New Orleans Hornets 99, Dallas Mavericks 94

by PegNews wire

The Dallas Mavericks went quietly and without much fuss Tuesday night, losing 99-94 to the Hornets in New Orleans in the final game of their disappointing first round series. It was the second straight first-round exit for the Mavericks, who also suffered the biggest upset in NBA history last year against the Golden State Warriors.

The Mavericks will have to work on their toughness, inside game in the off-season

Since going up 2-0 on the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Championships, Dallas has gone just 3-12, and is in danger of losing head coach Avery Johnson.

The Mavericks got some good-but-not-great performances from their players, but the Hornets were always one better. Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting. Dirk added 13 rebounds and 6 assists.

No other Maverick scored more than 14 points, although several scored in the lower double digits. Jason Kidd looked significantly better than the previous game, and posted 14 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, along with zero turnovers. Jason Terry had 13 points and 9 assists, while Josh Howard continued to disappoint, putting up just 12 points and 9 rebounds.

Dallas' bench played well, with Brandon Bass, Jerry Stackhouse and Devon George all scoring 11 points apiece.

Unfortunately for the Mavs, they were once again unable to overcome a terrific individual performance from Chris Paul. As did they with Dwayne Wade and Baron Davis, Dallas could not contain Paul or fellow Maverick-killer David West. Paul finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists, with zero turnovers and even a pair of steals for good measure. West was the lucky benefactor of many of those 15 assists, putting up 25 points on efficient 10-of-17 shooting.

Posted by Todd M.