SPORTS
Mavericks are going to the NBA finals, jump on the bandwagon
The Dallas Mavericks are going back to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years after dispatching the tortured Minnesota Timberwolves in game five on Thursday night on the road.
Dallas is playing the Boston Celtics, who had the best record in the league this year, in the finals with the first game scheduled for June 6.
It has been awhile since 2011. That year the Mavericks upset the hated Miami Heat and franchise stalwart Dirk Nowitzki completed the ultimate challenge of delivering a title to Dallas after trying and failing throughout the previous decade.
That accomplishment and his continued loyalty to the franchise for all 21 years of his career is why there is a bronze statue of him outside of the arena.
That peak was the beginning of a steady decline for the franchise for the next seven years as the Mavericks tried to contend even with father time taking its toll on Nowitzki in his 30s.
The team bottomed out in 2018, but thankfully that got them a low draft pick they used, with a trade involved, to nab the next big European import.
Slovenia’s Luka Doncic came into the league as the most accomplished European top draft prospect in history at the time. Most of the time, they are picked based on potential, but Doncic had already led his team to the championship and been named the league’s most valuable player all by the age of 18.
Despite not being able to fly high above the rim or explode past people with otherworldly athleticism, he has used unbelievable skill, his size, strength, IQ and competitive nature to become one of the best players in the league pretty much since his second year.
That convinced the franchise to build exclusively around him since when the ball is in his hands he can either make tough shots or find one of his teammate a usually wide open shot. He does things other players cannot do and makes it look easy while also being magical, hence his nickname “Luka Magic.”
Up until this season, the high point for the franchise was two years ago, when the team made an unexpected run to the conference finals before getting outclassed by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors, winning their fourth title in eight years.
That team lost a big piece as guard Jalen Brunson had become an unexpected sidekick to Luka. The team failed re-sign him and he went to the New York Knicks where he has been the best thing to happen to that franchise in decades.
We’ve learned through the years that having Doncic do everything is too taxing for him in the playoffs, so having another great ball handler who can do similar things was key.
Unfortunately, those players are hard to find. Midway through last season, the team took a big chance and traded for Kyrie Irving.
On the court it seemed like heaven. He had won a title playing second fiddle to Lebron James in Cleveland. He can handle the ball like the best street ball player you have ever seen while finishing wild layups against guys a foot taller than him with either hand all while being able to shoot and create for himself and others.
However, there was a reason he was available. Since he had left Lebron, he failed to lead a young Boston team as the No. 1 option and left after three seasons with hurt feelings between him, the franchise and the city.
He then teamed up with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn and that situation never seemed to go right due to injuries, chemistry and more recently, off the court situations.
Irving made choices that knowingly limited his availability during COVID-19 and then shared support for a documentary that shared anti-Semitism views among other conspiracy theories. He was coming to Dallas with that kind of baggage.
It did not turn the season around last year as the team was just barely contending for the playoffs.
The franchise made the unpopular move to start to tank, intentionally lose, the last few weeks of the season, giving up a potential playoff spot for a marginally higher draft pick.
Somehow the Mavericks were rewarded for that as we used it to draft Dereck Lively. He is a very athletic post player, whose skills include running, jumping, playing defense and catching lobs.
Somehow, Lively came into the league ready to play from day one and even earned the starting job early on, though injuries have sometimes limited his availability.
The team was playing better this year as Doncic and Irving got more reps playing off each other, but were still sniffing the outer edges of playoff contention.
At the trade deadline in February, the team made two trades, one for wing PJ Washington and the other for post player Daniel Gafford. Both became starters right away. Washington proved to the be tough defensive wing that can do other things the team needed.
Gafford took over the starting center position instead of Lively since he has proven to be a bit more durable and physical, though the two provide the team with a great two-person punch all game as they play similar minutes.
That combined with the unheralded Derrick Jones Jr. ascending to a starting spot thanks to his defense and improved shooting despite coming into this year known only for his prodiguious dunking exploits, and the team made a turn.
Since the trade, the team’s defense has been one of the league’s best and the team went 21-9 to end the season and earn a fifth seed.
The team battled through an old foe in the Los Angeles Clippers, a team Doncic had lost to in the first round on two previous occasions, and won in six games 4-2 as they played better as the series went on.
They then played the top seed in the conference, the young Oklahoma City Thunder. The experience of Dallas paid off against the OKC’s inexperience and the Mavericks also won in six games 4-2.
This set them up against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota had just knocked off the defending champs Denver Nuggets in seven games. All season the Timberwolves had the best defense in the league.
They were also led by a young, charismatic player in Anthony Edwards who despite being just 22, was the type of throwback explosive athlete of a scorer that people used to compare to Michael Jordan before that became both cliché and blasphemous.
Add to it the Timberwolves have been a tortured franchise it’s whole existence, making it this far in the playoffs only once 20 years ago, and people were ready to pick Minnesota.
Still, Dallas showed experience in the playoffs pays off against a team full of players going through a deep run for the first time.
The first three games went down to the wire and again and again Doncic and Irving led the Mavericks by making impossible to defend plays when it mattered most.
It was highlighted by Doncic making a go ahead 3-point shot while being guarded by the league’s defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert in game two with three seconds left.
Minnesota made an effort in game four to not get swept, but then Dallas came out to make it definitive in game five, leading by as many as 36 at one point and winning 124-103 to get the Mavericks back to the NBA finals.
Jump on this bandwagon if you are a Dallas sports fan. Games will be broadcast on ABC with a start time of either 7 or 7:30 p.m. starting June 6.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians ended their regular season with a sweep of Alvord to secure a number one seed heading into the playoffs.
The Indians won 13-6 and 3-1 to earn the top seed in the big school division in the playoffs.
With that much on the line despite already securing a playoff spot the previous week, Nocona had a lot to play for in its final regular season series.
The Bulldogs got on the board first with two runs, but the Indians answered with nine runs in the bottom of the first inning to retake the lead 9-2.
Both teams scored one run in the third inning before Nocona scored three runs in the fourth inning to go up 13-3. Alvord was able to extend the game and avoid getting run-ruled by scoring two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth inning.
The Indian bats were cold in the final three innings, but the defense bounced back to shut out the Bulldogs in the seventh inning to win 13-6.
RJ Walker and Jayce Lehde each drove in three runs to lead the team while Ladon Fatheree and Zyrus Moreno both drove in two runs. Nocona finished with nine hits and drew nine walks during the game.
On the mound, Walker Murphey pitched six innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on 12 hits while striking out one and walking two.
The second game was more a pitcher’s duel that had far less action scoring runs.
The Indians scored first in the second inning with one run, but Alvord tied the game with one run in the fourth inning. Nocona answered with two runs in the fifth inning and held on to win 3-1.
Lehde and Fatheree drove in one run each while Murphey scored the other run on the basepaths thanks to a wild pitch. Nocona had only two hits while the team drew seven walks.
Walker helped carry the team on the mound, pitching the whole game while giving up one run on four hits and striking out 13 batters. The defense committed no fielding errors.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles ended their season on Monday this week, losing some tough games on the way out before closing with a win.
The Eagles lost to Perrin-Whitt 13-1, to Bryson 17-2 before beating Saint Jo 7-2 to end the season on a high note.
Bellevue struggled against the two other 1A teams in its district in its previous matchups as both teams are heading towards the playoffs. Both the Pirates and Cowboys proved it once again in the final matchup on April 22 and Monday before playing a team more on its level.
The Eagles and Panthers were 1-1 against each other this season. Playing after Bellevue’s loss to against Bryson right before on Saint Jo’s home field, the Eagles wanted revenge.
Bellevue got it with a 7-2 win against the Panthers to end both team’s season and this year improve the series 2-1 in the Eagles favor.
River Trail led the team with two RBIs while Hunter Blackburn had a team high two hits.
The team finished with seven hits and drew 10 walks.
On the mound, Bryce Ramsey allowed two runs on nine hits while striking out seven and walking five. The defense committed one fielding error.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers had a tough final week to their disappointing season.
The Panthers lost to Bryson 10-4 before losing to Bellevue 7-2 to close out their season.
Saint Jo knew it was out of the playoff hunt and was playing for pride as it hoped to end the season with its head held high.
The Panthers played the Cowboys on April 22 and were put behind the eight ball when Bryson rallied off seven runs in the third inning. Saint Jo closed the game well, but could not overcome that bad inning as it lost 10-4.
Sam Martin, Charlie Evans, Mathew Sampson and Jayden Curry each drove in one run each. Saint Jo had nine hits and drew six walks during the game.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo’s defense allowed 10 hits and nine walks while committing five fielding errors.
The Panthers then waited a week before ending their season on Monday, due to rain causing the game to be rescheduled, against Bellevue. Each team had beaten the other so far this season and with both teams out of the playoffs, it was a game about local pride more than anything.
Unfortunately for Saint Jo, it did not go its way on Monday. The Eagles scored in every inning besides the first and seventh inning while the Panthers only scored in the fourth inning. Bellevue won 7-2.
Devin Stewart led the team with two RBIs on a double he hit. The team finished with eight hits and drew six walks, but it was not enough to hang with the Eagles.
The pitching staff allowed only four hits, but three fielding errors and nine walks allowed Bellevue to rack up the runs.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie Jackrabbits finished their season last week with a dominant series sweep against Vernon.
The Jackrabbits won both games by run-rule 13-2 and 11-1 against the Lions.
Bowie came into the week with its playoff hopes shot after splitting with Holliday. The Jackrabbits were playing for pride and knew they had what it took to win decisively against Vernon and made sure to show it.
Game one did not start off great as the Lions scored two runs in the first inning, but Bowie answered with three runs of its own in the same inning, taking the lead 3-2 and never looking back.
The Jackrabbit defense shut down Vernon the rest of the game while scoring three runs in the second and fourth innings and four runs in the third inning.
It was enough to end the game early after four and half innings, Bowie winning 13-2 in its final home game on senior night.
Edmond De Leon led the team with four RBIs while Boston Farris, Trae Seigler and Jorge De Leon each had two RBIs. The team finished with 10 hits and drew seven walks as the team consistently found ways to score every inning of the game.
Farris got the start on the mound and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking four during five innings of work. The defense committed no fielding errors.
The second game was on the road, but the Jackrabbits made sure not to start slow like they did in game one. Edmond De Leon blasted a three-run home run in the first inning to put Bowie up 3-0.
After a scoreless second inning, the Jackrabbits scored three runs in the third and fifth innings and two runs in the fourth inning. With the Lions scoring only one run in the third inning, that was all the run support Bowie needed to end the game early again after five innings.
The Jackrabbits won 11-1.
Edmond De Leon led the team with three RBIs while hitting a home run and a triple. Seigler and Austin Cheney drove in two runs. Bowie finished with 10 hits and drew six walks.
On the mound, Seigler pitched four innings and allowed one run (zero earned) on two hits while striking out and walking one batter. The defense committed three fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
For pictures from the last home game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874727&T=1
For pictures from senior night, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874728&T=1
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers season ended on Thursday night in the bi-district round of the playoffs against Knox City.
The Houndettes won by run-rule 21-7 after six innings, ending the Lady Panthers year since the series was condensed to just one game.
Saint Jo came into the series after winning the district title, but knew Knox City would be tough. Still, the Lady Panthers had played in and won several games with high scores which gave them hope they could hang with whatever the Houndettes to could bring.
Knox City got on the board first, scoring on a three-run triple to go up 3-0. Saint Jo answered in the same inning with Kamron Skidmore driving in two runs on a single to cut the lead to 3-2.
In the third inning the Houndettes drove in five runs on a single, double and home run to increase their lead to 8-2. The Lady Panthers got one run back in the same inning thanks to a fielding error at third base that drove in one run to make it 8-3.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Knox City added to its lead in the fifth inning. A fielding error allowed one run to score and a three RBI triple added three more to make it 12-3.
In the sixth inning, the Houndettes reeled off nine runs to as it looked like the end was near for Saint Jo. Down 21-3, the Lady Panthers needed to score nine runs to avoid getting run-ruled.
Down to the final out, Saint Jo started a two-out rally. An error at short stop resulted in two runs to score. Jordyn O’Neal then ripped off a two RBI triple as the Lady Panthers had more than doubled their score.
Unfortunately that is where it would end. The next batter grounded out for the final out.
Knox City won 21-7.
Skidmore led the team with three RBIs while O’Neal was second with two. The team finished with seven hits and drew two walks, but it was not enough to keep up with the Houndettes who had 13 hits and drew 12 walks. Saint Jo committed two fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874729&T=1
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