No need to blame the referees. The Mavericks simply wanted it more than us, outplayed us, out-coached us (let the arguments begin) and worked harder on the court. The Mavs earned a 2-0 lead in this playoff series, fairly easily beating the Blazers, 101-89.
The Mavs were led by Dirk Nowitzki with 33 points, Jason Kidd (again dominating the Blazers) with 18, and the seemingly unguarded Peja Stojakovic with 21 points. For the Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24, Crash Wallace and Andre Miller with 18 points, and Batum scored 10.
The Mavs have held serve, but it can't help but feel like they're in complete control of this series. They earned the win tonight, and the Blazers earned a loss. It's tough not to feel negative at this point. It will be a long couple of days as the Blazer players and coaching staff look within, and try to find answers. They'll take to the court in Portland this Thursday, at 7:30pm.
Box score is here, stay tuned for Dave later. -- Tim