Mavericks at Rockets
The Houston Rockets battled all the way to the last night of the regular season to lock up the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference and roll into the playoffs with that momentum. The seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks, who visit the Rockets in Game 1 of the first round on Saturday, will try to find a way to slow down James Harden and Houston’s potent attack.
The Rockets earned their first division title since their championship 1993-94 season when they downed the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, outlasting San Antonio and Memphis in a division race that came down to the final day. “It's a blessing. The regular season was great but whatever happened in the regular season we've got to put that behind us,” Houston center Dwight Howard told reporters. “This is a whole new season and we've gotta come out ready to go.” The Mavericks were locked into the No. 7 spot a week ago and ended up fourth in the Southwest despite reaching 50 wins for the first time since the championship season of 2010-11. The intrastate rivals are meeting in the postseason for the first time since 2005.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, ROOT (Houston)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (50-32): Dallas’ big move in the offseason was importing Chandler Parsons from the Rockets in restricted free agency, and the forward is expected to play Saturday after sitting out the final six games of the regular season with a knee injury. Parsons suffered the injury in a loss to the Rockets on Apr. 2 and he averaged 13.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in four games against his former team. "We've got to make sure we ignore what's not important,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “What's important is our group, how tied together we are and how strong our will is. That's going to be the bottom line in this series."
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (56-26): Houston finished with the third-best record in franchise history and is looking to advance out of the first round for the first time since 2008-09. Part of Harden’s MVP resume includes carrying the team while Howard (knee) was out of the lineup, but the former All-Star spent the final three weeks of the regular season working himself back into shape and is set to increase his minutes in the playoffs. “Just when I'm out there I have to play hard, it doesn't matter how many minutes I play,” Howard told reporters. “It doesn't matter if I play 25 minutes, 30 minutes whatever it may be, as long as I'm dominating the paint we have a chance to win.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets took three of the four meetings in the regular season – all by seven points or fewer.
2. Dallas C Tyson Chandler averaged 14.2 points in his final five games.
3. Houston G K.J. McDaniels suffered a fractured wrist in the regular-season finale and is out for the series.