Fallen Heroes

There's no shortage of critics of Dirk Nowitzki today, although TrueHoop has the best suggestion for the German star: refuse to accept the MVP award.

But this is not the 'biggest upset in NBA history.' Dallas won 67 games by healthy for most of the season (each of Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier, and Devin Harris played in 70+ games; Jerry Stackhouse played in 67), in a League that is injury-producing, and that has a regular season that is (a) too long and (b) means very little.

Golden State, on the other hand, survived a long season despite Baron Davis' knee surgery in February, and a major trade. (Most similar player to Davis, by the way (according to Basketball Reference), is former Knick Ray Williams.)

The Warriors appear to be peaking at the right time, are better than their record (42-40), and possess a clear home court edge. With neither the Rockets nor the Jazz in possession of a major low-post threat (a la Tim Duncan), there's no reason think the Nellie-ride will end soon.

Finally, on a personal note, as a three-time alum of the Nelson/Sanders Basketball Camp in Durham, NH, congratulations to Don Nelson.

Escape Artists

In a game that lived up to its billing, Dallas escaped Game 5 and will live to get back to Oakland on Thursday. With Baron Davis having made a scrambling 24-footer to extend Golden State's lead to 9 (112-103) with 3:20 left, the Mavericks -- and especially presumptive MVP Dirk Nowitzki -- stared into the abyss. But Dirk put the Mavs on his back, and banged consecutive three-pointers to cut the lead to 3, and the Mavs ended up closing the game out on a 15-0 run.

The Warriors, having played 45 minutes of mistake-filled (Reggie Miller counted 6 missed layups in the first half) basketball, had nonetheless stormed back from a 21-point deficit after halftime. But in the last three minutes, the Warriors tightened up and had multiple empty possessions when Dallas (by running a double-team at Davis) forced the other players to make plays. The end came when Jason Richardson turned down an open 15-footer with about 10 on the shot clock; the Warriors ended up getting a poor Mickael Pietrus jumper from the corner with about 31 second left, and the game was over.

The pressure now shifts to Warriors -- to some extent -- as the teams prepare for Game Six.