Anybody who has watched Dirk labor up and down the floor the past few games realized something was wrong with him.

And after a report earlier this week surfaced that Nowitzki was having trouble bending his knees the alarm sounded. Carlisle was asked about resting Dirk after the Mavericks' visit to Utah Jazz and dismissed the notion of resting Nowitzki. But after mulling it over for two days, he's changed his tune.

MFollowill Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle just announced they are going to sit Dirk the next 4 games

There is absolutely no reason to risk further jeopardizing his knee especially since it was those same knees that forced him to miss nine games last season- the most he's ever missed in a season.

Lamar Odom will be thrust into the starting lineup and one can only hope an extended run with this team will help jolt him out of the funk he's been in since leaving Los Angeles.

Nowitzki will miss tonight's game at New Orleans and then the three game homestand of Phoenix, Minnesota (championship ring night) and Utah.

Get well soon, Dirk.

The Mavericks have recalled Yi Jianlian from the Texas Legends today.

Jianlian was officially signed earlier this week and was then assigned to the Developmental League to rehab.

In his two games with the Legends, Yi averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds. I'd say he's ready to contribute in the NBA again.

A former lottery pick, Jianlian has averaged eight and a half points and five rebounds thus far in his NBA career.

1. Delonte West was absolute nails for the Mavericks to start the game and finished with 15 points, six assists and four rebounds. He's going to be a great asset to this team. His defensive intensity alone makes him a great fit and he also brings the ability to run the offense and hit shots. He's going to be a joy to watch this season.

2.The Mavericks' patented ball movement finally made an appearance on Thursday. It's such a beautiful thing to watch. On one position Marion started with the ball and then passed it to Kidd who immediately swung it to Dirk who found Terry in the corner for an open three.

Bang, bang, bang, swish.

And of course, Dirk and JET were Dirk and JET. In the fourth quarter it was the same two man game we've seen all these years. This is still a team that can compete with the elite teams in the West thanks in large part to their lethal ball movement. It's going to take some time for everybody to get their feet under them and a lot more conditioning but they'll get there.

3.Lamar Odom is not himself. He's in a funk and he still hasn't adjusted to this system. After running six straight years of the triangle offense in Los Angeles it was always going to take some time for Odom to acclimate to Carlisle's schemes and positioning on the floor but I did not expect him to look absolutely lost on the floor. His hesitancy on the offensive side has been problematic and has resulted in multiple turnovers for the Mavericks. He's also void of any and all confidence in his own offensive game. He went 2-11 from the floor on Thursday which brought his total to a ghastly 4-27 on the season. His defense hasn't been much better as he has been consistently late on rotations and has looked all out of sorts trying to adapt to the Mavericks' complicated zone defense. The Mavericks kept trying to pull away from the Thunder all game and would then be hit with runs from the Thunder of ten or more points. This happened three separate times on the night. Guess who was on the floor during all those runs?

Yep, Lamar Odom.

Rough start. But there's little doubt Odom will have a big role on this team this season and hopefully the turnaround starts Friday night against the Raptors.

4.Vince Carter deserves some props. Carter was brought in to be the starting shooting guard and for two games in a row has been relegated to the bench. He was brought in for his range and ability to create his own shot. He's created but hasn't finished so far but his three point shooting has been deadly through three games. Carter is 5-8 from behind the arc on the season and hit what should've been the game winning three with 1.4 seconds left. Dirk got the ball at the top of the key took two steps and the defense collapsed on him leaving Carter open and he drilled it.

If Carter is a complete failure at the two guard spot (I don't think he will be) at the very least it's nice to know you have a capable sharpshooter on the bench.

5.The center rotation worked for one night. The loss of Tyson Chandler has put the Mavericks in a center committee mode and the committee did their job. Haywood, Mahinmi and Williams combined for 19 points and only nine rebounds but had six massive offensive rebounds. Haywood in particular had a couple of crucial rebounds late in the fourth that allowed the Mavericks to remain in the game until Durant did Durant things. It's not going to be pretty but if the Mavericks are able to rotate fresh guys out there and have them provide relentless energy they could get by. Especially since we're going to be a lot of Odom/Dirk at the four/five once Odom snaps out of it.

They should have beaten the Western Conference favorites with virtually no presence from Lamar Odom. It's going to take a week or two before we know what they have but we got a glimpse of they could be and that's a pretty damn good basketball team.

The Dallas Mavericks have insisted that there is a method to the madness of dismantling a championship roster and reassembling with veteran one year deals.

By now, we all know about the summer of 2012 and the two big names the Mavericks are prepared to go after in Dallas native, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

Well, you can count Tracy McGrady among the people who believe the Mavericks' master plan will work. In an interview with Yahoo! McGrady says that the Mavericks will end up with Williams and Howard next year.

Full quotes after the jump.

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The Mavericks fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 87-84 Tuesday night.

Jason Terry and Delonte West fell victims to the stomach bug that has spread around camp while Vince Carter was rested in favor of Dominique Jones.

Here are a few things that stood out from the Mavericks final preseason game.

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The Mavericks opened up the preseason with a 106-92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks were without Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Brandon Wright. Nowitzki and Kidd were rested while Wright was inactive due to illness. All three should be available for Tuesday night's game against the Thunder.  

That meant the Mavericks starters were Delonte West, Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood. As expected, it was sloppy game but here are some thoughts on the new look Mavericks.

Delonte West: West definitely showed his rust in the first half. He went 0-4 from the field and his shots were all short which indicates that his legs weren't there early on.  On defense, he was as good as advertised. He was able to stay in front of Westbrook and harass him around the perimeter. But he also committed four fouls in the first half. He was able to command the point guard position and ran the offense well, contributing five assists. West's role on this team is defense and backup point and he showed he was capable of handling both duties on Sunday.

Vince Carter:  As with West, Carter lacked a bit in his game. He was constantly attacking the basket but had little end product.  He was able to finish a little more consistently in the second half and even showcased his trademark hops by driving down the lane and finishing with a dunk.  But again, he was extremely rusty. His defense was non-existent but the Mavericks knew what they were getting when they signed him.

Lamar Odom: Odom showed what he can bring to this Mavericks team. He finished by driving to the basket, drew an offensive foul on Durant and even mixed in a few threes. His defense was equally impressive, his length helped on the boards, his rotation was excellent and his strength in one on one situation's was vital. He's the most versatile player in the NBA and seeing him next to Dirk Nowitzki is a tantalizing prospect this season.  

Rodrigue Beaubois:  Beaubois was healthy! And when Roddy's healthy he can light it up on the offensive end. He finished the game with 17 points on 7-13 shooting.  He hit a few threes, finished at the basket and ran the break beautifully a couple of times even finishing with a behind the back pass to Randle on one occasion.  A majority of his time on the floor came at the shooting guard position much to my disappoint but with West in the fold and Jerome Randle making a case for a roster spot, it's understandable.   

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi had an up and down game. He made a couple of strong moves on the offensive end that ended with baskets and even flashed the jumpshot Mavs fan's fondly remember from game six of the finals. But he reverted back to his old habits in the second half. He committed silly fouls and his defense throughout the game was suspect. It makes me very uncomfortable heading into the season with him entrenched as the backup center. The Mavericks desperately need frontcourt depth. It will be interesting to see what Brandon Wright brings to the table on Tuesday.

Dominique Jones:  Jones was the star of the night for the Mavericks matching Beaubois 17 points but added seven assists. He was aggressive driving to the basket and was able to draw contact and get to the line nine times throughout the game, converting eight of them. The knock on him has been his jumpshot and it was apparent that he still has work to do on that front. He showed great court awareness  on the floor and while most of his assists came as a result of the drive and kick out, he was also able to find the open man in the half court and had a beautiful outlet pass to Beaubois on the break that resulted in a layup.

Jerome Randle: Randle just might make this roster.  He was in control at the helm of this team and his court vision was excellent.  While he only tallied two assists he often made the "hockey pass" or the pass that leads to the assist.  On one particular occasion, he was surrounded at the three point line and was able to find Mahinmi under the basket by threading the needle with a nice bounce pass. I'm rooting for him. His speed could be an asset to this team and just in general it would be nice to have another young player at the end of the bench after the departures of Brewer and Fernandez.

We should get a better grasp for this team's rotations come Tuesday but it was just nice to see the Mavericks back on the floor again for one night.

Reports surfaced early yesterday morning that the Mavericks were looking to trade Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer and today it appears both may be headed to the Denver Nuggets. Marc Stein has the latest.

ESPNSteinLine
ESPN sources say that Denver covets Mavs swingman Corey Brewer as well and are trying to expand the deal to land Brewer with Fernandez

The Mavericks current roster possess a ton of wing depth and little center depth. So maybe the inclusion of Brewer in the deal nets them a center.

Denver has Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos and Chris "Birdman" Anderson on the their team. Mozgov was acquired in the Carmelo Anthony trade and they would prefer to hang on to him and Anderson has three years remaining on his deal which wouldn’t make sense for the Mavericks. So that leaves Koufos as the potential trade chip in this deal as well as future draft considerations.

It’s certainly a head scratcher. I had high hopes for Rudy Fernandez on draft day and envisioned him as the starting two guard on this team. However, the Mavericks clearly had other plans and with the acquisition of Carter, Odom, West and the hopes for Rodrigue Beaubois this season, it became clear that there just wasn’t going to be enough playing time to go around.

But it’s still hard to see an aging team give up two of their young assets.

UPDATE: The deal is now official.Fernandez, Brewer to the Nuggets for a future second rounder. The Mavericks will also create a trade exception worth $5.24 million from this deal.

After all the uproar the failed Chris Paul trade had caused and an attempted revival of the trade this weekend it appears the deal is finally off.

And it’s the Mavericks who swoop in and blow up the talks with the acquisition of Lamar Odom.

ESPNSteinLine
So to recap: Lakers take Odom out of three-team CP3 deal and deal him to Mavs into new DAL trade exception created in Tyson Chandler deal

Odom is a versatile player and would fill a need on this basketball team. He could step into the small forward starting role, spell Nowitzki at power forward and has played center at times.

He averaged 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in route to winning the NBA's sixth man of the year award on the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

He also possess a team friendly deal ($8.9 for ‘11—’12 with a team option for the ‘12/’13 season) which would not effect the Mavericks’ pursuits on the free agent market in 2012 and gives them a valuable trading chip.

The Mavericks acquired the trade exception in order to be opportunistic and within hours they had struck.

UPDATE: In addition to absorbing Odom's contract via trade exception, the Mavericks will send the Lakers a future first round pick within the next six years. That pick will be top 20 protected. 

After a lot of confusion regarding the future of Tyson Chandler in New York and Chandler himself ruling out a sign and trade involving the Mavericks it appears both teams have agreed on a sign and trade after all.

According to multiple reports the Mavericks will acquire Andy Rautins in exchange for Chandler.

HowardBeckNYT
Confirmed: Tyson Chandler will come to Knicks via sign/trade. Hearing that Andy Rautins will go to Mavs, who also get a trade exception.

Reports say that Rautins will automatically be waived by the Mavericks and his role in this deal is of little consequence. The big player is the trade exception that will give the Mavericks the ability to take on a bad contract and opens up the avenue to numerous deals at the trade deadline when teams fall out of contention.

The deal is not official but I’d speculate the trade exception should be anywhere between $11-13 million.

How convenient.

Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic happens to make $11 million a year.

Now, the Mavericks would still lack the assets to make a trade for Dwight Howard but they’d at least put themselves in position to give the Orlando Magic what’s needed in a Howard trade and that’s a place to dump an awful contract.

And that’s all you can expect for Donnie and Cuban. To put themselves in a position to be opportunistic even if it’s a long shot.

The Mavericks plan for 2011 seems to be taking shape. After seeing Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler leave, it appears they are bringing low dollar, low year commitments in order to keep the financial flexibility alive for years to come.

Earlier today the Mavericks signed Brandan Wright in a low risk/high reward move and now it appears they are close to inking longtime forward Vince Carter.

ESPNSteinLine
Sources tell ESPN that Mavs closing in on signing of Vince Carter and could have deal to reunite VC w/Jason Kidd done as early as Saturday

The Mavericks had a void at small forward with the departure of Caron Butler and it appears they have filled it. Carter’s familiarity with Jason Kidd surely came into play here and I assume he was consulted before the Mavericks pursued this signing.

I’ll reserve judgement until the financial parameters of the deal become clear but it appears to be another low risk signing.

Carter averaged 14 points and 3.8 rebounds on the Suns last year and at 34 years old it’s fair to question whether he has much left in the tank.

One thing’s for sure, if Carter has anything left in the tank, I have complete faith in Rick Carlisle to squeeze it out.

The Mavericks were resigned to losing Chandler in free agency and it looks like they have.

According to multiple reports Tyson Chandler is closing in on a deal with the New York Knicks.

ESPNSteinLine
Source close to Tyson Chandler talks just told ESPN.com: "It’s 98 percent sure that Tyson is going to wind up with the Knicks

This is a devastating blow to the defending NBA champions but it was always expected under the new CBA.

It appears the Mavericks will now turn their attention to the free agent class of 2012 in search of a big time free agent to pair with Dirk Nowitzki.

Come home, Deron.

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That's the word from Ken Berger.

Nene, 29, has long coveted Miami and Dallas as landing spots, but would have to force his way to one of those teams via a sign-and-trade since both are well over the cap.

He goes on to say the interest is mutual and that the Mavericks have already registered their interest in the free agent.

From a basketball standpoint, Nene would be an upgrade over Tyson Chandler. I would give a slight edge towards Tyson on the defensive front but Nene would provide more offense as he is by far the better low post scorer.

However, Tyson's intangibles are invaluable to this team. His leadership on the floor and presence in the locker room helped transform the culture of the Dallas Mavericks. It's hard to imagine Nene having that same kind of presence and influence amongst this team.

I wouldn't put too much stock into this report but as any smart front office would, the Mavericks are doing their due diligence when it comes to re-assembling this championship roster. I don't expect the Mavericks to sign Nene.

If the Mavericks are unable to re-sign Tyson I'd  rather them sign a Joel Przybilla or Kurt Thomas on one year deals while rolling with Brendan Haywood as the starting center. I would be against committing any long term money to a center not named Tyson or Dwight.

But obviously re-signing Tyson is the Mavericks number priority right now and while there will be numerous reports of x player interested in Dallas and Dallas interested in y player,  I don't expect any massive roster changes to this current bunch.

They are the NBA champions after all.

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Well, you knew this was coming. After blowing another late lead, Jerry Jones questioned the playcalling after the game. He suggested that the Cowboys went “conservative” down the stretch and wondered aloud why Garrett did not “run a little offense down there” with the game on the line.

Michael Smith has the full quotes.

“This game was decided right down there at the end, and I am so proud of these players, the way they competed tonight,” Jones said. “We rolled the dice at the end and went conservative rather than try to get some points and it bit us.”

Whenever you get the ball into the hands of a player like Brady at home, you’ve got problems,” Jones said. “We are up here on their field and we knew what the odds were, so we flipped a coin and it came up against us. We know what [the Patriots] are about and we knew what our challenge was here. If you were in a playoff game, you’d probably drive it home. You always second guess whether or not we should have tried to run a little offense down there instead of running it three times.”

The playcalling could certainly be called into question as Brett Perryman pointed out, but it’s never good when it’s your owner doing the questioning.

But we should be used to it by now. It’s just Jerry being Jerry.

Everybody knew it was coming but after another day of long meetings and no progress David Stern has decided to cancel the first two weeks of the regular season.

And when you see tweets like this you can only assume that there will be more casualties on the way. So that's close to 15 hours of meetings with the season on the line and... no progress. That's a lot of loofah time for Stern.

This is going to get ugly. You already have Steve Nash and other superstars stating their cases on twitter. While the league's PR team is in full spin control. I'd be surprised if there was basketball by Christmas.

Also, this means that David Stern has overseen two separate lockouts- and lost games during both them. Just in case you weren't aware of how terrible he is.

As much as this sucks, I'll take solace in the fact that the Mavericks are still NBA champions. This video will have to get me through this tough time. I think I'll manage....Maybe.

Real Madrid has officially signed Mavericks' guard Rudy Fernandez. Fernandez was acquired in a draft day deal that saw former Longhorn Jordan Hamilton sent to the Denver Nuggets.

Contrary to earlier reports, this does not effect Fernandez's status with the Dallas Mavericks this upcoming season. Whenever that may be.  Fernandez will simply play overseas until the lockout ends.  However, there is an option for Fernandez to return to Madrid at the end of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

For now, the Dallas Mavericks are still NBA champions.

The Cowboys plan to release Guard Leonard Davis later this week.

Not a shocking move as the Cowboys will save $6 million. However, this leaves the Cowboys with only center Andre Gurode and rookie first round draft pick Tyron Smith as their only offensive lineman under contract for the 2011/2012 season

Have we mentioned the importance of re-signing Doug Free before?

Son of Judeska and Chesmond is back in action tonight.

7/12

Hickory- Matt Thompson 6:05

Frisco- Carlos Pimentel 7:10

7/13

Spokane: David Perez 9:00

Hickory: Cody Buckel 6:05

Myrtle Beach: Miguel De Los Santos 6:05

Round Rock: ASG

AZRL: Blackwell? 

Our midway Zachary Phillips update. Very meh. 4.43era with a 3.85 FIP and .333 BABIP.   But if you take away his numbers in day games (2.1ip 9r 8er) his numbers are back to a 2.98 era with a 2:1 K/B ratio. He's still not doing well when he comes in with runners on, which is definitely a concern. Oh well. 

Dirk Nowitzki gave a recent interview to German magazine Spiegel where he touched on a myriad of topics. He sheds light on the reason he fled to the locker room after the Mavericks championship, if he will play for the German national team this summer, why he doesn't have a lot of sponsors, his thoughts on Barack Obama's inauguration and talks about a special gift he received from Muhammad Ali after the Mavericks championship.

It's well worth the read. A sample of the interview after the jump.

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These mini-movies have been fantastic throughout the NBA finals.

Enjoy.

2011 NBA Finals Game 6 Mini Movie (via NBA)

When asked how he envisioned game six of the NBA finals turning out, Tyson Chandler responded, "It would be a nice blur because there's going to be a lot going on in this game tonight."

A blur. The season, the playoffs, the finals. All a blur.

The Dallas Mavericks are NBA champions.

It seems fitting that this Mavericks season would end as a blur. It began with re-signing of Dirk Nowitzki on July fifth. Then followed by the franchise altering acquisition of Tyson Chandler on July 13th.  And little did we know, in the span of eight days, the Mavericks would change their course forever.

The Mavericks would finish the off-season without making another significant addition to their squad. No splashes necessary. As the season approached, you heard the talk about the 22 year old shooting guard, Rodrigue Beaubois, entering the starting lineup and being the difference maker that could vault the Mavericks back into title contention. Beaubois would break his foot in early August and struggle to make an impression late in the season only to be relegated to the bench come playoff time.

They saw their supposed Robin to Dirk's Batman, Caron Butler, rupture his patellar tendon on New year's day. He would never play another game the rest of the season.The Mavericks again decided to stand pat and rather than trade Butler's expiring contracting, they simply added two more scrappy pieces on the free agent market. Peja Stojakovic and Corey Brewer. Both one dimensional, both served a purpose. Stojakovic's offensive threat was a much needed weapon throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs and Brewer's defensive spark in game one against the Lakers gave a glimpse into the magical run the Mavericks were about to embark on.

The other pieces would compliment the Mavericks just as well. Jason Kidd would provide the unfaltering leadership and calming influence the Mavericks severely lacked in their 2006 quest. Shawn Marion, the rare defensive stopper the Mavericks had never had. Jason Terry, the clutch shooting that disappeared in 2006. J.J Barea, the offensive spark plug the likes of which we've seldom seen in the NBA. Brendan Haywood, the center depth this team has never seen in it's history. And Stevenson provided the crazy. As Charles Barkley would say, "every team needs a crazy guy." Stevenson was our crazy guy and we love him for that.

Led by their magical stalwart, Dirk Nowitzki. Hammered for the last 13 years, as he put it, finally being able to call himself a champion. He endured the hardships and the scrutinies that come with being a franchise player and simply worked harder. Got better. And finally, this year, became more vocal. Began to not only lead by example but held guys accountable. Made sure they stayed focused at all times. After blowing the 23 point lead to the Blazers, Nowitzki was the first person to speak in the locker room. He needed to. He had to. This was not slipping away. Not this year. Not a chance. The Mavericks would return to win game five in Dallas and close the series out in Portland in six. The rest was history.

I can only speak for myself, but I can not imagine being happier for a single athlete than I am for Dirk right now.

Humble, charismatic, guarded and now, finally, champion.

All you can do is smile.

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 112-103 to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA finals.

After four grueling defensive games, both teams began to show life on the offensive end of the floor to begin game five. After going scoreless in game four, Kidd had five quick points. The Heat committed four turnovers in the first five minutes which helped the Mavericks ease out to an early lead. Dwyane Wade attacked the basket and got the free throw line six times in the first quarter but appeared to hurt his hip on Cardinal screen late in quarter. He would head to the locker room for some treatment and return later on. The Mavericks were in complete control to begin the game before the end of quarter meltdown began. The meltdown was punctuated with another Chalmers half-court shot to end the first quarter.  That gave Miami a 31-30 lead despite a sizzling start by the Dallas offense.

The offensive uptake continued in the second quarter. The Heat jumped out in front early in the quarter thanks to Chalmers' three point barrage. He hit four threes in the half and finished with 13 points. But the Mavericks' offense did not slow down in the second half. Dallas shot 66% from the field for the half. Nowitzki went 6/9 from the field with 16 points to keep the Mavericks within reach.  A 16-7 run to end the second gave the Mavericks a 60-57 lead to end the half.

Wade did not start the second half. Mike Miller started the half for Wade and hit back to back threes. The Mavericks hot shooting would not cool off and this time it was JJ Barea with eight points in the third. Wade returned to the game at the 4:33 mark and quickly made two great assists and hit a jumper to pull the Heat within five at 82-77.  Chalmers would hit two free throws late and the Mavericks took a five point lead 84-79 into the fourth quarter. The Mavericks would take a lead into the fourth for the first time in this series.

The fourth quarter started with the two teams exchanging baskets before the Mavericks put a couple of baskets together to stretch their lead to 88-81.  They seemed to be in control of the game but had multiple defensive breakdowns which led to easy dunks/layups for the Heat and a 7-0 run. After another breakdown on a Haslem dunk, the Heat led 96-95. But the Mavericks would answer, like they have every time in these playoffs by going on a 17-4 run to close out the game and take a 3-2 series lead.

The Mavericks were finally able to get their offense on track and put on a shooting clinic as they shot 56.5% from the field. They were unconscious behind the arc hitting 13/19 three pointers. Every single Maverick was a factor offensively and aside from Marion all had exceptional shooting performances. Barea was phenomenal, penetrating and, if not finishing, dishing it out for the assist and burying clutch three point shots in the second half. He finished the game 6/11 with four threes, five assists and 17 points. Terry was outstanding as well going 8/12 for 21 points and six impactful assists. He gave an amazing assist to Kidd with 1:25 to play for three that basically sealed the game at 105-100 and then hit the dagger three a few seconds later with James draped all over him to give the Mavericks a seven point cushion with 33 seconds left. 

Nowitzki showed no ill-effects from his sinus infection and put on another Dirk-like performance, finishing with 29 points. He was also able to get to the free throw line ten times. When his shot stopped falling he got to the free throw line which helped him get back on track offensively. Dirk has been Dirk in these playoffs. As expected. But the biggest play of the game came with 2:27 to go. Wade had the ball at the top of the key with Marion guarding him and Nowitzki came over to help double. Wade saw the double coming and immediately turned the corner to attack the basket. Kidd, who was on James, rotated to help clog the lane along with Chandler and Wade passed the ball to James in the corner. As the ball was in the air, Chandler sensed Lebron charging to the basket and set his feet bracing for impact. James collided with Chandler and an offensive foul was rightfully called. This has generated some controversy but Chandler's feet were set and it was the correct call. Chandler has been the difference for this Mavericks' team all season and that play exemplified his impact on this team. And it's plays like that that have the Mavericks one win away from their first championship.

As for the Heat, James' "Now or Never" proclamation was for naught as he had the quietest triple double in NBA history. He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Good numbers but he once again failed to leave his imprint on this game. He had two free throw attempts for the game, which is inexcusable. But the Mavericks have to be given credit here. They are limiting his penetration and daring him to beat them with the jumpshot. It's been James' Achilles heal for his career and he hasn't been able to hit them in this series.

The Mavericks are now one win away from an NBA Championship. They lost the 2006 finals on their own floor in six games and now have a chance to win the title on Miami's floor in six games.

Basketball is funny like that.

Game six is Sunday night at 7:00 CT.

Rick Carlisle just announced that Haywood is indeed inactive for tonight’s game.

Tyson Chandler was able to soak up a lot of minutes in the last game but if he gets into foul trouble, Brian Cardinal and Ian Mahinmi will likely get the minutes at the backup 5. Chandler has done a good job of limiting his early foul troubles that have plagued him in the playoffs in this series and that will need to continue tonight.

Rodrigue Beaubois is active in place of Haywood.

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 86-83 to tie the best of seven series at two.

The Mavericks were looking for a hot start after continuously falling from behind in the previous three games and Dirk Nowitzki obliged by starting the game 3/3 and giving the Mavericks an early 6-0 lead. Offensive rebounding and turnovers have been the Mavericks' Achilles heal throughout these finals and the first quarter was no different. The Mavericks committed five turnovers and gave up nine offensive rebounds which left them tied at 21 after one despite holding Miami to 30% shooting in the quarter.

Miami continued it's fast start to quarters by scoring seven straight to begin the second. The Mavericks countered by scoring nine straight points of their own and took a 38-34 lead. Chris Bosh hit the game winning shot in game three and got off to a torrid start in game four going 8/12 for 16 points in the first half. Deshawn Stevenson came off the bench and poured in 11 while Jason Terry helped with nine points of his own. After starting the game 3/3 Dirk finished the half just 4/10 and the Heat held a 47-45 advantage at the half.

At the half word came down that Nowitzki was battling a fever of up to 103 degrees and that Haywood was done for the rest of the game. The Mavericks needed to dig deep in the second half if they were to avoid a 3-1 deficit. Marion picked up the slack with ten points in the third quarter but it was Dwyane Wade who continued to torch the Mavericks helping Miami to a 69-65 lead after three.

The Heat scored six straight points to begin the fourth upping their lead to nine at 74-65. Terry hit back to back baskets coming out of a timeout and just like that.. the comeback was on.  When it was all set and done, the Mavericks had outscored Miami 19-9 in the final ten minutes of the fourth quarter.  They held Miami to one field goal in the last 7:24-  a dunk by Wade with nine seconds left in the game. A Nowitzki layup with 14.4 seconds gave the Mavericks a three point cushion at 84-81. Two huge free-throws by Terry and a botched final possession by Miami sealed the game and the series was tied.

Nowitzki's performance while battling a fever upwards of a 100 is remarkable and he continues to leave spectators speechless night in and night out. Nowitzki finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  Once again, Nowitzki was magnificent in the fourth quarter, scoring ten of his 21 points in the fourth. In the finals, Nowitzki has not had a fourth quarter in which he's scored less than nine points.

Clutch.  

Jason Terry brought a lot of unwarranted attention to himself prior to the game by calling into question James' defensive ability. Well, it appears he knew what he was talking about. Terry was immense off the bench finishing with 17 points and scored eight points in the fourth quarter. He did not commit a turnover in the pivotal fourth and continuously abused James off the dribble. If you're going to talk a big game, you have to back it up. Terry did that- at least for one night.   

After getting destroyed on the offensive glass early in the game, the Mavericks were only outrebounded by three overall, 44-41 and by three on the offensive glass 15-12. How did this happen? Tyson Chandler. With Haywood unable to go in the second half, the onus was on Chandler to stay in the game and he responded by playing 43 huge minutes. He was the unsung hero for the Mavericks scoring 13 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Of those 16 boards, nine were on the offensive end. He provided the Mavericks with a massive lift and his performance can not be understated.

Brian Cardinal was able to give the Mavericks seven all out hustle minutes and played decent defense against Bosh when called up in that short span. The insertion of JJ Barea into the starting lineup did not have initial success on the offensive end but was able to help out the Mavericks on the defensive end. It provided the opportunity for Stevenson or Marion be fresh at all times and put a good defender on Wade or James throughout the game. Wade has been unconscious all series hitting an array of circus shots and finished with 32 points. James? The defensive rotation limited him to 3/11 shooting and eight points. I'd consider that a successful adjustment by coach Carlisle.

These games have all been decided in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks were able to make the crucial plays down the stretch in games two and four, the Heat made the plays in games one and three. The Heat have yet to lose back to back games in this postseason. Thursday would be a great time to end that streak.

Game 5 is Thursday night at 8:00 CT.

According to Alex Kennedy, Rick Carlisle will start JJ Barea tonight in place of Deshawn Stevenson.

Barea played a part in the Mavericks’ third quarter comeback and I assume Carlisle liked what he saw if he is indeed starting him tonight. This will hurt the Mavericks defensively as Stevenson is the far superior defender but it looks like Carlisle is gambling that Barea makes up for it by getting the Mavericks’ offense out to a hot start for the first time in this series.

The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 88-86 to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals.

The Mavericks started out with three impressive defensive possesions but failed to stop the Heat as Wade hit three miraculous layups as the shot clock wound down to salvage six points. It would be that kind of night for Wade. He picked up right where he left off in game two finishing the half with 19 points. With Haywood inactive, pressure was on Tyson Chandler to stay out of foul trouble. Chandler obliged and did not pick up a foul in the first half, substantial since backup center Ian Mahinmi did not. Mahinmi drew an offensive foul as soon as he checked into the game but picked up 3 quick fouls. The Heat attacked the rim early and often to begin the game as Wade and James each had eight points in the first quarter. A Chalmers half-court shot gave them a 29-22 going into the second quarter. The Heat would extend their lead to 45-31 by converting turnovers and playing impervious defense which forced the Mavericks into sloppy offensive possessions. However, the Mavericks were able to close the half on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 47-42 after trailing by 14.

Miami scored eight straight to begin the second half and were up 13 once more.The Mavericks responded by going on a 15-2 run of their own to tie the game at 57. Chandler was immense on the defensive end and even J.J Barea played a part in frustrating the Heat defensively. It was 67-64 heading into the crucial fourth quarter.

As it has in the previous two games, it would once again come down to execution down the stretch. Nowitzki was able to score 12 straight points for the Mavericks and 15 of the Mavericks 22 points in the fourth quarter. Wade would answer by scoring seven straight points for the Heat. With the game tied at 86 the Mavericks made a concentrated effort to keep the ball out of James and Wade's hands and that left Chris Bosh wide open on the baseline and he he hit the game winning jumper with 39 seconds to go.

The Mavericks were able to win the battle of the boards 42-36 without the presence of Haywood which is a good sign. Chandler and Nowitzki picked up the slack nabbing 11 rebounds a piece. They were also able to win the bench battle 25-19. However, Jason Terry's production was nearly matched by Mario Chalmers. Terry scored 15 to Chalmers' 12. And that 15 points came on a very inefficient 5/13 shooting.  Barea continued to struggle in this series as he shot 2/8 for the game. Coming into this series the Mavericks' bench had to severely outplay the Heat to have a chance, they have not.

The Heat's defense has been magnificent through two games but the Mavericks' multitude of unforced turnovers needs to stop in a hurry. Kidd and Barea had four turnovers each. Kidd has particularly struggled in this series shooting 35% from the field and averaging four turnovers a game.

Nowitzki shouldered the load offensively, finishing with 34 points but received no help from his teammates. After averaging 18 points through the first two games, Marion fell back to earth by going 4/12 from the field and scoring ten points. Kidd didn't' provide much help as he finished 3/8 for nine points. Combined with the efforts of Barea and Terry, it was a one man show for the Mavericks. In the fourth quarter, Nowitzki went 4/7 from the field and a perfect 6/6 from the line while the rest of the team went 3/11 from the field and did not attempt a free throw. The Mavericks were +23 with Nowitzki on the floor and -31 with Nowitzki off the floor.

The Mavericks will need Haywood back in game four but it will not matter if they are not able to generate enough offense to help support Dirk's efforts in this series and continue committing careless turnovers.

Game four is Tuesday night at 8:00 CT.