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Mavericks visit Blazers for crucial Game 3

Apr 21, 2011 - 2:51 PM (Sports Network) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope a shift in scenery to the Pacific Northwest can get them back into their Western Conference quarterfinals set with the Dallas Mavericks.

The third-seeded Mavs held serve on their homecourt, taking a 2-0 series edge on Tuesday when Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 33 points, including the club's last 11, carrying the Mavericks to a 101-89 victory.

Dallas also received 21 points off the bench from Peja Stojakovic and 18 from Jason Kidd to take a 2-0 series lead after winning the opener, 89-81, on Saturday. Jason Terry also scored in double figures off the bench with 10 as the Mavs' reserves outscored the Blazers' 39-11.

The sharp-shooting Stojakovic nailed 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, including two key threes in the fourth quarter.

"They did a lot of switching on the pick-and-rolls," Stojakovic said. "Dirk was always getting a mismatch, so they doubled on him and I was able to get open and was able to make those shots."

"We know this is a good three-point shooting team," Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan added. "We didn't double-team as much because of the three-ball. The basketball is getting to the paint, which is forcing the defense to collapse, and we're losing these guys on the three-point line."

LaMarcus Aldridge ended with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, while Gerald Wallace and Andre Miller each scored 18 for Portland in Game 2.

"We couldn't execute down the stretch, and we've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Wallace said. "We're getting unforced turnovers at crucial points of the game which is giving them momentum."

Portland swingman Brandon Roy, who is struggling with balky knees, continues to struggle and played just under eight minutes without scoring in Game 2.

McMillan was fined $35,000 by the NBA for criticizing officials following a 29-13 free-throw attempt discrepancy in favor of the Mavericks over the weekend and the posturing appeared to pay off, as Portland actually shot one more free throw (27-26) on Tuesday. But, the Blazers were done in by a fourth quarter that saw them make just four field goals and commit six turnovers. Dallas turned the ball over just six times in the entire game.

"We know that they (Portland) are a very good home team so we wanted to hold home court here and go up there with a 2-0 lead," Nowitzki said. "But this series is far from over. They play well at home, they make shots, and they play tough D so we've got to be prepared for a tough game on Thursday."

The Mavericks split four meetings with Portland in the regular season.

Portland and Dallas have met in the playoffs three times previously, with the Trail Blazers winning two of the three series. The last time these two squads met in the playoffs was in 2003.

Game 4 of the set will also be in Rip City on Saturday.