1986-1987
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Mavs Win Midwest; Collapses In Playoffs
In 1986-87 the Mavericks served notice that they had arrived as an elite team in the NBA, with a versatile young roster that seemed to presage years of future success. Dallas posted a best-ever 55-27 record and won the Midwest Division.
Won 55, lost 27 (first, Midwest)…Dallas finished with the league’s fourth-best record…the season was full of milestones: most wins (at the time), first division title (won by 11 games, the biggest margin in the Midwest since 1980-81), winningest March ever (12-4), first 4-1 road trip, first-ever wins in Philadelphia and Milwaukee…club never lost more than two in a row in regular season, but dropped three straight in playoffs to Seattle after setting 11 records in a 151-129 Game One win…for the first time two Mavericks (Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman) played in the All-Star Game…for the fifth straight year Dallas committed the fewest turnovers in the NBA (14.7)…club best 35-6 at home…for the third straight year Dallas led the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted with then NBA record totals of 231-of-653…James Donaldson shattered the club rebound record averaging 11.9 per game, best in the West and among NBA centers…Dallas’ defense improved from 21st in the NBA the previous season to 14th (110.4 ppg). Blackman was a vital piece to the Western Conference All-Star team as well. He had been an All-Star before, but this time it was different. With 3 seconds left, the East had a two-point lead, 140-138. The clock had run out as Blackman was fouled driving hard to the basket and the pressure was all on him to sink both free throws to send the game into overtime. Blackman made the first and then yelled out "Confidence baby, CONFIDENCE!!" as he sank the second one. It is considered one of the best moments in NBA All-Star history. The West eventually won the game in the overtime period, but they wouldn't have won at all if it wasn't for Blackman. Tom Chambers of the host Seattle Supersonics won the MVP award, and rightfully so. He had a great game scoring 34 points, but maybe the 1987 game should have been marked as the first to have Co-MVPs along with Blackman who scored 29 points.
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Playoffs
FIRST ROUND VS. SEATTLE
GAME ONE (APRIL 23, 1987) @ REUNION ARENA (17,007) — DALLAS 151, SEATTLE 129. Dallas sets 11 club records — including most points scored in a game (151) — and wins Game One going away, 151-129, over the SuperSonics. The Mavericks, who shoot .598 for the game, lead by as many as 32 points (120-88) in the fourth period, before Seattle’s offense finally gets on track, scoring 41 points in the final stanza to shave the margin. Rookie Roy Tarpley gets Dallas off to a good start, scoring 12 points on five-of-six shooting with five rebounds in the first half. Tarpley finishes with 25 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. Ten Mavericks players finish in double figures, tying the NBA playoff record for most players in double figures in one game. Prior to the game the Mavericks raise their 1986-87 Midwest Division Championship banner.
GAME TWO (APRIL 25, 1987) @ REUNION ARENA (17,007)— SEATTLE 112, DALLAS 110. Former Maverick Dale Ellis hits two free throws with two seconds left and the Sonics even the series, 1-1, with a 112-110 win before a shocked crowd at Reunion Arena. The score is tied at 110 when, with four seconds remaining in regulation, Derek Harper is called for traveling as he attempts to trigger an inbounds pass from the backcourt. Seattle takes control of the ball on their end of the court, and Ellis is fouled by Sam Perkins. Ellis finishes with 32 points, six rebounds and six assists. The Mavericks look as if they are going to take control of the game when they hold an eight point lead with 2:53 remaining in the first half, but Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel bring the Sonics to within one, 64-63, at the intermission.
GAME THREE (APRIL 28, 1987) @ THE HEC EDMUNDSON PAVILION (8,150) — SEATTLE 117, DALLAS 107. Dale Ellis scores 43 points and grabs 14 rebounds to push the Mavericks to the brink of elimination as the Sonics prevail, 117-107. Due to a scheduling conflict — an agricultural show at the Seattle Coliseum and the Mariners are occupying the Kingdome — Game Three (as well as Game Four) moves to the Hec Edmundson Pavilion on the campus of the University of Washington. The Sonics build a lead early — leading 26-15 after one period — as the Mavericks go ice cold, going the final 8:55 of the period without a field goal touching the bottom of the net (Brad Davis has a shot goaltended with 40 seconds left). That lead expands to 55-37 at halftime and 89-73 entering the final period. Derek Harper, who leads Mavericks scorers with 30 points, leads a comeback attempt in the fourth period. Harper scores 12 points to cut the Seattle advantage to six points, but free throws by Xavier McDaniel and Nate McMillan ice the game for the Sonics. James Donaldson, who is suffering from a stress reaction in his right leg (aggravated in Game One), is held scoreless with one rebound in 15 minutes.
GAME FOUR (APRIL 30, 1987) @ THE HEC EDMUNDSON PAVILION (8,150) — SEATTLE 124, DALLAS 98. The Sonics outscore the Mavericks, 36-21, to blow open the game and end the Mavericks season, 124-98. The victory means Seattle becomes the first seventh seed to knock off the number two seed since the NBA expanded to a 16-team playoff format in 1983-84. The Sonics jump on Dallas early, scoring 11 of the game’s first 13 points and leading 33-21 after one period. James Donaldson misses the game, the first game he has missed in 537 games, due to a stress reaction in his right leg. Tom Chambers leads Seattle with 31 points. Rolando Blackman scores 25 points for the Mavericks while Roy Tarpley grabs 17 rebounds. For the series, Dale Ellis averages 29.5 ppg and eight rebounds.
The season started on a defensive note when Dallas walloped opening-night opponent Utah while holding the Jazz to a .311 field-goal percentage. A week later Dallas drilled Seattle, 147-124, as a club-record nine Mavericks scored in double figures. On November 26 the always careful Mavericks tied their own NBA record with only 4 turnovers against the Sacramento Kings. Their 13-1 start at home was the best in team history.
Dallas's lineup had settled into a starting unit of Mark Aguirre, Sam Perkins, James Donaldson, Derek Harper, and Rolando Blackman, with Detlef Schrempf, Roy Tarpley, and Brad Davis coming off the bench. The team was talented and versatile at every position, presenting problems for almost all NBA opponents. In January, Schrempf recorded the third triple-double in team history. In March, Donaldson surpassed Jay Vincent's 1984-85 single-season record of 704 rebounds. March proved to be the team's best month ever at 12-4, including Dick Motta's 800th career win on March 28 against Washington.
As always, the Mavericks protected the ball-for the fifth straight year they led the NBA in fewest turnovers, with 14.7 per game. As teams throughout the league began to use the three-point shot as a regular part of offensive strategy and not just as a gimmick or bailout, Dallas continued to lead the pack in treys. The Mavericks made 231 three-pointers and averaged 116.7 points. Donaldson shattered the club rebounding record and led all NBA centers with 11.9 boards per game.
Dallas, which hadn't lost more than two games in a row during the season, melted under playoff pressure. In the opening game against Seattle the Mavericks set 11 club playoff records in a 151-129 victory. Then the wheels came off as Dallas dropped three straight to the Sonics, who were led in scoring by former Mavericks player Dale Ellis, reborn in Seattle as one of the NBA's top three-point marksmen.
After the 1986-87 season Dick Motta unexpectedly resigned as head coach, and the reins were turned over to John MacLeod. MacLeod had coached the previous 14 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, compiling a 579-543 record. He had guided the Suns to the playoffs nine times and to the NBA Finals in 1976.
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