Jason Terry and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks’ bench obliterated the Los Angeles Lakers to secure the first-ever sweep against a Phil Jackson coached team, and a trip to the Western Conference Finals.

In a game where Mavericks’ All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki scored just 17 points, Dallas exploded for 122 points in a 122-86 demolition of the two-time defending champion Lakers. The top three scorers for the afternoon were sitting on the Mavericks’ bench to start the contest, as the Dallas depth was once again too much for L.A. to handle.  

Every player that touched the floor scored a basket for the Mavericks, with Terry (32 points), J.J. Barea (career-playoff high 22 points) and Peja Stojakovic (21) especially lighting up the Lakers coming off the pine for Dallas.

"Our bench has been our trademark all season long," Nowitzki said. "I feel like the last couple of years, obviously [Terry] setting the tone with his scoring, being aggressive and looking for his shot. That’s what we need him to do because that’s when he’s at his best. [Stojakovic] signed right before the All-Star game and he’s been great spreading the floor for us, shooting the ball. [ Barea] really had a great series here. He was great on the pick-and-roll, he kept attacking.

"I thought our bench really stepped up and played great."

Perhaps the most telling stat of Game Four: as a collective group, the Dallas reserves matched the Lakers’ team as a whole, scoring a whopping 86 of the Mavs’ total 122 points.

"Their depth hurt us," the Lakers’ leading scorer with 17, Kobe Bryant, said after the contest. "Every night it was a different player stepping up and making plays."

Both Barea’s and Jason Kidd’s penetration in the lane, combined with the Lakers’ over-aggressiveness defensively,  allowed 3-point shooters to spot up and knock down uncontested bombs all game long. It was the Dallas bench that seemed to take advantage of these open looks the most, as they led the way in a record-setting outing from deep. Terry tied a playoff record with nine 3′s and the Mavs reserves combined to go 17-21 from behind the arc as Dallas set an NBA-playoff record with 20 made 3′s.

Terry (9-10) and Stojakovic (6-6) were especially in the zone, missing only one attempt from deep between them, and L.A. simply couldn’t keep up with the scorching shooting from the Mavs.

"[Terry] shot the ball well today," Mavericks’ starting forward Shawn Marion said. "He and Peja were on fire. Everybody is doing what they got to do and contributing to help this team win and that’s what makes us so good."

"Perhaps Dallas is the deeper team," Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson conceded after the game, "a little more talented off the bench than we were and it came to bear during the course of these playoffs."

Make no mistake, it was Dallas’ depth that won them this series. L.A. had no answer for the Mavericks’ firepower coming through in waves throughout the series. If it wasn’t Terry burning them, it was Stojakovic. If not he, then Barea or, as in Game Four, it was all of the above. The one thing that Dallas has tried to hang it’s hat on over the last decade (an over-abundance of quality players) finally looks like the real deal with seemingly everybody contributing with the stakes at their highest.

"When you have 12, 13 individuals focused in on one specific goal, it’s very powerful," Terry said.

No confetti dropped from the rafters after taking out the defending champions. In the locker room, Dallas players weren’t celebrating like they’ve done anything special as each and every player throughout the Mavericks’ roster expressed a desire of being nothing less than number one. The goal for this team is an NBA Title, and eight more wins is the only thing that’s important.

The next phase of that plan will start sometime beginning next week against either the Memphis Grizzlies or Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the Western Conference Finals.

Phil Jackson Appears Ready To Move On

In what appears to be the final game of his illustrious coaching career, Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson appeared at ease at the podium following the L.A. meltdown. Despite being swept out of the playoffs for the first time in his coaching career and having two players ejected as it appeared he completely lost control of the team in this series, Jackson seemed at ease yet introspective after the contest.

"[It] feels really good to be ending this season to be honest with you," Jackson said. "I came back this last year with some trepidation. Kobe’s knee was an issue and obviously our team was older. The thrill of trying to chase a three-peat is always an exciting thing. But, yes, I knew it was a big challenge for this team to three-peat. We’ve gone to the Finals and to go back twice and win it after losing ’08 puts a lot of strain on the basketball club from all angles: personalities, spiritually, physically, emotionally, and getting charged up for game after game and assault after assault when you go in and play a team.

"It was a challenge bigger that we could beat this year."

L.A.’s run for a third straight title came to an abrupt end yesterday afternoon and, after being fined $35,000 the morning before the contest as well, it certainly doesn’t feel like the way a coach of this caliber should go out. However, Jackson seems content to live out the rest of his days outside of a coaching box — for now at least.

"Yes, this is in all my hopes and aspirations that this is the final game that I’ll coach," Jackson said. "This has been a wonderful run. I go out with a sour note after being fined $35,000 this morning by the league, so that’s not fun having a feeling like I’ve been chased down the freeway by them. But as Richard Nixon says, ‘You won’t be able to kick this guy around anymore.’"

Mavericks’ coach Rick Carlisle said he wasn’t so sure this would be the last game for the future Hall of Fame head coach.

"My belief is that he’ll retire for a while," Carlisle said, "but I don’t know how long you can go to Montana and meditate and smoke peyote or whatever he does there. I don’t know. He’s going to get bored. And I mean that in an endearing way."

Jackson, as usual, had a witty quip after being informed of Carlisle’s comments.

{AUTHOR_BOX}"Well first of all you don’t smoke peyote," Jackson joked postgame.

After 11 Championships and numerous coaching records and accolades, Jackson heads off into the sunset on the heels of one of the most lopsided playoff defeats in both his and the Lakers’ storied histories. Time will only tell if the pull from the sidelines will reel Jackson back in the future, or if this really was his final game as an NBA head coach.

Boston Must Ride Defense Again In Game Four

Defense wins championships.

That’s a motto nearly every championship-caliber team hangs it’s hat on as the element of the game that’s most important come playoff time.

In Game Three of round two of the 2011 NBA Playoffs against the Miami HEAT, it appeared the Boston Celtics were back to buying into that philosophy after losing their first two games of the playoffs in round two. Boston suffocated the HEAT Saturday night, allowing just 81 points on 42.5 percent shooting in getting their first win of the series.

The Celtics accomplished this by holding LeBron James in check as he went just 6-16 from the floor for only 15 points.

So far in the playoffs, the Celtics have held an opponent under 99 points five times and won each and every one of those contests. In the first two games of round two against the HEAT, however, Miami scored 99 and 102 points respectively and that’s simply something that can’t happen tonight if Boston wants to even up the series at two games all.

A stifling defense led to a Celtics title in the 2007-2008 season, and it’s something this veteran team must continue to hang it’s hat on if it hopes to take down the favored HEAT in the road to the NBA Finals. It’s obviously easier said than done against a team like Miami, and injuries have decimated this Boston squad, but this team does have the personnel to make life difficult for even the game’s best scorers.

Game Four is tonight at 7 p.m. ET, and can been seen nationally on TNT.

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