I admit, I gave up.
When Devin Harris zipped a pass behind Dirk Nowtizki and out of bounds for a turnover, it looked bleaked. The Mavs, without injured point guard Rajon Rondo, trailed 86-70 early in the fourth quarter and there was zero intensity - or hope - in American Airlines Center.
I predicted a 2-5 record through this rough stretch without Rondo, and 1-2 seemed a certainty.
But then the NBA remembered to be the NBA, Dirk flashed some vintage Dirk and the Mavericks produced a thrilling, unlikely rally to get their best win of the season. You don’t rally from down 16 in the fourth quarter very often, and even more rare do you erase an 11-point deficit in the final two minutes.
But that’s exactly what the Mavs did. They obviously got some bone-headed help from the Blazers, but they didn’t quit.
Harris and Parsons hit 3-pointers to trim the margin to five in an instant. Harris then stole the ball, fed Monta Ellis for a layup that sent those fans that hadn’t already left AAC the edge of their seats. After a Portland miss, Nowitzki capped a crazy sequence of missed shots and offensive rebounds with a straightaway triple that forced overtime.
In overtime Parsons scored 10 points and the Blazers played a like a gutted team stunned to have given away a game. The 111-101 win was the best of the year because it was without Rondo, included an epic rally and came against one of the West’s best.
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Said head coach Rick Carlisle after the game, “Earning that win is one of the best wins we've had in the seven years I've been here, if you look at all the circumstances of the game.”
The Mavs will have more wins this season, perhaps even starting tonight against the Clippers. But they’ll be hard-pressed to produce a thrilling, unlikely one.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
