Miller torches Mavericks for career-high 52 points in OT win

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 31, 2010 1:17AM

DALLAS (NBA.com exclusive) -- Andre Miller's biggest claim to fame before Saturday was probably leading the league in assists with Cleveland back in 2001-02. Nowadays, the Portland point guard is best known for simply showing up, as his run of 579 consecutive games played is the NBA's longest active streak.

Not anymore. The 11-year veteran from Utah entered the game averaging just 12.6 points per game this season and had scored 30 or more points only 15 times in 863 games, and never more than 37 (twice). But in one of the greatest offensive performances in franchise history, Miller scored 52 points and carried the Trail Blazers to a 114-112 overtime win against the Mavericks.

Playing without All-Star backcourt partner Brandon Roy for a sixth straight game because of a right hamstring injury, Miller came within two points of tying the Portland record set by Damon Stoudamire at New Orleans on Jan. 14, 2005. He was one point shy of matching the American Airlines Center record set by Dirk Nowitzki on Dec. 2, 2004 against Houston.

"I've had a few heated nights in my career, but I think this was one of those nights where I just didn't stop shooting," Miller said. "The other nights when I was hot, I stopped myself from shooting the ball. ...Tonight was the night where I just kept doing it. I just didn't settle."

Miller scored eight points in the first quarter, 11 in the second, eight in the third, 18 in the fourth and seven in OT. He was 22-for-31 from the field (14-for-16 after halftime) and 7-for-8 at the free-throw line. He drained his only 3-point attempt of the night to start the overtime period, but most of his points came on drives to the basket as Portland repeatedly forced the action inside. The Blazers outscored the Mavs 60-46 in the paint.

Miller is the sixth player to score 50 points against the Mavericks. His 22 field goals broke the arena record of 20 set by Phoenix's Steve Nash (20-for-28) on May 15, 2005. He also broke the Portland mark of 20 shared by Stoudamire, Clyde Drexler, Lionel Hollins and Geoff Petrie (twice).

"He got going early," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said. "We had some blown coverages that enabled him to get open. We tried a lot of different guys on him. We had Shawn Marion guard him for a lot of the fourth and overtime. He backed up and hit a three on him. He played a phenomenal game."

Miller was 7-for-8 during the fourth quarter, including a running hook shot in the lane with 14.8 seconds left to send the game into overtime at 103-103.

After Miller opened the scoring in the extra frame with a 3-pointer, Dallas went on a 9-2 run that included a 3-pointer from Jason Terry and a putback by Jason Kidd to seize a 112-108 lead with 2:23 left. That was it for the Mavericks, who missed their last four shots from the field.

Two free throws by Jerryd Bayless and yet another drive by Miller, this time around Nowitzki, knotted the score at 112-112 with 1:33 remaining. Juwan Howard's only two points of the night, a 15-foot jumper with 44.9 seconds to play, put Portland on top.

Dallas had a couple chances to tie, but Nowitzki, guarded closely by Nicolas Batum, missed a 13-footer with 29.9 seconds left and a 14-foot turnaround attempt with 0.5 ticks remaining.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Trail Blazers and was their first this season in four overtime games. They have also won back-to-back games in Dallas for the first time since 1999. Portland evened its road record at 12-12. The Mavericks fell to 8-7 for the month of January and dropped to 14-8 at home, just one loss away from matching last season's total (32-9).

LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and Bayless reached double figures for a sixth straight game with 17. Howard grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and Steve Blake chipped in 10 points off the bench.

Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 28 points and nine rebounds. He had 20 points after halftime, including 14 in the fourth quarter. The Blazers kept the ball out of his hands for most of the night. After making a basket with 4:24 left in the first quarter, Nowitzki didn't make another field goal until the 9:14 mark of the fourth.

Terry scored 18 points and Kidd posted his 14th double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. Josh Howard scored 17, with 14 of them coming during the second quarter. Eduardo Najera, who played for Dallas from 2000-04 and was acquired in a trade with the Nets earlier this month, saw his first action with the Mavericks and sank a 3-pointer on his first field-goal attempt.

• Trail Blazers: Oden, Outlaw, Przybilla
• Mavericks: Carroll, Thomas

• Trail Blazers: --
• Mavericks: Nowitzki

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 20

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #33 Sean Corbin, #62 Brian Forte
• Attendance: 20078
• Duration: 2:41