Inside Report: No. 3 Mavericks (3-2) at No. 6 Blazers (2-3) — Game 6 preview

Earl K. Sneed previews Thursday night's Game 6 between the Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers, as the Dallas team tries to finish off the first-round series with a crucial win in the ruckus Rose Garden.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Win once on the road and advance to the second round of the playoffs. Lose and be forced to wrap up a first-round series in a Game 7 back at the American Airlines Center.

That’s the situation the Dallas Mavericks find themselves in entering Thursday night’s Game 6 at the Rose Garden against the Portland Trail Blazers. And with the Mavs trying to do what they’ve failed at four total times this season — falling twice in Portland during the regular season and again in Games 3 and 4 — closing out the Blazers and bringing their season to an end should be anything except a cakewalk.

“It’s a desperate situation,” explained Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who is 7-3 all-time as a head coach in closeout games. “And the team with an opportunity to close out, you’ve got to bring that same desperation. And the team that’s up against it is going to give you a great game, regardless. So, we know that and we’ve got to bring our own great game.”

“I mean, it’s gonna be tough,” Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki added. “We’re gonna see more of the same as we did in Game 3 and Game 4. They’re gonna pressure on defense fullcourt and get their fans involved. So, yeah, it’s gonna be a tough game, but we’ve got to be ready, we’ve got to keep attacking the way we did [at home] and really don’t expect anything. Just come out fighting, and we’ll go from there.”

But the Mavericks enter the hostile arena armed with more than just a 3-2 edge in the series and a 13-9 mark all-time in closeout games, after seizing the momentum back with a 93-82 victory at home on Monday night following a 23-point collapse in Game 4 two days earlier that ended in an 84-82 loss. And looking to repeat what worked well at home, as well as what helped to build the large lead in Portland before the letdown, the Mavs say that they head into the potential final game of the series with plenty of confidence.

And that’s the case despite a winless record in Portland in the 2010-11 campaign.

“We’ve played well [in Portland] during the season, and then the last game up there we played well until that fourth quarter. So, we’ve gotta figure out how and hopefully we can put ourselves back in that position and close the door,” point guard Jason Kidd said.

“We know we’ve got to go out there and get it,” forward Shawn Marion added. ”We know we’ve got to go out there and put our statement on the game, step up on both ends of the floor and go out there and get it done.”

The Mavs also hope to wrap up the series in six games, with the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers taking the court with a 3-2 series lead over the New Orleans Hornets and looking to conclude their matchup on Thursday night as well, before the Dallas squad bids for its closeout win.

With that said, Carlisle emphasized to his players that Thursday night is not about keeping pace with the defending champs should the two meet in the second round, but more so about keeping the Blazers from staving off elimination in front of their hometown crowd.

“We have our own business to take care of,” Carlisle simply said. ”And again, our approach has got to be solid, we’ve got to understand the things that are keys to success for us, we’ve got to limit the things that have been problems and we’ve got to carrying the momentum of Game 5 into Game 6.”

Note: Game 6 between the Mavericks and Blazers will tip off at 9:30 p.m. CT, airing locally on TXA 21 and nationally on TNT.

The first-round series between the two teams continues as follows:
Game 6 Thu April 28 Dallas at Portland 9:30 p.m. CT TXA 21 TNT
Game 7 * Sat April 30 Portland at Dallas TBD TBD TNT