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I always say Twitter is the best sports bar on the planet, if you're able to follow along with the madness. And it's never better than when all the people you follow are watching the same event at the same time. With so many enormous playoff implications, the eyes of the NBA were on the Dallas Mavericks facing the Utah Jazz.
It was a well-fought game, with the Mavericks and Jazz exchanging blows for most of the first half. Dallas eventually built up a 12 point lead in the third quarter before letting the Jazz trim it all the way down to two points. A Wes Matthews three broke a scoring slump for the Mavericks and Dallas took a 7 point lead into the final frame. Though there were the typical Maverick late game hijinks, Utah never got closer than 6 points and Dallas was able to clinch a playoff spot with a 101-92 victory.
With a game this bananas, it's hard to know where to start on social media, so let's simply go with the Dallas Maverick Alpha and Omega, Dirk Nowitzki, who turned back the clock with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Dirk was on fire against the Jazz and it opened the entire offense:
Jazz try hedging Dirk p&rs, fail. Jazz try switching Dirk p&rs, fail. Jazz try cheating off weakside wings on Dirk p&rs, fail. Jazz try
— Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) April 12, 2016
Oh, and did we mention Dirk became a defensive stalwart, again?
Jeff Withey blocked by Dirk, forced to retire https://t.co/jsXWiBDNh8
— Kirk (@KirkSeriousFace) April 12, 2016
As per the usual, the German had something fantastic to say about the block post game.
"I just timed it real good. It helped that it was a white guy." -- Dirk on his block of Jeff Withey
— Dwain Price (@DwainPrice) April 12, 2016
But the block didn't seal the game for Dallas, rather, it was a dunk from Justin Anderson with 30 seconds left. If you were lucky enough to hear the call, Mark Followill almost lost his mind too.
SIMBA WITH THE HUGE GAME SEALING DUNK https://t.co/j2SRACa6Nu
— Kirk (@KirkSeriousFace) April 12, 2016
IT IS TIME pic.twitter.com/YGnkSIVjNq
— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) April 12, 2016
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) April 12, 2016
Of course, after the dunk and the final buzzer, euphoria took over. The Mavericks actually MADE THE PLAYOFFS.
PLAYOFFS BABY pic.twitter.com/ag2m4XWpFi
— Kaitlyn Kravik (@kaitlynkravik) April 12, 2016
when u make the playoffs pic.twitter.com/ziEpIcTKpK
— jack (@jackhaveitall) April 12, 2016
.@swish41 Forever. We love you dude. pic.twitter.com/xGYvpZeyrP
— Kirk (@KirkSeriousFace) April 12, 2016
Getting into the playoffs like pic.twitter.com/AUBquVLe91
— KL Chouinard (@KLChouinard) April 12, 2016
When you make the playoffs for the fifteenth time in sixteen years: pic.twitter.com/4k1UNbOFiu
— SB Nation (@SBNation) April 12, 2016
But it wasn't just the fans. The Mavericks seem to be pretty pumped too:
PLAYOFFS!!!
— PÎÊRRĘ (@JaValeMcGee34) April 12, 2016
Playoffs as a Rook! Let's Gooooo
— Justin Anderson (@JusAnderson1) April 12, 2016
While the immediate aftermath was a delight, the reflections were pretty fantastic too:
It's almost like Rondo deserves a playoff share. https://t.co/yWwRfoALLJ
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 12, 2016
On 3/27, DAL lost by 22 to SAC to drop to 35-38 and lost C. Parsons for year. Now they have a ~7% at the No. 5 seed. pic.twitter.com/DgFS0YYOiV
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) April 12, 2016
when you win 8 of 9 after losing 10 of 12 to make the playoffs pic.twitter.com/7KLQJfTqiw
— Austin (@garooya) April 12, 2016
#MavsNation this morning like... pic.twitter.com/wm1WhSzxAG
— Tamara Jolee (@TamaraJolee) April 12, 2016
Most national media members had the Mavericks out of the playoffs to start this season (something they quickly regretted).
— Jared Thigpen (@jared_thigpen) April 12, 2016
Nope, this team overcame everything once again. LET'S GO MAVERICKS.