Blowing It

If you are a Dallas fan, and you turned off the Mavs' and Stars' games in the final minutes of their respective contests...I'm sure you were surprised to find that both teams ended up losing in overtime.

Why? Because when each game entered the final minute, victory was looking like a very solid probability. But in their own ways, each team found a way to lose. If you have no idea what happened, let me go into it.

Mavericks

The Mavs were in New Orleans last night, coming off a big win against the Jazz at home. It took an amazing fourth quarter from Dirk Nowitzki, but it was a big win nonetheless. It was the second night of a back-to-back so I imagine the team was a bit tired.

But it didn't seem to matter. Dirk actually fouled out with about 2:36 remaining, but the team seemed to be in control of the game by then. Even when New Orleans tied it with about a minute left, the Mavs were up 3 with about ten seconds left. Chris Paul had the ball, and he was determined to make something happen.

Defending Chris Paul was tiny J.J. Barea. And while Barea is (relatively) loved in Dallas as a scrappy player with a sweet ability to score, he's still J.J. Barea. And Chris Paul is still one of the biggest superstars in the game. And earlier in the fourth quarter, Barea tried to take a charge on Paul - he went sliding down the court when Paul lowered his shoulder into him. But the ref simply watched as Paul set his feet and drained a wide-open 3-pointer.

This time, however, Paul pushed off on Barea, and the whistle blew. The refs actually called an offense foul on Chris Paul...drawn by little J.J. Barea. The Mavs quickly inbounded the ball, and they were awarded two free throws.

Up by three with Barea going to the line. Seemed like a victory to me, and it did to the Hornets too. One of the Hornets got a technical for arguing the call, and Chris Paul went from ref to ref to let them know that he wasn't happy. All of the Hornets looked like they were defeated.

Then Terry missed the technical free throw. He'd made his first seven free throws, but he'd suddenly missed two of three. But it didn't matter. With nine seconds and only one Hornets time out left, Barea just needed to make one of his two free throws to clinch an almost-certain Dallas win.

But he missed the first. Then the second.

That's right. Two different Mavericks had three free throws to clinch the game, and they missed all three.

I shouldn't have to tell you what happened next. The Hornets called their time out, drew up a play, and they drained a 3-pointer.

But the Mavs still had a chance! Six seconds to play with a chance to win the game. Kidd inbounded the ball, got it back, but then tried to force the ball to Jason Terry. Four of the Hornets knew where the ball was going, and they stole it. Paul damn-near hit a three-pointer at the buzzer that would've clinched the game.

He might as well have done it. Without Dirk, the Mavs just couldn't score, and they were handled pretty easily in overtime.

And it brings up some legitimate concerns about the Mavs. Without Dirk in the game, the Mavs looked like a different team. Erick Dampier scored four huge points for the Mavs. Kidd drove the lane to a wide-open basket and missed two free throws. Barea missed a couple three-pointers.

And even though he replaced Dirk when the German fouled out, Shawn Marion was nowhere to be seen offensively. I thought he was being brought in to be Dirk's offensive sidekick, but I don't think he took a single shot.

Hopefully this team will look better when/if Josh Howard ever returns at full strength. Because even though they're 3-2 with a big win at the Lakers, the Mavs have looked pretty pedestrian the rest of the way. They barely beat the Clippers, and they had to have a monster quarter out of Dirk to beat Utah.

Stars

I actually went to this game, and it was pretty rough. After pummeling Calgary's backup goalie (who I'd never heard of and don't care to look up the name of) with over 30 shots, the Stars finally scored at the 15:00 mark of the third period to tie the Flames at 1-1.

It was a pretty cool moment because the Stars had dominated the play for the most part. They'd had five power plays (including almost a minute at 5 on 3) and a penalty shot, but they hadn't been able to score.

And it was kinda funny because I brought my buddy Tyler...who had come to a game previously where the Stars had been shutout. He'd seen five periods without a goal, and it was such a relief to him for the team to finally score.

And after holding off a Calgary rush, the Stars went down and scored again. It'd taken nearly 40 shots, but they'd taken the lead.

But then they went into their shells. For about five minutes, the Stars were stuck on 39 shots. They'd basically been launching an all-out attack all night, but they decided to try and nurse a 2-1 lead at home. It seemed much more like a Dave Tippett team than a Marc Crawford team, and it made me incredibly nervous.

But with a minute left and the Calgary goalie creeping towards the bench, things started to get exciting. After all, it would just take one steal of the puck to clinch the game.

Instead, the Flames got the puck to the front of the net, and they scored with about 45 seconds left. The game went into overtime, and after a weak "delay of game" call on Nik Grossman, Jarome Iginla scored for the Flames to get the OT win.

Two things about that:

1. I don't have any statistics to back myself up, but I swear the Stars get scored on way more than most teams when the other team pulls their goalie. And even if they don't, it seems like the Stars never score when they pull their goalie. And the Stars never score empty-net goals either. So when the other team pulls their goalie, they either score or the Stars win by one. It almost never ends with an empty-netter.

2. It was the Stars' 6th OT/shoot-out loss of the season. Six! That's double more than any other team in the Western Conference (and the Red Wings are the only other team with three or more). I realize that it's a point for each of those, but sooner or later, the Stars have to find a way to get the extra point in a game that goes beyond regulation.

So to summarize, the Mavs and Stars both should've won last night. Instead, they both lost in overtime. The Mavs have the excuse of being on the second night of a back-to-back and being on the road, but their game was more in hand than the Stars' game was. The Stars get a point out of the deal, but their game was at home.

All in all, two pretty pathetic performances. And more reasons that it's sad to be a Dallas fan.