Comment on Nowitzki's groove has Mavericks back in playoffs

Nowitzki's groove has Mavericks back in playoffs

DALLAS (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki has the spring back in his pogo stick of a jump shot. The one-legged fadeaway that Kevin Durant admittedly stole is also back in the playoffs after carrying Nowitzki the last few thousand points to the top 10 on the NBA's scoring list. The 7-foot German — relatively new dad and old hand at this postseason thing after missing last year for the first time since 2000 — is just happy to be back in what he calls the "big dance," a little phrase he stole himself. "How big our shot is, we'll see," said Nowitzki, whose eighth-seeded Mavericks open the playoffs Sunday at San Antonio, the defending Western Conference champion that finished with the league's best record. Sure enough, his scoring average went up for the first time in five years, and the rest of his numbers looked a lot like they did in 2010-11, when the Mavericks won the franchise's only championship. The Mavericks haven't won a playoff game since beating Miami in Game 6 of the NBA Finals three years ago, and they might have the same dubious distinction in a little more than a week because they've lost nine straight to the Spurs. President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson openly wondered whether Nowitzki really had to do anything else for Dallas, but then remembered who he was talking about. [...] it's that mental toughness, competitive aspect, the type of person he is and the example that he sets, not just for basketball fans in North Texas and around the world but for every future Maverick that walks into the clubhouse.

 

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