Swamigp’s Weblog

Chris Paul wasn’t about to get on a plane for Dallas, instead he was determined to send the Mavericks home alone. He did just that. Dallas goes on vacation because of CP3’s triple double: 24 points, 11 in the final quarter, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing 15 assists as well as turning the ball over, um, 0 times. David West added 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists as the Hornets led most of the game in a 99-94 victory. New Orleans led by as much as 17 points in the second half, disrupting Dallas’s pace while setting their own. Paul had 10 of his assists in the first half, as his team led by 15 at the break. Jannero Pargo added 17 points off the bench, 9 coming in a second quarter in which New Orleans stretched their margin and set the tempo for the second half of play. Tyson Chandler scored 10 points to go with 14 rebounds, snatching 7 offensive. CP3 got his triple double on a pivotal offensive rebound off his own miss with 6 seconds left. With the Hornets only up 3 at the time of the rebound, Peja Stojakovic, one of the best free throw shooter in NBA history, came to line to try an put the game and the series away. He calmly knocked down both free throws, making it a five point game, eventually sending New Orleans into celebration.

Dallas suffered another first round blow, losing 4-1 in this series after the debacle in last years’ playoffs. In this 5th and final game, the Mavs produced seven players in double figures in scoring with Dirk Nowitzki leading the bunch with 22 points while shooting only 8-21 from the floor. No one else scored over 14 points, as three bench players, Jerry Stackhouse, Brandon Bass and Deaven George chipped in 11 points apiece. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry rounded out the double digit scoring for Dallas with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Bass gave them a great lift off the bench by grabbing 9 rebounds, 6 offensive, giving them extra chances to claw back into the game. They couldn’t overcome the deficit and the Hornets as Dallas struggled shooting the ball all night long, shooting 42% for the entirety.

The Mavericks came back from a 10 point margin with under two minutes left. They scored 7 straight points to get within three with 33 seconds left. Dallas couldn’t get the rebound off a miss by Paul as it was batted back to the star point guard, icing the game.

Paul didn’t disappoint in his first playoff appearance, averaging 24 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds and just 1 turnover per game. West was tremendous as well averaging 22 points a game throughout the series. Jannero Pargo gave them a much needed lift off the bench as the backup point guard, averaging 14 points a game. The series was dominated by Paul though, as he carved through Dallas’s defense all series long and continued his unselfish play.