught on a child's basketball level) which allowed him to give the ball away in the fourth quarter (twice on crucial possessions) when the Mavs needed him the most. Terry missed 11 of the 18 shots that he took from the field.
  
• Erick Dampier continued to prove that he can't cut it on either end of the floor against the Nuggets. Damp allowed Nene to get yet another career high in scoring for the second consecutive game in the playoffs at 25 points. Nene also chipped in 8 rebounds and only missed 4 of the 12 shots he took from the floor, largely because the majority of his baskets came from the painted area. Dampier, on the other hand, played 20 minutes and had 4 points and 4 rebounds to show for it. This is simply unacceptable for the starting center of a playoff contending team.
• Jason Kidd was outplayed thoroughly by Chauncey Billups and missed 5 of the 6 shots he attempted from the field for 4 points on the night, even though all six of the shots he took were almost completely uncontested. On the other side, Billups scored 18 points and dished out 8 assists. Kidd did have 7 assists and 6 rebounds on the night, so he wasn't completely humiliated and he didn't kill the Mavs with turnovers as he only had 2 compared to the previous game's 8.
  
• The Mavericks team defense was horrific all game long and they allowed Denver to shoot 50% or more for the second consecutive game of the series. Dallas' defensive performance was so bad that after 1 quarter Rick Carlisle decided it was time to go to the zone defense. This approach didn't work either as the Nuggets either drove the lane for an easy basket (which they did for quarters 2 and 3) or hit a largely uncontested shot from beyond the arc (which they did in the 4th quarter). Dallas did hold Denver to 28% on their 3 point shots for the game, but in the 4th quarter the Nuggets hit 3 three pointers to ice it.
  
• Josh Howard gutted it out for 6 whole minutes on the night. Kudos J-Ho!
• The Mavericks shot only 76% from the free throw line for the game. In game 1 they only shot 69%. This was a team that was second in the league during the regular season at 81.86%.
• JJB was a non-factor again as Antoine Wright started for Dallas. Barea went 2-5 for 5 points in 20 minutes as he had the second worst +/- for the game at -18. JJB's defensive deficiencies have come to light more in this series than the regular season.
• This was the Dallas Mavericks 12th road loss in their last 14 playoff road games.
  

Believe it or not, there are also some positives from this game:

• Dirk Nowitzki (as stated above) proved his naysayers wrong as he went for 35 points against the greatest defender all time Kenyon Martin
• Antoine Wright started for the Mavs and did provide good defensive intensity and even contributed at the offensive end with 10 points.
• Ryan Hollins (Isn't it about time to start this kid and see what he's got?) showed some emotion for the Mavs on the floor as he played aggressively in his 14 minutes on the floor. Hollins was 4-4 from the field with 8 points and 4 rebounds and actually showed some backbone for Dallas.
• Brandon Bass made up for a sub-par game 1 with 8 points on 4-6 shooting in 14 minutes.

This isn't the end of the world for the Dallas Mavericks as they are a much better home team than on the road and are coming to Dallas for 2 straight home games. But if Josh Howard can't go for game 3, I give Dallas NO chance to win another game in this series. Denver goes 4-0 if J-Ho isn't on the floor as they have shown an ability to pull away late in games with Howard off the floor. Dirk can't do it by himself and someone else will have to step up to ease the burden on Nowitzki. As it stands now, Dallas is 0-2 in the series and have had no answer for Denver's inside presence on the offensive end of the floor. The Mavs will have 3 loooong days off before game 3 to soak this loss in. The next game is Saturday at 4:00pm.