National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Dallas 103, Portland 96
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, April 28, 2011
Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #57 Greg Willard, #59 Gary Zielinski
Attendance: 20494

Dirk Nowitzki had 33 points and 11 rebounds and the visiting Dallas Mavericks ended an eight-game playoff road losing streak and held off the Portland Trail Blazers with a 103-96 victory Thursday night to wrap up their Western Conference first-round series in six games.

Third-seeded Dallas, the first visiting team to win in 10 games between these team this season, will face the two-time defending Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals starting Monday. Dallas had lost 18 of 20 road playoff games and had not won a playoff game away from home since April 2009.

Gerald Wallace had 32 points and 12 rebounds for sixth-seeded Portland, which almost pulled off its second amazing rally in this series. LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 19 points .

Nowitzki was 11 of 17 from the field and 11 of 11 from the line. Jason Terry had 22 points and eight assists for the Mavericks.

Dallas had blown a 23-point third-quarter lead in an 84-82 Game 4 loss at Portland.

The Mavericks led 75-58 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter after Terry made a 21-foot jumper.

But the Blazers went on another huge run fueled by Aldridge's 10 points. Wallace cut the deficit to 86-85 with a steal and slam, but Dallas responded with a 3-pointer by Jason Kidd and a jumper by Terry for a 91-85 lead with 4:04 remaining.

Wallace's two free throws cut it to 91-87, and Portland had a chance to get closer but Aldridge missed a pair from the line.

Shawn Marion's hook made it 93-87. Wallace answered with two free throws, but Terry nailed a jumper for a 95-89 lead with 1:42 to play and the Mavericks finally could breathe a sigh of relief.

Portland has lost six straight first-round series, the NBA's longest current streak.

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Portland
Dirk Nowitzki 33 Scoring Gerald Wallace 32
Jason Terry 8 Assists Andre Miller 4
Dirk Nowitzki 11 Rebounds Gerald Wallace 12
Dirk Nowitzki 11 Free Throws Made Gerald Wallace 11
Jason Kidd 2 Steals Marcus Camby 2
Tyson Chandler 1 Blocks Marcus Camby 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Dallas 103 50.0 6-18 19-22 23 39 3 4 9
Portland 96 44.3 5-21 21-26 16 41 3 3 7
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .768 after a win and .538 after a loss.