MyDallasMavs: First Round- Mavs vs Portland: Game 2

The Mavs stepped onto the court Tuesday night to face the Portland Trailblazers a second time in the AAC, hoping to move 2-0 in the series before heading to the Rose Garden. After bringing the same energy they showed in the first game, Dallas was successful and got the win 101-89.

Roddy sat out again this game with his sprained foot; however, Dallas' starting lineup remained unchanged from last game.

The Mavericks struggled early on in the first quarter as the Blazers already doubled the Mavs' points. Wesley Matthews and Jason Terry hit heads while going for a loose ball, sending Matthews to the lock room with a forehead contusion. Although Stojakovic attacked from beyond the arc and led Dallas on a 10-2 run to get them back into the game, Aldridge and Wallace continued to put up a fight as they helped give Portland the 24-22 lead at the end of the first.

In the start of the second quarter, Stojakovic and Batum kept trading baskets on each end until Kidd and Nowitzki took control as they did in game 1, temporarily putting the Mavs in front. Matthews came back into the game for Portland and teamed up with Aldridge to give their team the edge soon after Mavs' Tyson Chandler got a technical foul call for arguing with officials. Despite the hectic quarter, the quarter ended with Dallas down just 52-50.

The leading scorers at the half were Aldridge with 16 points and Nowitzki with 14 (despite shooting just 3-10). The Blazers outshot the Mavs at the half, 51.3%-45.0%.

In the start of the third quarter, Kidd hit several consecutive baskets as his shot from 3-point range became hot just like in game 1. Kidd continued to sink shots while Dirk was having trouble finding the bottom of the net. The Mavericks' defense stepped up putting stops on the Blazers while Peja came in to help with his great perimeter shooting to hold off Portland. But despite Dallas' efforts, the Blazers came back to trail by just one, 73-72, at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Dallas continued their efforts to pull away with the lead as Dirk and Peja continued to fire shots while Barea used his quickness to the basket and took advantage with his ability to draw quick fouls. You then got the sense of deja vu as Dirk carried the offense just like he did in game 1's fourth quarter. He scored 11 straight points to put the Mavs up by as much as 13, and locked on to the lead to eventually win it 101-89.

Nowitzki finished with 33 points, scoring 14 of them in the fourth quarter. With that, he moved past Bill Russell for 25th on the NBA's all-time playoffs scoring list. Peja tied his postseason career-high with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Kidd racked up 18 points and 8 assists while Terry added 10 points to make it 4 Mavs in double-figures.

For the Blazers, Aldridge led 5 Blazers in double-figures with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Wallace and Andre Miller both racked up 18 points a piece while Matthews had 13 and Batum added 10.

Dallas has the advantage of being equipped with an outstanding bench. Since their team is filled with quite a lot of older players, they can still get the opportunity to rest while their bench does a quality job of keeping their team in the game. With this being said, Dallas' bench outscored Portland's, 39-11.

The Mavericks were able to commit just six turnovers (zero in the second half), tying their franchise record and the fewest ever in a playoff game.

The Mavericks are relieved to travel to the Rose Garden with the 2-0 series lead, but it only gets tougher from here. Dallas will look for the win in Portland on Thursday night, something they've failed to do twice in the regular season.

**Game 3 will air on TNT Thursday night at 10:30pm ET.