Playoff tickets for the first 2 games go on sale on Saturday at 10 am at the AAC boxoffice, TicketMaster, dallasmavericks.com, and 214-747-MAVS. There is a limit of 4 tickets per person. The dates of the games are not yet known. [Season ticket holders should be receiving their playoff tickets this week.] Seattle at Dallas (April 6) Dallas held small leads early on. Ray Allen scored 5 straight points to pull Seattle within 11-12 with 7:15 to go, but Dallas then scored the next 12 points, including consecutive 3-pointers by Michael Finley, to go up 24-11 with 4:20 left. Dallas led 34-21 after 1. Dirk Nowitzki and Marquis Daniels had 10 points each. Dallas shot 55% FG and Seattle shot 35% FG. In addition, Dallas had a huge advantage at the line in shooting 8-8 FT while Seattle shot just 1 (a technical) as Dallas was not call for a single team foul. Dallas had 18 fast break points while Seattle had none. Rashard Lewis hit the ground hard and left the game a minute and a half into the 2nd quarter and did not return. Dallas took their largest lead at 44-30 with 7:15 remaining. Unfortunately, Dallas let their large lead go to their head and played lackadaisical the rest of the quarter and let the Sonics back in the game. Seattle then went on an 11-2 run to pull within 41-46 with 4:15 to go. Dallas' lead flip-flopped between 5 and 7 points the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 58-51 at the half. Antawn Jamison had 12 points in the 2nd quarter. The lead continued to alternate between 5 and 7 points in the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter. A 3-pointer by Nowitzki gave Dallas a 67-59 lead with 8:30 left and Seattle then scored the next 7 points to pull within 66-67 with 6:20 remaining. Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer and Flip Murray got a layup to give Seattle their first (and only) lead of the game at 74-73 with 3:15 to go. Steve Nash answered with consecutive layups (with a high degree of difficulty) and Finley drained a 3-pointer to put Dallas back up at 80-74 with 2 minutes left. Dallas scored the last 6 points of the quarter, capped by a pretty drive by Nash through traffic for a layup with less than a second left, to go up 89-79 after 3. Nash had 12 points in the 3rd quarter. Seattle came out shooting to open the 4th quarter and hit 3 straight 3-pointers to pull within 88-93 with 10 minutes to go - Dallas did scored a 2-pointer between each 3. Daniels got a bucket and then Finley scored the next 9 points to give Dallas a 104-88 lead with 7:20 left. Dallas took their largest lead at 112-94 with 3:50 remaining. The Mavs again got a little lax in letting Seattle scored 8 straight points to pull within 104-114 with 1:30 left, but Dallas finally scored, despite playing stall ball, to end Seattle's hope of a late comeback. Dallas won 118-108. It wasn't as pretty of a win as it should have been, but it goes down as a win. After going up big, Dallas seemed to have a mental lapse in the 2nd quarter that allowed Seattle to get back in the game and resulted in a tough battle as Seattle found their shooting touch. Fortunately, Dallas shot better. Dallas shot 55.2% (48-87) FG including 5-14 3-pointers and Seattle shot 49.5% (46-93) FG including 11-29 3-pointers - 8 of their 3-pointers came in the 2nd half. The refs were very quiet with their whistles and only 21 team fouls were call (10 against Dallas and 11 against Seattle), which tied the NBA record for fewest fouls called. But most of Seattle's calls came on field goal attempts which resulted in Dallas shooting 17-17 FT (8-8 in the 1st quarter) while Seattle shot just 5-8 FT. Both teams were clean with the ball as Dallas had 10 turnovers and Seattle had 11 turnovers. And both shared the ball well as each team had 30 assists. Dallas pushed the ball more with 32 fast break points (18 in the 1st quarter) while Seattle had 14 fast break points. Dallas also out-scored Seattle 54-46 in the paint. Dallas has now won 5 straight games. Dallas has shot better than 54% FG in each of those 5 games. It was a balanced attack for Dallas as 6 players were in double-digits and different players led the way for each quarter. Michael Finley was the high man with 24 points, including 11 in the 4th quarter, including 4-8 3-pointers and 6 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points, including 10 in the 1st quarter, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Steve Nash continued his stellar assist streak - he has 5 straight games of double-digit assists and has double-digit assist games in 9 of the last 12 games. For this game, he had 14 assists and just 1 turnover. After only attempting 1 shot in the 1st half, he started scoring in the 2nd half and finished with 14 points. Antawn Jamison continues his torrid shooting with 8-10 FG as part of his 17 points. In the past 5 games he is shooting 74% (34-46) FG. He also had 6 rebounds. Marquis Daniels again started and played a well-rounded game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Antoine Walker chipped in 12 points (and no 3-point attempts - the 6th time this season he has not attempted a 3), 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Shawn Bradley came in with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and provided a nice boost in disrupting Seattle's offensive penetration and he also hit a couple of open looks and had a nice rebound and putback. He had 8 points on 4-5 FG and 5 rebounds in 10 minutes. Josh Howard did not play in the 2nd half due to a tight hamstring. Seattle was hurt by the loss of their 2nd best player when Rashard Lewis left early in the 2nd quarter with a strained left hip flexor and a bruised left knee. But with his loss, they did get a surprising game from (injured Mav for a season) Ansu Sesay. Sesay tied his career high with 19 points including 9-16 FG and set his career high with 10 rebounds including 6 offensive. Ray Allen and Brent Barry led the way for Seattle with 20 points a piece. Allen also had 3 rebounds and 4 assists in his 35 minutes. Barry shot 4-9 3-pointers and had 5 rebounds. Ronald Murray had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists in 26 minutes. Rookie Richie Frahm had 14 points and both his 3-pointers came early in the 4th quarter. Quotes Don Nelson: "We are on a roll offensively. We shot the ball over 50% again and had good ball movement. We had good balance scoring. Our defense was pretty disappointing. We could have guarded better. Nelson: "We played a team that was as good as us from the outside and they went with their small lineup. You have to be able to beat their small lineup if you are going to play small ball, so we were tested tonight. It will be a tougher test for us when we go to Seattle. We will have to play better than we did tonight." Nelson on the change with small ball: "It beats the hell out of whatever I saw before. We're covering up some of our holes and making some holes on the other side." Nelson: "Jamison continues to amaze us with his shooting percentages. He's really flourished with the small lineup. We are more of a running and slashing team and that's when he is at his very best." Nelson on Nash: "Sometimes I like him to take more shots. I think when he has the mentality that he is going to pass every time, we are not as good. Steve's incredible. He's the best point guard I've ever coached." Nelson: "We didn't have Josh Howard the 2nd half because we couldn't get that hamstring loose." Dirk Nowitzki: "It was a great effort. We got a lot of fast break and 2nd chance opportunities. Everything was working offensively." Nowitzki on if the team is getting hot at the right time: "It's tough to say. We're beating teams we should beat. But we sure look a lot better than we did a few weeks ago." Michael Finley: "Offensively, we've been distributing the ball, playing together, getting easy baskets, and making the most of whatever offensive set coach puts us in. Each player complements the other." Finley on the 5 game winning streak: "The fans and some media people are excited right now because we're on a little win streak, but we have to keep everything in perspective. These are games we should win, and we are winning, and it doesn't change the next game. We just can't get satisfied with winning games we should win. We have to continue to do it and have fun doing it and take it on the road and do it there as well." Finley: "We can never be too happy. If we look back on it, it was a time where we were just trying to win against anybody. But right now, we're trying to get ourselves in as high a position as possible, and when you're going against teams who have nothing to lose, which we've gone against besides Sacramento, we have to remain focused. I think, from a team standpoint, we've remained focused and I'm happy." Finley on if small ball will work in the playoffs: "I hope so, because that's what we're going with. If we score the ball and scrap on defense and make the other team work on offense, the scheme can work for us." Steve Nash: "I think things are going well, but it might be a little misleading. We are playing at home and we are playing some teams that are out of the playoffs. We have been running and having a lot of success. We just need to look at ourselves objectively and continue to be critical of ourselves so we can get better and better and not take our foot off the gas." Nash on the 5 game winning streak: "I think it's a little misleading. It's not a true indicator of where we are. We're definitely capable, but this has come so easy for us. It won't be easy for us once the playoffs start." Nash: "Nellie wants me to be more aggressive and I agree. But it's not the easiest thing to do when you have 5 or 6 very capable scorers and you are a running team. Once I get rid of the ball, it's not very often that I get it back, which is a positive thing because we have a lot of good players." Antoine Walker: "When you look at our team on paper, we felt we could do this at any given time. What we're doing now is being very unselfish, getting out in transition, and we're just looking for one another. We're making the game a lot easier." Antawn Jamison: "When you play a team like Seattle with the weapons that they have, they definitely want to play our style of basketball. It can be dangerous which we saw when they closed the gap because they have so many great shooters and they stretch the defense. If one guy penetrates, then everything breaks down defensively. They did a tremendous job of that tonight. We were able to withstand that and stay focused and do the things we do offensively." Jamison on his shooting: "It took me a while to find my niche here. Moving without the ball and running the floor, I've been able to get some easy baskets and guys are starting to find me. My main thing is to go out there and make a difference. The last couple of games, I have been able to knock down some shots." Nate McMillan: "We gave up too many easy baskets. We gave up 32 fast break points and 54 points in the paint. On a number of those baskets, we just lost sight of our man cutting back door. We gave up a lot of layups. If we stop the easy baskets - the back door cuts and the transition baskets - we win this game. We were able to knock down our shots. We shot the ball well. Defensively, we gave up too many points in the paint off of losing sight of the cutters." McMillan on Dallas: "You've got to stop them; you've got to play some defense. And you've definitely got to limit their easy baskets. Their layups. And we didn't do that." McMillan on Dallas: "They feel they can out-score teams. They can put up numbers and they're one of the best at run-and-gun. And you've got to be able to score to beat this team." McMillan on Dallas' small ball: "They force you to have to match up with them. They are good at playing that type of ball. They have guys at 4 positions that they can go to and isolate and they try and force you to match up with them. There were not a lot of problems; not for us. We have been able to play with this team, but it comes down to making plays and taking away easy baskets. Tonight, the difference is the fast break points and the fact that they shoot 17 free throws and we only shoot 8. You take that out and we win this game." McMillan on some of his players' performances: "It's such a tough game to measure what a guy can do. It's a strange game, close to run-and-gun style, and you have to allow the guys freedom to play and take some opportunities that you normally would slow down and set up." Ray Allen on Bradley: "He is like that battering ram in Lord of the Rings. They are holding the fort down and then the gargoyles come in with that big tree and start knocking the door down. That's kind of how it was. We're getting to the hole, then they stick him in the game and we're more passive. He just stands there, but that's effective." Allen: "I know we're capable of playing defense, but a lot of times we're not on the same page. There's no way one person should get beat, [because] if one person gets beat, there should be help. ... It's a long cycle of relief out there and we've got to take care of each other, and I don't think we've done a good job of that all year." Rashard Lewis: "I hit my knee on the ground and I just felt a pull. I'll just have to see how it feels at the shoot-around in the morning and in warmups. I'll get treatment and go from there. Maybe if we were in the [running for] the playoffs, fighting to get into that 8th spot, I'm sure I would have been out there limping around trying to finish the game off." Lewis: "It's frustrating. But this is an NBA season. If we was in the playoffs or we were fighting to get in that 8th spot, I'm sure I would have been out there limping around. But [the trainer] was telling me I don't want to go out there and reaggravate it when the season is ending in a week." Brent Barry: "I think early on in the game, they got off to a comfortable lead. They have been playing better basketball. Certainly, Steve Nash has been playing his best basketball of the season. It's reminiscent of his all-star seasons. That can only be good news for Dallas and bad news for opponents. They got off to a really good start and we lost Rashard Lewis early in the game. We were just trying to recover for a while. We battled for a while, but these guys are playing well right now and we just couldn't keep up with them." Barry on what happened when they went up by 1 and then Dallas surged in the 3rd: "I don't know because it happened so fast. The fans watched it, but for us it was just a blur. They took command of the game there. We tried to hang around by shooting the ball from the perimeter with them playing the zone and we had a lot of dangerous shooters out there. The 3 ball can always keep you in the game. They were just so sharp tonight shooting the basketball that it seemed like anything they were throwing up was going in and then they had a lot of easy baskets in the paint. A lot of points in the paint hurt us tonight. They had over 50 points in the paint. Any time they are getting shots that close to the basket and putting them in, it is a little disheartening." Barry: "If you play defense for 8 to 10 minutes, you might be able to get a win as well as we played offensively. We just didn't slow them down at any point during the game." Dallas Mavericks 118, Seattle Sonics 108 at Dallas (April 6) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 34 24 31 29 - 118 .589 .357 .552 1.000 Seattle 21 30 28 29 - 108 .547 .379 .495 .625 Halftime: Dallas 58-51 3rd Q: Dallas 89-79 Technicals: Dallas defensive 3 seconds 3:25 1st Refs: Bennett Salvatore, Blane Reichelt, Matt Boland Attendance: 20,223 (sellout) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 43 9-18 4-8 2-2 24 0-6 3 0 0 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 36 9-17 1-2 4-4 23 2-8 2 2 2 0 4 Antoine Walker 28 5-10 0-0 2-2 12 1-8 5 3 2 2 2 Marquis Daniels 41 6-14 0-0 4-4 16 4-6 5 1 1 0 2 Steve Nash 34 5-8 0-2 4-4 14 0-1 14 1 1 0 1 Josh Howard 15 2-5 0-2 0-0 4 1-3 1 0 1 0 0 Antawn Jamison 30 8-10 0-0 1-1 17 2-6 0 2 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 10 4-5 0-0 0-0 8 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 Eduardo Najera 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 48-87 5-14 17-17 118 12-43 30 10 10 3 9 Seattle Sonics REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Rashard Lewis 13 2-5 0-1 0-0 4 0-0 0 0 1 1 0 Reggie Evans 11 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 3-5 1 0 0 0 0 Vitaly Potapenko 25 3-10 0-0 1-2 7 0-0 0 0 1 0 1 Ronald Murray 26 5-11 1-3 0-0 11 1-6 11 1 4 1 1 Ray Allen 35 8-15 3-6 1-2 20 0-3 4 3 0 2 0 Brent Barry 32 7-13 4-9 2-2 20 1-5 3 2 0 1 3 Ansu Sesay 30 9-16 0-2 1-2 19 6-10 0 0 0 1 2 Luke Ridnour 22 3-5 1-2 0-0 7 0-1 5 0 2 0 0 Richie Frahm 20 6-10 2-6 0-0 14 1-3 2 1 3 0 0 Calvin Booth 19 3-4 0-0 0-0 6 0-1 0 1 0 0 0 Antonio Daniels 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-1 4 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 46-93 11-29 5-8 108 12-35 30 11 11 6 7 patricia