Posted by Daryl Morey May 21, 2011 at 9:18 AMGame Three RecapOffensive rebounds can be key down the stretch; Dallas got seven offensive boards in the second half, helping to get themselves some extra opportunities for scoring.
Dirk Nowitzki was able to pad his rebounding stats (he had a game high 17 boards) by missing often, going 9/28 from the field and scoring a sub-par 18 points. He was a non-factor in the clutch, however.
Caron Butler was the man for Dallas. He had a game high 31 points along with four boards, as he along with
Jason Terry helped Dallas get back into it in the final period. Terry had 16 points, four assists, and three boards.
The fourth quarter was the key factor this game. Houston had a six-point lead before the fourth quarter began, but Dallas began the quarter on a 10-2 run, tying the game and then pushing out to regain the lead. However, the Rockets bounced back nicely going up 90-86 before a three-pointer from Terry (2/5 from range) mixed things up. From then on, both teams began to trade baskets, with Dallas finally acquiring a slight 101-99 lead in the dying seconds, with
Jason Kidd being sent to the line. He calmly sank both free throws, putting the game out of reach with just five seconds remaining.
All Houston were left with was a desperation three, in which
Yao Ming grabbed the offensive rebound, and converted the bucket to narrow the gap. There was unfortunately no time left to do anything else as Dallas narrowly scrapes by with a win in Game Three.
"
There will be times when the best player is not on his game, but that's where his teammates come in. Jason (Terry) and I (Caron Butler) were able to take the game over in the most important time to secure the win," Butler said, proud of his performance.
Nowitzki doesn't have too many poor shooting games like this, so this was a wasted opportunity for Houston. There is time to make some adjustments for Game Four, though.
Player of the Game-
Caron Butler
31 points | 4 rebounds | 1 steal | 10/24 FG | 10/10 FTKey Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 28 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 10/20 FG, 7/7 FT
Yao Ming - 20 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 10/16 FG
Luis Scola - 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5/12 FG, 7/7 FT
Aaron Brooks - 7 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2/8 FG
Mavericks:Dirk Nowitzki - 18 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 9/28 FG
Jason Terry - 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 5/13 FG, 2/5 3P
Shawn Marion - 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3/5 FG
Jason Kidd - 8 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 2/6 FG
25 31 24 21 101
26 25 23 29 103Game Four RecapThe Rockets began the game red hot. Shooting above 50% from the field, they raced out to a 29-point first quarter, led by
Kevin Martin's game high 31 points. Also one to step up this game was
Aaron Brooks who scored 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists to take it to Dallas.
Turnovers began to hurt the Rockets as the game progressed, and that allowed Dallas to get right back in it and tie it by halftime. The Rockets had 14 turnovers compared to just six by the Mavericks, as they ran away with 11 steals. "
That's the team defense that gets talked about. We finally saw it back in action after what I thought was a somewhat shaky first three games on that end," said head coach
Rick Carlisle. Both teams shot an equal 43% from the field, so fingers point at the turnovers stat as the key factor in the game.
Beginning the third quarter, Dallas began a ferocious run in which they outscored the Rockets 34 to 21.
Rodrigue Beabouis led the charge scoring 10 of his 14 in that quarter alone. Beaubois played a key role in this run, as early in the quarter
Jason Kidd suffered a Severe Ankle Sprain going up for a rebound, and is likely to miss 2-4 weeks of action, definitely the rest of the series. Kidd left with seven points and seven assists. "
Kidd's injury gives someone a chance to step up, and that's what Beaubois did. If he can continue with that kind of play, we should hopefully be able to win the series," said
Jason Terry.
Dallas eventually pushed their lead to their biggest of the series, 15, and were leading by 13 to start the fourth. Back came the Rockets, however. They chipped the margin down to single digits, eventually coming within three.
The stars,
Kevin Martin and
Dirk Nowitzki could not hit a shot in the last period. Nowitzki went 0/9 in the final period, not scoring a single point. Martin went 2/8, which is something we're not used to seeing from both players especially in the final quarter.
Dallas acquired a 101-95 lead eventually, but that was when Martin hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to three. Terry was sent to the line and knocked down both free throws. At the other end,
Yao Ming converted on a three-point play, as Houston were still in it by two, 101-103.
Caron Butler was sent to the line and split a pair of free throws, but with no timeouts remaining, Houston did not have enough time to create a good opportunity and had to settle with a heave that was way off.
Both Butler and Terry bailed out Nowitzki's terrible fourth quarter performance, as Dallas barely just grasped on to the lead escaping with a narrow victory once again. "
It was a good effort from my teammates, but I needed to shoot much better if we were gonna come back to steal a game on the road. Now just on to Houston where playing in front of our fans will help," Martin said.
Player of the Game-
Caron Butler
19 points | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals | 1 block | 8/16 FG | 3/4 FTKey Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 31 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block, 12/26 FG, 6/7 FT
Aaron Brooks - 14 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 6/13 FG
Yao Ming - 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 6 blocks, 6/10 FG
Luis Scola - 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 4/8 FG
Terrence Williams - 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3/4 FG
Mavericks:Dirk Nowitzki - 23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 9/26 FG, 5/6 FT
Jason Terry - 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 8/19 FG
Rodrigue Beaubois - 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3/4 FG, 8/9 FT
Shawn Marion - 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4/6 FG
Jason Kidd - 7 points, 7 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block, 3/8 FG
29 21 21 30 101
24 26 34 20 104
Good all-around stats,not just scoring like usual.
LBJ Should win it some other time.
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