Mavs sweep, Lakers' Jackson exits

Phil Jackson walked off the court with a tight smile, shaking hands and accepting congratulations as he has after so many series-ending playoff games.

Never like this, though.

His team didn't win; it was crushed, swept.

And he wasn't just heading to the offseason - he's calling it a career, ending the most successful run by any coach in NBA history.

Jason Terry and the Dallas Mavericks ended Jackson's tenure, and the Los Angeles Lakers' reign as two-time champions, with a 122-86 victory Sunday. After two tight finishes and another game that was relatively close, the Mavs turned this one into a rout in the second quarter.

With Terry leading the way, Dallas hit a barrage of three-pointers to go ahead by 24 points at halftime. When Terry made treys on consecutive possessions early in the third quarter, Los Angeles knew it wasn't going to come back in this game or the series.

Things got ugly early in the fourth quarter, with vicious, frustration-fueled cheap shots by Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum getting them ejected 45 seconds apart. But at game's end, Dallas coaches, players and team owner Mark Cuban lined up to bid farewell to the coach they call the Zen Master.

"It's been a wonderful run," Jackson said.

The 65-year-old Jackson has retired before, but he insists it's for good this time. While he goes out with the sour taste of his first sweep in 21 postseasons, and his second-widest margin of defeat, it can't override all the sweet days.

A Hall of Famer since 2007, he leaves with a record 11 titles, and only 10 series losses. Take away Red Auerbach, who won nine championships, and Jackson won more titles than any two coaches combined. He won six championships with Michael Jordan, three with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, and the last two with Bryant leading the way.

"I grew up under him" Bryant said. "The way I approach things, the way I think about things - not only basketball, life in general - comes from him. It's a little weird for me to think of what next year is going to be like."

Assistant Brian Shaw, a former Lakers player, is considered likely to take over.

"We all know they always come back and get themselves back in the race," Jackson said. "The Lakers are going to survive."

For Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs, clearing this hurdle sets them up for a chance to redeem themselves for flopping during the 2006 NBA Finals and for flaming out in every postseason since.

"The job is not finished," said Terry, who tied a playoff record with nine three-pointers. Dallas matched NBA postseason marks with 11 treys in the first half and 20 for the game.

"We've been doing it by committee all year long," said Nowitzki, who scored 17 points, his fewest this postseason.

Nowitzki was still in the game in the fourth quarter and took the blindside blow that led to Odom's ejection. Then J.J. Barea took a Bynum elbow after releasing a layup. Fans threw things toward the court as Bynum took off his jersey and was escorted to the locker room by Ron Artest.

NBA Playoffs: Roy Lifts Blazers to Game 4 Comeback

As comebacks go, this one was epic.

In more ways than one.

Brandon Roy(notes) bounced back from a rough start to Portland's first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks with 24 points, and the Trail Blazers rallied from a 23-point third-quarter deficit to tie the series at two games apiece with a thrilling 84-82 victory over the Mavs on Saturday in Portland.

The series shifts back to Dallas for Game 5, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 25.

Portland's shooting was miserable in the third quarter, as the Blazers failed to hit a field goal until LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) connected on a hook shot with 1:31 left.

Portland trailed 67-44 after Peja Stojakovic's(notes) 3-pointer with 1:15 left in the third, but the Blazers cut the deficit to 18 entering the fourth, Roy's 3-pointer with 1 second left in the quarter making the score 67-49.

Roy was just getting started at that point.

The guard, who struggled mightily in the first two games of the series and voiced his frustration after playing less than eight minutes in Game 2, scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead Portland's comeback.

Roy scored Portland's final eight points of the game, converting a 4-point play after he was fouled by Shawn Marion(notes) on a 3-pointer with 1:06 remaining. He hit the free throw to tie the score at 82, and after Jason Terry(notes) missed a 3-point attempt at the other end, Roy drove to the hoop, pulled up over Marion and banked in a shot off the glass from just inside the free-throw line for the game-winning basket with 39.2 seconds left.

Jason Kidd(notes) and Terry each had 3-point attempts for Dallas in the final 30 seconds, Terry's shot at the buzzer just missing to preserve the win for Portland.

After Terry's miss, Roy was swarmed by his teammates and cheered loudly by the Rose Garden crowd. He's battled an up-and-down stretch since returning to the team on February 23 after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both knees in January, his struggles coming to a head after Game 2 in Dallas, when Roy logged less than eight minutes of playing time and went 0-for-1 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free-throw line in the Mavericks' 101-89 victory.

A frustrated Roy said afterward he was hurt and disappointed over not being used more in the game. The next day, he apologized to teammates for putting himself ahead of the team, and Roy went out and scored 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench to help Portland win Game 3, 97-92.

If his performance in Game 3 seemed to be a comeback of sorts for Roy, it was nothing compared with what he did in Game 4.

Roy's late outburst Saturday helped the Blazers become just the third team since the shot clock was introduced in 1954 to win a playoff game after trailing by 18 points or more entering the fourth quarter.

The Blazers had hit just three field goals in the third quarter, as Dallas took what appeared to be an insurmountable lead by starting the second half with a 27-6 run. The Rose Garden crowd, loud and boisterous throughout the first half, was virtually silent at that point, but after missing their first 15 field-goal attempts and scoring just seven points in the first 10:30 of the quarter, the Blazers tallied seven more points in the final 1:30, showing a little bit of life heading into the fourth.

A 10-2 Portland run got the Blazers within nine at 75-66 with 5:39 remaining, and after a pair of Dirk Nowitzki(notes) free throws, Portland rattled off a 12-2 run to make it 80-78 Dallas with 1:36 left on a jump shot by Roy.

Marion scored at the other end to put the Mavericks back up by four at 82-78, then Roy scored the game's final six points to give Portland the victory.

Roy went 9-for-13 from the field, and also had four rebounds and five assists for the Blazers. After going a combined 1-for-8 from the field in the first two games of the series, Roy has hit 65 percent (15-for-23) from the field combined in Games 3 and 4.

Aldridge had 18 points, Andre Miller(notes) scored 14 and Gerald Wallace(notes) had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Nowitzki led Dallas with 20 points, as the Mavericks went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line compared with 22-for-23 by the Blazers. Terry had 13 points and Marion 12 for the Mavs.

(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers

(All times Eastern)

Game 1: Dallas 89, Portland 81

Game 2: Dallas 101, Portland 89

Game 3: Portland 97, Dallas 92

Game 4: Portland 84, Dallas 82

Game 5: Monday, April 25 — Portland at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

Game 6: Thursday, April 28 — Dallas at Portland, 10 p.m.

Game 7: Saturday, April 30 — Portland at Dallas*, TBD

Mavs can't answer Blazers' 4th-quarter surge in 97-92 Game 3 loss

The Mavericks knew this wasn’t going to be easy, and Game 3 left no doubt about just how tough this first-round playoff series will be.

They lost a rugged, foul-filled game, 97-92, Thursday night at the Rose Garden, reducing their lead in the best-of-7 first-round series to 2-1.

The Mavericks had been neck-and-neck with the Blazers throughout until a 21-5 Portland spree bridging the third and fourth quarters put the Blazers in control.

The Mavericks were trying to take a commanding 3-0 lead but couldn’t contain an array of Blazers, including reserve Brandon Roy, who had been a forgotten man in the series but had 16 crucial points.

The Mavericks’ problems started late in the third quarter when they saw a three-point lead turn into a three-point deficit in the last 2:05.

The Blazers then started the fourth quarter with a 12-2 sprint that put them ahead, 87-74, with less than eight minutes to go.

Shortly after the time that the Mavericks were getting hit with the Blazers’ best shot, owner Mark Cuban got into it with some Portland fans seated near the Mavericks’ bench during a timeout with 6:56 left.

The incident did not appear to be serious.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks fought back slowly and when J.J. Barea scooped in a layup with 2:35 to go, the Mavericks were within 93-87.

But LaMarcus Aldridge, who had another strong game, hit a jumper with 2:20 showing to push the Blazers’ lead back to eight.

The Mavericks still made the Blazers sweat down the stretch. Jason Kidd hit a jumper that was ruled a 2-pointer because his toe was a fraction of an inch on the 3-point arc with 12.9 seconds to go.

That shot made it 95-92, and after the Blazers had trouble getting the ball in and had to call two timeouts, they finally inbounded and Andre Miller hit two free throws with 9.6 seconds left to clinch it.

It ended what had been a thrilling game with neither team ever gaining a real foothold until the Blazers inched out early in the fourth quarter.

Jason Terry helped keep the Mavericks in striking distance with 29 points. Dirk Nowitzki had 25, but no other Maverick was in double figures.

The Blazers had a few more helpers than the Mavericks did. The Mavericks had the score tied in the early going. The only problem is that they were tied with Wesley Matthews, 16-16.

The rest of the Blazers had added just six points at that stage.

The Mavericks were fighting some foul trouble in the first half. Tyson Chandler had missed the Mavericks’ last game at the Rose Garden, which came late in the regular season, with a sore back.

He missed most of the first half in this one, too, with three fouls. He played less than nine first-half minutes.

The Mavericks trailed by as many as nine points in the first quarter, largely because their turnover bug resurfaced. They had six giveaways in the first quarter.

Their rally came courtesy of their bench. Terry had 17 first-half points and Peja Stojakovic and Brendan Haywood — who did a nice job filling in for Chandler — also had solid contributions.

The Mavericks shot 60 percent in the first half and were only down, 54-52, at halftime.

Both teams seemed to know that the 24 minutes after halftime were going to determine whether this series was effectively over or whether it was going to be time to get the hard hats.

The Mavericks got a break when Aldridge knocked down a shot that cut the Mavericks’ lead to 57-56 less than three minutes into the third frame.

At the next timeout, which wasn’t until under three minutes remained in the quarter, the referees reviewed the shot and ruled that it came after the shot clock.

Even so, the Mavericks lost some momentum late in the quarter. Up 69-66, they were outscored 9-3 in the final 2:05 of the third to fall behind 75-72 going into the final 12 minutes.

Tough spots

Eddie Sefko ranks the toughest places to play in the NBA for visiting teams.

Team Comment

Utah Even when the Jazz is bad, the fans are good.

Denver Not the loudest place, but the altitude always is a factor.

Boston Lots of history and the ghosts seem to steal rebounds.

Golden State That fan base doesn’t need much to get wild and crazy.

Portland Loud and exuberant, they also usually keep things classy.