Mavs destroy Rockets in Game 7

The Mavericks became just the third team in NBA history to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home. The others were the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969 and the Rockets in 1994.

Dallas will now take on the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the conference semifinals. The series will start on Monday night in Phoenix.

Dirk Nowitzki had 14 points and 14 boards for the Mavericks, who improved to 3-1 all-time in Game 7s. The 40-point margin was also the largest Game 7 spread in NBA history.

"To drop two at home and then win three games in a row, drop another one and then come back and have a performance like this," said Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson. "Defensively this was the performance we had been looking for the whole series. It was right on time."

Yao Ming recorded 33 points and 10 rebounds in the loss and Tracy McGrady collected 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. However, the Rockets dropped to 5-2 all-time in Game 7s and 7-1 when leading a series 2-0.

McGrady has still never won a playoff series in his career. The 25-year-old had lost all of his previous postseason sets with Toronto and Orlando, but this was his first playoff series with Houston.

"I’m 25 years old and I got many more years in this league and I will be back next year," said McGrady.

Dallas took a 59-44 cushion into the third quarter and kept adding to it in the second half. McGrady’s layup made it a 69-53 game with 7:16 remaining, but the Mavericks responded with a 17-5 stretch to push the advantage up to 28 points. Howard scored seven points in the run and Nowitzki’s jumper made it 86-58 with 2:00 left.

The Mavericks held a 92-64 advantage after three quarters of action and kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter. Jerry Stackhouse’s dunk gave Dallas a 102-71 edge and the Mavs cruised to the victory from there.

Dallas’ biggest lead of the contest was the final score.

"We cracked in every way," said Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy. "Our composure on the floor was really not befitting of the way we played and conducted ourselves this year."

The Mavericks, who never trailed in the game, jumped out to a 16-6 lead by the midway point of the first quarter. Wesley and Terry each hit three-pointers in the game-opening stretch and Dampier’s dunk capped it with 6:00 left.

Houston answered with eight straight points to make it a two-point game, but the Mavericks would close the first period on a 16-6 run. Finley sparked the stretch with back-to-back three pointers and Nowitzki hit a pair of free throws to make it 32-20 with five seconds left.

Dallas used a 17-5 burst to open the second quarter and grabbed a 49-25 advantage. Terry scored 13 points in the run and capped it with a free throw to make it a 24-point game.

The Mavs still held a 57-33 cushion with 3:16 left in the second quarter, but Houston closed the period on an 11-2 explosion to get the deficit down to 15 points. McGrady had five points in the stretch and ended it with a three-point play to make it 59-44 at the half.

Terry led all scorers with 21 points at halftime and McGrady paced the Rockets with 19.