Dallas Mavericks punch ticket to semifinals after defeating Portland Trail Blazers

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 103-96 to eliminate the Blazers and move on to the NBA Western Conference semifinals. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry combined for 55 points, over half of the offensive production for Dallas


The end result was great for the Mavs, but the beginning of the game didn't look so good. Portland came out on fire and opened up a very nice 12 point first half lead, and the series looked like it could be headed to a Game 7. That was until the Mavericks started putting it together towards the latter portions of the 2nd Quarter. Dallas went on a run to close the quarter and go into the break up by 9.



Dallas picked up in the 3rd Quarter where they left off, keeping a comfortable lead throughout the second half. Portland came back a few times, and even came as close as 1 point, but that lived about a few seconds until Jason Kidd hit a three-pointer going back down the court to start increasing the Mavericks lead for the last time.

Noteworthy, albeit losing, efforts were performed by Gerald Wallace with 32 points and 12 rebounds, and LaMarcus Aldridge with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Blazers, the bench didn't show up, but Dallas' did to a 35-14 Mavericks bench scoring advantage.

The Dallas Mavericks will now face the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals. The series starts Monday night, 5/2 in Los Angeles at 10:30pm ET.

Posted in: NBA News