Dirk got into foul trouble early in the game with two quick fouls and never really played to his potential like in Game 1.

Terry had 27 points, with a few 3 pointers. Kidd was pretty much a non-factor in this game, not scoring his first field goal til the second half.

I hope this is a wake up call to the Mavs who need to come out with the type of defense they started to display in the second half, where they went on a 12-0 run to cut the 20 point lead in half.

Game 3 is Friday in San Antonio. I knew this would be a tough matchup for the Mavs, as everyone in the West are so close in their regular season records, anything could happen. The one thing that stands out and I think that isn’t mentioned much is, this Dallas team has turned around from the past and became road warriors this past season. Out of all the teams in the West, the Mavs had the best road record of any of them. They had 27 road wins, the next team was Portland with 24 wins on the road. Actually, they had more road wins than any other team in the whole league.

Dirk went 12-14 for field goals while going perfect on his free throws, 12-12, getting 36 points and grabbing 7 boards. Seems he went into playoff mode a week before the end of the season and is definitely extending this type of play now that they are in the first round.

Butler contributed 22 points while Kidd contributed 13 points and 11 assists.

With the Spurs taking a late lead though, Dirk helped spark a 7-0 run on his own. With Dirk killing the Spurs defense, only missing two shots the whole game, the Spurs even tried to foul Dampier 3 times in hopes he would start missing free throws. Unfortunately, Dampier is no Shaq and can make most of his.

Ginobili, Parker and Duncan showed up for the game for the Spurs, which isn’t enough. Their bench went 10-26, which doesn’t win games. The Spurs took a flight home so they can regroup for Game 2 which is in Dallas on Wednesday.

Let’s hope the Mavs can bring back this intensity, with Dirk playing the way he is, I’m sure he’s going to get more defense pressure in Game 2 so the rest of our guys need to step up, which should not be a problem with the talent this team now carries with them.

Of course we get to play the Spurs once again and hopefully we can knock them out of the first round. I feel we have the advantage and there’s no other team I’d rather face right now in the West. The Spurs are old, injured prone right now and just aren’t the same team they use to be.

Dirk seems to already be in playoff mode, grabbing another Western Conference player of the week.  Marion had a small injury but he’s back and seems to be in full form. The rest of the guys seem to be healthy so I’m expecting a first round pass and hope the Mavs do not have to face the Trailblazers or Thunder at all during this playoff race. It’s sad to think that out of all the teams, one would likely fear the Lakers or Nuggets but I feel more confident against those teams than the lower seeded teams.

Game 1 is Sunday April 18th. Let’s go Mavs!

Congratulations Dirk, go for a third week in a row by keeping the streak alive.

The Lakers have lost 3 straight so grabbing that top seed is not impossible, with the Nuggets not far behind as well.

With Terry out, we seem to have enough talent to pick up the slack, especially Beaubois putting up some great numbers in the last 3 games.

Also I must admit, Shawn Marion seems he’ll do anything to get a ring and thinks the Mavericks have that chance. He could easily be that 20 plus points and 10 rebound player but plays conservatively to win, making his teamates better as well in the process.

Kidd came out with another triple double, but not just an ordinary one, he grabbed 16 rebounds, made 17 assists and scored 19 points.

Dirk had a good night with 37 points and 9 rebounds while Haywood contributed 11 rebounds and 11 points. Marion had one of his better games than usual contributing 14 points.

Dirk did his usual but Terry came out with 30 points off the bench to help secure this win. Caron Butler sat out this due to some negative reaction to medicine but Haywood had another great game, grabbing 9 boards and 11 points.

So who’s the best in the West? It’s hard to say, it seems we fair well against the Lakers but I’d also have to throw the Nuggets up there with these three teams being very close in dominating the West right now. Truly the only way to proclaim the best in your division is to make it to the Finals, that’s who will be the best in the West.

Wafer has played for 5 years, averaging around 13 mins a game in 109 games, 11 of those were in the starting lineup and close to 6 points a game. He last played for the Rockets in 2008-2009.

Josh Howard tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee which puts him out for the rest of the season. Riddled with injuries for the past year or so, injuries which most athletes could bounce back from, I think this one is going to really put Howard down, maybe even slowly start to dissipate from the spotlight as a premier player with All-Star quality and potential.

I just hope we can actually find a way to get Gooden back and just allow Dampier to disappear from the roster here in Dallas. It was a good idea at the time to get a big man but I just felt some Dallas players just don’t have it in their hearts to win or go for that championship, like Dirk and a few others carry with them. For some, it’s about playing and winning, not the money. Sadly I think Josh Howard was one of the obvious players who just stopped caring about not only his team but his own career and performances.