Posted on Fri, Apr. 11, 2008

Nowitzki beats buzzer as Mavs enter playoffs

DALLAS – Could it be that the mantle of hottest team in the West has passed from the Rockets to the Lakers to the Hornets to the Spurs to the Jazz to the … Dallas Mavericks?

The Mavs sure like the sound of that after Thursday night’s 97-94 victory over Utah that was just as tight, wild and fluid as the Western Conference standings.

Dirk Nowitzki, playing some of his most inspired basketball of the season – if not his career – on an ankle that might be 80 percent, hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left. Jazz point guard Deron Williams had tied it with an improbable 3-point heave that banked in with 5.8 seconds left.

The Mavs hit the 50-win plateau and secured a playoff berth for the eighth consecutive season. They've ripped off three wins in a row and five of six, including three of four against West playoff contenders.

While they'll take pleasure, and probably some relief, in finally clinching a playoff spot, they might even enjoy a little sinister satisfaction at the Warriors' expense Thursday. Golden State lost to Denver and can no longer bump the Mavs out of the playoffs.

"Our playoff hopes didn't look good there for a while with me getting hurt and then we lost those three tough games in a row," Nowitzki said. "But we came together as a team and somehow we pulled it out."

After Williams, who finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, tied it at 94 – the eighth tie in a game that had 15 lead changes – the Mavs were out of timeouts and overtime seemed destined.

But Jason Kidd, who scored the Mavs' first seven points of the game to push them to an 18-4 lead, inbounded to Eddie Jones. He pushed it up and threw a perfect pass to Nowitzki, who was wide open at the left wing. His shot hit nothing but net, he raised his arm and the Mavs celebrated another big win against a team that came in having won seven of eight and four in a row.

"The MVP, you leave wide open like that? I don't know," Jones said. "I think we just kind of caught them off-guard because they thought we were going to call a timeout. We didn't have any, so it was a pretty good play for us."

While Nowitzki was all heart and determination again with 32 points, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc, hustling efforts team-wide, such as Brandon Bass' 14 points and Devean George's defense, made the win possible under tense circumstances. The Mavs were also without forward Josh Howard for nearly all of the third quarter and all of the fourth because of a bruised right knee.

Jason Terry stepped up with all 21 of his points in the second half. He and Nowitzki combined for 25 of the team's 30 points in the fourth quarter. Terry continually attacked the basket and made all six of his free-throw attempts, including the final two that put the Mavs up 94-91.

Leading 90-89, Erick Dampier ended a quiet night by getting a piece of Carlos Boozer's shot from the baseline. Boozer had just 10 points. The Mavs' ensuing possession might have been the most impressive of the night.

It lasted from the 1:28 mark until 29.8 seconds remained. Dampier had a tip-out on a missed shot, then the Mavs nearly threw it away several times, but somehow kept it in play. After a 20-second timeout, Nowitzki was nearly stripped by Williams, but he maintained control and sank a fallaway for a 92-89 lead.

"This is one game I really was keeping my eyes on and trying to take a look at our team and see how far we've come just in the physicality department," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "I thought we battled."