Art Garcia | Mavs.com

Posted: April 25, 2008

The playoffs finally began for the Mavericks. After a pair of non-postseason efforts, the first-round series with the Hornets became a series after the Mavs cleaned up 97-87 Friday night at American Airlines Center.

The two blowout losses in New Orleans were long forgotten in Game 3, as the Mavs reversed several troubling trends. The Hornets still lead two games to one, but the best-of-7 can’t be any closer after three games. The Mavs can square it up back on their homecourt Sunday.

“I’m waiting for the series to really get going,” Mavs coach Avery Johnson said, “and hopefully keep improving for our guys.”

The Hornets have yet to taste victory inside of American Airlines Center, dropping to 0-12, and haven’t won in Dallas in a decade. The latest Mavs’ triumph followed a recipe that went missing in the Big Easy.

A lineup change elevating Jason Terry back into the starting five helped ignite the offense and defense. After a pair of performances best described as other-worldly, the budding legend of Chris Paul hit a speed bump. And Dirk Nowitzki kept right on trucking.

“The energy was great in the building for us,” said Nowitzki, who scored a game-high 32. “The fans got us hyped early.

“Our defense was a lot better. We were scrambling, going after loose balls and once we got the rebound, [Jason] Kidd was off to the races.”

Johnson noted before the game that film of his team through two games “looked like regular-season games.” Playoff intensity returned within the familiar setting packed with 20,839 fans. The hustles plays returned. The Mavs ran (23-4 fastbreak edge) and attacked (38-13 free throws edge), and defended (Hornets’ 37.9-percent shooting).

The Hornets were still in striking distance with two minutes left, but playoff games aren’t supposed to be routs. Not usually, anyway. The Mavs didn’t salt away their first playoff victory of 2008 until Terry knocked down a pair of jumpers late. Pessimism flip-flopped in 48 minutes.

The first quarter opened with a 12-2 spurt, serving notice it would be a different night. Ten of the points were generated from layups or foul shots. The Hornets made their run, but it wasn’t Paul driven. New Orleans moved ahead briefly in the second period before the Mavs finished the quarter strong.

The 47-40 lead at the break was extended in the third. Unlike the energy meltdown after leading by 12 at the half of Game 1, Nowitzki and Josh Howard were the principals in the pivotal third. The Mavs reached the bonus early, leading to 22 free throws in the period. The lead stretched into double digits as the home team settled on a 74-63 advantage going into the fourth.

“We weren’t going to come out of the locker room and shoot five jump shots,” Johnson said of the team’s aggressiveness.

A third consecutive strong performance from Nowitzki peaked with a 3-point play with 6:45 left, giving Dallas an 87-72 lead. The reigning MVP got it done at both ends, shooting 11 of 20 and by grabbing 19 rebounds.

Howard, Terry and Kidd didn’t let Nowitzki hang again. The former two combined for 40 points, easily surpassing the 25.5 they collectively averaged through two games. Kidd worked for his eight points, 11 boards and five assists. But more than numbers, the new starting backcourt starred defensively.

Paul didn’t dominate the proceedings this time. Terry, Kidd and their cohorts came in wanting to play the angles better to cut off Paul’s penetration. The MVP contender didn’t get into the lane at nearly the same rate and his jumper wasn’t falling. He scored 16 and missed 14 of 18 shots after averaging 33.5 points in New Orleans.

First-Round Schedule: New Orleans leads 2-1

Game 1, New Orleans 104, Dallas 92

Game 2, New Orleans 127, Dallas 103

Game 3, Dallas 97, New Orleans 87

Game 4, Sun, April 27, New Orleans at Dallas, 8:30 pm, TXA/TNT

Game 5, Tue, April 29, Dallas at New Orleans, TBD, TXA

Game 6*, Thu, May 1, New Orleans at Dallas, TBD, TXA

Game 7*, Sat, May 3, Dallas at New Orleans, TBD , TNT

(All times CT)

* If necessary