NBA PLAYOFFS Dallas series winner; McGrady's Magic out

The Mavericks eliminated the Trail Blazers and Detroit took care of Orlando.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS -- Going into possibly the last game of his 25-year coaching career, Don Nelson didn't make any grand motivational speeches or try challenging anyone.
Instead, he let Avery Johnson -- a backup point guard-turned-assistant coach -- make a pep talk about desire. The word he used most was "will," underlining it four times on a message board.
The Dallas Mavericks certainly showed it as they hung close for three quarters then outplayed Portland in final period, to beat the Trail Blazers 107-95 Sunday, winning Game 7 of the first-round series and avoiding the worst meltdown in NBA history.
Key stretches
Nick Van Exel scored or assisted on the first seven baskets of the fourth quarter, then Dirk Nowitzki scored seven straight after the game was tied in the final three minutes.
His 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining put Dallas up 100-94, drawing cheers of joy and relief from a crowd of 20,281 -- and breaking Portland's will.
"The crowd was great and they made shots down the stretch," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "That pretty much was the difference."
Dallas found itself in Game 7 by losing three straight after winning the first three. The Blazers won Game 6 convincingly and seemed to have the mental and physical edge coming into the winner-take-all finale.
Nelson's contract as coach expires after this season. He'd like to stay on the bench, but owner Mark Cuban says he won't decide until the summer. Nelson is still signed as general manager for three more years and as a consultant for five after that.
Nelson told reporters before the game that he'd already prepared the team the best he could, adding, "You certainly don't want to bog anyone down mentally." So he let them hear their marching orders from another voice -- the distinctive, high-pitched tone of Johnson.
"I had Avery do my talking because he said it in our coaches meeting better than I could," Nelson said. "He did a marvelous job. All we did is make it simple, easy and let's go play."
The Mavericks showed the tenacity they'd been lacking since winning Game 3. They drove the lane, banged for rebounds and prevented Portland from loading up on easy baskets.
Still, the Blazers hung tough in their bid to become the league's first team to overcome an 0-3 deficit.
Despite Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells not scoring in the first half, Portland was able to go ahead 90-88 with 4:43 remaining on a 3-pointer by Wallace and tied it at 93 on another 3 from Scottie Pippen.
But the Blazers were out of comebacks as they failed to score a basket in the final 3:08. Dallas, meanwhile, made 13-of-17 shots in the fourth quarter, including four 3-pointers.
Pistons 108, Magic 93
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chauncey Billups scored 37 points, and Tayshaun Prince had 20 -- breaking the career high of 15 set in Game 5, as top-seeded Detroit beat Orlando.
Billups, who scored a career-high 40 in Game 6, made 11-of-19 shots and all 12 of his free throws.
Richard Hamilton added 22 points and Ben Wallace had 12 rebounds, seven points, five assists, five blocks and two steals.
Tracy McGrady, the NBA's scoring leader during the regular season, had 21 points on 7-of-24 shooting for Orlando. He has been knocked out of the first round of the playoffs four straight times -- three in Orlando and one in Toronto.