Mavs, Dirk show guts in Game 4 win vs. Nuggets News New Jersey Nets

At least 90 percent of the time here's what happens when a team is down 0-3 and playing Game 4 at home: They'll play hard for 40 minutes or so, then they'll realize that if they should win the game, they'll have to play again in an unfriendly city and probably lose there in front of an arena full of hysterical fans.

So, to save themselves further hassle and embarrassment, they'll come up soft and empty in the clutch.

This is precisely what happened earlier Monday as the Cavs swept the Hawks.

But the Mavs refused to follow the time-honored pattern. Instead of folding, they rose to the occasion and forced a Game 5.

The Mavs had heroes galore:

Foremost among these was Dirk Nowitzki, who hit clutch shots and forced his defenders to foul him in the waning minutes. Nowitzki totally buried Kenyon Martin in iso situations, shooting 6-for-9 and totaling 15 (of his game-high 44) points in man-to-man confrontations against K-Mart's ineffective defensive efforts. Plus, another 10 in the flow of the Mavs' offense.

Josh Howard tallied 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds despite his sore ankles. His offensive production more than compensated for the dumb foul he committed on Carmelo Anthony a full 25 feet from the rim — with 31 seconds remaining — that kept the Nuggets' hopes alive.

Jason Kidd ran the show with his usual efficiency and aplomb.

J.J. Barea provided some juice off the bench, particularly with his speedy drives to the basket.

Brandon Bass hit some shots and made a huge defensive play when he blocked Anthony's layup attempt in the last minute of play.

2009 NBA playoffs

Monday's games

Cavaliers 84, Hawks 74 (Cavs 4-0)
Mavs 119, Nuggets 117 (Nuggets 3-1)

Sunday's games

Rockets 99, Lakers 87 (Tied 2-2)
Celtics 95, Magic 94 (Tied 2-2)

FOXSports.com analysis

Playoff results, schedule
2009 NBA Playoff Central
Rosen: Mavs show guts in Game 4
Hill: Teams overcoming adversity
Rosen: Lakers a no-show in Game 4
Rosen: Mavs can't avoid 3-0 hole
Rosen: Suspensions of disbelief

Video

Postgame: Nuggets-Mavs, Game 4
Postgame: Cavaliers-Hawks, Game 4

Photos

Monday's action | Sunday

Antoine Wright still had trouble fouling Anthony: Why wasn't he nailed with a personal foul when he locked 'Melo's arm and wouldn't let go? This was the play, remember, when Anthony received a tech after he tried to escape from Wright's clutches with a failing, open-handed slap that made no contact. But Wright did drop a critical jumper in the endgame.

Jason Terry's usually reliable shooting was very erratic — 3-for-7 for 12 points — but he occasionally played surprisingly good defense.

Kidd, Howard and Nowitzki totaled 30 rebounds, only four fewer than all of the visitors managed.

For much of the game, however, the Mavs' baseline rotations were awful. And blame their lack of court balance and their collective brain-lock for Denver's scoring a trio of easy buckets on two run-outs by Anthony and one by J.R. Smith.

But they played with heart, and that's what put them over the top.

Denver also had several heroes:

Anthony registered 41 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and five steals. Plus, he defended Nowitzki much better than any of his teammates. In iso situations, Nowitzki was 1-for-1 against 'Melo's defense, scored two more points from the stripe, dropped a dime on a cutting Barea but was also hounded into committing three turnovers.

Chancey Billups was repeatedly able to take J-Kidd to the hole.

J.R. Smith connected on several important jumpers just before the shot clock detonated.

Dahntay Jones hustled, shot and defended well.

But the Nuggets also had plenty of goats:

K-Mart was awful at both ends of the court — 1-for-4, two points, only two rebounds and atrocious defense against Nowitzki. In fact, Martin's sixth foul came on the game-winning play when he was suckered by one of Nowitzki's standard head fakes.

Nene missed several semi-complicated layups, and half of the 10 uncomplicated free throws he attempted. Nor did he do a consistent job of closing the middle on defense.

Anthony Carter was schooled by Barea.

Linas Kleiza looked stiff and clunky on offense and even more so on defense.

George Karl's defensive game plan was also amiss. On the only play that Nowitzki was aggressively doubled, he was extremely discomforted and threw a rather feeble out-pass that led to an empty possession. Why, then, was Nowitzki allowed to operate one-on-one so often?

Karl, likewise, must bear the onus for Denver's switching virtually every high screen. The mismatches that occurred — such as Billups on Nowitzki, Carter on Nowitzki and Billups on Howard — were all costly.

All of the Nuggets must also be taken to task for their faulty defensive transitions, their poor interior defense and their occasional propensity for too quickly settling for jumpers.

Of course, Denver's defense and overall intensity were both diminished by the absence of Chris Anderson, who was out with a stomachache. Perhaps he overindulged on too many early worms.

This certainly was a terrific win for Dallas. However, since there's no possible way they can win the series, their performance in Game 4 was not exactly a historic clutch-time effort.

Give the Mavs credit for guts and for bolstering their pride. But in the long run, their win will prove to be relatively meaningless.