As much as I want to talk about the Mavericks, this game was the Andre Miller show. The Portland Trail Blazers guard had a career-high 52 points, shattering his old mark of 37. Miller was 22 of 31 on field goals, 7 of 8 from the line and sent a 3-pointer through the hoop, only his 11th of this season. I know Juwan Howard made the winning shot, but I would not be trying to process a Mavericks loss if it wasn’t for Andre Miller, who was just one point shy of Dirk Nowitzki’s record for points scored at American Airlines Center.
Another big factor in the loss was the Trail Blazers’ ability to guard Nowitzki. Despite leading the team with 28 points total and 16 in the fourth, he missed his last four shots when the game was on the line, including a last second chance to win in regulation. Former UT star LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 21 for the Trail Blazers, also missed a game winner.
Josh Howard seemed to carry the Mavs in the second quarter, scoring 12 Maverick points in a row, a great stretch for a player who has been in a slump. Leading 47-44 at halftime, the Mavs were outscored 29-22 in the third quarter. With frustration mounting, Nowitzki was called for a technical after the refs missed calling a foul on Portland. But the Mavs stole some momentum back thanks to J.J Barea’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, and the Mavs entered the final 12 minutes trailing by just four.
Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Howard, Barea, Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd all scored in double figures. Erick Dampier started but did not get the ball to the basket. He looked out of sorts and uncomfortable with a newfangled knee brace.
On a more positive note, Eduardo Najera received a huge ovation from the crowd when he entered his first Maverick game in years and hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter. A hard-working fan favorite, #14 was re-acquired from the New Jersey Nets on January 11th.
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