Inside Report: No. 3 Mavericks (0-0) at No. 2 Lakers (0-0) — Game 1 preview

Earl K. Sneed previews Monday night's Game 1 between the Dallas Mavericks and two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, as the Mavs try to steal the home-court advantage with a win in the first showdown of the second-round series.

LOS ANGELES — If the Dallas Mavericks are going to successfully steal the home-court advantage in their second-round matchup with the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers then Game 1 on Monday night may be the perfect opportunity to do so.

The Mavericks head into the “City of Angels” flying high after soaring through the Portland Trail Blazers in six games, including a 103-96 closeout win in the Rose Garden. Now, after tying with Miami for the NBA’s best road record at 28-13 during the regular season, the Mavericks will try to go into the Staples Center and seize the early momentum in the series with the back-to-back champs, knowing ahead of time that it will take at least one victory on the Lakers’ home floor to win the series.

“Well, you want to win the first one and then you go from there,” forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “That’s what the mind state is. You don’t worry about the second game until it comes. Big game Monday night. We’ve been a good road team all season long, so hopefully we can go in there and then have a great game. And especially defend well, rebound well and I think that’s gonna set us up to be in a good position.”

But the Mavs admit that handing the Lakers a loss in their own backyard will be easier said than done, after the Dallas squad fell 110-82 in L.A.’s unfriendly confines on March 31 in a game that featured multiple scrums and five players ejected. And after also dropping the season series 2-1, Nowitzki confesses that his team can not afford to lose its cool again, acknowledging that not only will the Mavs be battling a talented Lakers’ lineup led by two-time Finals MVP Kobe Bryant but also a spirited crowd.

“We’ve just gotta keep our composure, especially at their place. That’s really it. We already know what they have, we know who they have. We know Kobe can take the game over at any time and their length is great, but we’ve just gotta stay calm. You know, they’re gonna play us physical, and just try and work. We’ve gotta stay together, especially on the road. There’s gonna always be some adversity, especially on the road, and you’ve gotta stick together. We can’t lose our composure like we did the last game in the regular season there,” Nowitzki explained.

“Hey, when you’ve got the Lakers coming to town you have to really focus and shift your gears and be locked in,” sixth man Jason Terry added after he himself was involved in an altercation with Lakers reserve guard Steve Blake in that March loss.

And if the Mavericks can remain levelheaded, then coach Rick Carlisle sees no reason why his team’s success on the road will not continue, adding that both he and his players will enter Game 1 confident that they can take the best-of-seven showdown to move on to the Western Conference Finals, despite entering the series as underdogs.

“Our group has a lot of belief in each other and it’s something that we talked about all year,” Carlisle said of his team heading into Game 1. “We knew that this scenario was a possibility, where you’ve gotta beat a very tough first-round opponent and gotta beat the defending champs in the second round. And it’s a challenge we’re looking forward to.”

“Not a lot of people picked us to win [the Portland] series and not a lot people are gonna pick us to win [this] series,” Nowitzki pointed out. “So, we’re just gonna go out there and keep competing, play smart, play off each other like we have all season and we’ll see what happens.”

Note: Game 1 of the Mavericks’ second-round series with the Lakers will tip off Monday night at 9:30 p.m. CT, airing nationally on TNT.

Tickets for the first two home games of the Second Round of the 2011 Playoffs will are on sale now. Tickets are priced $19 and up for Round 2. Tickets will be available online at mavs.com, via phone (214-747-6287 or 1-800-4NBA-TIX), the American Airlines Center® North Box Office* and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Simon Mall in Garland and Shops at Willow Bend).

The first-round series between the two teams continues as follows:
Game 1 – Mon May 2 9:30 p.m. CT TNT
Game 2 – Wed May 4 9:30 p.m. CT TNT
Game 3 – Fri May 6 TBD ESPN
Game 4 – Sun May 8 2:30 p.m. CT ABC
Game 5 * Tue May 10 TBD TNT
Game 6 * Thu May 12 TBD ESPN
Game 7 * Sun May 15 2:30 p.m. CT ABC

The Mavs will host a FREE watch party for fans Monday night when the Mavs take on the Los Angeles Lakers for Game 1 of the Second Round of the 2011 Playoffs. The parties start an hour prior to tipoff.

Fans can join the Mavs Dancers, ManiAACs, Street Team, Ali Dee and Ro Parrish to watch the game on the HD big-screen TV on the AT&T Plaza. Fans will also have a chance to win 2011 Mavs Playoff tickets and Mavs autographed prizes.

The South Plaza Fan Shop will be open for fans to purchase their 2011 Playoff t-shirts and other Mavs apparel.

Parking will be available in the Platinum Parking garage and is $5. Food and beverages will be available for purchase (no outside food or beverages will be allowed). Fans will also need to bring their own seating.

Pira Restaurant will be open starting at 7:30 p.m. and will have a special watch party menu available for fans.

Special thanks to 106.1 KISS FM, ESPN and ESPN Deportes for their support of the watch parties.