Posted on Fri, Apr. 25, 2008
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Paul having star turn vs. Mavs
By JAIME ARON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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DALLAS --
Dwyane Wade turned himself into a superstar by dominating the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA finals. Then Baron Davis made one terrific play after another while blistering the Mavs in the first round of last year's playoffs.Now, it's Chris Paul's turn.
Fortunate enough to draw the reputation-making Mavericks in the first playoff series of his career, Paul is certainly picking up where Wade and Davis left off.
The speedy third-year point guard is scoring 33.5 points per game and setting up his teammates for nearly as many, averaging 13.5 assists. His success, and Dallas' inability to stop him, is the main reason the New Orleans Hornets will take a 2-0 lead into Game 3 tonight.
Paul actually is off to a historic start - the first player ever to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in his first two playoff games. He's also the first player to do it in back-to-back playoffs games since Steve Nash in 2005 against, you guessed it, the very same Mavericks.
Oh, uh, before Nash? Not since 1989, when Michael Jordan did it against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"It's been too easy," Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki said Thursday. "We've got to be a little more proactive on him and see if we can get the ball out of his hands some. If not, just move up on him and make it a little harder on him. We'll see how that works."
Bring it on, Paul said.
"There's only so many different things you can do in basketball," he said. "Whatever they're doing, we've adjusted to it. We've had 82 regular-season games to see what different teams try and that's what it's all about, making adjustments."
The Mavericks have tried their share. Yet they still haven't been able to contain the one guy embarrassing them the most, whoever that may be.
Start with Nash in 2005, when he averaged 30.3 points, 12 assists and 6.5 rebounds in leading Phoenix past Dallas in a second-round series.
The Mavs bounced back to reach the finals in '06, even going up 2-0 until Wade realized he couldn't be stopped. He wound up averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 steals and even a blocked shot per game, bringing the title to Miami.
Last year Davis powered eighth-seeded Golden State to a colossal upset of top-seeded Dallas, averaging 25 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.8 steals.
Perhaps the only good news for the Mavericks is that all those series went six games. This one is halfway to a sweep, not that Paul would use such a word.
"No, no, you just think about the third game," he said.
The Hornets haven't won in Dallas since January 1998, back when the franchise played in Charlotte and Muggsy Bogues was the point guard. The Mavericks were 34-7 at home this season, among the best in the league.
