MyDallasMavs: First Round- Mavs vs Portland: Game 1

It is said that the Mavericks have the most pressure on them in the playoffs, but the pressure didn't get to them in game one as they fought their way to a hard-earned 89-81 win behind their two veterans Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd.

Roddy Beaubois sat out this game after he sprained his left foot in Wednesday nights game against the Hornets. When he will return is not yet known. DeShawn Stevenson took Roddy's place in the starting line-up.

Tyson Chandler's defense and DeShawn Stevenson's timely scoring is what pushed the Mavs to an early lead. Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge teamed up to help Portland attain the lead. Jason Terry acquired two quick fouls and Aldridge was unstoppable, scoring 11 first-quarter points. This is when Jason Kidd's shot became hot and the Mavs were trailing just 22-21 at the end of the first.

The second quarter started much differently as Peja's great shooting led the Mavs to a 12-3 run. The Dallas defense started to pick up and guard Aldridge which in turn forced Portland to rely on Andre Miller. Despite Miller's buckets, the Mavs went on a 12-4 run to end the half with the 47-37 lead.

Kidd scored 3 of 5 from beyond the arc to total 11 points in the first half while Aldridge had 13 in which just 2 were scored in the second. The Mavs outshot the Blazers in the first half, 47.4% to 46.9%.

The Mavs had a slow start to the third quarter after the Blazers went on a 6-0 run to keep them in the game. Kidd continued to make shots from 3-point range but Aldridge didn't give up, trying to keep his team in the game. Mavs took a 61-57 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Blazers tied the game at 61. Later on, Fernandez scored an and-1, giving the Blazers the lead. Dallas then missed 10 straight shots as they trailed by 6. Kidd finally ended the Blazers run as he led the Mavs to a 6-0 run. Down the line, Dirk hit a couple of free throws, a 3-pointer, and an and-1 to put Dallas up by 4 with just 3 minutes to go. Dirk scored 12 straight points to go along with Terry's free throws as the Mavs took an 82-78 lead with less than 2 minutes to go. Kidd hit another 3-pointer to give him his playoff career high of five 3-pointers, to put them up 85-78 with less than 30 seconds left in the game. But it was Batum's clutch 3-pointer that made it a 4-point game with 22 seconds to go. Terry headed back to the line before Batum missed a 3-pointer leading to 2 more free throws from Dirk to finish the game 89-81.

Dirk made an appearance at the free throw line plenty of times in the fourth where he went 13 for 13. Despite shooting just 7-20 from the field, he scored 18 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and also had 10 rebounds. Kidd had 24 points as he went 6 for 10 from beyond the arc. Terry was the only other Mavericks in double-figures with 10 points off the bench.

Aldridge led the Blazers with 27 points, Miller had 18 and Batum added 14.

Despite the loss, Portland outshot the Mavs 46.1% to 40.9%, out-rebounded them 40-39, and outscored Dallas in the pain, 46-18.

Dallas has a great bench as they normally get 40+ points out of them, but tonight this win was all thanks to their veterans-Nowitzki and Kidd. In every game there is an X-factor, and tonight, Kidd was it. He was unstoppable from 3-point range which is really what the Mavericks needed.

Next, the Mavs will get ready for game 2 Tuesday night at the AAC and hopefully bring the same performance they showed in game 1. They look to move to 2-0 in the series before they travel to Portland to face the Blazers at the Rose Garden.

Just like Dirk said, "this is a big win, but this game means nothing if you lose game 2."

**Game 2 will air Tuesday at 9:30pm ET on TNT.