Dirk Nowitzki: Performance Breakdown of the Western Conference Quarter-Finals (Part 2)
Game-5: Dallas Mavericks 93 – Portland Trail Blazers 82
The Portland Trail Blazers, who shocked the Dallas Mavericks in previous two games and tied the series 2-2, tipped off belligerently in game-5 as well and outperformed the Mavs by 20-15 in the first quarter.
However, this time the Mavs were up to the task. They jumped back in the game by securing the second quarter of the game, leading the Blazers by 29-23 at the halftime. After the break, Dirk Nowitzki appeared on the scene and set
the court ablaze with 11 points during the third quarter.
On the back of his efforts, the Mavs were finally able to make the break through and made a 15-5 run to break the game. The rally pushed the Mavericks advantage to 76-62 at the close of the third. The Mavs then held the Trail Blazers
in the final 12 minutes of the game and claimed their third victory of the series by 93-82.
Up till game-5 in the first round, Nowitzki scored at an average of 26.2 points in each game. On the night, Nowitzki led the Mavs from the front, as he punched 25 points along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Dirk logged in for 37 minutes and during the period, he went eight of 18 from the field and hit nine of 11 free throws.
Game-6: Dallas Mavericks 103 – Portland Trail Blazers 96
In Game-6, Dallas Mavericks shook off the slow start and outplayed the Portland Trail Blazers 33-16 in the second quarter. Dirk Nowitzki led the rally in the second frame and hit 13 of his 33 points during the period that boosted
the Mavs lead to 52-43 lead at the close of the first half.
The Mavs used another solid quarter after the break and tightened their grip on the game. However, they were tested again by the Trail Blazers in the final quarter. The Trail Blazers used a 10-1 run that narrowed the gap down.
However, Dirk and company quickly nipped their surge with some quick possessions. Nowitzki dominated the Blazers from the paint during the crunch time and thumped eight points from the charity stripe.
The Mavs eventually defeated the Blazers 103-96 and also sealed the best of the seven game series in their favour.
After clinching the series 4-2 a jubilant Nowitzki said, "It's definitely big for our confidence to win a road game in the playoffs. We haven't done it for a while so we definitely needed one. In this league, if you have a chance
to close out a team, you always want to go for it.
"We talked about it before the game, that this was kind of our Game 7. We didn't want to play again on Saturday."
Nowitzki once again spearheaded the Mavs with his game-high 33 points and 11 rebounds, together with four assists and blocked one shot too. During his 39 minutes stay, Dirk shot 11 of 17 field goals. The veteran was also outstanding
from the charity stripe as he shot 100 percent from the paint (11 of 11).
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