Dallas 117, Phoenix 101 (Mavs lead series, 3-2)
Back in the 1998 NBA draft, my favorite team – the Milwaukee Bucks – selected a little-known 20 year-old kid out of Germany, Dirk Nowitzki, with the ninth pick and promptly traded him – along with Pat Garrity – to the Dallas Mavericks for Robert “Tractor” Traylor. At the time, Milwaukee had a nucleus of Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Terrell Brandon, so a “beefy” power forward made sense. The Mavericks had the sixth overall pick and the team knew nobody really cared about Nowitzki, so they figured they could convince a team with a later pick to draft Nowitzki for them and then make the trade, getting another player (Garrity) in return. Fast forward almost eight years, “Tractor” Traylor is pounding donuts at a Krispy Kreme somewhere while Dirk Nowitzki is dropping 50 on the Suns, giving his team a 3-2 advantage in the Western Conference Finals.
After shooting a miserable 3-13 in the Mavs’ loss in Game 4, Nowitzki bounced back, going 14-26 from the field and 17-18 from the free throw line en route to a franchise-playoff record 50 points. The game was closer than the final score would indicate; the Suns actually led 77-70 with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter. But the Mavs scored 10 unanswered points as part of a 12-4 run to close out the quarter with a one point lead. After a Steve Nash jump shot with 7:30 to play in the fourth, the Suns trailed by just three, 96-93, before the Mavs went on a 21-8 run to finish the game. Josh Howard is becoming a valuable sidekick to Nowitzki. He scored 23 points and grabbed seven boards in just 31 minutes of playing time (due to foul trouble). Tim Thomas scored 26 in the loss, while Nash and Shawn Marion each scored 20. But it was Thomas that made the biggest mistake of the game; after he blew a kiss to Nowitzki during an altercation in the third quarter, the big German went off. Lesson learned – you do not want to piss off the big German. The pressure is on the Suns now to play well at home in Game 6, while the Mavs can relax with the knowledge that a possible Game 7 will be on their home court, where Nowitzki obviously shines.
By the way, did I mention – in the 1998 draft – that the Celtics took Paul Pierce with the tenth pick?
