Over the next couple of weeks, Mavs Moneyball is trying to determine the best Mavericks playoff game since 2000. Here's our homepage, with every game, seed and matchup. Your votes are being recorded below!
(4) 2011 semifinals, Game 4 vs. Lakers
On that night in Dallas, with Phil Jackson coaching his final game and Kobe Bryant making his final trip past the first round, with a threepeat Lakers dynasty one loss away from it all falling off, Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic could have been Los Angeles singlehandedly.
They hit FIFTEEN of SIXTEEN three-pointers in the blowout win that was over in the second quarter. DeShawn Stevenson, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea and Brian Cardinal each added one more to total 20 makes for the game. That tied an NBA record, which is all sorts of absurd.
The greatest part was the "hey, hey, hey, goodbye," chants as the clock hit 1:00 -- deserved after two flagrant fouls from Los Angeles in the second half -- and then deafening cheers as the final seconds ticked off.
-Tim
(12) 2011 Western Conference Finals, Game 4 vs. Oklahoma City
At some point in the fourth quarter, I thought, "Oh, well, tied 2-2 with three to go isn't bad." I'm pretty sure we all did. Down by 10 with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter isn't mess-around-and-get-a-W time. It's if-you-win-this-it's-one-of-the-greatest-playoff-comebacks-ever time.
They won it. It's one of the greatest playoff comebacks ever. It's overshadowed by an equally incredible Game 2 in the following NBA Finals and didn't have the pressure: if Dallas had lost, they would have still been favored for the series' final three games. But it's just as incredible that the Mavericks did what they did.
Those shots Dirk made in the final couple fourth quarter minutes -- all back-to-back, all shots that had to go in or the comeback was done -- are some of the toughest consecutive makes I've ever seen. Kobe Bryant probably has a series of three or four consecutive makes that can rival that. Tracy McGrady's nuclear detonation that one time against the Spurs tops this, sure. But to win a game in the Western Conference Finals, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who essentially hit four straight HORSE trick shots.
-Tim