Dallas and Phoenix have now played six times this season (regular season and playoffs combined) and each team has three wins.
The Suns fall to 1-4 when failing to score 100+ points this postseason.
Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 30 points tonight. He has scored 30+ points five times this postseason after doing so just once in the 2005 playoffs. Nowitzki has scored 30+ points 24 times in 66 career playoff games (Mavs 16-8). He has scored 20+ points in 41 consecutive games played dating back to the regular season and 19 straight playoff games as well.
Despite the fact that some people thought Josh Howard would miss 5 to 7 days after suffering a bone bruise on his right ankle in Game 1, he started and had a playoff career-high tying 29 points. The Mavericks improve to 22-0 when Howard scores 20+ points this season (regular season and playoffs combined).
Steve Nash had 14 points and 8 assists in the first-half but finished with 16 points and 11 assists. He did not score in the second-half until the closing moments of the fourth quarter.
Gana Diop came off the bench to score 4 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in 32 minutes of play. He did not play in Game 1. Diop’s previous playoff-high in rebounding was 8. He only had 10+ boards once in the regular season (career-high 16 vs. Denver on 11/15/05.
Dallas won despite trailing after three quarters of play. The Mavericks improve to 2-2 when tied or trailing at the start of the fourth quarter this postseason after going 10-18 in the regular season.
Phoenix shot just 8-of-11 from the line tonight. Both numbers were one shy of tying Maverick franchise playoff opponent lows. Josh Howard attempted 10 free throws himself and Dallas had 36 FTA as a team.
The Mavericks won despite allowing the Suns to shoot 10-of-23 (43.5%) from 3-point range. Entering tonight, the most 3-pointers Dallas had allowed in a single game this postseason was 8. During the regular season, the Mavericks were 2-3 when allowing 10+ 3-pointers (twice to Phoenix).
Phoenix scored just 17 points in the first quarter after scoring 35 in the first quarter of Game 1. The 17 points were the fewest the Suns scored in a first quarter this postseason.
Dallas outrebounded Phoenix 48-39 for the game and 31-19 in the second-half. The Mavericks have yet to be outrebounded this postseason. The 13 consecutive games outrebounding an opponent by Dallas is a NBA playoff record.
