Chandler energy lifts Mavs in Game Five

DALLAS (AP):

Tyson Chandler is the active, energetic big man the Dallas Mavericks have never had before. He's also a pretty good strategist.

Knowing the season was basically on the line in Game Five of their first-round series against Portland, Chandler went to coach Rick Carlisle on Monday morning with a suggestion. Instead of always playing on the weak side of the offence, he wanted to move around to try getting more involved and to have a better chance at grabbing rebounds.

Go for it, Carlisle said.

Chandler wound up with 14 points and 20 rebounds, but his most important contribution might've been setting the aggressive, exciting tone the Mavericks needed to bounce back from a devastating loss and beat the Trail Blazers 93-82.

Dallas leads the series 3-2, with two days to rest up before trying to close things out in Game Six tomorrow night in Portland.

"He's got to be active for us and he knows that," Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki said. "Hyping the crowd, being vocal in the huddle. That's what he's been doing for us all year long. If he keeps playing like that, with energy, we'll be OK."

new hope

The Mavs were fresh off blowing a 23-point lead over the final 14 minutes of Game Four. Instead of having the Trail Blazers on the brink of elimination, they'd given the No. 7 seed new hope of pulling off the upset. Carlisle called it a must-win, a nod to Dallas being 0-4 in Portland this season and to the club having lost eight straight play-off road games.

Between Chandler's new role and a healthy use of a zone defence, the Mavs again found themselves up by double-digits early in the fourth quarter. Only this time they were able to protect it, forcing 10 straight misses and playing smart on offence.

Although Dallas' shooting touch was off - the Mavs missed their first 10 three-point tries of the second half - they got to the foul line and won the rebounding battle.

Dallas not only out-rebounded their taller foes 49-37, the Mavs grabbed a whopping 20 offensive rebounds. Chandler had 13 and swatted several more to guards near midcourt. His offensive boards were the most ever by a Dallas player in the play-offs and the most for anyone in the play-offs since Shaquille O'Neal had 14 in 1995.

"They played like they wanted it more than we did," said Portland's Brandon Roy, who went from scoring 24 points in Game Four to just five in 26 minutes. "They played harder than we did. I thought they played a little tougher than in the first four games. They had more of a sense of urgency. Now it's our turn to show that same sense of urgency."

Nowitzki led Dallas with 25 points, 11 coming in the third quarter, when the Mavericks broke open a tight game with a 15-5 run. Still, everyone was waiting to see whether they could protect it this time.

Chandler made sure of it. He had seven rebounds in the final period, including one that resulted in a layup by J.J. Barea that put Dallas up by 17 and prompted the Blazers to call time out.

"Coming out tonight, I knew my team would need me," he said. "After a bad loss, a lot of times it can carry over. Tonight, I wanted to bring energy and hope my teammates would feed off it, and they did."

Grizzlies 104, Spurs 86

Mike Conley had 15 points and seven assists to help the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies rout the San Antonio Spurs 104-86 on Monday night and grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their opening series.

The Grizzlies already had made franchise history by winning their first play-off game in Game One and added their first play-off win at home. Now they are a game away from becoming the second eighth seed to knock off a No. 1 seed since the NBA expanded to a best-of-seven series and join the 2007 Golden State Warriors. Game Five is on today in San Antonio.

Nuggets 104, Thunder 101

Ty Lawson scored a career play-off high 27 points and J.R. Smith and Danilo Gallinari hit clutch shots down the stretch to help Denver beat the Thunder and avoid being swept in the first round. The series resumes tonight with Game Five in Oklahoma City. The Nuggets still face a huge challenge in trying to become the first NBA team ever to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.